Glen Johnson (Liverpool -> Stoke)

So what you're saying is everyone's lying, there's nothing wrong with Glen, and Brendan has decided he'd rather completely drop the best fullback in the squad who can play both RB and LB in favor of a good-intentioned but relatively poor performing Aly Cissokho, a young albeit greatly in-form Jon Flanagan, and a clearly unfit and total lack of confidence in his repaired knee Martin Kelly.

If he wasn't injured but was dropped, he'd be on the bench, no?

Ok when you put it like that my conviction does shake a little I will admit.

It still doesn't sound like an actual injury though you have to say that.

Oh dear.......

What does oh dear mean?

Ok when you put it like that my conviction does shake a little I will admit.

It still doesn't sound like an actual injury though you have to say that.

I can sorta see what you're saying to the extent that the club has never explicitly said what the injury is. But no one ever said exactly what Enrique has other than a knee injury.

Surprised nobody has seen this as just him being dropped due to poor performances. The second Flanagan was fit Glen was out of the squad.

Could be mental aswell I suppose. Get his head right maybe sort out some things at home that may be on his mind. Either way I think there is nothing wrong with his ankle or whatever was supposed to be his injury.

It's a long standing injury issue that has not been fully addressed on his time out on previous occasions, no doubt due to the demands of the threadbare squad, a fuller examination period will no doubt be implemented.
So the conclusion is a/ the nagging injury has affected his form in the extended period he has carried it, or b/ as you would have it he's gone F***ing mental.

It's a long standing injury issue that has not been fully addressed on his time out on previous occasions, no doubt due to the demands of the threadbare squad, a fuller examination period will no doubt be implemented.
So the conclusion is a/ the nagging injury has affected his form in the extended period he has carried it, or b/ as you would have it he's gone F***ing mental.

Nobody said he's gone F***ing mental. You've completely changed what I was saying. I speculated that he has either been dropped due to his poor form, or he has problems at home that may be affecting his performance. Saying that his head insn't in the game isn't a new thing. People have been saying this about Glen Johnson for quite a while.

Spotted wandering round outside Melwood with his underpants on his head and pencils in both ears chanting "wibble".

Guess that's his rehabilitation then 

Spotted wandering round outside Melwood with his underpants on his head and pencils in both ears chanting "wibble".

Guess that's his rehabilitation then 

Cluck cluck jibber jibber my old man's a mushroom?

Surprised nobody has seen this as just him being dropped due to poor performances. The second Flanagan was fit Glen was out of the squad.

Could be mental aswell I suppose. Get his head right maybe sort out some things at home that may be on his mind. Either way I think there is nothing wrong with his ankle or whatever was supposed to be his injury.

Nobody said he's gone F***ing mental. You've completely changed what I was saying. I speculated that he has either been dropped due to his poor form, or he has problems at home that may be affecting his performance.
     

I didn't change anything, you inferred he had a mental issue and I repeated the statement, with some colourful language but essentially the same meaning.
He was kicking on well until the injury affected him and it was never fully diagnosed or treated satisfactorily, due in no small part to the fact that he was continually fielded because of squad issues, the skeletal variety.
It does seem likely that the long term injury which has been acknowledged by the club, is the cause of his up and down performances, more so than any ''mental contributing factors''.   

Ok, I have already said that my conviction did shake when another poster put it a different way.

But seeing as you are determined to hammer it home, I still feel that saying "Could be mental aswell I suppose" doesn't really equate to "gone F***ing mental". I could have been talking about confidence or a million other things that don't mean he is in a mental hospital inside a padded cell.

I just think you have exaggerated my point.

Anyway, I'm nit picking at your posts now so I'm going to give in.

Hopefully he will be all the better for the break and will be an improved performer when he returns.

Ok, I have already said that my conviction did shake when another poster put it a different way.

But seeing as you are determined to hammer it home, I still feel that saying "Could be mental aswell I suppose" doesn't really equate to "gone F***ing mental". I could have been talking about confidence or a million other things that don't mean he is in a mental hospital inside a padded cell.

I just think you have exaggerated my point.

Anyway, I'm nit picking at your posts now so I'm going to give in.

Hopefully he will be all the better for the break and will be an improved performer when he returns.

Fair play to you mate and your last sentence is what we all hope for.

edit:  Didn't read the post fully earlier but there's no way I wanted you to admit to anything, the reply was
not meant in a negative context.
I wanted to explain just that, I apologise if you thought there was a negative intention in the comment.

The same day rodgers says johnson is fit to return to the squad he also says they are now looking to extend his contract.. hmm

Surprised this man hasn't been mentioned.

I thought he had a very good game at LB!

Well in Glen.

Surprised this man hasn't been mentioned.

I thought he had a very good game at LB!

Well in Glen.

Thought he was his usual sub-average self. Didn't contribute much at either end.

Surprised this man hasn't been mentioned.

I thought he had a very good game at LB!

Well in Glen.

Because he wasn't.

He lost possession so often in the first half trying to out dribble his man in our own half and he was always tucked in to his centre back in defence leaving so much space on the wing.

But two games in after a long lay off, benefit of the doubt and all that.

Because he wasn't.

He lost possession so often in the first half trying to out dribble his man in our own half and he was always tucked in to his centre back in defence leaving so much space on the wing.

But two games in after a long lay off, benefit of the doubt and all that.

That was one of his better performances this season and certainly looks more composed on the ball than Cissoko which I find reassuring.

Both him and Flanno tucked in quite a bit yesterday as we played very tight and compact but we never got overran down Johnson's side once.

And we kept a clean sheet. Flanno looked the weakest link yesterday out of a solid back line and he was still okay.

Sorry Beerbelly but I don't agree. I thought it was another unreliable performance from him. Defensively he was poor; missed tackles and his positioning was once again atrocious, too often he is where our Centre backs should be and he allowed so much space down the wing as a result and Saints, like every other team were taking advantage of this. Agger was constantly having to go over and fill in where Johnson should have been because he made no attempt to get back over to the left.

Possession wise he wasn't good either, his passes were sub-standard and I can't remember so much as one half decent delivery in either. What pissed me off most about him though was his attitude, in second half he had the chance to pass it but chose to try and take on his man and he ran it straight out of play straight away with a poor touch. Instead of trying to make amends and get back into position he stood there waving his arms around moaning at his team mates in the midfield.

I was hoping he would have improved by having a rest but he was still the half arsed liability he was before his rest.

Aly Cissokho might be crap but at least he tries and he was actually improving and wasn't scared to put the tackle in.

Top of my list for players to be sold this summer I'm afraid, just doesn't seem to have the fight or put in the effort.

Sorry Beerbelly but I don't agree.

That's okay 7KK7. We see it differently.

I notice he's top of your list of players to be sold this summer. Maybe this is your preconception of the bloke and you're only looking for negatives in his game to vindicate your stance?

I don't know, but I don't think he was as bad as a couple have made out.

Apart from a crucial intervention to stop them scoring first half he was mediocre enough and just about got away with it performance wise . Let's face it lads he's not the Glen we once knew . Had Enrique been fit Glen wouldn't have been anywhere near that pitch yesterday.

That's okay 7KK7. We see it differently.

I notice he's top of your list of players to be sold this summer. Maybe this is your preconception of the bloke and you're only looking for negatives in his game to vindicate your stance?

I don't know, but I don't think he was as bad as a couple have made out.

How does that work? If he doesn't rate him of course he will advocate Glen being sold.

He doesn't need to vindicate anything in Glen's performance to say "I think we should sell him" because he didn't rate him in the first place.

How does that work? If he doesn't rate him of course he will advocate Glen being sold.

He doesn't need to vindicate anything in Glen's performance to say "I think we should sell him" because he didn't rate him in the first place.

There you go then, if he thinks he needs to be sold (quite clearly he isn't rated by some) it's plausible that he won't recognise a good performance anyway.

So, really there isn't much objectivity to be had in the first place if a preconception is made based on the fact he should be sold.

I will admit I'm not Glen's biggest fan but he was more than adequate against a decent Saints side. Some people on here obviously prefer Cissoko   

GLEN JOHNSON EXCLUSIVE: I lost respect for Mourinho after he broke a promise... that's why Rodgers is a better boss

Glen Johnson is explaining why Brendan Rodgers is a better manager than Jose Mourinho.
‘It was difficult for me under Jose at Chelsea because there was a moment when he said I deserved to play on merit,’ he recalls. ‘He said if I played well in the next game I would play the week after.  I got man of the match so he couldn’t drop me.
‘Then in the next game he said the same thing and I got man of the match again. Then we had another game and after that Barcelona. I remember speaking to my agent and saying, “He won’t play me in this game because if I play well then he has to play me against Barcelona”, and I knew that wasn’t going to happen.He didn’t play me in that game and from that moment I just lost it and thought, “Well, how am I meant to respect you now? It’s just finished”.
‘Brendan wouldn’t do that. He’s shown that if you’re good enough you’re old enough and you’ll play in the big games if you deserve to. So in terms of man-management, Brendan is definitely better.’
While Johnson’s time at  Chelsea — or specifically, his time there under Mourinho — is the only period of a 12-year top-flight career about which he harbours regrets, it did afford him the chance to work with Rodgers, whose star quality, Johnson says, was already obvious.
‘You could see he had aims to become a manager,’ he says. ‘He was travelling all over the place to pick up new techniques from coaches and obviously he was fortunate enough to work for Mourinho. Mourinho is one of the best in the world and I would never say he’s not because of what happened between us. But Brendan is different to Jose, he has his own mentality and is definitely one of the best.’
Liverpool have improved dramatically this campaign. At this stage last season they were 29 points off top spot compared to only four now and Johnson believes Rodgers deserves credit for sticking with his philosophy, even when results weren’t going their way.
‘Some managers like the thought of playing the way Brendan does but haven’t got the confidence or knowhow to pull it off. Others would probably have panicked and changed their philosophy just to try and win. But Brendan was mentally strong enough and knew what he was trying to implement was right and that once we grabbed hold of it we would be a success.’
And so it has proved. Liverpool may be, in Rodgers’ words, the ‘chihuahuas’ of the title race but Johnson is adamant they deserve to be taken seriously as contenders.
Moreover, he can see similarities between this Liverpool team and the Chelsea team he was part of which won two Premier League titles under Mourinho.
We believe we can win every game and I remember having that feeling at Chelsea,’ recalls the  29-year-old right back as he relaxes at Melwood after training. ‘The first year we won the title (2005) we could be losing 2-0 and still think we would win, and we usually would. That was confidence at its peak and we are moving towards that at Liverpool.
‘You have to believe you can win the league and until there are not enough points available we’ll keep thinking we can. We’ve got 10 cup finals, really, because we can’t afford to lose games or drop many points because Manchester City and Chelsea won’t.
‘City are favourites because they could field a second team that would be competitive, and you can’t compete with that. So we will need a bit of luck but we are definitely good enough.
‘Our goal at the start of the season was to finish in the top four and that is still our minimum aim. Finishing third, second or winning the title is a bonus but we are in a good position.’
So, where has this dramatic improvement come from? Johnson, who will win his 50th England cap against Denmark, insists it is natural evolution rather than behind-the-scenes revolution. ‘The character and mentality in this squad are different,’ he says. ‘There were games last season when we battered teams and didn’t get results. We’ve got more of a killer instinct this year.
‘In previous seasons, when Stoke (in January) pegged us back to 2-2, people would have crumbled or not felt relaxed enough to play their own game and we might have drawn or even lost. So to score five and get three points at a ground where we hadn’t won in the Premier League was a big statement. We are a different side now.’
Johnson, it seems, has been a different player, too. A runaway success last season, he knows he has been below-par this time but refuses to blame it solely on his struggles with injury, although he admits he played through the pain for three months.
Ultimately the strain of three injuries — the most concerning being a torn ankle ligament — became too great and he was forced to take five weeks off before returning to action last Saturday.
‘It was mentally tough because I want to perform how I’m used to and know I’m capable of doing, but my ankle was blocked so much that I couldn’t run properly. I couldn’t move it more than 90 degrees so when I was running I was basically limping.
‘Brendan was aware of the injuries but he was asking me to do a job for the team and every footballer wants to play.
‘At first I could play with the injuries but it got to the point where across all three it was affecting my performance and it was time to stop. Now I feel miles better. I’ve got that flexibility back in my ankle and I can run properly.’
Johnson is not trying to make excuses and he accepts some of the criticism which has come his way is justified. However, he laughs off the suggestions of those who doubt his ability to defend.
‘I know I could have had a better season,’ he admits. ‘But you can’t play 12 years in the Premier League and not have a bad couple of weeks. I’m my biggest critic and I don’t need to be told when I’m playing badly.
‘You don’t get 49 England caps, play in World Cups and European Championships, you don’t win the Premier League twice, the League Cup twice and the FA Cup if you can’t defend. It’s that simple.
‘No disrespect, but you’d be in the Championship.’

From the fail

Good words from Johnson.

However, he laughs off the suggestions of those who doubt his ability to defend.

I think this is one of the biggest fallacies thrown Glen's way.