Wolves News 24/7Writer: Akela 
Date:Friday January 6 2012
Time: 2:00PM
UK time is: 07:19:13
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Birmingham wanted me gone says Johnson
Ahead of Saturday lunchtimes FA Cup derby fixture between Wolves and Birmingham Roger Johnson has decided now would be a good time discuss his departure from St. Andrew`s.
The 28-year-old left Birmingham six months ago, shortly after they were relegated from the Premier League to the Championship.
Despite the Blues having the lure of Europa League football, the financial hit any club takes after dropping out of the top flight meant that most players of any calibre would be pushed out of the door and this was obviously the case with Johnson, not that he had previously admitted it until now.
"The club had been relegated and I was asked if I`d like to leave, It wasn`t a case of me banging the door down saying 'let me leave`. the Wolves skipper told the Express & Star.
He continued: "It was a gesture from them saying 'listen, we`re in a crisis and we need the money, so if you can get yourself a club and get us some money, then off you go.`
"They didn`t want to see their best players leave but, at the time, it was out of my hands.
"They can`t come back to me and say it`s not true because I`ll beg to differ. They`re the reasons.
"I`m not slagging off the board or Birmingham City - I want this to come out tastefully and that`s how it was."
The summer saw a lot of stories come out regarding the possible transfer, initially reports claimed that Birmingham wanted £14million for their prized asset, but in the end Wolves got him for £4.5million.
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Your Comments
So, Birmingham wanted Johnson to go, but did he want to come to WW, his protestations notwithstanding? Had he realised how far his form would plummet as a result of a couple of months of coaching at Castlecroft, he probably would have preferred to sign on for Inverness CT. Now Frimpong is being promised the same treatment, with MM declaring that after a period at WW, he will have developed into 'a fabulous player'. To be fair, MM does not claim any personal credit for any improvement that the lad will make, pointing out that the week-in, week-out battle against relegation will toughen him up. But, our coaching staff should not be so shy: rather they should boldly declare the part they have played in exposing him to such character-building conditions. Whether they will prepare him for the silky skills he will need when he returns to the Emirates stadium is another matter.
Southbank60
I'm not sure where the contoversy is supposed to be, here. Club gets relegated;club suffers massively reduced income;club sells players to raise cash through transfers and reduced salaries.That's par for the course.The fact that BC decided to mention it to RJ before he went to them, is hardly the worst thing a club can be accused of.Quite comical in a way. Club:"Please **** off!".Player:"Ok then".Similarly, if the player asks to leave, I think most fans of relegated clubs accept it's inevitability and therefore don't tend to be bitter towards the player.It's not as if he went to Villa.What we don't know, is whether or not RJ's 'loss of form' was down to not having Dann beside him.Is what we've seen this season as good as he can be in the PL without another player covering for his weaknesses?We haven't been able to see much of how Dann would have been at B and, due to his burst b***ock , we're not likely to either, of course.Blues fans, who express a preference, tend to say Dann is the better of the two.RJ has shown his strenghts when the play is happening in front of him, like at Arsenal when it was backs to the wall and all happening inside our box.It's when the play is further upfield and he has to turn and chase that's seen him at his most vulnerable.Even when defending corners, he's been left for dead by 'his man' more times than is comfortable to watch.Halfway through a season is late to still be unsure of your 'marquee' summer signing, it may be argued.It may well be we didn't sign the player most of us thought we had, as much as the "....character-building conditions", he's been exposed to.A bit of both,maybe.
all4divisions
Well they loved him getting injured.
akela
They did,Akela.Doesn't mean they were any less sure that they were going to inevitably lose both him and Dann in the summer, though.I don't think Blues fans care much about who asked who for a move;booing your ex players is far more fundamental a tradition than that. I was interested to hear Craig Burley's take on the Jonsson move. He was 'surprised' we'd signed him.Hardly a ringing endorsement of a player.
all4divisions
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