Has Johnson merited his big money move?

My short answer to this is “not yet.” I believe that Glen Johnson hasn’t quite lived up to his big price tag this season. There are many reasons why the Liverpool right back hasn’t quite reached the required level; injuries and consistency are the two major factors in this. We all knew, as well as Rafa Benitez, what we were getting when we bought Johnson. He is fundamentally an attacking full back, who loves to get forward at every opportunity, one of the key reasons as to why Johnson was brought to the club. In this area he hasn’t disappointed so far and he has scored 3 league goals in his first season at the club despite his first campaign being hampered by injuries. Throughout his 3 year spell at previous club Pompey, he scored four goals and in just 23 league games he has already nearly caught up with this tally. Other positives from his first season, is his ability to beat opposition full backs with his pace and dribbling ability, as well as being able to combine well in passing moves to get in behind the opposition backline.

Shooting, crossing, passing, pace, they’re all attributes associated with wingers more than full backs, and there has been a call in the past year to move Johnson from right back to right wing when things weren’t going as well for the team. Certainly when Rafa Benitez bought Johnson at the start of the season, it was seen as a positive move, showing the Liverpool manager’s ambition of utilising the full backs as attacking weapons rather than rigid members of a back four. In Johnson though, there is a compromise which was apparent when the Reds bought the player. In his defensive duties, the England full back is competent at best and when he makes his attacking runs forward, he can be found wanting when tracking back. Positioning, tackling and marking are areas that Johnson still needs to improve and for a player that cost a sizable sum, you would expect these attributes to be slightly higher than they are currently. He still seems to have problems against pacey wingers if they run at him with the ball and he can be turned inside and out too easily, allowing wingers to either cross a ball or go past him with too much ease. An example of this came against Benfica a couple of weeks ago in Lisbon when the dangerous Angel Di Maria was allowed too much space and time on the ball.

To temper these minor criticisms though, Johnson has had his problems with injuries this season and missed the a few months mid-season with a knee injury. Such long term absences can hinder settling into a team in your first season and have no doubt affected performances. As well as this, at 25, Johnson still has many years of top level football ahead of him and he should become a very important member of the Liverpool first team over the coming years if he gradually improves his defensive play. He may have not quite lived up to the billing this season, but in the years ahead, he should become the player we all expect him to be, competent at the back and a fantastic outlet going forward.