Glen Johnson: The king who fell off his throne
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THERE was a time when it seemed Glen Johnson's career was going down the pan.
Now he is flushed with success, back in the England team and bouncing after an £18million summer transfer from Portsmouth to Liverpool.
The dark days when Johnson could not get a game for Chelsea, was cast into the international wilderness and, while at Portsmouth, suffered the embarrassment of an on-the-spot fine over a misunderstanding about the purchase of a toilet seat from B&Q are well and truly behind him.
The former teenage prodigy has grown up and life is good again. As Reds new boy Johnson looked forward to England's clash with Holland in Amsterdam tomorrow night, the rejuvenated full-back reflected on the lessons he has learned since bursting on to the scene as a 17-year-old at West Ham.
When Chelsea snapped Johnson up for £6m in July 2003, his career was flying. But it proved too much too soon, as he fell out of favour under Jose Mourinho, went to Pompey, and did not play for England for nearly three years.
During that time, the loo seat lunacy summed up his apparent fall from grace. But Johnson, 25 in 12 days' time, feverishly protests his innocence over the incident which has hung round his neck ever since.
He was accused by a security guard of putting the toilet seat into a box with a cheaper price tag. Yet Johnson said: "I was with my best mate. We went to B&Q because he was doing his house up and wanted to buy a whole bathroom set for £1,000.
"Because he has a kid, he wanted a slow-close toilet seat and this one was just a normal one. "So he changed that one and put the slow-close one on the trolley. We went through the till and he paid.
"So a) What thief walks through the till?
And b) It was not even me who was buying it.
"We got to the other side and the guy said he'd seen us swap the toilet seats. "We told them we did not know there was a difference and offered to pay for the other seat.
"They said they wouldn't let us do that because the police were already on their way. "We started laughing. We thought they were taking the p***.
"The police turned up and said we could go to court and fight it out, which we could not be bothered to do, or pay a £70 fine.
"So we paid the fine and it made us look guilty. "They were watching us as soon as we walked into the shop. The bloke knew who I was, definitely. "We did not do anything wrong. We offered to pay the money. There was nothing else we could do."
Johnson admits his reputation suffered as a result. But he laughed at the light-hearted banter which followed the 'crime'. He added: "The next time I went to my locker and opened it, there were lots of toilet rolls falling out.
"And at Fratton Park there was a golden toilet seat hanging up instead of my shirt. "Yes, people did believe it. But the people around me knew what had happened and that's all that mattered."
Johnson never doubted he would turn his career around, even though his England days might have appeared over almost before they had started. He made his international debut at 19 in a 3-2 defeat by Denmark at Old Trafford back in November 2003.
But after coming on at half-time against the Danes in Copenhagen in August 2005, as England collapsed to a 4-1 defeat by conceding four second-half goals, Johnson was despatched to the international wilderness.
Fabio Capello finally brought him into the fold again against France 17 months ago and he now has 15 caps in all.
Johnson explained: "I wasn't playing much club football in those days, so it's hard to have any momentum in performances. "Over the last season I've been playing week-in, week-out and you go into games feeling a different person.
"The results against Denmark didn't go our way, I didn't play well and the team didn't play well. I didn't batter myself too much, because I was a kid.
"I wasn't picked when Steve McClaren was involved but that is all history now. "Going through things like that has made me the person I am. "I've aged. I'm improving all the time and that has been a key factor.
"I'd say I'm more mature. There were a couple of incidents that got blown out of proportion and were totally wrong. "That's not for me to worry about. I've put it behind me and it's not important.
"Joining Portsmouth was fantastic for me. I was playing week-in, week-out and working hard in training. "The most important thing for any player is consistency in playing games.
"That is when you learn from your mistakes. "With England it's down to Fabio to pick the team and if I can keep doing what I am doing, then great. "There are some top players in the world. But sometimes it boils down to how they treat themselves off the pitch. That comes with age and turning into a man."
Sounds like Liverpool and England have more chance of being winners rather than loo-sers thanks to the new Glen Johnson.