Outside90’s Tom Batten analyses what effect new Stoke signing Glen Johnson will have on the club.
“Stoke City is a club moving in the right direction and I want to be a part of it,” an enthusiastic Glen Johnson said to the awaiting media. When a player from a prestigious club such as Liverpool says that about Stoke City, it must be true.
The 30-year-old defender rejected a move to Turkey for a second chance at a club in the English Premier League. Johnson leaves the tally of signings for Stoke City at three, with Mark Hughes looking to bring in more players following the departures of Asmir Begovic and Steven Nzonzi.
Johnson brings his experience from playing for such clubs as West Ham, Chelsea, Portsmouth and Liverpool. Having played in the Northwest and Merseyside derbies, he is conditioned to play in big games so he will not be too anxious when he plays for the Potters. This may have been a problem if Stoke had signed a player from another league.
Most importantly, the former Liverpudlian brings his leadership and excellence from the English national team. He notched up an assist at the 2014 World Cup against Uruguay and also helped the Three Lions to the quarter finals of the Euro 2012.
Johnson excels at dribbling and passing when on song. He can move up to right-midfield or right-wing if Stoke is in shortage of wide players but Johnson lacks pace. He would be most suited to a role at right or left-back but may push up the pitch more than other full-backs. Additionally, his crossing ability will hold the team in great stead, especially with target men Mame Biram Diouf and Peter Crouch up front. According to the Daily Mail, Johnson insisted he would not have joined Stoke had Mark Hughes not banished its image as the ‘long-ball’ and ‘long-throw’ specialists of the Premier League.
Johnson is also mentoring the Potters of the future. His wealth of experience means he will play an important developmental role at the club.
Will Johnson be better than last season’s starting right-back, Phil Bardsley? Johnson has somewhat poor defensive stats compared to Bardsley, with the former completing 1.6 tackles per match compared to Bardsley’s 2.8 tackles per match. Interceptions, blocks and clearances are all in favour of Bardsley.
Offensive mistakes, such as being dispossessed and poor ball control are also quite even. Johnson tripled Bardsley in terms of average dribbles per games with 1.2 compared to 0.4. Johnson has better passing stats than his compatriot with around eight passes more per game and around 10% better passing accuracy than the starting Stoke City right-back for last season. Ultimately, Johnson and Bardsley are hard to compare because they are completely different players.
The ex-Pompey man brings a ‘complete wing-back’ role to Stoke, an attribute only one other Potter can boast: USA international Geoff Cameron.
With the acquisition of Johnson, Stoke now has the ability to have overlapping full-backs and employ a different style to what it had previous years. It can now play a possession-based tactic instead of the direct style it had played a decade ago. The experienced full-back will know exactly how to play an entertaining style of football.
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However, with great experience comes great age. Johnson is 30 and in the twighlight of his career, so even though experience may be key, he will only be a short-term signing. After struggling to play consistently last season, he lost his place in the England team and his Liverpool form was well bellow par. Javier Manquillo took his place on Merseyside and made double the amount of appearances for the Reds in the Premier League.
This season could be crucial in persuading people that Stoke City will not be playing a direct style anymore and Johnson can play a key role in eradicating the stereotype. Johnson was the first signing of the Abramovich era at Chelsea – could he be one of the first signings of the next successful Stoke City era?
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