Glen Johnson May Have Improved This Weekend But He's Still In The Wrong Position

In this catastrophic season of Liverpool's, everything imaginable has gone wrong. A team that challenged for the title two years ago are now fortunate to be in the top half of the table. If there is one player who personifies the Liverpudlian inadequacies experiences this season, it has to be Glen Johnson. Like much of the team he has been in and out of the side with frustrating injuries and, when picked, he has been tame going forward and unstable in defence. Yesterday, facing his former club, he made some amends: scoring Liverpool's first goal, acting as a potent outlet down Liverpool's right, and playing his part in ensuring a clean sheet.

Johnson's good game, it must be remembered, came against West Ham - a team languishing at the foot of the table, less goals conceded by only Blackpool, and more scored than only Wigan. West Ham United are, in short, a side that should be comfortably beaten by even this Liverpool side. Its in this games, games where you can expect to dominate and press the opposition, that playing a winger in the position of a full back can be accepted. In other cases it is ridiculous.

That is what Glen Johnson is - a winger lost in the role of full back. Johnson has fantastic shooting ability, can cross the ball, and likes to (and is very able to) beat his man. Johnson however does not have a great understanding of how to defend, cannot tackle without a great risk of fouling the opposition, and is a liability when defending balls in the air. For some reason though, he is deployed in a position where his primary role is to defend, and attacking duties come on top of this. This reason is the view that modern full backs needs to be skilled in joining in attacks and provide width. Yes, fullbacks should venture forward. And yes, you want a player venturing forward to be competent in doing so, but these abilities must come as an added bonus once you have a full back that is able to defend.

A team requires stability in its defence - there must four consistent defenders in the team that can be relied on every week to minimise the chances of conceding. The wide defenders are useful for providing width during attacks, and while the team have possession they are not all that necessary at the back, but when called upon to defend it is vital that they are able to do so. A full back must be selected first and foremost for their defensive capabilities, and when a player (such as Ashley Cole) can defend and also offers great skill in attack, this is an added bonus. When a defender is picked for his non-defensive capabilities, it must be the centreback, who's passing is needed to link to the midfield and prevent the team from being pinned back, and who's aerial  prowess is often useful at both ends.

Glen Johnson has a better touch, shot and cross that Dirk Kuyt yet plays behind him. This is madness