Do unto Johnson what Tottenham did to Bale

Saturday saw the return of Glen Johnson to the Liverpool team after injury and he helped Liverpool to a 3-0 win over West Ham. Johnson did his part in the game by scoring the first goal. Johnson had a solid game just like the rest of the Liverpool team as they put in commanding performance.

There had been a lot of talk about Johnson going into the game. He had been injured and was not playing well and he took a lot of flak from the fans and Roy Hodgson. But that squabble between Johnson and Hodgson seems to have been resolved now and thus we see Johnson back in the team.

I have never believed that Johnson is a good right back. He is a great player but he is playing out of position. To be an good and effective right back you need to be able to defend, something Johnson does not do well. There is no denying that Johnson is a great footballer and going forward he is a joy to watch.

This now brings me to believe that Liverpool should do to Johnson what Spurs did with Gareth Bale. Bale was initially a left back and he never made much of an impact for Spurs in that position. He has since been moved to left wing for Spurs and he is one of the most talked about players in the game today. He is playing much better out on the wing where he can attack as much as he wants to and not have to focus a lot on his defensive responsibilities. If Liverpool were to do the same to Johnson and move him out of right back and push him forward to right wing / midfield, I think we will see the best out of Johnson. And for Liverpool it should be easy to do now as Martin Kelly is an able replacement to come in at right back and thus you allow Johnson to push forward.

Johnson may not have the pace of Bale but he certainly knows how to attack and beat his man. Johnson has a good eye for goal as has been seen by some of the cracker goals he has scored in his career so he would also be a goal scoring threat from midfield.

 Loading ...