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Last month when Glen Johnson headed the winning goal handing Liverpool their first win for the month of November, it got me thinking why can’t he put in such performances much more often.
Glen Johnson’s youth career
Since his youth days, he has been considered a talent. As early as 2002, when he was a 17-year-old, Tony Carr the then Academy Director of West Ham United warned people from expecting too much too soon. The faith was evident, when he said that “We hope he can blossom and become the player we think”, there was a guarded precaution such was the talent evident. Glenn Roeder obviously believed in the player when he gave the teenage defender his debut in the disastrous season of 2003, against London rivals Charlton Athletic.
The defender didn’t make waves as such but was defensively solid and his pace and stamina were key features, that were noted by the bigger clubs. West Ham got relegated that season, but Johnson’s stock was on the rise and that was emphasized by the 15 league appearances he made in the second half of the season.
Recognizing a talent in the wings, Johnson was snapped by Chelsea at the start of the ‘Abramovich era’.
Johnson didn’t get many chances at Chelsea
One of the early purchases of Claudio Ranieri when Chelsea were flush with money, Johnson’s signing was somewhat under the radar. Much more illustrious names such as Joe Cole, Sebastian Veron were headline catchers and Glen joined Chelsea without much fanfare. His league debut came soon enough and was against future employers Liverpool.
Given the influx of world class players and Mourinho stepping in next season, led to lesser game time. Mourinho chose to bring his own personnel in the form of Paulo Ferreira as well and along with an injury, Johnson was quietly shunted out of the first-team.
One of the most memorable moments of his Chelsea career would probably have been the day when he made an appearance in goal in a FA Cup tie against Newcastle United. Granted he wasn’t defensively solid but in a team where everyone was so defensively solid, which included the likes of Carvalho, Terry, Essien – Johnson had more freedom to make runs from deep and put in crosses.
An exciting talent but who wasn’t growing at the pace which the coach and the managers expected. ‘One for the future, but too inconsistent’ was the general assumption and finally that led to him being shown the door, Portsmouth snapped him up and it is there he started justifying his talent.
Johnson’s career blossomed at Portsmouth
Regular playing time and belief of the manager was all that was required to get him into his groove. Daniel Taylor of The Guardian once did an interview with Johnson back in 2009, when the media were giving him a hard time. From stories of passport forgetting to punching walls in the dressing room, a lot of negative publicity surrounded Glen Johnson. Ultimately, by the end of the interview there was nothing but positivity flowing from the writer’s pen.
For a kid, who had a difficult childhood from staying in hostels to being homeless, he had come a long way and one thing revealing about the interview was that he is a very guarded person. For all the flashiness he shows, deep inside one can’t help but sympathize with him. He started the Glen Johnson soccer school along the same time when he became one of the team’s key players. Winning the FA Cup was one of the highlights of his Portsmouth career and more than that his rapid growth as a professional on and off the field which alerted the big clubs.
Being a Red brought its ups and downs
Anfield came calling at a time when he was perhaps at his peak. I remember watching his league debut in the game against Tottenham. Liverpool was beaten that day, but Johnson’s performance stood out. He followed that up with another fabulous performance against Stoke. Rafa Benitez had fought with the Liverpool Board tooth and nail to sign the Englishman and Johnson’s immediate impact was a relief to both the board and manager. In a season, where everything went from bad to worse, ultimately causing the manager to lose his job, he was one of the few positives.
While injuries have played a huge role in his stuttering Liverpool career, his commitment can never been questioned. One of the frustrations of the past and present managers of Liverpool has been that he is capable of so much more. Blessed with pace and an instinct for attack, he should be scoring more.
His time under Brendan Rodgers has also been puzzling to say the least. Sometimes used as a left-back, he has done whatever role assigned to him and stuck to his task. Injuries have played a major role in the upheavals, but as Rodgers has indicated there is no one irreplaceable in football. The acquisition of Javier Manquillo and the emergence of Flanagan and Wisdom have left the Anfield faithful questioning his ability to compete.
Johnson should be offered a contract soon
As was indicated in the game against Stoke, Johnson is one of those who works tirelessly. Critics and fans alike have pointed out that while there is no dearth of commitment it is the end result which keeps them dissatisfied. The best way to sum up Johnson’s career his “Consistent in being Inconsistent”.
There is a heavily debated topic on if he should be given an extension to his contract or not; I say he should be offered a new contract. One of the main reasons is because in scoring the winner against Stoke, he didn’t bother about the flying boot. For him, commitment has not been an issue and in a team where you need players to set examples, you don’t have to look further than Johnson who will go far for the cause and not worry about the consequences.
Maybe Johnson can be given a new lease of life if Rodgers can experiment with him in a right-wing role. His pace would be an asset and his ability to cross and run into spaces would be welcome as well. Liverpool have been lacking pace and guile since Sturridge’s injury and Suarez’s departure. He would offer a new attacking threat as well. It would also make Liverpool more defensively solid and it would suit Liverpool’s counter attacking game as well.
All this is food for thought, but offering an extension to Glen Johnson shouldn’t be.
