Michael Johnson

Cast your minds back a few to when Manchester City were not owned by a rich arab. Below was the Manchester City team back in 2006/7 season.

Isaksson
Richards Dunne Distin Su Jihi
Abdoun Barton
Johnson Ireland Mpenza
Vassell

Subs: Hart, Onuoha, T.Sinclair, Samaras, Dickov, Dabo

A vastly different team to the one seen today. A team that were predicted to be around 16th in the Premier League table. They had a average age of 23. Many of these players have moved on since 2006 and as of today only 3 remain. Joe Hart, Micah Richards and Michael Johnson who we will be focusing on.

Long gone the days of George Best where a footballer could go out to a nightclub on a Friday and still start a match on the Saturday. These days you would be fined for such antics. Young players in particular can have problems with alchohol and can slow down their development. Unfortunately for Michael Johnson it didn't just slow down his development, it absolutely destroyed it. It was reported that Johnson turned up for training many times feeling hungover from the previous nights out. This wasn't helped by the amount of previous injuries that he sustained including ligament damage. During his injury process Johnson began to feel psycological factors going to his head which he attempted to resolve with drink. A year ago he was also involved in a car accident in Manchester and subsequently fined for drink driving. Man City staff concluded soon after that Johnson simply didn't have the mentality to be a professional footballer. By the time that Man City had realised this though they had already offered him a 5 year contract so that they were stuck with him.

For those of you wondering who Michael Johnson actually is, he was a teenager at Manchester City who made his Premier League debut at the age of 18 after impressing Manchester City coaching staff. A string of dazzling performances from the 6ft midfielder led to him being awarded games in the England U21s and was being touted as the next England captain by Manchester City fans. They were also making similarities between him and Man City legend Colin Bell. Although I realise they may be a bit biased towards their own players. Fans were only seing glipses of his talent. Johnson went on to make 22 appearences in the 2006/7 season before being hit with injuries. The following season Johnson only made 15 starts due to more injury problems that he never really recovered from and it is extremely hard to see him getting anywhere near the current Man City team. He is though slowly getting back to fitness and last season went to Leicester city on loan but was returned after just 2 months at the club due to a re-occuring knee injury.

Now all that is left is to ponder what a great career Johnson could of had and what a great career he should of had. Just like that of Frederico Mecheda of Man Utd. Another young talent ruined by injury and drink. Though it is not too late for Johnson to rectify his career as he is only 24 but no doubt he will he be having regrets in his later years. Right now he just needs to play games and play football and put a end to this sorry state of afairs. It is sure though that he will not be getting much of a game at Man City and will be looking to move on to another club. Possibly dropping down into the Championship? Personally I can see him foraging a career at another Premier League club such as Aston Villa, Norwich, Reading or Fulham.

So what he will do next in his career will be key. A key decision must be made.

So a message to all of you. Stay safe and know your limits this Christmas. Try not to get too drunk.

Merry Christms and Happy New Year