Glen Johnson on Liverpool, West Ham, England and CR7

Midnite spoke to Premier League-winning defender, Glen Johnson, as his former teams Liverpool and Chelsea have had dents in their battle for the top four.

Johnson has also talked about West Ham’s struggles, the team he spent his youth career at for nine years.

The former right-back also reflected on the current Cristiano Ronaldo situation at Manchester United, in which Johnson believes the six-time Ballon D’or winner should ‘shut up’ while the team succeeds.

Here is the full Glen Johnson interview:

Liverpool of old would have won comfortably against Nottingham Forest

There was a time for Liverpool where that game against Forest would have been a given win. You can't be good enough to beat one of the best teams around [Man City] and then lose to Nottingham Forest. It can only be down to mentality and concentration because that should have been an easy victory to carry on some great momentum, but for some reason, they are struggling against lesser sides at the moment.

Players’ dip in form is the reason for Liverpool's losses

The reason for the amount of losses is a list of things; a hangover from how successful Liverpool have been in recent years, they've lost a couple of big players and it's hard to maintain the standards they set. Unfortunately, there's a handful of players who have dipped in personal form too.

Liverpool were a better side when Sadio Mane was in it

I don't think Mane or one player, in general, can transform everyone on the team, everybody is lightly underperforming by their own standards. Of course, Mane is a big miss no one has ever doubted that, Liverpool were a better side when he was there.

Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho are the sparks in Liverpool’s attack

They're young kids trying to learn their trade, but of course you're going to be under pressure, you're playing for Liverpool where you're under pressure every week. I like to think people aren't cherry-picking Elliott and Carvalho to blame for the results. To be honest, those two look like the ones who have the spark, they look like when they get the ball something is going to happen, they look lively and confident on the ball.

Salah giving the ball away is his fault, not Klopp’s - Too many Liverpool players are off-form

If you're only completing four passes in a game, then it's obviously personal. The formation doesn't make you give the ball away. Everyone is below par, Salah and the rest are fantastic players and they will find a way to get back to winning ways. A lot of them have been below par at the same time. When two or three big players are off-form, the rest can get the team out of trouble, but when it's the other way around, then you've got a problem.

Virgil van Dijk has low confidence - He would have put away those chances against Forest usually

It's just confidence. The way van Dijk plays is calm and chilled, and it's great when it comes off. But now, whether he shows it or not, Van Dijk is lacking a bit of confidence. Losing games and making mistakes is obviously going to dent your confidence. Some of those chances against Forest, you would have put your hat on him scoring at least one of them. That slight bit of doubt can stop you from scoring those goals.

Trent Alexander-Arnold will need to earn his place ahead of James Milner

Milner has put in some great performances at right-back, that's Milly all over isn't it? He'll play anywhere the team needs him to play and he's got a football brain that allows him to play those different positions. You'd like to think a natural, top full-back like Trent Alexander-Arnold would earn the place back, but he won't just be handed the right-back spot.

Petr Cech is best keeper in Premier League history but you could argue Alisson

Alisson is up there with the best goalkeepers in Premier League history, but let's not forget to top keepers over the years. When Petr Cech was at Chelsea, he was the best goalkeeper I'd ever seen, even Pepe Reina and Kasper Schmeichel were great. It's hard to pick one but I am a big fan of Alisson, he does keep Liverpool in certain games, but to say he is number one, you could argue that all day.

Joe Gomez is England’s best defender and should start if he plays like he did against Man City

When I was watching Gomez against Man City, I definitely thought he would get back into the England squad for the World Cup. He was in control against top players, at the time I was thinking he's England's best centre-back. But you can't play to that level and then play how he did against Forest the week after. It's just concentration, maybe Liverpool took Nottingham Forest for granted and their foot off the pedal slightly, but if he can reach that form he showed against Man City, for me he starts for England.

Thiago Alcantara has ‘strange’ injuries and misses games for ‘strange’ reasons

It's one of those, Thiago is great when he plays and you wish he could play every week. But he should be fit for every game every week, because he's that player that strolls about and does not sprint, so he shouldn't have as many muscle injuries, Thiago doesn't get hurt in a game is what I mean. Thiago does get some strange injuries and misses games for strange reasons, but he can't be replaced, he just needs to get out there and play.

Liverpool need a bigger squad to play at their intensity

Liverpool's injuries are a bit of bad luck and poor squad management, they have a great backroom staff who look after the team through the data in training, who are likely to get injured, whose not, I wouldn't blame the staff. The biggest issue is the squad is too light for the intensity Liverpool plays at combined with the number of games they play, players are always going to break down. And because of the size of the squad, sometimes players who are about 75% fit have to replace the injured player and they might get a setback.

Nunez had his Benfica form when he played against West Ham

Nunez was brilliant against West Ham, he looked the same as he was a Benfica. Nunez is quick, aggressive and has great technique. If he can get a run of games, keep scoring and continue growing his confidence, then yeah he can be fantastic.

Gabby Agbonlahor is right - Liverpool won't finish in the top four on current form

Right now, yes I agree with Agbonlahor, Liverpool won’t reach the top four. As we're having this conversation, there are technically nine better teams than Liverpool right now in terms of the table. But once they find a bit of form, of course, they will be around the top four, but those places look like they will be tough to achieve.

Everyone would love to have Man City’s owners - Klopp would not complain if it was the other way around

Klopp is always going to get asked questions from the press about rivals. Everyone knows about the power of Man City, but everyone would love to have that if they could. You can't really talk bad about it, Man City are fortunate to have these owners who want to spend this money. If it was the other way around, no one would be complaining.

Ajax is a must-win for Liverpool

Ajax is a must-win for Liverpool because you don't want to go against Napoli needing a win. No one at this level will just give you a win, so Liverpool do need all three points. Ajax are a good side, they know how to perform in the Champions League.

I think it will be 1-0 Liverpool.

Leeds should be a walk in the park for Liverpool, but look what happened against Forest

You would think Leeds would be a breeze for Liverpool, but we thought Nottingham Forest would be a breeze and look how that turned out. The Premier League shows you if you're not up to your own standards, anyone can beat you. Forest should have been a walk in a park, Leeds should be a walk in a park, but you just know it won't be. If it was the Liverpool of old, you'd predict a three or four-nil win. But Leeds will be going into that game with no fear, Forest did it. Leeds won't have any pressure and Liverpool will need to be up for it to win that game.

I think it will be 2-0 Liverpool.

Potter showed ‘balls’ to change tactics mid-game against Man United

I liked Potter changing the tactics mid-game to perform better against United, it shows balls to go against your initial game plan and I like it because it shows Potter is thinking clearly, he's staying calm during the game while thinking of solutions to try and win. Some managers pick their tactics and roll with it til the end and then say 'oh that didn't work'. Potter had a chance to change the tactics and be proactive.

Chelsea were good, all the players were trying to get on the ball the way Potter got Brighton to play, there's always a simple option to pass to. To take that play style to a much better group of players, it was always going to be effective. Chelsea were dangerous and impressive, but they'll be kicking themselves after not getting the win.

Late Casemiro goal made the draw with United feel like a loss for Chelsea

When you go 1-0 up with five minutes to go, you have to see that game out. Against top teams like Man United, you're not going to get many goalscoring opportunities in the game. The late Casemiro goal definitely made the result feel like a loss.

Chelsea will finish higher than Man United

Chelsea will finish higher than United this season, but I do think it will be a run to the death. Both teams and managers will do well, both are improving, it will be tight but I back Chelsea.

Chelsea would’ve wanted to play against Ronaldo - Ronaldo makes United worse

Ronaldo is a world-class player and deserves every bit of credit after what he's done for the game. But right now, Man United are better without him. Chelsea would have wanted him to play because of how Man United performed when Ronaldo is in the team. Obviously, he's world-class and a dangerous player, but Man United are better when Ronaldo is not involved.

Ronaldo needs to ‘shut up’ and be a team player when they win

Respect is mutual. No player can do what they want, the team is more important than one player, I don't care who it is. Both Ten Hag and Ronaldo need to show respect to each other, of course, Ronaldo deserves respect for what he's done. But then he needs to respect his manager. If the team is winning, players who are not playing need to shut up, there's a time and a place when you're banging on the manager's door, and that's when you're not playing when the team is losing every week.

Sterling needs to score to regain his confidence

Sterling is more than capable of improving his form. He needs to get back to the form he started with at Chelsea to be considered one of the best again. But he's still a threat and has loads of potential. Sterling needs to score and get that confidence flowing again.

Kepa has matured - Chelsea have two top keepers

Kepa has been playing well. He's been under some heat in recent years, and he upset a lot of people through certain decisions and mistakes he was making. Kepa has always been a good player but it seems like his head wasn't always in the right place, now he's matured. It sounds silly because Mendy is one of the best, but when Kepa is playing like this, he's up there as well. It's not normal to have two top keepers in one team.

Fans need to take responsibility for discriminatory and homophobic chants in Chelsea v United game

Unfortunately, there are still idiots everywhere. You can't control everybody, fans need to take responsibility for themselves for the discriminatory chants, obviously, the ones who are thinking along these lines are the minority. They are a bunch of idiots and they need to be ignored.

Chelsea will get one back over RB Salzburg

Chelsea certainly will want to get one back over RB Salzburg, Chelsea are a better side now than they were when it was Potter's first game. Chelsea will get a win and they'll do it impressively.

I think it will be 2-0 Chelsea.

It’s ‘bloody obvious’ as to why Potter left Brighton to join Chelsea

Potter does not need to prove anything to Brighton, it's bloody obvious why he went to Chelsea. I don't think it's going to be a big issue. Brighton might want to get one over Potter, but everyone knows why he has gone to Chelsea, no one can complain about it. Hopefully, it might be one of those nice reunions since he still has connections with the players and staff there.

I think it will be 2-1 Chelsea.

Gilmour won’t replace Jorginho

Gilmour has done well when he burst onto the scene, but he struggled on loan to Norwich. Jorginho is a good player, there's no doubt about it, he's very good at doing what he does. Gilmour would not be playing if he was still at Chelsea anyway. You never know, in a year or two, Chelsea might re-sign him if he hits some form.

Every game is tough for West Ham at the moment

At the minute, every game is tough for West Ham, they've not been themselves and they need to take each game as it comes. Hopefully, they will get a result against Bournemouth climb the table and get away from the relegation zone.

I think it will be 1-0 West Ham

West Ham will be kicking themselves over the chances they had against Liverpool

You don't often get many chances against the top teams, so West Ham will be kicking themselves for not getting a result against Liverpool with the chances they had.

Scamacca is better than Antonio - I’d rather have a natural striker over a workhorse

I would start Scamacca over Antonio, he's the better player and the better footballer. Antonio always works his socks off, but pure hard work can only get you so far. You need the ability and the class to take the chances the team creates. I prefer a natural striker up-front rather than just a workhorse.

Rice can be a big player for England in the World Cup

West Ham don't play well if Rice doesn't play well. He is one of the few English players finding form at the right time, hopefully, he stays healthy, because he can be a big player for England.

Hard to say if West Ham are one of the best teams in the European Conference League

It's hard to say the team fourth-bottom in the Premier League is the best team in the European Conference League. Villarreal are a good European side. There are a lot of weak teams in the competition, so if West Ham finds last season's form then they certainly are top two in that competition.

West Ham can get a result against Man United

West Ham always seem to cause Man United problems. If they can play with no fear and nick a lead, then West Ham can get something out of the game. But Man United have improved a lot, if West Ham doesn't give them too much respect then I reckon they could get a result.

I think it will be 1-1.

VAR is ruining the game

Everyone makes mistakes, the referees have made some shockers of late, but nothing has changed to be honest, the VAR decisions they're still getting wrong. Who cares if a player is half a millimetre offside, it's ruining the game. A lot of it has been shocking.

Kane would have the same goal tally as Haaland if he played at City

Haaland has been great, but he's been in a better team than Kane. If Kane was playing for City, he would have the same goal tally. Haaland is fantastic, I'm a big fan, but you'd guess if Kane had the same chances being produced for him he would replicate the same results.

Arsenal will crumble under pressure if they’re still top next year

Around or after Christmas time, after a few injuries, City will catch up to Arsenal. If Arsenal are still top next year, they'll be thinking "oh sh*t, we ain't been here for a while" and start looking over their shoulder. Arsenal will care more about the table than City would, City are used to being top and second so it's nothing new to them. Arsenal will eventually feel the pressure then City will catch them.

Aston Villa still would have won 4-0 if Gerrard was still manager

No, I don't think Gerrard should have been sacked any earlier. Aston Villa had an easy opportunity after having the best start possible. Villa probably still would have won 4-0 if Stevie [Gerrard] was still the manager. The Villa players have not turned into good players overnight, and obviously, whatever the interim manager has said, he's not Houdini, he's not changed the way the players are. Villa decided to turn up and play well. We'll only know the right decision in about six weeks' time.

Trippier should start at right-back for England

Trippier should start for England. That's assuming Kyle Walker, Reece James and possibly Alexander-Arnold aren't there. To be honest, if everyone is fit, Reece James should start, but in the current situation, I think Gareth Southgate has the pick Trippier.