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Seth Johnson

Seth Johnson
Johnson in 2006 while at Derby County
Personal information
Full name Seth Art Maurice Johnson[1]
Date of birth (1979-03-12) 12 March 1979 (age 45)[1]
Place of birth Birmingham, England[1]
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder[1]
Youth career
1994–1996 Crewe Alexandra
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1999 Crewe Alexandra 91 (6)
1999–2001 Derby County 73 (2)
2001–2005 Leeds United 54 (4)
2005–2007 Derby County 57 (4)
Total 275 (16)
International career
1998−2002 England U21 15 (0)
2000 England 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Seth Art Maurice Johnson (born 12 March 1979) is an English retired footballer. He spent his career at Crewe Alexandra, Derby County and Leeds United, and played one football international match for England in 2000.[3]

Club career

Johnson attended Westcliff Primary school and Dawlish comprehensive in Devon, and played for the local Dawlish youth side. He was spotted by Crewe Alexandra manager Dario Gradi on a pre-season tour of Devon. He moved to Cheshire, attended Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School and began his career as a trainee with Crewe Alexandra, turning professional in 1996. A hard-working midfielder, Johnson's potential led Premier League team Derby County to offer £2.5 million for his signature in 1999.[4] The transfer went through, but Johnson's loyalty to Crewe meant he insisted on staying to help their relegation fight, delaying his move to Derby by two months.[5] In the end, Crewe avoided relegation by a single point.[5]

His continued progress led to a solitary appearance for England, against Italy in November 2000, and further interest in his services. Leeds United ultimately paid £7 million to acquire Johnson on 16 October 2001,[6] but a series of severe injury problems restricted him to just 54 league appearances in four years at Leeds. When Johnson returned to full fitness, Leeds decided not to play him to reduce their liability for transfer fees to Derby.[5] He stayed with the club after their relegation in 2004, and was eventually released in August 2005.

He returned to Derby County in 2005, where he successfully resurrected his career. He played his final game for the club on 28 May 2007 at Wembley Stadium, where he helped the club win the Championship Play-off Final and promotion to the Premier League. However, during the match, Johnson injured his knee, and was substituted with three minutes remaining.[7] He was released from his contract in June 2007, along with seven other players.[8]

The knee injury finished his career at the age of 28.[5]

International career

Under-21

Johnson made his debut for the England under-21s in the win against Luxembourg in October 1998.[9] He came on for Frank Lampard as England won 5−0 in the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier.[9] On 26 March 1999, he made his full debut in the qualifier against Poland as England won 5−0 at The Dell.[9] The fixture was only the third time in U21s' history that the full starting eleven all went on to win full international caps with the senior team.[9] England finished top of their group and qualified for the play-offs, and Johnson featured as England beat Yugoslavia to advance to the tournament finals.[9][10] At the finals in Slovakia, he started the group games against Italy and Turkey but England were eliminated after finishing in third place.[9][11][12] He made two appearances during England's qualifying campaign for 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, but his last game came in the friendly defeat against Portugal in April 2002.[13] Overall, Johnson made 15 appearances for the U21s but scored no goals.[14]

Senior

Johnson received his first call up to the senior England squad whilst playing for Derby County in November 2000.[15] He became the first Derby player since Mark Wright in 1991 to be named in an England squad.[15] On 15 November, he made his debut in the defeat against Italy; he replaced Gareth Barry after 73 minutes in the 1−0 loss at Stadio Delle Alpi in Turin.[16][17] This was his only cap for England.[17]

Honours

Crewe Alexandra
Derby County

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Seth Johnson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Seth Johnson". DCFC.co.uk. Derby County Football Club. Archived from the original on 16 July 2007. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Seth Johnson". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  4. ^ "BBC News - FA Carling Premiership - Derby County: Goal hunt". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d Burnton, Simon (28 February 2012). "The forgotten story of ... Seth Johnson in an England shirt". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  6. ^ Ley, John (16 October 2001). "Johnson bound for Leeds as Derby accept £7m bid". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  7. ^ "BBC SPORT - Football - Championship - Derby 1-0 West Brom". bbc.co.uk. 28 May 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  8. ^ Experienced Pair Depart BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Goodwin, Chris; Isherwood, Glen. "England's Matches the under-21's 1990−2000". EnglandFootballOnline.com. England Football Online. Archived from the original on 15 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  10. ^ "England 3−0 Serbia". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 March 2000. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Italy 2−0 England". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 May 2000. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  12. ^ "England 6−0 Turkey". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 May 2000. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  13. ^ Goodwin, Chris; Isherwood, Glen. "England's Matches the under-21's 2000−2010". EnglandFootballOnline.com. England Football Online. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  14. ^ Goodwin, Chris; Isherwood, Glen. "Seth Johnson". EnglandFootballOnline.com. England Football Online. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  15. ^ a b "Seth shocked by England call-up". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 9 November 2000. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  16. ^ "Gattuso wonder goal sinks England". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 15 November 2000. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  17. ^ a b Naylor, Davey. "Seth Art Maurice Johnson". EnglandStats.com. England International Database 1872−2020. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.