Couple of Johnson interviews

[hamstrung_pigeon]

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/288793.html

Johnson: Give me a new contract
ESPN staff
March 5, 2014

Glen Johnson wants a new deal to stay at Liverpool but, with his contract running down, he is still waiting for the club to open talks.

Johnson's reported ￡110,000-a-week wages could prove to be the stumbling block but the 29-year-old would become a free agent in the the summer of 2015 and, therefore, be in a strong position to negotiate a lucrative agreement elsewhere.

The defender admits that having an unsettled future has been a distraction.

"I've loved every minute of the five years I've been here and I'd love to stay but really the only truth in it is that I've not been offered a new contract on any level," Johnson, who moved to Anfield for ￡18 million in 2009, told the Daily Mail.

"I know some people have been saying Liverpool don't want to pay me my current wages, but I've not heard that. No one has come to me from Liverpool at all.

"I don't know the situation the club are in or if they want to renew it. So I've not got a decision to make other than to see my contract out because no-one is telling me any different.

"It is an unnecessary distraction. I'm more than happy to sign a new contract and I'd love to stay here for many more years. But at the moment that is not for me to decide because I've not been offered anything and I've not been told I'm going to be sold.

"I just have to honour my contract and try not to let it distract me."

 

[hamstrung_pigeon]

On a happier note...

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/288799.html

I lost all respect for Mourinho - Johnson
ESPN staff
March 5, 2014

Glen Johnson claims he lost respect for Jose Mourinho because the Chelsea manager broke a promise to him.

Johnson, now 29, became the first signing of the Roman Abramovich era at Stamford Bridge when he moved from West Ham for ￡6 million in July 2003, but found times hard when the Russian billionaire sacked Claudio Ranieri and brought in Mourinho.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Johnson revealed: "It was difficult for me under Jose at Chelsea because there was a moment when he said I deserved to play on merit.

"He said if I played well in the next game I would play the week after. I got man of the match so he couldn't drop me.

"Then in the next game he said the same thing and I got man of the match again. Then we had another game and after that Barcelona. I remember speaking to my agent and saying, 'He won't play me in this game because if I play well then he has to play me against Barcelona' - and I knew that wasn't going to happen.

"He didn't play me in that game and from that moment I just lost it and thought, 'Well, how am I meant to respect you now? It's just finished'."

The fall-out resulted in Johnson being shipped out on loan to Portsmouth for a season before making the move permanent in 2009.

He made an ￡18m move to Liverpool two years later and wants a new deal to stay at the club when his contract runs out in the summer, not least because the defender enjoys the approach of manager Brendan Rodgers, a former Chelsea coach, claiming it is better than Mourinho's.

Johnson said: "Mourinho is one of the best in the world and I would never say he's not because of what happened between us. But Brendan is different to Jose, he has his own mentality and is definitely one of the best.

"Brendan wouldn't do [what Mourinho did]. He's shown that if you're good enough you're old enough and you'll play in the big games if you deserve to. So in terms of man-management, Brendan is definitely better."

"Some managers like the thought of playing the way Brendan does but haven't got the confidence or knowhow to pull it off.

"Others would probably have panicked and changed their philosophy just to try and win. But Brendan was mentally strong enough and knew we would be a success."

Johnson can see similarities between the current Liverpool team and the Chelsea side he was part of that won two Premier League titles under Mourinho.

"We believe we can win every game and I remember having that feeling at Chelsea," he said. "The first year we won the title [in 2005] we could be losing 2-0 and still think we would win, and we usually would. That was confidence at its peak and we are moving towards that at Liverpool.

"You have to believe you can win the league and until there are not enough points available we'll keep thinking we can. We've got 10 cup finals, really, because we can't afford to lose games or drop many points because Manchester City and Chelsea won't.

"City are favourites because they could field a second team that would be competitive, and you can't compete with that. So we will need a bit of luck but we are definitely good enough.

"Our goal at the start of the season was to finish in the top four and that is still our minimum aim. Finishing third, second or winning the title is a bonus but we are in a good position."

Read more at http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/288799.html#TJvGy4EQbjC4PecH.99

 

[gkmacca]

No Johnson interviews for ages and then two of the buggers arrive at once!

 

[Mors]

"I know I could have had a better season, but you can't play 12 years in the Premier League and not have a bad couple of weeks," he said.
"I'm my biggest critic and I don't need to be told when I'm playing badly.
"You don't get 49 England caps, play in World Cups and European Championships, you don't win the Premier League twice, the League Cup twice and the FA Cup if you can't defend. It's that simple.
"No disrespect, but you'd be in the Championship."

 

[keniget]

Heh poor 'ol Johnson.

 

[gkmacca]

49 England caps

Glen, mate, you know that special parade through London, complete with marching bands, dancing girls, fireworks, Gary Barlow and a great big cake, that you were expecting for your fiftieth cap? I'm afraid it's not going to happen. Because you're black of Boris Johnson.