Glen Johnson has been in high demand throughout his career.
From being the first big money Roman Abramovich signing to playing a major part
for a strong Harry Redknapp Portsmouth side, managers and boards have never
been afraid to splash the cash on the England international. Johnson has cost
more than 30 million pounds in transfer fees and has played for some of the
biggest clubs in the Premier League. So, when Rafa Benitez splurged close to 20
million on the right back, the decision was received well as the Reds were
getting a proven Premier League player with pedigree at the highest level.
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| Johnson playing for Chelsea Source - Getty Images |
Johnson started out really well making a great impact in his
first few seasons. He was a mainstay in a team which endured a lot of struggles
and slumped to mid table mediocrity. While players were going in an out of the
team, Johnson was an ever present either at right back or left back. There were
a lot of different managers at the Anfield helm during this time and all rated
Johnson from Roy Hodgson to Brendan Rodgers.
Johnson has made 192
appearances in total for Liverpool. There have been memorable moments for sure
during Johnson’s Liverpool career such as goals against Chelsea and West Ham and
a brilliant defensive performance against an inform Gareth Bale. However, it
has been palpable for some time that Johnson’s form has regressed. He has been
a shadow of his former self and there has been a considerable drop in his
energy levels.
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| Johnson did have memorable moments Source - Liverpoolfc.com |
Unlike a fine cheese, Johnson’s condition has deteriorated
with age. For someone allegedly on 120 pounds a week, that is not good enough. Johnson
cuts a disinterested figure on the pitch and always looks to blame others when
something bad happens. Johnson must only look at Steven Gerrard to see that
despite Gerrard’s condition declining, he still gives 100% in what he does.
Johnson on the other hand just looks disinterested. In the past two seasons,
Johnson has only won a measly 57% of his duels and only has a Squawka
performance rating of 133 this season which is worse than any of Liverpool’s
other starting defenders.
Despite these poor showings, Johnson is still consistently
picked by Brendan Rodgers when fit. Rodgers has shown himself to be
trigger-happy many times this season but when it comes to Glen Johnson, Rodgers
is firm and resolute. Why is it that a player that is underperforming so much
is given so much playing time when players like Javier Manquillo are not even
getting a sniff? Manquillo has more defensive actions in fewer games and yet is
time and time again left out in place of Glen Johnson. When Johnson was
injured, players like Lazar Markovic played in the right back position despite
Manquillo being on the bench but the moment Johnson came back, he was put
straight into the team.
Always regarded as a player who is great at attacking but a
bit suspect in defence, Johnson has lost the attacking element of his
repertoire. He is very slow in his passing and seems lost with the ball. The
little bit of mobility that he had was lost and this resulted in him playing
the game at walking pace which is bad for the team considering the express
nature of the Premier League. Rarely do we see him make those marauding runs
that made him desired in the first place. In fact, it could be argued that he
was the worst player in a season where everyone was being praised to
superlative levels. When better players come along, Johnson is just played in a
different position. He has played everywhere across the back line without any
change in his performances.
For a player who is known for his attacking impetus, Johnson
has been shockingly poor in that department. In the past two seasons, Johnson
has only scored 1 solitary goal and has a shooting accuracy of only 20%. This season,
he has only created 3 chances in 13 games. In contrast, Lazar Markovic, a
player who has seemingly struggled according to the media has created 17
chances and Jordon Ibe, a player who was not even considered at the beginning
of the season has a higher duel win rate and shooting accuracy and has a higher
chance per game ratio. Their Squawka indexes are also very close to that of
Johnson’s despite not playing as many games as the Englishman.
But, the fact is that most pundits, media and even some fans
are oblivious to this. While many heavily criticize Mario Balotelli for “not
showing enough effort” even when playing well, Glen Johnson gets a free ride no
matter how bad he plays. The hard fact is that Liverpool has a much better
record this season when Johnson is not part of the team. While stats
might be a bit inconclusive, the Reds have also scored more and conceded less
without Johnson in the backline. In fact, it was after Johnson got injured that
that the Reds went on their best defensive run in close to 30 years. The facts
are not pointing in Johnson’s favour but yet Rodgers consistently picks him.
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| Johnson has lost his verve Source - Goal.com |
In addition, Johnson disrupts the balance of the team.
Instead of the team being lined up seamlessly, Rodgers has to adapt and change
positions of players just to accommodate Johnson. For example, Emre Can had to
move out of defence where he excelled so that Johnson could take his place
resulting in a poor performance from the young German who seemed to struggle
with adapting to the new position. At the start of the season, star performers
like Alberto Moreno were dropped in favor of Johnson. Moreno has created 27
chances in the time he has played which had been limited because many were made
as a substitute showing. Despite his attacking fluency and calmness in
possession, Moreno was made to look like a scapegoat during the Reds’
disastrous run.
While calls of favoritism or jokes about Johnson having
‘dirt’ on Rodgers may seem a bit far-fetched the fact is that he is taking up a
space in the team which should go to more deserving players and in essence, he
is being carried by the team. Johnson has been a great servant for Liverpool
but he has waned and waned dramatically. The harsh truth is that no other team
in the Top 8 will have Johnson as an automatic starter and the fact that the
Reds do is very worrying considering they have better players on the bench or
being played out of position.
Rodgers has gotten rid of most of the Rafa Benitez core with
players like Pepe Reina and Daniel Agger shipped out ruthlessly. But for some
reason, he seems content on keeping Johnson despite the fact that he has been
much worse than the aforementioned players when they were kicked out. These two
players had a much greater connection with the fans as well but were sold
without much hesitancy. But, Rodgers is going out of his way to get Johnson to
sign a new contract when the Reds have at least 6 replacements. The fact that
Jon Flannagan, a player who is Scouse and performed immensely last season is
close to being shipped out and Johnson is not is a huge worry for the Reds as
club and a community.
Johnson’s performances have dipped so considerably that even
an ordinary performance such as his against Blackbrun, a Championship team was
lauded as brilliant is testament to how far the standards have dropped. A
player once tipped for glory at the European level is now being reduced to
being praised for poor performances. In the summer transfer window, even teams
like QPR shirked away from buying the 30 year old. If the Reds are to move
forward, they have to get rid of players like Johnson and push on hungrier
players like Flannagan and Ryan McLaughlin. It is the cold but hard truth.
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