Michael Johnson (footballer born 1988)
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| Michael Johnson | ||
 |
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michael Johnson | |
| Date of birth | 24 February 1988 | |
| Place of birth | Urmston, Manchester, England | |
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Manchester City | |
| Number | 6 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| Everton Manchester City |
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| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2006– | Manchester City | 33 (2) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2007– | England U21 | 1 (0) |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Michael Johnson (born 24 February 1988 in Urmston, Manchester) is a professional footballer with Manchester City and has made appearances at an international level with the England national under-19 football team.
Johnson signed for Manchester City in 2004. Prior to signing for Manchester City, Johnson was a schoolboy at Everton.[1], and supported Leeds United as a youth.[1] He was part of the Manchester City youth team which reached the 2006 FA Youth Cup final. On 21 October 2006 he made his Premiership debut in the 4-0 defeat to Wigan Athletic at the JJB Stadium. His second start came in a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough in March 2007, the start of a run of seven consecutive first team appearances, which was ended by a hamstring injury which ruled him out of a match against Aston Villa on 28 April.[2]
He has represented England at under-19 level.[3] In an interview, Joey Barton praises Johnson and says he will 'flourish'.
On July 18 reports suggested that Manchester City F.C. had opened talks of a new contract to keep the player at the club amidst speculation linking him with a move to Liverpool F.C.[4]
He scored his first goal for City in the 1-0 win over Derby County on 15 August 2007 at the City of Manchester Stadium.
He scored his second goal for City in the 1-0 home win against Aston Villa on 16th September 2007 by playing a one-two with teammate Elano to run through the Villa defence and score a neat finish in the bottom corner.
As well as being compared to Manchester City legend Colin Bell, Johnson's energetic, lung-busting runs and all-round midfield ability have drawn comparisons to current England midfielder Steven Gerrard.
Johnson Spent the latter part of December 2007 out with an abominal injury, he would eventually return on the 29th of February 2008, playing the full 90 minutes in city's goal-less home draw with Wigan Athletic. Manchester City manager Sven-Göran Eriksson would praise Johnsons return on city's offcial website.
On May 8 reports suggested that Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal are after the £12m rated Johnson. The Daily Telegraph stated that Arsene Wenger sees him as the perfect replacement for the departing Mathieu Flamini and he fits in with Wenger's philosophy of buying young players and training them up in his style. Liverpool have been monitoring Johnson for some time but are thought to have made Gareth Barry their number 1 target. Johnson is stalling on a new contract despite only earning £12,000 a week due to the treatment of manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. [5]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "In Reserve: Michael Johnson", Manchester City v Newcastle United Match programme, 2006-02-01.
- ^ West Ham Thrash Wigan, Charlton In Deep Trouble. Goal.com. Retrieved on April 29, 2007.
- ^ Vaughan leads Pole-axeing. The FA. Retrieved on March 27, 2007.
- ^ City begin Johnson talks. Sky Sports. Retrieved on July 18, 2007.
- ^ Spurs interested in Man City's Michael Johnson. Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on May 8, 2008.
[edit] External links
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