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Damien Johnson

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Damien Johnson
Johnson in 2004 pre-season
Personal information
Full name Damien Michael Johnson[1]
Date of birth (1978-11-18) 18 November 1978 (age 45)
Place of birth Lisburn, Northern Ireland
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s) Central midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2002 Blackburn Rovers 59 (3)
1998 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 6 (0)
2002–2010 Birmingham City[A] 193 (4)
2010–2012 Plymouth Argyle 20 (2)
2010–2011 → Huddersfield Town (loan) 16 (0)
2011–2012 → Huddersfield Town (loan) 18 (0)
2012–2013 Fleetwood Town 22 (0)
International career
1998–1999 Northern Ireland U21[2] 11 (0)
1999–2010 Northern Ireland 56 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:15, 23 December 2012 (UTC)

Damien Michael Johnson (born 18 November 1978) is a Northern Irish footballer who is currently without a club.

He began his career with Portadown FC in his native Northern Ireland from whom he signed as a trainee for Blackburn Rovers and spent five years with the club, as well as spending time on loan with Nottingham Forest. He moved to Birmingham City in 2002, where he spent the next eight seasons and became the club's captain. Johnson was transferred to Plymouth Argyle in 2010 and spent the 2010–11 and 2011–12 season on loan with Huddersfield Town. He represented the Northern Ireland national team over an eleven-year period, earning 56 caps.

Club career

Blackburn Rovers

His first English team was Blackburn Rovers, for whom Johnson signed as a trainee, from Portadown F.C. in 1997, making his debut in the League Cup on 30 September 1997, a 1–0 defeat to Preston North End, in which he picked up a yellow card.

Loaned to Nottingham Forest on 28 January 1998, Johnson played in five games, and, despite accruing a yellow card in his last February appearance, performed well for the team.

Birmingham City

On 8 March 2002, Johnson moved to Birmingham City for £50,000 and in September 2004, he signed a new three-year contract.

Johnson was named the Birmingham City captain for the 2006–07 season but in one of his first games as captain, he angered fans when he first threw his captain's armband and then his shirt on the floor when he was substituted late on.

On 28 October 2006, Johnson's jaw was broken in two places after he was elbowed in the face by West Brom defender Paul Robinson during a tackle that has since drawn criticism.[3] Despite the broken jaw, Johnson played on until the final whistle.

In 2007, he signed a three-year deal keeping him at Birmingham City until 2010.

At the opening of the 2007–08 season he injured his hamstring in a pre-season friendly. Further injuries followed, and Johnson regained fitness only in December. He played his first league game on 15 December 2007, replacing the suspended Mehdi Nafti.

Plymouth Argyle

Johnson signed for Football League Championship club Plymouth Argyle, on 1 February 2010, on a free transfer, signing a two-and-a-half year contract.[4] Upon Johnson's departure, Birmingham manager Alex McLeish said: "He is always a terrier of a player and played a significant part in us returning to the Premier League. I wish him all the best."

He scored his first goal for Argyle in his fourth appearance, on 16 February 2010 against Swansea City.

Huddersfield Town

2010–11 season

On 5 August 2010, he joined Huddersfield Town on a season-long loan deal with a view to a permanent move.[5] He made his Terriers debut two days later as a late substitute in the 3–0 win over Notts County at Meadow Lane.[6] In December 2010, he suffered a cruciate ligament injury against Brighton which ruled him out for the remainder of the season.[7] Johnson remained at the club until the end of the season to complete his rehabilitation and was nominated for the Player of the Year award. In all, he made 23 appearances.

2011–12 season

The club confirmed on 18 July 2011 that he was set to sign on another season-long loan deal,[8] which was confirmed the next day. His second debut for the Terriers came in the 3–0 win against Sheffield United at Brammall Lane on 13 September 2011.

Fleetwood Town

On 7 June 2012, Johnson joined newly promoted Football League Two side Fleetwood Town.[9] Just over a year after joining Fleetwood, Johnson left the club by mutual consent on 9 October 2013.[10]

International career

Johnson earned his first Northern Ireland call up on 29 May 1999, when he came on as a substitute in the 1–0 away win against the Republic of Ireland. Further appearances as substitute followed against Finland, Luxembourg, Malta, and Hungary, before he made his first full appearance versus Yugoslavia at Windsor Park, Belfast, in August 2000.

After a period when his international appearances were restricted by serious injury, Johnson made his 49th appearance for NI in the 3–0 World Cup Qualifying victory in San Marino on 11 February 2009, when he was the BBC's "Man of the Match".

On 29 July 2010, Johnson announced his retirement from international football.[11]

Honours

Notes

A. ^ Soccerbase's stats for the match between Derby County and Birmingham City on 9 March 2007 fail to include appearances by substitutes for either side, one of whom was Johnson.[12][13] The correct figure for Birmingham appearances in the League according to the 2010–11 Sky Sports Football Yearbook is 193,[14] which is one more than given on his Soccerbase page.

References

  1. ^ "Professional retain list & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 18 May 2013. p. 62. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  2. ^ Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2012). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2012–2013 (43rd ed.). London: Headline. p. 974. ISBN 978-0-7553-6356-8.
  3. ^ "Birmingham skipper fractures jaw". BBC Sport. 29 October 2006. Retrieved 10 April 2007.
  4. ^ "Plymouth sign Johnson from Blues". BBC Sport. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  5. ^ "Midfielder Johnson Signs On Loan". Huddersfield Town F.C. 5 August 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  6. ^ "Notts County 0–3 Huddersfield". BBC Sport. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  7. ^ "Huddersfield midfielder Damien Johnson out for season". BBC Sport. 15 December 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  8. ^ "JOHNSON SET FOR RETURN TO HUDDERSFIELD TOWN". htafc.com. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  9. ^ "Johnson arrives at Town". Fleetwood Town F.C. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  10. ^ "Highbury round-up". Fleetwood Town F.C. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  11. ^ "Damien Johnson calls time on Northern Ireland career". BBC Sport. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  12. ^ "Results & Matches on: Fri, 9 Mar 2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  13. ^ "Birmingham 1–0 Derby". BBC Sport. 9 March 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  14. ^ Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2010). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2010–2011. Headline. p. 508. ISBN 978-0-7553-6107-6.

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