Tuesday 23 June 2009

Johnson's Second Coming


Over recent weeks, during this recession that the whole world is having to face up to, the footballing world has shown once again and, arguably, more than ever before, how far away it is from reality.

Cristiano Ronaldo is poised to, finally, get his 'dream' move to Real Madrid after an £80million bid was accepted by Manchester United, just days after Madrid sealed a £56million switch for AC Milan's Brazilian play maker Kaka.

Today, being slightly overshadowed by the beginning of Wimbledon, has seen three big money signings transpire, only two of which involved actual footballers.

The other signing I'm alluring to is the purchase of Setanta's Premier League rights by American powerhouse ESPN, after the Irish network went bust, owing sums of £30million and £3million to the English Premier League and the Scottish Premier League respectively. However, this is another issue for another day.

The two signings involving players today have seen Blackburn's Roque Santa Cruz go and join his old boss Mark Hughes at Manchester City, for a reported £19million, and Glen Johnson, formerly of West Ham United, Chelsea and now Portsmouth, making the switch to Anfield for £17.5million, and its this transfer which the one of interest here.

Glen Johnson is one of a multitude of players who have successfully come out of the junior system at West Ham United and was seen as, potentially, a very good player very early on in his career.

His arrival into the first team at Upton Park coincided with the arrival of Roman Abramovichand his millions at Chelsea, and Johnson, following West Ham's relegation to the Championship, was the first purchase under the new 'lets buy everyone under the sun' philosophy that was employed by Abramovich and the then manager Claudio Ranieri.

Though Johnson had a promising start at Chelsea, which saw him make 63 first team appearances over the 2003/04 and 2004/05 seasons, the arrival of Jose Mourinho, which saw Paulo Ferreira follow him from FC Porto the following season, limited Johnson's first team chances.

A move to Portsmouth was the result, and Johnson has, in time, become a key player for Pompey, and looks to have established himself as the best choice for England at right back.

His move then to Liverpool this evening is a sign to players like Scott Parker, Michael Owen and others, that leaving a big club to ply your trade for a so called 'smaller' club, can reap benefits.

There will have been many pundits that would have considered Johnson's move to Portsmouth to be the right one for his career, but at the same time they may have also considered a club like Portsmouth to be about right for someone like Johnson after losing favour at Chelsea.

But where Scott Parker and Michael Owen have come from big clubs (Chelsea and Real Madrid respectively) after not performing at the peak of their powers and losing favour with their respected managers, gone to a smaller club - although Newcastle isn't exactly a small club, but I digress - like Johnson did, they have yet to make it back to the big leagues and play once again for a 'top 4' side or a major European team.

Johnson, thanks to his determination and forever improving performances for club and, now, country, is more than deserving of his second chance at establishing himself at one of the big four. Chelsea might even wish they still had him on their books after Ferreira and a host of potential suitors to the right back position at Chelsea have tried, and failed somewhat, to shine.

Moving to Liverpool will only increase Johnson's chances of keeping his England place and will allow him to challenge for silver wear more regularly, and he is an example to all professionals who drop down from dizzying heights, that if you work hard enough, you can make it back.

No comments:

Post a Comment