I missed the rest of game after Elliot's goal, but the midfield didn't really function did it. I was saying at the end of last season that Johnson's legs had gone, and even though he was just playing in front of the two centre halves Friday night, he looked slow as a coach. Besides, I don't think we can afford the luxury of playing someone in such a deep midfield role. It exposes the other midfield lads and leaves us sitting too deep. Johnson's done well for us, but it's time for him to be put out to grass. Holtby has been poor most of the season, and has failed to live up to some early season promise, and looks an increasingly frustrated and out of touch figure, gesticulating at the ref and lunging in to daft tackles. Rothwell was an improvement when he came on for Holtby, but we know now that there is rarely an end product from him, and for me, he goes missing in too many games to be considered an obvious starter next season. Travis was poor, but we know he is a far better player than what we have seen of late. He seemed to be the most likely to step into Johnson's boots before he got injured, but he needs a run of games in a settled team.
www.theguardian.com
