Johnson: Nicky Was My First Choice

Bristol City manager has spoken out against critics who suggest the signing of former Crewe striker Nicky Maynard was made in desperation.

Johnson insists that the club had inquired about Maynard at the start of the Summer, making a £1.5 million pound offer, which was snubbed by Crewe.

Aborted Transfer 1: Emad Meteb

Since then, the Robins have suffered some huge disappointments in their search for a new striker. Firstly, having seemingly agreed upon a £1.5 million pound switch to the 2008 Play-Off runner-ups, Egyptian stiker Emad Meteb broke the terms of agreement by going back to play one more match for his club Al-Ahly. Despite the pleas of Meteb’s agent that it was just a ‘misunderstanding’, Bristol City cancelled the transfer.

Aborted Transfer 2: Mifsud

Then came the Mifsud affair, with the Maltese hitman’s transfer being cancelled after he apparently made over-arching demands. Gary Johnson felt that the striker had failed to show any loyalty to the club, and Johnson did not want to disrupt the positive team spirit at Ashton Gate.

Maynard: Third time lucky

But eventually, Bristol City got their new striker, in the form of 21 year old Maynard. However, it took a club-record £2.25 million to prise him away from Crewe Alexandra.

The deal apparently coming after City had renegotiated Crewe’s asking price of £3million. However Johnson has been quick to iterate that it was not a last-ditch move on his part.

“Nicky was the first one we made an offer for but Crewe quite rightly turned it down, saying they wanted double the £1.5m we had bid,” he explained on bcfc.co.uk.

“Later on we managed to agree on £2m, with the extras on appearances. We’re delighted to have him on board and he’ll be great addition to the squad,” he added.