Lee Johnston has tried to clear the air after Lee Tomlin’s big thank you to Bristol City fans on social media had supporters thinking the striker was leaving.
It has not been an easy path for Lee Tomlin to end up at Bristol City. He was adored by fans at Peterborough United and Middlesbrough, and he shot towards stardom when he almost scored a stunning goal at Manchester City for Boro in the fourth round of the FA Cup in 2015, as the Gazette Live recalls.
But since then he has had a disappointing spell at AFC Bournemouth where he just made six appearances before coming alive again with a move to Ashton Gate on loan, signing permanently for them in the summer of 2016.
The striker is one of the most creative forwards in the Championship and Lee Johnson is adamant that he is a player that remains central to Bristol City’s plans.
“I signed Lee Tomlin, we signed Lee Tomlin, because we wanted to build a team around him. And I believed in his talent and I believed in his personality,” Johnson told the Bristol Post.
But fans may have got the wrong idea when Tomlin posted his affection for the Robins on social media recently, as it was seen as a sign that he wanted off. In reality it is more likely that Tomlin just wanted to confirm that he had enjoyed last season and was ready to go again.
Tomlin fell foul of social media etiquette before when he complained about not getting games which led to his exit at Bournemouth, as the Bournemouth Echo reported last year. The problem for Tomlin was that Callum Wilson got injured and the manager could not see the former-Middlesbrough striker fitting in the team as well with any other strike partner, as Tomlin declared in an interview with the Football League Paper.
His Bristol City career is still there for him to evolve though and one might expect that he would be looking forward to playing Middlesbrough next season in the Championship.
Boro fans will not have too many bad things to say about Tomlin as he did well for them scoring eight goals and making 10 assists in the 2014-15 season.
If Tomlin did want another move, Middlesbrough would probably have been top of his list had Aitor Karanka not have been sacked last March. Karanka was good for Tomlin – and Tomlin was good for Karanka – but the break up of that partnership was a pivotal moment in the forward’s career.
He just needs stability and let us hope he finds that with Johnson at Bristol City.
He now has to find away back to showing his best form in a league where he was once feared as one of the most outstanding players, as highlighted by the EFL.
Tomlin himself believes he is still that player, and last November he gave a revelling interview to the Football League Paper in which he stated: “Honestly, once I get the ball, and do what I do, then I personally don’t believe there’s anyone better in the Championship.”
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