Glen Johnson says he is ‘disappointed’ and ‘frustrated’ with how poor Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk has been playing this season.
Since signing from Southampton in 2018 for a then-world record fee for a defender, Van Dijk has established himself as one of the greatest centre-backs of all-time.
The Dutch international has won numerous personal accolades and has been a pivotal part of Liverpool’s success over the past five years, including the Premier League and Champions League triumphs.
Last season, the 31-year-old came agonizingly close to winning an unprecedented quadruple with the Reds and was rewarded on Monday night with a spot in the 2022 FIFPRO Men’s World XI.
But this campaign, he has struggled for form and fitness, made several noteworthy and uncharacteristic mistakes and received fierce criticism from the likes of Jamie Carragher.
Johnson too has been critical, telling ICE 36: ‘Virgil van Dijk has been disappointing, but that has more to do with how good we know he is and how highly he has performed for Liverpool since joining the club.
‘His playing standard has been set so high, and at the moment he doesn’t look anywhere near it.
‘We know how he plays, super calm, relaxed and very casual, which is great but when he isn’t playing well that style can look awful. It sounds negative, but it is more of a compliment to him because over the last few seasons he has set the bar so high with his performances.
‘When he plays at his best he makes the game look so bloody easy, and when he isn’t, you know how capable he is so it can be frustrating.’
2022/23 will surely go down as the Reds’ worst season since Jurgen Klopp’s arrival, with the club out of both domestic cups and on the verge of UCL elimination after losing 5-2 to Real Madrid last week.
Moreover, a run of just two wins from seven league games has left them seventh in the table and nine points from the top four, leaving them at serious risk of not qualifying for Europe’s top competition.
It should be said that they have two games in hand over fourth-place Tottenham but Johnson is concerned they won’t make it, adding: ‘Liverpool and Chelsea played each other a few weeks ago and it was a mid-table clash. Nobody would have expected that at the beginning of the season.
‘Liverpool have been at the very top for many years and it’s hard to maintain those standards – especially with the way they play with such high intensity – season after season with the same players.
‘The drop-off hasn’t happened because the players are not buying into the style of football or are not enjoying playing under Klopp anymore, but it is hard to maintain that physicality.
‘I think new players coming into the club would buy into that approach, Klopp and would have given the team greater energy. They would have been as intense as the players from previous seasons. It’s hard to maintain that with the same players.
‘If I could pick, I’d have Chelsea and Liverpool and West Ham in there [the top four], but that’s not going to happen.’
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