There is nothing on the Pompey Site yet but the official Liverpool site is saying that a deal has been agreed with Pompey and Glen Johnson to take him to the bin dippers – click here.
I cannot really put into words just how gutted I am that the our best player has left, a player that dragged our carcass out of the quagmire last season to safety almost single handed – I think ‘gutted’ best sums up how I, and most others feel about now with it ‘confirmed’ that Johnson has left for pastures new…
The bin dippers have got themselves one hell of a player, and any bin dippers fans who do not appreciate just what a top footballer they have signed they soon will do, as will people who did not appreciate just how important he was to us – again they soon will!
When the guy signed a couple of years back if anyone had told me he would go on to become the player that he has, and he will get better still, I would not have believed them I do not think – I did not have much expectation from him and even if he did do well for us I expected him to literally leave in no time…
I think it is fair to say that most of us were not that enamoured to him when we signed him, lets be honest but my how he showed what hard work, dedication, commitment to what you are doing, faith in his ability and I guess above anything else what a sustained run of 1st team football would do to him!
When he first came in on loan back along he started off well but the later half of that season he most certainly had the look of a player that knew he was going back to Chelski, had no other idea than that happening as he was ‘that good’…
At that point in time he was not!
Clearly the ability was there but the attitude stank and he was a young man that was allowing the money, limelight and fame go to his head – he clearly at that time thought he was ‘better than he was’ and came crashing back to earth with a bump when ‘the special one’ made it clear to him he was not, albeit wrong in the long run.
Credit, as to be fair it had to for so much that he managed to achieve whatever the thoughts of him are now, must go to Jamie’s Dad he managed to convince him to return to Pompey and in 2007 on transfer deadline day in August I seem to recall, fairly early his signing, which again if memory serves me was kept fairly ‘hush hush’, was confirmed.
If I said opinion was ‘split’ that might not be quite as accurate as it was at the time, I am big enough to hold my hands up and say how very wrong I was – I was not that amused to be honest, then again it was a fresh start so I had the ‘he is now playing to impress us, not anyone else so had to knuckle down thoughts’, and so he did!
He was good in his first season, particularly the latter half of it but was truly outstanding last season and swept the boards clean with every seasonal award going from every supporters club, every fans site and of course every official award from the club and teammates, the boy had well and truly become a man…
And now that man is off into the ‘big world’ again, without a shadow of a doubt if he is treated right and shown the respect he deserves he will play virtually every game that he is available for – unless rested occasionally – and ‘should’ go onto even bigger and better things with, I would imagine, him going into the next 4 major tournaments with England as the first choice right back, he ‘might’ have even developed into a central defender latterly in his career?
I would have loved to have kept him for just one more season, but much like the last real ‘superstar’ that we had in the form of Lassana Diarra I think it is fair to say that Glen Johnson and Portsmouth Football Club had gone as far as they possibly could to be honest – he was too good to stay, but, and like the Frenchman, would be welcomed back with open arms anytime!
You won over any doubters and there will not be a single Pompey fan that will be glad that you have gone.
Cheers Johno, thanks for everything and good luck!
PLAY UP POMPEY!
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