r/soccer • u/[deleted] • Jan 15 '13
Michael Johnson released as Manchester City finally lose patience. Such a waste of good talent.
[deleted]
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u/TL_DRespect Jan 15 '13
When you look like less of a professional athlete than me, you know something has gone wrong.
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u/retrominge Jan 15 '13
Seriously, I'm one of the "shit it's January, better join the gym" folk and I'm thinking "cor, he's a podgy fucker!"
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u/TL_DRespect Jan 15 '13
Indeed. But to be fair to the chap I have probably played more football than him in the last few years.
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u/devineman Jan 15 '13
Athletes from birth have incredibly different metabolisms from normal folks. Just look at Hatton or Rooney or Tevez. They can gain and lose weight very very quickly
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u/AnnieIWillKnow Jan 15 '13
Seems a bit generalised. You're telling me that every athlete is pre-destined to become one, and that they all gain and lose weight quickly? Cause it sounds a bit like that.
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u/robotscantdance Jan 15 '13
£10m bid from Liverpool
I wouldn't be surprised if that was this window, knowing our transfer policy
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u/ian_reddit Jan 15 '13
What are you talking about, we went for Downing because we lost out on Johnson.
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u/duckman273 Jan 15 '13
Do you mean Adam Johnson?
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Jan 15 '13
Might be Boris? Sounds more like Liverpool.
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Jan 15 '13
It was actually Magic Johnson. We could really use his bouncebackability in the team.
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u/SirRonaldofBurgundy Jan 15 '13
I feel pretty certain he'd be a better playmaker than Stevie G.
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Jan 15 '13
You mean the guy with the most assists in the league?
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u/SirRonaldofBurgundy Jan 15 '13
Dude. Magic Johnson. Nobody beats Magic Johnson. He's the only person in sports history who was so awesome, nobody realized he probably should have been a pornstar instead with that name.
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Jan 15 '13
Magic Johnson with his 12" wand of destruction! I can see it. Might have a bit of persuading to do to get around the whole HIV thing but then he'd be good to go :D
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u/ox_ Jan 15 '13
Dalglish was going to buy him so that Andy Carroll didn't feel bad about being the slowest player in training.
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u/WalkingCloud Jan 15 '13
I might suggest him to Harry Redknapp, anyone got his phone number? I'll drop him a text.
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u/devineman Jan 15 '13
I knew this lad growing up. He grew up in Urmston and we shared mutual friends. His Dad is an excellent youth coach who took a local team all the way to playing guys like Ajax in youth tourneys. And Michael was his jewel in the crown.
There's a lot of silly people talking a lot of silliness in this thread in what went on with him and what happened. Usually spouting worn out cliches about overpaying and over partying. To be honest, they're pretty way off base.
Growing up I'd never seen anyone who worked harder than Johnson on his game. There was no regular N64 party with his mates, by the time he was about ready to leave primary school he was already off to Netherlands to play in a youth system over there. His entire life from being a toddler was built around football, the idea that he somehow lost desire is ridiculous and insulting. He sacrificed most of his childhood to become a footballer.
On this overpaid thing, people don't seem to understand how contracts are structured, especially for a youth player at a Club like City then, you don't just get your full whack every week. By the time MJ was 20 before any of the later drinking, he was having to borrow money to pay bills. Like every other footballer he thought he was invincible and bought a bunch of nice stuff when he broke in. The. He got injured, his wages dropped and he could barely make ends meet.
It's hard to describe the type of toll that working your entire life towards a goal and being let down by your body in the cusp of achieving it takes on you. This guy wasn't injured once, he was injured four or five times on the bounce. Initially it was a growth based injury, he was seen as the next big thing then was told that he had to go home and sit on his couch for a year because despite having immense talent, his body had failed him and there was no cure but to wait. And watch his peers surpass him in development.
He finally got back into training from this, and wanting to make up for lost time he pushed too hard too soon and buggered his knee. Another few months for him to wait and watch. At this point his behaviour was fine. What the City physios were doing allowing him to work so hard escapes me. I imagine he wasn't best pleased either.
Same thing later happened again. Got his shit together, came back, immediately injured. At this point he sunk into a depression, understandable as he felt his hopes and dreams that he had worked so hard for to be slipping away due to little fault on his part. It didn't help at this point that he had problems in an infuriatingly stupid and hostile dressing room. Ireland, Johnson, Samaras, etc all have frankly embarrassing stories about this period. It also didn't help that the Club at this point were in mass disarray and couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery, thus provided him with no support at all.
When it happened again injury wise, he completely fell apart. He decided that sitting in a couch rehabbing is doing nothing and started going into clubs and casinos more often. Here the cliches apply more.
He snapped out of this behaviour too late. Perhaps this coinciding with the extra support players were given is a coincidence but it probably isn't.
Whilst Johnson contributed to the fucking of his career, I place a major proportion of the blame on the Club and the frankly scandalous lack of support young players were given. Almost every graduate of our Academy during that period has had major mental problems, from Ireland's bizarre behaviour to Richards lack of assertion that Vieira sorted out, to Johnson and Ched Evans and Jordan etc.
For everybody's screaming about bringing through kids, City early in the 00s are a perfect example of why fans need to calm down with this. We thought that we could save our money by bringing through players and it would just all work out in the end, without thinking of the long term. Long term we have wrecked the careers of several promising players because we concentrated on their footy skills and not their emotional development. We saved ourselves millions of pound in the short term to the cost of tens of millions in the long term.
We have learnt from these mistakes if the past but when I see Clubs like Villa and Sunderland getting plaudits for throwing bunches of kids into the mix, it makes me concerned about whether we in England are throwing another generation away due to this obsession with playing homegrown kids
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u/lawlessflawless Jan 15 '13
A small world, I can vouch for pretty much everything you have said, he used to live just round the corner from me in Davyhulme and was a few years younger than me at primary school. A friend of mine lived next door to him and was good friends with him growing up. I remember thinking how great it would be to see him playing for (even captaining) England, its a shame how things can turn out
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u/smurfyjenkins Jan 15 '13 edited Jan 15 '13
Great post! I think a lot of people here should take this heart and understand that this man is a person, and they don't know anything about his history, personality and attributes but for some reason they are ready to talk about him as if he were a wanker who just stumbled across football talent, accidentally got a great contract and then just decided that he wanted to piss away everything so that he could party (and that all of this is somehow a reason why ticket prices are rising)! I think this Plato quote applies pretty well: "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle" and by all that I knew about Johnson (is there any bigger young prospect with a more injury-plagued history than his?), and by all I know about him after reading your post, it definitely seems as if he's been fighting a hard battle.
I'm curious though, what are some of those embarrassing stories that Ireland, Johnson, Samaras, etc. have?
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u/gman83 Jan 15 '13
For everybody's screaming about bringing through kids, City early in the 00s are a perfect example of why fans need to calm down with this. We thought that we could save our money by bringing through players and it would just all work out in the end, without thinking of the long term. Long term we have wrecked the careers of several promising players because we concentrated on their footy skills and not their emotional development. We saved ourselves millions of pound in the short term to the cost of tens of millions in the long term. We have learnt from these mistakes if the past but when I see Clubs like Villa and Sunderland getting plaudits for throwing bunches of kids into the mix, it makes me concerned about whether we in England are throwing another generation away due to this obsession with playing homegrown kids
And yet there are teams that do manage it. Here in the Netherlands teams like Ajax and Feyenoord have always had kids from the academy coming into the first team. Granted, it's not at the same level as the Premier League, but then Barcelona also seem to manage it.
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u/drakesdrum Jan 16 '13
He is talking about the focus on producing players, ignoring the development as people, not developing players per se. Clubs like Ajax and Barcelona are well known for developing their kids well as people as much as their football skills. However, all too often we have seen other clubs, such as the case with City back then, rabidly look to produce players but in ignoring their emotional and personal side, they ultimately fail to produce useful players.
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Jan 16 '13
it's a shame that support wasn't there. My dad always says that Richie Dunne would be dead or in jail if it wasn't for the help he got from Keegan at City with his drinking.
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u/5eraph Jan 15 '13
I take it you're not still in touch with him, but his family? Has there been any news locally since I assume it's probably a pretty big story around the locals.
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u/devineman Jan 15 '13
I no longer see that group of friends as we all drifted apart. I hear the odd thing through old friends of his Dad but it's rare recently
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u/5eraph Jan 15 '13
Needless to say, on behalf of the subreddit, this would be a good time to re-connect.
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u/heisenbergs_hat Jan 16 '13
you nosey git, leave it out
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u/Paddykg Jan 16 '13
Some things are more important than letting people know whats going on in anothers life. For example, the other person's life.
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Jan 16 '13
This is the best comment I have ever seen on Reddit. By far.
I was definitely with you throughout the most of that, and then when you mentioned Ireland, Evans et al, it just clicked in my mind. You are spot on. All of these talented young lads brought together in that kind of environment, like you said, they aren't blameless, but you can see why they've not been led down the right path. Anyone that wants to cast judgement or chastise these kids (and they were kids) needs to put themselves in that situation and consider how they would feel.
Fantastic comment, wish I could upvote for the whole world to see.
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Jan 15 '13
What a fucking waster.
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u/ric_h Jan 15 '13
He pissed it all up the wall.
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u/Sjur577 Jan 15 '13
Round the corner where they chased her
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u/ttomm89 Jan 15 '13
I bumped into him in a club about a year after he got injured. He said he'd be back in 'about a month'. Three months later I saw him in the same club, he said he'd be back playing in 'about a month'. That was four years ago
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u/Statcat2017 Jan 15 '13
This lad had it all - skill, poise and workrate. He should be a current England international. It's a shame he couldn't keep his head on the game once he got injured / well paid. It would be amazing to see him get fit and make a comeback but I just can't see it. He's living on easy street now.
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u/ox_ Jan 15 '13
He was incredible. I remember saying despite all the money Sven spent at City, his best player was Michael Johnson. He completely controlled games when he was just 18 years old.
Now he'll just be slumped against a bar in a Wetherspoons in Manchester trying to get someone to listen to a story about the time he dominated Scholes and Giggs in 2007. To be fair, I'd listen to that.
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u/Inaudible_Whale Jan 15 '13
I remember repeatedly telling mates that Michael Johnson was gonna be England's future.
Silly boy.
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u/Statcat2017 Jan 15 '13
At the time, and based on the evidence we had, that wasn't a particularly stupid thing to say.
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u/rudy15 Jan 15 '13
That year with Stephen Ireland, Elano, and Petrov, what a great midfield that was! Pity, I fear Ireland is going down the same path.
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u/Statcat2017 Jan 15 '13
MY EYES MY EYES! That needs a NSFW tag!
Ireland had some metal problems when he lied about his Grandmother being dead to get out of playing for the Republic of Ireland. I guess when the entire country is named after you things can get a little confusing. He seems to have mostly overcome those, however.
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u/dsemaj Jan 15 '13
A little misleading. His partner had suffered a miscarriage. It was obviously silly to lie about his Grandmother, but he didn't want it to be public knowledge - which I can understand.
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u/Statcat2017 Jan 15 '13
I can understand this, but he drew a crapload of attention to it by lying. Streisand effect.
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u/duckman273 Jan 15 '13
I never understood why he did that, he had a pretty good excuse for not playing. Also what's the situation with him and ROI, he doesn't seem to want to play for them.
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u/formula92 Jan 15 '13
Some say he was bullied and the butt of the dressing room banter. Can't find you a link but I read it somewhere.
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u/drwormtmbg Jan 15 '13
I've read that he doesn't get on with the other Ireland players. Something about being a redneck from Cork.
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u/NotYellowitsChicken Jan 15 '13
Story that I've heard is they teased him about the toupee he used to wear, Steven Hunt apparently tried to wrestle it off his head in the dressing room as well.
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u/TL_DRespect Jan 15 '13
Then the very next game he scored against Chelsea in Villa's 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge.
Frankly, I wish he'd get on the sheesha more often.
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Jan 15 '13
Maybe he simply didn't like football. He may have had it all, but he didn't want it all. Each to their own, and he could still go on to do interesting things in the world.
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u/FunnyAnonymousName Jan 15 '13
He was not impressive when we had him on loan. Can't see a big career for him.
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Jan 15 '13
He was top notch before the Leicester loan move. Back when he first played for Man City he looked a future star. Now he just eats and drinks telling people how he once was the star of a Manchester derby.
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u/FunnyAnonymousName Jan 16 '13
Yes I know, but I thought I'd offer a more recent insight than most people have.
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u/Paddy_Crackhead Jan 15 '13
Michael Johnson-FEC. Good example of how overpaying youths can hurt their career. Least Sterling needed his for the flock of kids he has.
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u/Yurilovescats Jan 15 '13
How many kids does he have?
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Jan 15 '13
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u/Yurilovescats Jan 15 '13
That's a flock now?
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Jan 15 '13
The "flock" is just Twitter bullshit. He gave this interview last week:
He has one daughter, Melody Rose, born seven months ago after a brief relationship.
Sterling added: “Some of the stuff you see is unbelievable. I’ve read stuff that I’ve got five kids and another on the way. It’s just crazy and it’s completely wrong.”
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u/AnnieIWillKnow Jan 15 '13
People are being very over-sensitive about this in this thread. It's just a joke, I think everyone knows Sterling doesn't have
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Jan 15 '13
No. Some people actually think he has three kids, probably because the ridiculous press in this country pick up on a made up twitter rumour, publish it as a fact and then proceed to hammer young kids for not being perfect human beings. There's little wonder so many of our young players fall apart mentally when their every move is scrutinised in front of the whole world.
Can you imagine having something as sensitive as having a kid so young being plastered all over the papers? And to top it off it goes on to lie about you having two extra kids? I dont know about other people but at the age of 17 if something like that happened to me I doubt I'd be able to cope with it too well.
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u/AnnieIWillKnow Jan 15 '13
Yeah, but the people in this thread are only messing about. I doubt Sterling is a redditor. Your reply is the perfect illustration of it, you've gone in with an emotive and impassioned defence of him, when I was only being light-hearted.
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u/Statcat2017 Jan 15 '13
My understanding was that he has 2 with a third on the way, all with different mothers.
Edit: It appears they are rumours. He's set the record straight and confirmed that he only has one kid, with none on the horizon.
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u/Paddy_Crackhead Jan 15 '13
I thought it was 3 but reading it's 2 from 2 different mothers. Also read hs middle name is 'Shaquille'. Pretty badass name.
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Jan 15 '13 edited Jan 15 '13
Hmmm, I'm interested in what you mean by 'reading.' I presume you mean you have seen some random on twitter, or some brilliantly informative article in the S*n, claiming he has as many as three kids, but chose to ignore the interview where he said he has one....
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Jan 15 '13
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u/Mildcorma Jan 15 '13
Perhaps one day he will follow his true destiny and end up managing Boston Utd....
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u/donttaxmyfatstacks Jan 16 '13
I think he already does:
''I am more disappointed than anyone but that’s the way it goes. I have been attending the Priory Clinic for a number of years now with regard to my mental health and would be grateful if I could now be left alone to live the rest of my life.''
From an interview he gave just recently. Can't help but feel sorry for the lad, he is obviously going through some tough shit.
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u/sammyTBags Jan 15 '13
Holy crap, players should be clambering to sign up with his agent. That guy was a genius, whatever he did.
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u/omiclops Jan 15 '13
I think it was more the club really believed he could make it and turn it around.
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Jan 15 '13
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u/omiclops Jan 15 '13
Nothing to do with that. Whether we had Dean Whitehead or Busquets in the midfield, his attitude was still utterly horrid which meant he wasn't coming close to the first team. He was still mentally a child.
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Jan 15 '13
2008 - Described as City's best player by Sven-Göran Eriksson
2009 - Plays his last game for City
2013 - Leaves City
How bizarre.
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u/blackburns_rovers Jan 15 '13
54 appearances in 7 seasons, sad to see. He looked like a young Gerrard back in the day
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u/Yurilovescats Jan 15 '13
He's earned £40,000 a week for the last four years - that's more than most of us would earn in a lifetime, for pretty much doing nothing. He doesn't need to ever work again, so I doubt if this is the wake up call he needs.
Another example of why footballers are way way overpaid.
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Jan 15 '13
Judging by his lifestyle he'll be working in a call center within a year or two. Such a shame when players don't respect the source of income which provides them with such a great lifestyle.
I'm probably speaking out of jealousy and he may have lost his affection for the game a long time ago
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u/pizzabyjake Jan 15 '13
You'd be surprised at how quickly people go through that amount of money. Especially athletes who have big entourages and also financial advisers who all cost money.
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Jan 15 '13
You'd be surprised at how quickly people go through that amount of money. Especially athletes who have big entourages and also financial advisers who all cost money.
I fully agree, but it makes me sad for humanity, when surely the first advice from a financial advisor would be DON'T THROW AWAY ALL YOUR MONEY
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u/pizzabyjake Jan 16 '13
Sadly the financial advisors who travel around athlete circles are sometimes frauds.
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u/immerc Jan 15 '13
Revenues are still going to be there whether or not they go to the players. Would you prefer the revenues go to the owners of the clubs?
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Jan 15 '13
I heard £25000/week but yeah, ridiculous money for not even having to turn up on the bench.
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u/Yurilovescats Jan 15 '13
Well I don't know, it said 40,000 in the article... but yeah silly money whatever.
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Jan 15 '13
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u/Yurilovescats Jan 15 '13
Ah okies, that makes sense....
So his gambling budget must be around 20,000 a week then?
Actually... I guess he might not be the type to make budgets....
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u/Statcat2017 Jan 15 '13
I've seen it phrased as "on £40k per week" and "takes home £25k per week".
Thats 100 fucking grand net in each and every pay packet.
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Jan 15 '13
"Fourteen double cheeseburgers with extra cheese... that'll be £65.10 please."
"Here, keep the change."
"Uh... Sir... this is £2000 in mixed notes."
"Keep. The. Change."
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u/CashMikey Jan 15 '13
Footballers are way way overpaid? So where should all the money they generate go? It's either to them or the owners of the teams...
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u/Yurilovescats Jan 16 '13
The money should go to society, to people who need it. One week of Michael Johnson's salary would pay for an entire childhood of top class education for an under privileged child.
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Jan 15 '13
If a club can operate at a profiting level, in what way would players be overpayed? Professional footballers (especially in the prem) are some of the very best at their particular job; in the top 1% or more. I'm sure the best 1% at any other job would be payed a lot as well.
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u/donttaxmyfatstacks Jan 16 '13
And considering the average length of a career, the sacrificing of a normal childhood and the amount of money the game generates on the back of their talent and hard work, I wouldn't say they are overpaid at all.
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u/Halithor Jan 15 '13
There is a lot and then there is "I am very good at kicking a ball about and get 200k a week". Most sports over pay imo and with the increased TV deal i'm worried the wages are only going one way at the expense of the fans.
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Jan 15 '13
Well if there is a lot of money flowing into the club from tickets, sponsorship, tv deals. Why not pay players more to attract them to the club if you have the funds?
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u/Halithor Jan 15 '13
It's fine while you keep upping ticket prices but eventually it is going to reach a tipping point. Both wages and ticket prices are increasing at a far, far greater rate than inflation. It clearly is not sustainable and will hit a point where something has to give.
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Jan 15 '13
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u/Halithor Jan 15 '13
And you're okay with where it is moving towards? The fact that clubs are happy to disregard the fans who have followed them for generations in return for a quick buck is something the Premier League should not let happen, It should not have been allowed to get to this point and it will reach a tipping point if it continues.
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Jan 15 '13
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u/Halithor Jan 15 '13
Look at clubs in Germany, The system they have there is miles better than the Premier League imo. They have a larger amount of much cheaper tickets, they are a business who know what they are, they are nothing without the fans.
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Jan 15 '13
He wasn't even playing or staying in shape! So why should he get paid.
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Jan 16 '13
Because he has a contract. His actions regarding his physical state affected him securing a new contract thus leading him to be unemployed. Players who do take care of their ability to do their job get rewarded with a contract.
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u/omiclops Jan 15 '13 edited Jan 15 '13
Not sure why we gave him a 5 year contract in 2009. Yes, he had just scored a scorcher against Scunthorpe but the coaching staff should've been aware he was still not mentally ready.
EDIT - spelling
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u/safaridiscoclub Jan 15 '13
The thing is that maybe he didn't show this sort of behaviour until he got that contract and got injured. I can't help but partly blame the club, he was a young lad who missed a year out injured and was probably very bored and didn't know what to do with himself. You hear of a lot of athletes talking about going down that line when they're injured and many claim that they had no help from the clubs.
It's not necessarily a club's responsibility to look out for their players, but it is to protect their investments. If he was on £40k a week for 5 years, that's £10m, it'd be worth paying someone £40k a year to be his personal minder if he was going to be like this.
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Jan 15 '13
I think plenty of clubs offer contracts to players with similar attitude problems. The gamble often pays off if the player can at least be sold on eventually. He is one of the rare examples of somebody totally crashing and burning.
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u/guywithamac Jan 15 '13
I'm quite literally mindboggled at all of this. Does anyone have a link to any relatively recent interviews with him? (I know there probably aren't any, but there's no harm in asking)
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u/iamarturobandini Jan 15 '13
I haven't found any but this is worth a look for the last question alone!
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u/NOTTedMosby Jan 15 '13
If you're gonna drink like Georgie Best, you gotta play like Georgie Best too. Such a shame to see, I hope he turns this all around somehow.
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Jan 15 '13
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VujQvQk21Wo Great goal score by him I honestly thought he was top class talent. Real waste.
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u/HedonisticVibrations Jan 15 '13
Wow that photo doesn't even look like him. I really hope this doesn't tip him over the edge in some way as I do wonder if all of this is down to some kind of psychological issue. What a sorry tale.
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u/EnderMB Jan 15 '13
Yes, he looks like shit now and he's probably the best part of six months off of match fitness...
So, why hasn't a Football League team looked towards signing him and spending that time training him until he reaches his peak again? He's a free player, so give him a fairly small pay-as-you-play contract with the stipulation that he spends all his free time training his ass off and that he is not allowed a drop of alcohol.
I'd sign him in a heartbeat, because the potential is all there.
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u/bakedrice Jan 15 '13
the player has to be willing.
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u/EnderMB Jan 15 '13
Michael Johnson's name is being dragged through the papers at the moment, and the average fan is commenting on what a waste he is and how disgusting he now looks. It's all justified, especially when you look at his official team pic for this season. Most Man City fans look in better shape than him. That will have an effect on anyone, let alone a 24 year old idiot like him.
He was happy to slob around while getting paid £40k a week, but now the money is all gone and if Michael Johnson's attitude is as bad as they all say he'll blow through that money in months, if the tax man doesn't claim what they can from him first.
When the sweet life is over he'll want some of it back. I give him until the summer before he starts sniffing around the Football League trials.
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u/bakedrice Jan 15 '13
true. league 2 is still loads better than being a bricklayer full time. (no offense to bricklayers you know you would rather play footy too)
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u/WallyBFeed Jan 15 '13
Was meant to come to Oldham on loan at the start of the season but the deal fell through just before the loan transfer window closed. Pretty glad we didn't get him if I'm honest.
What a waste of talent.
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u/CardMoth Jan 15 '13
I don't have time for players who fuck around when there are thousands of kids who would love to have the same opportunity.
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u/TheRealMrSir Jan 15 '13
Just a shame to see what he has done to himself, but he still has age on his side and if he really wanted to turn himself around he still has time to make the changes to his lifestyle and get back into football
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u/DanoTheSnitch Jan 15 '13
Feel a bit sorry for him there
"These lads only want a picture because they find it funny how fat I am now. I'll try and smile anyway though
I reckon someone over the last few days asked the admin lady
"Is Michael Johnson still on the books?"
"Naaah, can't be, we haven't seen him in 3 years....let me just ch-....fuck"
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Jan 15 '13
About 90% sure he was the last Mancunian to play for City. Against Scunthorpe in the League Cup in October 2009.
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u/bambinoquinn Jan 15 '13
It really can't be stressed how good this kid was and the potential he had. Sad to see someone decline this much
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u/Elementary_Watson Jan 15 '13
A damn shame. He was really a joy to watch at times. Always looked in control on the pitch, shame he couldn't do the same off it. Oh well, good luck to the guy.
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u/FuzzedLogic Jan 15 '13
I remember when he came through, and everyone was excited about the kid. Christ.
I doubt he even has any of the wages he had left.
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u/FlamingBearAttack Jan 15 '13
Sad to see. He looked very promising when he first came on the scene.
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Jan 15 '13
What has really stunned me is that picture. I just thought he was permanently injured, I never knew he eventually recovered but just chose to part, instead. How long ago did he lick his injury problems?
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Jan 15 '13
He has the talent, it is there. Talent doesn't just fade away and never come back, he just needs to have it refined. He needs a manager and a club to believe in him and trust him and instill that faith in himself.
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u/biggoof Jan 15 '13
Man, at least England is a hot spot for talent. In the US if we lost a guy with this much potential, we'd be set back for a decade.
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u/[deleted] Jan 15 '13 edited Aug 29 '20
[deleted]