As we saw once again against Birmingham on Monday, Glen Johnson's best work this season continues to come when he's playing higher up the field. Should Liverpool capitalise on this and convert him into a permanent right-winger?
In my view, the Birmingham game illustrated once again the occasional defensive lapses to which Johnson is prone; his failure to push out quick enough meant Christian Benitez was onside when he scored the equalising goal.
Liverpool's defence has been woeful this season, and although there are several reasons for this, it is no coincidence that the worst defensive form in years has coincided with Johnson's arrival at Anfield.
Johnson was superb attacking form against Birmingham and made far more of an impact on the right than the increasingly ineffective Dirk Kuyt. As such, I believe Liverpool should capitalise on his attacking prowess and convert him into a full-time right winger.
PROS
* A genuinely skillful attacking threat on the right for the first time since Steve McManaman left.
* A right side-player capable of dribbling and getting past players. How refreshing!
* As a defender at heart, he would not shirk his defensive responsibilities as a right midfielder.
* Liverpool could save money as they would not have to buy another right-winger in the future.
CONS
I can't see any.
Dirk Kuyt is not a bad player by any means, but I refuse to accept that he is the best Liverpool can do on the right. With Johnson in his position, Kuyt could cover for Torres up front and/or simply share the position with Johnson. After all, in the modern game, you need at least two quality players per position.
Obviously, whilst so many players are injures this idea is a non-starter, but if/when everyone is fit, we could see these possible formations:
------------------------ Reina
Kelly -------- Carra/Agger - Skrtel --------- Insua
----------------------- Masch
-------------- Aquilani ---- Gerrard
Johnson ------------------------------ Benayoun
------------------- Torres
Or:
------------------------ Reina
Kelly -------- Carra/Agger - Skrtel --------- Insua
----------------- Masch ----- Aquilani
Johnson -------------- Gerrard ---------- Benayoun
---------------------- Torres
or:
------------------------ Reina
Kelly -------- Carra/Agger - Skrtel --------- Insua
Johnson ------- Gerrard ----- Aquilani ----- Benayoun
------------------- Kuyt --- Torres
I think Martin Kelly would be an able deputy for Johnson, who would be able to raid down the right in every game. And how great would that be?
Liverpool need to adapt. We have a player in the squad who is suspect defensively at times but superb going forward. Should persist with the way things are and risk leaking more important goals in the future, or should he capitalise on Johnson's attacking prowess and make the change?
In Kuyt's case, it would be somewhat ironic if he was ousted from his position by a player being converted from another position (!), but in my view, this change is essential.
Sadly, we all know that the likelihood of this happening is negligible given Rafa's favouritism for Kuyt, but that may not last forever. (Right - who am I kidding?!)
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In my view, the Birmingham game illustrated once again the occasional defensive lapses to which Johnson is prone; his failure to push out quick enough meant Christian Benitez was onside when he scored the equalising goal.
Liverpool's defence has been woeful this season, and although there are several reasons for this, it is no coincidence that the worst defensive form in years has coincided with Johnson's arrival at Anfield.
Johnson was superb attacking form against Birmingham and made far more of an impact on the right than the increasingly ineffective Dirk Kuyt. As such, I believe Liverpool should capitalise on his attacking prowess and convert him into a full-time right winger.
PROS
* A genuinely skillful attacking threat on the right for the first time since Steve McManaman left.
* A right side-player capable of dribbling and getting past players. How refreshing!
* As a defender at heart, he would not shirk his defensive responsibilities as a right midfielder.
* Liverpool could save money as they would not have to buy another right-winger in the future.
CONS
I can't see any.
Dirk Kuyt is not a bad player by any means, but I refuse to accept that he is the best Liverpool can do on the right. With Johnson in his position, Kuyt could cover for Torres up front and/or simply share the position with Johnson. After all, in the modern game, you need at least two quality players per position.
Obviously, whilst so many players are injures this idea is a non-starter, but if/when everyone is fit, we could see these possible formations:
------------------------ Reina
Kelly -------- Carra/Agger - Skrtel --------- Insua
----------------------- Masch
-------------- Aquilani ---- Gerrard
Johnson ------------------------------ Benayoun
------------------- Torres
Or:
------------------------ Reina
Kelly -------- Carra/Agger - Skrtel --------- Insua
----------------- Masch ----- Aquilani
Johnson -------------- Gerrard ---------- Benayoun
---------------------- Torres
or:
------------------------ Reina
Kelly -------- Carra/Agger - Skrtel --------- Insua
Johnson ------- Gerrard ----- Aquilani ----- Benayoun
------------------- Kuyt --- Torres
I think Martin Kelly would be an able deputy for Johnson, who would be able to raid down the right in every game. And how great would that be?
Liverpool need to adapt. We have a player in the squad who is suspect defensively at times but superb going forward. Should persist with the way things are and risk leaking more important goals in the future, or should he capitalise on Johnson's attacking prowess and make the change?
In Kuyt's case, it would be somewhat ironic if he was ousted from his position by a player being converted from another position (!), but in my view, this change is essential.
Sadly, we all know that the likelihood of this happening is negligible given Rafa's favouritism for Kuyt, but that may not last forever. (Right - who am I kidding?!)
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Actually agree with this. Kelly and Johnson down the right would mean we have two pacy players, both great going forward and both great defensively.
ReplyDeleteDon't you think that one of Johnsons greatest attacking abilities is that he attacks from the defence? In my opinion, if you play him as a right winger he will have far less space to work his magic and will be less effective than when he bombs forward and provides an overlap for the right winger
ReplyDeleteAgree, Johnson works well going forward because he runs from deep, and their right back is mostly concerned with kuyts movement, might be interesting if kuyts injured - but that is rare because kuyt is such a hero.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. I don't get what difference it makes whether Johnson attacks from defence or as a dedicated right winger. Why would he have far less space? As a dedicated winger, he wouldn't ned to provide an overlap - he could just bomb forward without having to worry about whether someone was covering. How did Mcmanaman have so much space? John Barnes? Indeed, how does any winger get space to work their magic? They're good at what they do, and if they're skilful enough, they'll make space.
ReplyDeleteAt the moment, we only sporadically see Johnson's attacking runs. in some games, we don't see them at all because he's tied up with defending duties.
Been thinking this for a while. He was great in that position at Pompey when Redknap played him there a couple of times. Kelly looks like he's keen get forward so it's a win win. Really keen on the lad Kelly. Bags of potential just needs the experience. I think those two would have a field day interchanging with eachother.
ReplyDeletefor once i agree. me and the lads were talking about this during the birmingham game.
ReplyDeletethe only problem is rafa. sadly i cant ever see him dropping kuyt.
But, yes- GJ would be a great winger.
Its an occasional option but I think that if he played as an out and out right winger he may not have the same impact. As a fullback he is able to get forward and double up on the opposing left back. It requires the other team's left sided player to track back. With Kuyt there in front of him the opposing team's left back has to firstly keep an eye on Kuyt. It is upto the opposing left sided player to keep track of Johnson. And this is why he effective because he gets a little more space than an out and out right winger would.
ReplyDeleteLets say for example he did play at right wing against the likes of Cole or Evra. One on one would he have the same impact? Now if Kuyt was playing at right wing, Cole or Evra would have to mark Kuyt which allows Johnson more space.
The other thing is that with Kuyt on the right, it gives us another attacking option. With Johnson on the right Kuyt can drift inside and play more as a secondary striker. Gives our front line a bit more flow. Plus it again gives Johnson a bit more space as when Kuyt drifts in either the opposing left follows him inside or is at least wary of his presence.
Also lets not forget that Kuyt has scored 3 and has 2 assists in 12 games, whereas Johnson has 2 goals and 1 assist in 11 games. So Kuyt still has more assists having played one more game. He's not playing that well at the moment, like the rest of the team, but he still is effective in my view.
As I said its an option, but I think he would be more effective as an attacking fullback.
can you really put kelly down as first choice right back when he hasn't even played 90 minutes for the club?
ReplyDeleteKelly has been great for the reserves whenever I've seen him play. He was great in the first team. The only way he'll improve is if he makes the step up. Given the fact this season is pretty much a write-off, there's no better time to blood him in into the team. Plus, it would save us monehy on buying another right back. After allm isn't that what the youth team/resevres etc is for?
ReplyDeletebeing great in the reserves doesn't mean he's ready to step up to being a first choice premiership right back. i thought he was great in the european game, but that's not enough to say, 'ok son, the positions yours'.
ReplyDeletei also don't think johnson is weak in defence. i think it's a myth that people always roll out for attacking full backs. when he gets caught out ouf position it's not soley his fault - his manager is asking him to attack at certain opportunities, and if a move breaks down a team mate should be covering.
i also don't think the season is a 'write off'. it's still early days, and the league isn't won in november.even if that is beyond us, there is still euro qualifiaction and 2 cups to play for. i would like to see more of kelly, and it's a position that i think he could deputise for johnson, but a first team regular? no way.
Bang on the money Jaimie!, Kelly will be a future 'Liverpool Captain' he is that good a player. Johnson in front of him would be awesome.
ReplyDeleteWe have seen how good Johnson is raiding forward...and we have seen Kelly doing likewise recently...they have the same trait of willing to take on people. Yes good idea but Rafa is one stubborn ARIES...blame it on the stars now! He can be very thorough system wise but attention to minute details, like changes of this type is not his cup of tea unless someone close to him whom he respect technically can convince him...anyone close to him perhaps Dalglish. Jaimie you have connections to Dalglish?
ReplyDeleteSpot on mark.
ReplyDeleteGiven the fact Kuyt balways plays further up the field than Johnson, isn't his increased goals/assists tally to be expected? if Johnson played on the right wing all the time I'm sure he'd have more goals/assists.
ReplyDeleteAgree with you about giving Kelly a chance this season. Also, whats happend to Darby?
ReplyDeleteIf you're good enough, you're good enough. You seem to share Benitez's ultra cautious approach. the question we should be asking is 'is there anything to suggest Kelly CAN'T handle it in the first team?
ReplyDeleteI would argue no.
Youth players have to make the step up sometime; they can't just be kept in the reserves because of some intangible notion of 'not being ready'. From the evidence we've seen so far, he is read in my view. I any event, the only way he is going to improve is if he plays competitive games. If he fails, then he fails, but we'll never know until he's given a consistent chance.
I'm not suggesting that Kelly plays every game, but he could be phased in, and over this season he could make the position his own, s next season we could have Johnson on the tright permanently.
It will never happen because of Rafa's preference for Kuyt, but I see no reason why it would not work.
Right back is not the most important position in the team; Johnson is wasted there.
Another thing to consider: Kelly is 6'3, which would provide more aerial dominance in defence.
ReplyDeleteYes i do agree . I`m sure he will be great as a right winger but kuyt should be in the team aswell he works so hard
ReplyDeleteNot bad for,at least u gave less negativity in this article. IT WUD be interesting to see how Johnson wud adapt to position... nice one Jamie
ReplyDeleteWhat about playing Darby & Spearing too??? 2 local lads...
ReplyDeleteThey can't play worse than the likes of Skrtel, Insua & Lucas play at the moment!
But Johnson already did play right midfield, and he didn't do too well from what I remember...
ReplyDeletelucas has been one of our best players this season, very consistent and such an improvement.
ReplyDeletei think spearing will be a good player, but he's had 2 stinkers this season, very much out of his depth. where he was born doesn't come into it.
True but that isn't actually the main point of what I wrote, it was a more a digression stating that Kuyt is still doing a decent job.
ReplyDeleteThe main point is regarding the space (or lack of space) that he would have as an out and out winger. Someone above mentioned it and you asked why he would have less space. I've tried to answer that. Your comments on that point would be better.
Its fairly simple; if the LB is marking Kuyt then Johnson can overlap. If the LM doesn't track back then Johnson has space. At the same time, if Kuyt drifts inside then Johnson has more space as the LB would have to drift in with Kuyt. If he doesn't then Kuyt has more space to utilise. Now if Johnson was the right winger he would be the LB's main player to track, which would give him less freedom and space.
We also don't know good Johnson is with his back to defenders. If the ball comes to him from deep does he have the touch and awareness to bring other players into the game. Remember being a winger isn't just about having the ball and running at the defender.
The system may work if we have another right back who is as good as Johnson but we don't. You say Kelly but in reality he's a centre back and not a fullback. You know how you don't like square pegs in round holes.
What you're basically saying is that any attacking fullback can play in midfield which I don't believe they can. Has Evra or Cole ever played in midfield for their respective clubs. They're both very good at attacking too. Why weren't Cafu and Robesto Carlos played as wingers?
Again I'm not saying its a bad option to have if we have injuries but I don't think its a long term solution.
Not for me, not yet anyway - as others have pointed out, Johnson looks great going forward precisely because he's coming from deep and would be far more easily picked up playing right wing. Given Kuyts stats last season it's ludicrous to say he's becoming less effective, if anything he's getting better and better and showed some fine, never thought I'd be saying this, first touches in the Birmingham game, his overall intelligence and workrate makes the space and allows Johnson to break forward.
ReplyDeleteBig fan of what I've seen from Kelly but it's not a suggestion I'd support at all. As for RB not being an important position - Cafu & Carlos were two of the most influential players in that Brazilian team and Johnson offers us something special from RB which I love.
Good question on Darby - he has always looked promising. I'd thought the same on Spearing but fear he's not going to make it, whoever thought he was better than Lucas really can't watch the actual games themselves.. ludicrous. Although it's a cliche Spearing just doesn't have the stature to survive in the CM position for a top half premiership team. Sad but true.
rafa probably has more of an insight to kelly's abilities than you or i. the lad has only played around 70 minutes of top level football, it's impossible to judge him on that. spending £18m on an international right back, then playing him out of position, and sticking an untried kid in his place? madness.
ReplyDeletein your original post, you've got kelly down as right back in all of the formations. who would play to give him a rest? degen, or switch johnson back?
think johnson could work as a tactical alternative to kuyt on occasions, but in general i don't think it would work. people generally think he gets caught out of position as a defender, would that change as a midfielder? with 1 striker up top, kuyt offers so much on the right, especially when he drifts into the middle. part of the reason johnson can be so effective raiding from full back is because of the work kuyt puts in, dragging opposition out of position.
in summary - i reckon kelly could be a good player, but he's got a long way to go.
I think Gary's observations above, with respect the amount of space afforded to Johnson as a full-back, are absolutely correct. While he might be able to perform the role of a winger on occassion (particularly during an injury crisis), he would be considerably more effective as an attacking fullback. Jonathan Wilson's superb tactical ruminations on the importance of this position in the modern game are especially enlightening - http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/mar/25/the-question-full-backs-football
ReplyDeleteKuyt has a few bad games and all the haters come back for him. How about Glen jonhson focusing on his defending because our problem is at the back, not up front.
ReplyDeleteGreat point that. my thoughts exactly. It's amazing how one-track minded some folks are when raising debate over player selection or formation (aimed at Jamie Kenwar). If it was as easy as selecting 11 players on match day, then I have no doubt that any person could manage a football team. The point of playing Johnson at right midfield opens a whole can of worms and would certainly expose many attributes that we have yet to see from him. The most pertinent would be whether he could play with his back towards goal, another would be his first touch under pressure (something Michael Owen has never been able to master), another would be his awareness under pressure, another would be his field positioning, another would be his decision making with his back towards goal. I have only just touched the tip of the iceberg here and already there are alot of questions. Another set of questions would be totally off-field related, e.g. the extra press attention on Glenn, if we lost another game Rafa would be exposed to criticism for his judgement (something that numerous other managers in the past have been accused of, one of which is Gerrard Houllier moments before he was shown the exit door). In agreement with JK, playing Johnson at right-midfield is an idea that could be investigated, just not at such a vulnerable time. We need stability and results and our first 11 with Johnson playing at right-back is the way forward. There is plenty of time for experiments when things start to improve.
ReplyDeleteit's funny how some players are only given one opportunity - not necessarily even 90 minutes - to prove themselves, whereas others (e.g. Kuyt and Lucas) get numerous consecutive FULL GAMES to play themselves into form...
ReplyDeleteyet does he get dropped or even subbed after yet another spell of a 'few bad games'??
ReplyDeletebtw, it's not like Johnson is getting some great support from Kuyt defensively. Any quality full back is allowed to run straight onto him at will repeatedly still from what I've seen, while Johnson is still giving the responsibility of providing ALL attacking forays from the right for the team
Rafa spent £11m on an international striker (Kuyt) that couldn't cut it in the Premiership, plays him out of position (RM) and sticks an untried kid in his place (Ngog). What's the difference?
ReplyDeletePretty much any that gets Kuyt out of that midfield birth is a good idea to me! Let him compete with Torres and Ngog up front instead of just creating a position to keep him in the team.
For my money, I think Johnson is better as a rightback than he would be in midfield, but would be better served with Gerrard having the free role in front of him that Kuyt currently holds. Gerrard's already proven that he can be just as productive from out there (his first 20goal season was with him playing from out wide), would offer Johnson better cover than any other alternative, would stil have the freedom to support Torres, and would still provide the team with the opportunity to slide Benayoun/Aquilani through the center thereby enhancing the teams creative talent
kuyt cost £9m and had already played on the wide right for both holland and feyenoord, and didn't stick ngog in his place...kuyt has been playing on the right for liverpool for over 2 years now.
ReplyDeletei've never been a kuyt fan until last season when he finally came to terms with what the position requires. him and johnson are a great combination down the right.
not bad points, not bad team but insua??? he had a good last season, but hes getting caught out way too much and is slow... aurelio definitely
ReplyDeleteKelly has been with England right through his career so far, he is a special talent and plays just as well at centre back. Along with Ngog scoring regularly and Insua, nobody can say our kids aren'good enough. the reserves are 6pts clear at the top of the table scoring loads of goals, good times ahead!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMark - we can argue about the cost of Kuyt, but he is commonly regarded as an £11m purchase, although that is irrelevant in this particular debate. It is a fact that he was bought as a striker though, and has since been shifted to play from right midfield.
ReplyDeleteJust as Kuyt may have occassionaly played as a wing forward in the past before we bought him, Glen Johnson has played in midfield for Portsmouth, in the Premiership, yet nobody would argue that we bought him as a midfielder. Right?
I think the difference is that as a fullback, he's not really marking anyone. Jonathan Wilson noted that the ones who've benefitted more from a move to a 442/4231 are the fullbacks because the midfield ends up cancelling each other out, and the 2 strikers are up against one another, leaving the fullbacks unmarked, and thus the no. of attacking fullbacks we have in the game today - Ashley Cole, Johnson, Evra, even Insua gets up. Johnson may not have as much space to work with at right mid.
ReplyDeleteI was actually thinking the same thing, but then that would again leave us thin at right back. And how much can we depend on Kelly, really? He may have the talent, but he's not experienced enough. I'd much rather stick with Kuyt, because his industry allows Johnson to get forward. The best right mid we currently have in the team is Gerrard, though, but he'll sulk if played out of position. If he did play there, though, a lot of our problems would be solved.
Oh, and also, Jaimie, you seem to think that Johnson being in the team has somehow contributed to our defensive frailties. Look at how many times we've played the same centre-back pairing in consecutive games, and compare it to last year, and see the difference for yourself. Its because of lack of stability at the back.
ReplyDeleteBikram - Gerrard had his coming out season (in terms of producing goals and assists) playing from right midfield, with no complaint. He'd still have a free role out there too, if Kuyt is anything to go by, so would really have nothing worth complaining about...
ReplyDeleteyes, he was brought as a striker and is much better in the position he plays now - which he played before ngog was bought. not exactly sure of the point you're making.
ReplyDeletejohnson might or might not make a good right midfielder (my instinct would say no, but i don't really know), but i don't think it's worth changing the balance of the team for, especially to hand a first team position to a young kid who might or might not be great, but as no one here has seen him play 90 minutes of top flight football, no one can really put an strong argument for him.
all the pro spearing voices suddenly shut up after the sunderland game.
I know, he was really good attacking-wise that season (05/06?), but he complained about it quite a bit.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df2IlUqTE00
If he does do that, we can also switch to a 442 quite easily if we want, and opponents like Chelsea will no longer be able to neutralize him by putting a defensive mid on him. Also, our attacks are too central, this way, they can come from the right as well.
my sentiments exactly (:
ReplyDeletei was musing (while watching Johnson bamboozle liamridgewell) how it might be better for Kuyt and Johnson to swap positions.
Kuyt will never abandon his defensive duties (or anything that Rafa asks of him for that matter) and Johnson has the guile and touches to get behind defenders that Kuyt so desperately needs.
the story of Kuyt: striker turned winger turned defender :D
I used to think why isn't he converted into a defensive midfielder, earlier in the season when even Aurelio was given a chance there. All of his qualities are apparantly more suited to that position than a right winger - good work rate, strong, decent in the air, fills in defensively (apparantly) and can pop up with the odd goal. Obviously he doesn't have much of a first touch or passing vision, but as long as he focused on strolling around at the back where he'd have more time on the ball and just needs to keep the ball moving like Masch or Lucas and he I believe that he could finally be worthy of all of the plaudits that he gets!
ReplyDeleteMark - the point was, we needed a striker and an unproven kid was chosen ahead of Kuyt, an expensive signing who was bought as a striker. So what would be the difference in playing a kid at rightback, while an expensive player who was bought speficially for that position plays elsewhere, where he has played previously?
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I do prefer Johnson as an attacking rightback and don't want to see him in midfield - round pegs for round holes and all that - as I don't see why Liverpool should be fiddling about with players in random positions, aside from in the most difficult injury situations...
In regards to Spearing, I was never in that camp as I honestly believed that Plessis was the most promising of our young central midfielders (although I believe Spearing has shown as much potential, if not more than Lucas), but how many consecutive full games was it before Lucas put in a decent performance??
I would run Babel on the right wing and let the two of them run defenses ragged.
ReplyDeleteHave to just throw in my 2 cents worth here, i think Johnson did well at Portsmouth defensively, they had a different defensive setup there than at Liverpool. So, it is obvious that he will need time to adapt. afetr all he's only been here since August, what is that 4 months. not 4 years, give him time to adapt to the system and gradually improve as well. as for going forward, for him theres not much difference and that is why he might look better as an attacking option in our team... he is actually a quality fullback, he just needs to find that same balance he had at portsmouth, i.e. adapt to our defensive system
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree he's good going forward and maybe Kelly or even Derby are better defensively than he is, I can't see Rafa changing the formation from 4-5-1 meaning Kuyt would be out of the side, which although GJ might be better getting crosses in than Kuyt, I don't think he has the stamina and definitely won't chase down the opposition as much so overall I can see the side being weaker.<span></span>
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree he's good going forward and maybe Kelly or even Derby are better defensively than he is, I can't see Rafa changing the formation from 4-5-1 meaning Kuyt would be out of the side, which although GJ might be better getting crosses in than Kuyt, I don't think he has the stamina and definitely won't chase down the opposition as much so overall I can see the side being weaker.
ReplyDeletePeople seem to bag on Kuyt a lot. Believe me, if you asked me about Kuyt before last season I would have said he was the worst player in the starting XI. However, I think he has done well. When I was originally reading about switching Johnson to right mid, I thought we could put Kuyt up top because he tends to score a lot there and bring in Martin Kelly for right back. That's exactly what you did and I think it could be worth a try. Johnson hasn't done as well as needed at defense, although he is always a huge threat when attacking on the right. Martin Kelly actually impressed when he played, unfortunately I believe he is still injured.
ReplyDelete