Liverpool FC Forum

[bigmick]

this deal could easily become one of the worst in football transfer history if Johnson fails to perform for us next season.... hope he has the mental strength to deal with all the pressure and expectations...
And to think, some here thought Owen on a bosman would be 'too big a gamble' 

I don't know about "worst in football transfer history", it'd have to be pretty bad to be that.

Look I think everyone pretty much agrees that Johnson is better than Arbeloa (and surely EVERYONE agrees it from an attacking sense) so presumeably unless Rafa has one of his Keane moments, Johnson is going to play pretty much every week if fit. Given that, he's going to a regualr starter in the team at right back (or right midfield but surely nowhere else Rafa please  ) so at worst, after a season people will say we paid too much for him.

Mt point is though, he isn't sh!t by any means (I actually really like the signing TBH) so he isn't going to be an unmittigated disaster as long as we handle him sensibly. If we sit him on the bench, never talk to him, only play him for an hour at a time and drop him each time he plays well then possibly we might destroy him to the extent he becomes useless, but we've already tried that once so I can't see us going there again.

Best case scenario is in 18 months we have a World Class attacking right back who is hugely potent force going forwards, and decent going backwards. Worst case scenario is that we have one of the best right backs in the league who will be a regular for five seasons, but who was probably only worth 8-9 million.

[GYBS]

If we sit him on the bench, never talk to him, only play him for an hour at a time and drop him each time he plays well then possibly we might destroy him to the extent he becomes useless, but we've already tried that once so I can't see us going there again.

[account deleted by request]

The worrying thing about the Johnson signing for me IS the huge wage he is supposedly going to get. All the other players are going to be reassessing their worth and we could face demands from quite a few players for an increased salary or a move. This could finish up not the worst transfer ever but certainly the most EXPENSIVE.

[bigmick]

If we sit him on the bench, never talk to him, only play him for an hour at a time and drop him each time he plays well then possibly we might destroy him to the extent he becomes useless, but we've already tried that once so I can't see us going there again.

What's funny about that   

[GYBS]

He hasnt been a liverpool player for nearly 7 months now mick - thats longer than he was a liverpool player - overall he didnt perform for us and didnt produce the goods enough for us on a consistent basis . we didnt destroy keane he just wasnt good enough .

but will agree on your opinion on johnson

[bigmick]

He hasnt been a liverpool player for nearly 7 months now mick - thats longer than he was a liverpool player - overall he didnt perform for us and didnt produce the goods enough for us on a consistent basis . we didnt destroy keane he just wasnt good enough .

Feck me is it seven months already, time flies doesn't it? It only seems like yesterday that he was sitting on his erse on the bench with that permanently puzzled expression, trying to work out what he did wrong in the previous game when he scored two goals and was substituted after an hour.

[GYBS]

Awww poor ickle keane - oh well he wasnt good enough .

[bigmick]

Awww poor ickle keane - oh well he wasnt good enough .

I think you're right mate. Whoever signed him for 20 million quid wants shooting, I agree with you there   

[GYBS]

yep it was a mistake they happen then you move on as opposed to keep going on and on and on about it 7 months later .

[bigmick]

Fair enough. It's much like when people go on about trophies which were won four seasons ago, it has to be kind of accepted as history after a while and it ceases to be relevent. I do think though that as it happened seven months ago it is still worth refering to, although obviously only occasionally

[GYBS]

oh well let me know when you finally get it out of your system then and you can join the people that arent stuck in the past and concentrating on the now .

[Kharhaz]

oh well let me know when you finally get it out of your system then and you can join the people that arent stuck in the past and concentrating on the now .

I would say the fact that he cost a nice tidy sum of £20 million is still pretty relevant today. Past and present. Keane was money overspent, I think Johnson will be also. Then while people like you can mock those who show concern about where our money is going, you can sit there with your "Rafa is right" attitude.

The facts are, rafa spent £20 million on keane. When he scored goals he was subbed and then dropped for the next game. If you have a good defence for rafa as to why he did this, then I for one would love to hear it. The whole keane saga has many of us baffled. Defending rafa is one thing, being reasonable is another. Will Glen Johnson prove to be worth this ludicrous amount? I seriously doubt it, he may well prove to be a good full back. But at that price he has to have the ability and consistency of Finnan. Who only cost a couple of million. For the price we are paying for Johnson, I expect the whole package, defence wise and attacking. I hope he proves to be everything I expect, then I can join you in singing rafas praise. I doubt it will happen though.

[bigmick]

GYBS is right in the sense that we must move on so we don't judge each signing whilst looking back at the previous one. If we did, we wouldn't have any high hopes about this Summers purchases after last time when we spent 40 million quid and got Albert Riera to enhance our first team.

That said, it's probably best to just consider it a bit of a blip, albeit a quite expensive one, and see where this Summers spendathon takes us.

[Kharhaz]

GYBS is right in the sense that we must move on so we don't judge each signing whilst looking back at the previous one. If we did, we wouldn't have any high hopes about this Summers purchases after last time when we spent 40 million quid and got Albert Riera to enhance our first team.

That said, it's probably best to just consider it a bit of a blip, albeit a quite expensive one, and see where this Summers spendathon takes us.

Its hard to move on with the Keane signing, when many of us feel the signing of Johnson for an equally ludicrous fee raises so many doubts. You yourself mick are all for signing Johnson, fair enough, as are many people. When he arrives he'll have my support, I just feel the fee is way over the top. Like Keane, I like the player, but the fee we paid for him was ludicrous. Same as with Johnson. Like I say, we can try to move on, but its hard to. So many of us can see the money better spent.

[bigmick]

I think the Keane thing was doubly ludicrous which is why it's hard to forget. It was as it turned out a ludicrous fee to pay, and to compound the problem it was a ridiculous way to handle a footballer who you have just paid 20 million quid for. In that sense, I have the utmost sympathy with your concerns mate. Johnson may prove to be overpriced, but as I said earlier at least if we treat him sensibly we'll have a chance of finding out how good he is.