I wonder how many posters would still prefer to sell or bench Glen even if he played to the best of his abilities. I recall our match at Stamford bridge not long ago when he scored a beaut of winner coming inside from the right after slaloming past the Chav midfield. Now, I'm sure he was motivated especially for that game, being his ex-club and all, but it shows you how he can win games for us if he puts his mind to it.
If we saw the true Glen Johnson every three or four games then opinions would be different. that's the problem, he stinks of not caring and doesn't perform anywhere near the level we know he can. He appears to be collecting his pension. I've defended Johnson many times over the last few years but this season I just haven't bothered because he's not pulling his weight. I've also gone on record as saying I'd rather have a consistent performer (Finnan/Arbeloa) that a top quality player that performs once in a while (Johnson/Aurelio) including accounting for injuries. A Finnan / Arbeloa doesn't offer as much going forward but they do provide reliability through consistency. I believe Jon Flanagan can be this player mixed with the Jamie Carragher desire / passion for the club.
simple phackts are 1. 100k per week 2. injured a lot 3. looks fit one week, fat the next. 4. can go forward 5. can't defend at set piece all in all..... the wages is the main issue
A mediocre player, by pride or skill, would not aim at getting strings of Man of the Match awards like Glen states he stated in the article. I agree his personality is melancholy almost for a footballer, but I doubt very much he is unmotivatable. It's tough to unlock such types. I, for one, haven't lost patience with Glen and I hope Rodgers, the title race, the aliens, any one, manages to push his buttons in our final stretch.
Can you remember when he last had a shout kof getting MOTM? Never mind actually winning it? Thats also a individual glory, not a team success.
Not sure about the MOTM - defence usually don't get them. This year he's been well below par throughout, but imo last year Glen was one of our better players. Players with easy talent and athleticism fascinate me if they are also intelligent, and I admit I am biased toward them, and tend to blame the coach, the sports psychologist, the environment before I give up on them. I love to believe that they can be sparked back to full life if the circumstances are tailored to them. Barros, remember him, used to like him for the same reason. Nowdays many quality players go through bad seasons and recoup the next, so patience is needed with the spoilt brats, the primadonas and the melancholics (I put Glen in the latter) An extreme example: Aquilani - now that was a (talented?) dud that disappointed me deeply - though his problem was injuries and being an italian mamas boy. I did give up on him before we let him go, but reluctantly so, knowing that somewhere he'd flourish if free of injuries. He had a hatrick for Fiorentina a month ago and is doing well for them.
Good player, my main issue is his injuries! Its important to have a stable defense, this season we've had anything but and we've shipped goals costing us maybe leading the title race. The thing is Johnson is pretty much guaranteed to spend half the season out injured which disrupts the back line by having to bring someone in then waiting for him to get match fit when he comes back in. In reality Johnson doesn't really win us any points now we have SAS, so I'd be happy just having a steady fullback that can defend well, decent passer and in possession, and who can stay fit for most of the season to give us a stable back line.
