Watching Glen Johnson’s regular forays forward on Sunday afternoon, on the sun-teased Anfield pitch left me thinking: is this really his best position. Should he be playing so far back? I’m not quite so sure anymore.
There have been calls in the past – at Johnson’s previous clubs and England – for him to be pushed into a more advanced role but at Liverpool, currently, I believe this could be the answer to a lot of problems, and not just Johnson’s.
Liverpool’s performance on Sunday was strong and spirited. A little blunt and directionless at times but for the most part there was a lot of the old Rafa regime still on display: hard work; tracking back, tackling, power and speed. Even at 9 men, while Agger was off-pitch injured, Liverpool never once looked overwhelmed. Unfortunately, one of the other remnants of Rafa’s regime is that the club was left with a dearth of genuinely creative players. So once Joe Cole was sent off in the first half, Liverpool’s creativity rested solely on the shoulders of Gerrard. That’s not to say that Kuyt, Jovanovic et al are not creative players – and the likes of Kuyt are easily some of the hardest working players in the league – but Cole and Gerrard (and perhaps Reina?) aside none of the first team that started against Arsenal are really capable of a regular defense-slicing pass or decisive moment of brilliance. Apart from Johnson.
From the right back position Johnson has provided numerous glimpses of attacking potential, from powerful runs past fullbacks ending in incisive crosses to intricate one-twos with his team mates and short, clever passes from the edge of the box. He has even chipped in with some beautiful goals that you wouldn’t expect from a defender, and this is why a move further forward may benefit Johnson. It could also benefit the team in several ways whilst providing a more permanent answer to Liverpool’s present lack of attacking options.
In pushing Glen Johnson into a right-midfield role, Liverpool would automatically have another dimension to their attack. He would bring his offensive abilities further up field, benefiting the midfield and the lone striker by adding natural width to the areas where it’s needed. The other benefit of this is that Jamie Carragher can then be switched across to right back. This move would help both players, in that, Johnson’s defensive duties will be minimized by around about 75%, and consist mainly of tracking back to assist Carragher. As has been pointed on numerous occasions, Johnson is not a natural defender and has regular lapses in concentration (as witnessed once or twice on Sunday) therefore, lessening his defensive responsibility can only free him up to do what he is best at.
From his vice captain’s point of view the benefit is that, with his ageing legs, he will no longer be required to come face-to-face with pacey forwards week after week in the centre, where he is often exposed in lacking pace. If he faces a particularly speedy winger from right-back, he will have Johnson’s speed and tracking back (and also, the defensive nous he already has) to help him out.
As a further benefit, this would mean Agger and Skrtel can finally play alongside one another consistently and begin building an understanding. As everybody see’s this season – with the new manager, Europa League instead of Champions League and potentially new owners – as one of transition, now would be the perfect time to make this change. With Kyrgiakos and Wilson, there would decent cover at centre back too, and one of the youngsters could provide backup for Carragher at right-back.
Another thing to consider would be switching to a 3-5-2 formation (and fall back to the tried-and-tested 5-3-1-1 when on the defensive) to further take advantage of the Johnson’s strengths. In this formation, Johnson could play wide of a midfield that can then make the most of an area Liverpool have some strength in, particularly with Mascherano’s departure beginning to look unlikely. Thus, allowing Carragher to play at the right side of a three-man defense and again, minimizing his exposure to quick strikers. And when the team is on the defense, the two wide men from that 5-man midfield can drop into defense alongside the three centre backs, squeezing out any gaps between them and giving the opposition a 5-man shield to get around. With the height of Agger, Skrtel and Johnson and the experience of Carragher, and the addition of whoever drops back from left midfield, that is a pretty formidable shield to defend Reina’s goal with, and will prove to be a lot more fluid than a straight back four.
In this season of change, where big international signings aren’t – takeover aside – much of a possibility, it may well be wise for Liverpool to undertake some shrewd business within the club and take full advantage of the talent it already has; starting with Glen Johnson.
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I’ve been saying for months that Johnson’s best position for me is right midfield… I think Kelly is getting very close to a starting position in the team. For me Kelly at right back and Johnson right midfield… natural right sided players with lots of creative flair and solid in defence.
A very interesting article and I can actually see this idea working. I’ve always thought our defence (Pepe not included) has been dodgy since Sami left.Maybe if Skrtel and Agger can stay injury free we may have a great partnership for years to come
Sorry to admit it but I couldn’t be bothered to read that article beyond the title having formed the assumption the the author considers Johnson’s best position to be in midfield. I apologise wholeheartedly if I wrong.
The whole point of buying a £17m pound fullback is so that he can bomb forward with creative zest, skill and speed and assist / overlap the winger and create more oppotunities.
Rafa didn’t spend £17m to buy a fullback just for him to be shoved in midfield. Pointless article. The question isn’t where he should play as he’s already in that position. The question is WHO should play in front of him, thats all.
Its all well and good having a talented full back but when the like of Dirk Kuyt (bless his red cotton socks) is not doing his job as a creative attcking force it weakens the attacking potential of the side.
Agreed!
Been saying it for ages. Glenn Johnson is a right winger.
Sure, he’s a good defensive player but he belongs on the wing.
Well Joel, you should maybe read the article and then comment. Who do you suggest should play in front of Johnson then?
dirk kuyt creative? DO ME A FAVOUR! all he creates is sweat!
I THINK THE SAME, GLEN JOHNSONS BETTER AS A RIGHT SIDED MIDFIELDER HIS DEFENDING ISNT AS GOOD AS HIM GOING FORWARD AND MARTIN KELLY WOULD BE GOOD BEHIND HIM. JUST TAKE GARETH BALE FOR EXAMPLE HES NOW ON THE LEFT WING THAN PLAYING LEFT BACK HIS MORE SUITED POSITION. THEN AGAIN I REMEMBER ASHLEY COLE WAS BETTER GOING FORWARD THAN AT THE BACK BUT NOW LOOK AT HIM 1 OF THE BEST LEFT BACKS IN WORLD FOOTBALL, ITS UP TO WOY WHERE HE WANTS TO PLAY HIM……YNWA
Johnson could be used in Right midfield but what about the right back position. We are not really that loaded at the position. You mention carragher as a replacement because of his lack pace but in my mind that doesn’t make sense at all. In the central defence you don’t necessarily need pace. Well it’s obviously a plus but Carra has never been pacy. The same with Hyypia. Carra rely on passion, good tackling and positioning. In a right back role he would have to go forward and he would be up against pacy wingers each weekend that would expose his lack of pace and be more of a handful than facing the physical and tactical battles of the central defence. Let’s face it, Carra only really established himself as one of the best defenders in the league when he was put beside Sami Hyypia.
1. full backs require much more pace then centre backs- so your point about carra doesnt really work.
2. just because johnson’s main use is in attack it doesnt mean he needs to be played further up. look at maicon and dani alves they both benefit from having the pace to run from deep and not get picked up by a defender, as a winger they wouldn’t have that advantage.
3. i think we should trust our manager to put johnson where he thinks he will do the best for the team and he’s more than likely tried GJ at right mid in training but it didn’t work out.
4. @joel. with dirk kuyt possibly being the most defensive winger in the league and GJ possibly the most attacking fullback we could have a very balanced right side on our hands. we saw some very good passing along the right side vs. arsenal.
5. have you ever seen him play right mid?
quite a good article but not very well thought out it seems.
Totally agree,weve all seen Johnson get caught out in his current position. He will be better pushed further forward the boys got skill & pace so Woy give it a go. Im sure we will see the benefits of a more attacking right midfeilder!
Well here’s a thought – leave Carragher out all together and then we won’t have to try and fit the defence around him. He makes me nervous, I always expect him to give penalties/free kicks away. He had a really good game at the weekend (doesn’t happen very often these days) but so did Skrtel and he got no mention.
just cause johnson’s got good attacking capabilities, doesn’t mean he should play further up. fast, attacking full backs are essential in the modern game. i don’t see players like evra, ashley cole, maicon and sergio ramos playing at right mid. and on top of that, if johnson does plays further up, im not confident carra can do a good job at right back considering his lack of pace. we’ve got kuyt, maxi and joe cole who can all play at right mid.
In the modern game, traditional wingers are being scrapped in lieu of extra width being provided via the fullbacks as out and out wingers simply don’t serve enough of a purpose to justify themselves at the highest levels of football unless they can also play a more central role when called upon. So you find the defensive midfielder (and sometimes even two) provides the extra defensive units you need to avoid being caught on the counter while your fullback is getting forward and also moves deeper than regular midfielders in a defensive structure so that if your fullback is caught out the attacker has two options: 1) whip in a cross from the byline which could potentially be blocked or; 2) cut inside where he is closed down by your defensive midfielder. I understand that this is all based on theory and things don’t always plan out the way you think them through but you are essentially sacrificing your defensive out wide for strength in the centre of the park, which is probably a fairly apt trade. I know you’re all saying “but defenders should defend first and foremost” while we all know midfielders contribute to both, this is where the term defensive midfielder is born. He contributes very little to the attack, so in essence you’ve still got the same amount of defenders and midfielders, they’re just in strange positions. The fullback is the only position on the field that more often than at any given time he will not have a man directly infront of him, allowing a superb opportunity to get forward and start a surging run. It sounds strange but it’s just something that will be proven over time.
completely agree wid joel rhodes…
An interesting article…
It’s something iv thought about too, specially as it gives skrtl and agger the opportunity to play along side each other!
So the benefits are clear:
1) A tighter defence with Carra-Agger-Skrtl-Aurilio
2) On the right More crosses, Assists and goals, along with johnsons pace in tracking back supporting carra!
Let’s do this…. Say on Monday?
Or better still let’s swap kuyt and Johnson around!!!
Why didn’t I think of this earlier 😀
johnson’s attributes are best served when there is a lot of ground in front of him to run into. i.e., from full back going forward. all the examples you pick out such as his goals last season, plus that england one, plus his chance against arsenal, come about because he is linking up with the player in front of him – i.e. dirk kuyt or other winger – and receiving the ball back in a more dangerous area.
put johnson further forward and who does he link with? nobody else would be ahead of him. he would become the one giving the ball back to yet another new attacking right back, bombing forward a la glen johnson.
attacking full backs are too important now to stick carragher there. and fyi, there are more fast wingers about than centre forwards.
^^^^ and thats without even going into why carragher must stay at centre back. organisation anyone?
Glen Johnson, along with Reina, Gerrard, (want-away) Mascherano and a fit and firing Torres are the only players at LFC actually exceling in their positions. If it ain’t broken…
Kuyt is pants (lets be honest) all sweat and endevour plus the odd goal but he ain’t no Messi. Hopefully Rafa will come back in for him.
Maxi is no better than a squad player so he isn’t the answer either. Maybe Babel can play right-wing. Or perhaps Joe Cole…
Either way if we’re gonna move forward we need to BUY players for our certain positions, not move players and create new problems.
Kelly is NOT nearly good enough as a right-back. We all gave Insua hell last season and Kelly isn’t a patch on that lad as an attacking force and he’s only average in a defensive sense. Worst of all, he looks like a frightened rabbit whenever theres any pressure and just passes to Carragher (the Hoof-meister) who then just leathers the hell out of the ball.
Letting Degen go (way better player than Kelly or Derby, just unlucky) was mainly due to the new squad rules / limits. If Johnson gets injured then we’ve got no decent cover!
On another note, its unreal how Roy is trying to shove Insua out the door after bringing back part-tme cripple Aurelio. Whats gonna happen when the inevitable happens?
This is the stupidest idea ever! Carragher is bloodly awful at Rightback. He has no pace and no ball playing ability whatsoever. This move would mean that we’d lose one of the top 5 best attacking RBs in the world for a decent RW and a slow and very defensive RB.