The curious tale of Glen Johnson and Liverpool

Ten years on from his arrival at Anfield and former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson has announced his retirement from football.

Now aged 34, the former England international spent six seasons with the Reds following his £17.5million move from Portsmouth in June 2009.

At the time Johnson became Liverpool’s most expensive ever defender, while, alongside Alberto Aquilani, he became former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett’s last big-money signing as Reds owners.

Rafa Benitez fought off competition from both Chelsea and Manchester City to land the full-back’s signature, and, having finished second in the Premier League the year before, his arrival was seen to be quite the coup as Liverpool looked to push on in search of a first league title since 1990.

A decade later and the Reds are still searching. While an apparent statement of intent at the time, all was not as it seemed under Liverpool’s former American owners.

Indeed, the record books show Johnson as a £17.5 million arrival and a one-time record defensive buy.

However, the Reds never had to part with £7million of that fee due to financially-struggling Portsmouth still owing them money after signing Peter Crouch the summer before.

Johnson enjoyed an encouraging start to his Liverpool career, scoring on his Anfield debut and record two goals and three assists from his five appearances as a Red.

But rather than join serious Premier League title challenges, the defender had arrived at a broken club run by feuding owners who were at loggerheads with the manager and littered with debts.

Little over a year after his arrival at Anfield and Hicks and Gillett were ousted as New England Sports Ventures bought the club, but not before Benitez had already departed following a seventh-placed Premier League finish.

Publicly criticised by Roy Hodgson, Johnson’s form picked up following the arrival of NESV and Kenny Dalglish’s appointment as caretaker manager.

Indeed, under the Scot the defender won the sole winner’s medal of his Anfield career courtesy of the 2012 League Cup. Johnson even scored in the penalty shootout victory over Cardiff City, while he had only the woodwork to curse for being denied a spectacular, early opener at Wembley.

He also played in the FA Cup Final the same year, but Liverpool still struggled for consistency and were in no position to re-establish themselves as the title-challengers Johnson had believed he’d joined - finishing sixth in 2011 and eighth in 2012.

The defender featured in 36 of the Reds’ 38 Premier League matches during Brendan Rodgers’ first season in charge for the best total of his Anfield career as Liverpool mustered another seventh-placed finish.

Inspired by Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge in attack, 2013/14 saw Johnson play his part as Rodgers’ side come agonisingly close to lifting the Premier League, finishing second behind Manchester City.

However, that was to be the only time Liverpool would finish higher than sixth during his time at the club as his Reds career finished as it started - as part of a team unable to build on a promising title challenge the year before.

With his contract running out, injuries saw Johnson phased out in his final season as Liverpool again finished sixth in 2014/15 and he would depart for Stoke City on a free transfer.

In his six years at the club he made 200 appearances but just six of them came in the Champions League, highlighting the Reds’ failings at the time.

Now opting to hang up his boots six months after leaving relegated Stoke City, he will be watching with interest from afar as his former club look to finally end their long league drought.

Liverpool have a new record defensive buy now in Virgil van Dijk, with Jurgen Klopp too having to fight off competition from Manchester City and Chelsea to sign the Dutchman.

Van Dijk too will have moved to Anfield dreaming of a Premier League winner’s medal. He has already made 12 Champions League appearances and played in the final in his first year on Merseyside, while he has been an instrumental cog in the Reds leading the table by four points.

Whether Klopp’s men are successful or not in their bid to win the Premier League, they have learnt their lesson from the club’s past failings.

Meanwhile, Johnson will be remembered as a big-money signing from a tumultuous time as factors beyond his control saw his time on Merseyside fail to live up to his expectations.

Ten years on from his arrival at Anfield and Liverpool are a very different club.