Stefan Johansen

You may be right . I am not saying he had an absolute shocker , but he was poor, and the fact he is supposed to be our best player makes me feel extremely let down .

 

You're right, he was * at like the 75 min mark. I think all the players just want this season to be over tbh. That's how they were playing today.

 

Not his best performance, at least he tried.

It's important to implement this "no give up" mentality in our squad, that can be decisive in matches like this. While he kept running like a maniac on left wing, Commons just couldn't bother himself with running on right wing.

 

Had a poor game.

 

Feel for him he has been completely overplayed this season. 60 games or something this season for club and country.

 

He's been absolutely outstanding for most of the season, as you say mick he looks burnt out.

 

Just about to post the same, should be rested at Dundee.

 

Shame he never tucked one away. Not his best game today but he has been played continuously

 

"You're always happy to hear that because you know then you have done a good job for the club and the club appreciates you," said Johansen. "But everything about a new contract, that's why I have an agent. Things are going well for me and well for the team but we haven't had the talk about a new contract yet. If it comes up then we will talk about it then. But I really like Glasgow and I really like to play for Celtic. I feel like I've had a good season but I feel I can develop more."

Johansen hasn't just played better than ever before this season, he has played more than ever before. The 24-year-old may no longer have the Scottish Cup final to look forward to, but by the end of this season, assuming he features in Celtic's remaining five league matches - starting today against Dundee United - and two matches for Norway, a friendly against Sweden then a qualifier against Azerbaijan in June, he will have played no fewer than 65 matches. Quite a tally for a man who was previously used to no more than 40 in Norway, not to mention someone who runs himself into the ground pressing from midfield with such alacrity.

"It's my first season playing this many games and it's a new experience for me but I think I've handled it well," said Johansen. "If you play Sunday and then Wednesday you can't go out and run for 60 minutes on Monday. You need to be focused on being the athlete you need to be, even at home. Eating the right things, sleeping at the right time, that's what I've been focusing on."

It isn't just his manager, his contemporaries and the player himself, who feel that Johansen's play has improved this season. The statistics say so too. The Parkhead super computer says he is wasting less touches on the ball, and making better, and quicker, decisions.

"He [Deila] is always looking for the tempo in the game, the one- and two-touch play," said Johansen. "That's one thing I've been working on and my stats show I've been getting better."

Everything Deila has said thus far about elevating the game of the man he originally signed on a free transfer from Bodo/Glimt in January 2011 has come to fruition, but the bad news for everyone else is that he can get better still. The next phase in his development is to become a more consistent goalscorer. Most people would regard 12 goals as a handsome return from a No 10 position, but so frequently does Johansen get into goalscoring positions that you could at least double that.

Johansen's versatility has sometimes been as much of a curse as a blessing. Deila admits that his natural thirst for the pressing game, when played at the base of a midfield, sometimes resulted in the team losing their defensive shape.

"He's very good at pressing but sometimes a little bit wild when you play him as a No 6," said Deila. "He goes out of position a lot. So if he's going to play in the two central ones, he has to be more calm, but in that No 10 role he's perfect because he chases people and they never get a second. His goalscoring is not the best so that needs to improve but it has during the season. The offensive part he still has some per cent to develop and then he could be really good but defensively for a No 10 he's top class. Kris Commons set a big target with 32 goals from that position last season. That was unbelievable. Strikers at Celtic have to try to get at least 20 goals. As a No 10, Stefan has eleven. Hopefully next season he gets up to that next level."

Leadership is another string to his bow. Deila had no qualms handing him the captaincy for the first time in the absence of Scott Brown for a meeting with Partick Thistle earlier this month and was rewarded with a 2-0 win. "I think I have always been that type of player," said Johansen. "I hate to lose in everything I do."

No wonder then, that Deila wants to keep him. "I didn't negotiate that deal [Johansen's move from Stromsgodset] but it turned out to be a good one for Celtic and Stromsgodset. So everybody is happy. Stefan has enhanced his value by coming to Celtic. Playing here does that. That makes it harder for us but we want to keep him.

"He still has more time on his contract, so it is not very important to do it at once," he added. "But we have some players that we know we want to keep and build a team around and he's one of them. Also to get consistency for us, so we don't have to go looking for players like him all the time."

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport...ansen-happy-to-begin-contract-talks.124286958

 

Awesome again today!

 

Not for me, still looked jaded..

I want to see him given the longest rest possible, he runs like * and we need him badly on top form for the qualifiers and a gruelling next season. He's all run out, it's clear for all to see..

 

* first half, much better second. Involved in most of the good stuff we done second half.

I would still get him away on holiday as soon as possible. If we win on Friday, him, Izzy and Broony should be sitting in Glasgow Airport on Saturday afternoon waiting on the sheep result before jumping on a plane to somewhere.

 

Thought he was below par today as well.

Actually thought he should have been on the bench today and Armstrong should have started through the middle.

 

I actually prefer him on the right cutting in on his left foot . Was poor first half today but got involved more in the second and had a couple of decent moments .

 

Give him Friday off and back for the Sheep game.

 

Won POTY.

 

Player of the year

 

Disgrace Adam Rooney scored 20 odd goals but.

 

Well deserved, love the guy.

 

Well done




Still Brown for me though