Phillip Buckley
At first glance Glen Johnson looks a strange signing for Rafael Benitez to begin the summer with, even stranger when considering the cash-strapped Anfield club (compared to other members of the big four) are paying £17M for the right-back. But on closer inspection it could prove to be a signing absolutely crucial to Benitez’s development of the side into consistent title challengers and ultimately, winners of the biggest prize in English football.
At £17M it is true many will feel Johnson is overpriced, especially Reds fans who know that despite false media reports, Fernando Torres cost just £3M more, yet the picture is not as it at first appears. Liverpool are still owed in the region of £7M by Portsmouth for the transfer of Peter Crouch – not unusual since Premier League transfer fees are normally spread across several years. So, in the scheme of things, Liverpool are paying £10M for a young, English international full-back who has just enjoyed an outstanding season in a troubled Portsmouth side. Consider that and the deal suddenly seems a lot less risky.
The reasons Benitez wanted Johnson go deeper than just a reaction to the impressive 2008/09 campaign however. Liverpool’s Spanish coach is a cleverer thinker than that. Glen Johnson offers the opportunity to address a need the Reds have arguably had for Benitez’s entire reign thus far, that of a full-back as competent going forward as he is at the back. In an era of total football, when full-backs must be wingers in an instant, slow plodding defensive minded play-it-safe full-backs have grown outdated. And since the days of Markus Babbel Liverpool have had exactly that.
In signing Johnson Benitez gets closer to exactly what he wants at right-back, a player to give that extra attacking dimension to the Reds. Previous right-backs such as Josemi, Jamie Carragher, Alvaro Arbeloa and Steve Finnan were the correct fit for what Liverpool needed at the time – defensive solidity. Alas none of them were the type to give opposing full-backs any real cause for concern. And while Carragher went on to establish himself in the centre of Liverpool’s defence and Arbeloa performed creditably, both Finnan and Josemi have never turned out for a club of equal stature since exiting Merseyside.
But Johnson won’t just add attacking ability to Anfield’s right flank, he will also throw another British passport in to the mix. At a time when UEFA are continuing to pursue quotas of home-grown players for the Champions League and Europa League, Johnson nailing down a first-team spot will allow Benitez flexibility elsewhere.
Nor can the former Chelsea man’s appreciation of what is required to visit places like Stoke’s Britannia Stadium and fight for three vital points (something Liverpool failed to do last season) be forgotten. When 90% of foreign imports take time to adapt to the rigours of the English game isn’t this a quality worth paying a little extra for? With a title challenge expected again next season, taking a chance on another Andrea Dossena (a flop Benitez will do well to sell this summer) is not the order of the day.
Johnson of course isn’t the first time Benitez has attempted to sign to add that something extra to Liverpool’s defensive flanks. The summer of 2006 saw an ongoing transfer saga involving now Barcelona right-back Dani Alves. Benitez was desperate to conclude a deal for the Brazilian, but on a tight budget no deal could be reached with Sevilla. A player Benitez was desperate to sign slipped the net, and is now heralded as one of, if not the, best attacking right-backs in the world.
Where Alves may not have wanted the Anfield move quite as much as signals at the time suggested, there can be no doubt that this latest arrival very much wants to pull on the red shirt. With both Chelsea and Manchester City sniffing around (and in Chelsea’s case even having an equal bid to Liverpool’s accepted by Portsmouth) Johnson gave them both short shrift, and at the same time gave Benitez’s project an overwhelming vote of confidence. Such a choice should not be overlooked, and perhaps suggests that the accepted media wisdom that moneybags Chelsea and Manchester City remain a better long term bet for glory than recent runners-up Liverpool is not necessarily a view shared by those who play the game.
This summer remains a crucial one for Benitez. Whilst second place is so often a mandatory stopping off place in the pursuit of glory it can just as well be a high watermark, not to be reached again, as in the case of his predecessor Gerard Houllier. The ins and outs at Anfield in the next six weeks should give everyone a better insight as to which way Benitez’s Liverpool will go. Glen Johnson is a step in the right direction no doubt, but it will all be for naught if he is not followed by further quality and players such as Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso are lost.
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