Whilst the England camp seems to be mostly sweetness and light at the moment, there is one player who will be feeling slightly less comfortable. Glen Johnson’s recent performances for the national team have been widely criticised in the press and, despite support from his manager, doubts persist about his abilities in the right back position.
It seems ludicrous to think that there could be concerns surrounding the abilities of player whose signature Liverpool paid £17 million for over the summer. However, the problem lies in the apparent imbalance of his playing attributes: great going forward, not so great in defence. Which is an issue when your primary job on the field is to defend.
There is no doubting Johnson’s attacking qualities. His pace, power and precision down the right flank are an undeniable threat to any opposition. At the same time however, he is slow to recover defensively and the space he leaves behind him is easy to exploit. Slovenia showed this on Saturday with their consolation goal coming from a left wing cross, and the Netherlands also highlighted this vulnerability in last month’s friendly.
When pressed by journalists after England’s 2-1 victory at the weekend, Capello hailed Johnson as one of the best right backs in the world and left little doubt that he would start against Croatia on Wednesday. If he does start, then his defensive abilities and World Cup credentials will be given a stern test by former team mate Nico Kranjcar.
The question is, if Capello doesn’t pick Johnson, who does he pick? Gary Neville is returning from long term injury and is not playing regularly (he will also be 35 by the time the World Cup comes round) and Micah Richards has been out of favour with Capello. Wes Brown, whilst not a specialist right back, is considered to be the favourite by most.
Should Brown be selected, one interesting possibility would be to move Johnson to the right wing. Neither Aaron Lennon, David Beckham or Shaun Wright-Phillips have made the position their own, and there would appear to be an opening for Johnson in the position. This may well be considered a slightly maverick decision for Capello though and appears unlikely.
Given England’s perfect qualification campaign to date, it is difficult to criticise Capello’s decision making. However, should Johnson be exposed again on Wednesday or during the remaining qualifiers, then questions will be raised as to why the Italian continues to persist with him. Johnson needs to repay the faith being shown in him by demonstrating he is capable of coping with world class opposition at the back, as well as going forward.
What do you think? Would you continue with Glen Johnson or play one of the other candidates? As ever, let us know your thoughts.
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I would be worried if Glen Johnson starts as right back against Croatia. Agaianst Solvenia there a few times he had gone AWOL and their left winger was all on his own. You could argue Shauny Wright shoud have been more defensively minded but thats a weak argument.
There is no doubt in his attacking abilities, which against a lesser team we could benefit from. Against a solid team like Crotia as i say it would worry me. I would give Wes Brown the nod.