Just thinking of our opening few fixtures as to how easy/difficult Johnson's settling in period will be.
Spurs away. Now if Redknapp is any sort of this great manager we're led to believe, he'll slap Lennon on the left wing. Yes it's out of position, but Johnson will be wanting to make an impact on his Liverpool debut and somebody like Lennon can keep Johnson doing what he's less comfortable doing - defending. With somebody with Lennon's, it'd be hard to push up in fear of leaving space in behind. Other than that, I don't think Johnson would have too much trouble because I don't rate Bale at all.
Stoke home. First game at Anfield should be as easy as taking a piss if last year's games are anything to go by. Stoke will come to Anfield and not attack, which means the attacking prowess of our full backs comes under more scrutiny. To see if they can provide that extra width and drag a few defenders out of position for more space for the likes of Torres and Gerrard.
I think the following game at home to Villa could be more of a challenge. Like Spurs, Villa have a very pacey winger in Ashley Young who can give full backs the run around. Again it'll be risky to roam forward at will while leaving the space in behind for somebody like Young to exploit. And unlike Stoke, I wouldn't take too much notice of this fixture in the 08/09 season because at that time Villa had give up and we'd hit our peak. In August, it'll be much different I imagine.
And we end the month away to Bolton who are a very physical side, so it'll give us an indication to see if Johnson can handle that side of the game. Although down their left it's likely to be either Matty Taylor or Gardener, neither of whom are overly physical. Taylor I'd be weary over though, because given a yard of space he can deliver quality, he shows that in his set pieces. So it'll be important to close him down quickly.
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