Seth Johnson
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Seth Art Maurice Johnson | ||
| Date of birth | 12 March 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Birmingham, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| 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) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2000 | England | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:47, 14 October 2008 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Seth Art Maurice Johnson (born 12 March 1979) is a former England international footballer, who is currently without a club after his second spell as a player with Derby County ended in 2007.[1]
[edit] Playing career
When he was young, Johnson attended Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School. He began his career as a trainee with Crewe Alexandra, turning professional in 1996. A hard working midfielder, Johnson's potential led Derby to offer £3 million for his signature in 1999. 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. In the end, Crewe avoided relegation by a single point. His continued progress led to a solitary appearance for England, against Italy in November 2000, and further interest in his services. Big spending Leeds United ultimately paid £7 million to acquire Johnson in 2001, but a series of horrendous injury problems restricted him to just 54 league appearances in four years at Leeds. Leeds also decided not to play Seth when he returned to full fitness as part of Seth's transfer deal with Derby was on appearances and Derby were due another payment which Leeds couldn't afford at the time so Seth was left out.
Johnson was released by Leeds in August 2005. Johnson returned to Derby County in 2005, where the fans' favourite successfully resurrected his career and played his final game for the club at Wembley Stadium, where he helped the club win promotion to the Premier League. However, during the play off final Johnson injured his knee, a huge blow to his chances of playing with Derby in the Premier League the next season. He was released from his contract in June 2007, along with seven other players.[2]
There was an interesting anecdote about Johnson's negotiations with Leeds: In his personal terms negotiations with Peter Ridsdale (then Leeds Chairman) Johnson and his agent agreed in advance to hold out for £13k a week, but Ridsdale's opening offering was in the region of £30k. When the agent balked, Ridsdale increased the offer by several thousand. Ridsdale denies some of this, claiming Johnson was given “£10,000 less than has been rumoured.” [3]
[edit] References
- ^ Seth Johnson Statistics National Football Teams. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
- ^ Experienced Pair Depart BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
- ^ Seven deadly sins of football: Pride The Guardian.
