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Michael Johnson.....
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RVZ Urmston said:I don't know Johno personally, but he lives in the next road from me. He bought the house of someone who I knew and moved his parents in with him, so to blame his parents is a bit harsh. You rarely see him about, it's a quiet, but very nice road he lives on. I've never heard of any parties or any complaints about him from neighbours until the incident with cars he shunted outside his house. The big shame is, what a talent and what a waste.
You're right - all the pop psychology is harsh, and I suspect OTT.
How about a fairly simple scenario:
He was given far too much money as a teenager, got injured and then had far too much time on his hands to spend it - so he spends it the way we all would have at 19. He's obviously someone who struggles with his weight, so not being able to train pushes him over the edge and makes it harder to get fit. He's set for life financially, he's so far away from playing that he's probably fed up/depressed just thinking about football, as any of us would be, so finding the motivation to push himself 100% was probably just too much.
Leave him to get on with his life now, and hopefully he'll be able to move on.
munster
Well-Known Member
I remember seeing MJ when he came on against Scunthorpe(?) in the League Cup under Hughes. He looked like somebody had blown him up with a bicycle pump, but he still had a productive cameo and scored a great goal, though I thought he looked embarrassed as the other players congratulated him afterwards (sign of what was to come?)
Sometimes we take for granted the need for mental strength in whatever we do, whether it's working to get back fit at the start of a Premier League career, or learning how to wire the plugs as a budding 'sparky'. There are all sorts of reasons people go off the rails, even with strong parenting, friendships and so on.
I hope MJ has had a decent rep/adviser behind him who's put some of that £25,000/week away as a 'nest egg' and that he finds the mental strength and guidance to wipe the slate clean and embark on a worthwhile venture.
I pray that he does so; I'll never forget the joy of seeing that local lad score those blinders under Sven.
Good luck Michael.
Sometimes we take for granted the need for mental strength in whatever we do, whether it's working to get back fit at the start of a Premier League career, or learning how to wire the plugs as a budding 'sparky'. There are all sorts of reasons people go off the rails, even with strong parenting, friendships and so on.
I hope MJ has had a decent rep/adviser behind him who's put some of that £25,000/week away as a 'nest egg' and that he finds the mental strength and guidance to wipe the slate clean and embark on a worthwhile venture.
I pray that he does so; I'll never forget the joy of seeing that local lad score those blinders under Sven.
Good luck Michael.
Mad Eyed Screamer
Moderator
I'd like to think maybe the media can look at this scenario and refrain from the endless building up of young players - the new George Best, the new Ryan Giggs, the new Colin Bell, etc etc etc
let the young players become themselves rather than yesterday's hero....
but I somehow think I am wasting a bit of cyber space in typing this.....
Shame he went out via the back door....... best wishes to him.
With all the planned academy development how about seeing if he'd like to get involved there somehow?
let the young players become themselves rather than yesterday's hero....
but I somehow think I am wasting a bit of cyber space in typing this.....
Shame he went out via the back door....... best wishes to him.
With all the planned academy development how about seeing if he'd like to get involved there somehow?
Mad Eyed Screamer said:I'd like to think maybe the media can look at this scenario and refrain from the endless building up of young players - the new George Best, the new Ryan Giggs, the new Colin Bell, etc etc etc
let the young players become themselves rather than yesterday's hero....
but I somehow think I am wasting a bit of cyber space in typing this.....
Shame he went out via the back door....... best wishes to him.
With all the planned academy development how about seeing if he'd like to get involved there somehow?
Im not sure he would be the right sort of role model for the kids would he mate ? In terms of ability though im sure he would be able to help in some way or another.
baildon blue
Well-Known Member
Wasted his football career at City good player on is day.Its a shame we gave him a 5 year contract coz he wasnt worth it.
I watched his goal against Villa in 2007 on youtube last night. Jonathan Pearce was commentating and was absolutely drooling about the lads ability, he compared him to Colin Bell and that the world was at his feet etc.
A tragic waste of talent.
Good luck to the lad, wherever and whatever he ends up doing.<br /><br />-- Tue Jan 15, 2013 2:06 pm --<br /><br />
Hindsight is always 20/20 vision. When we offered him that contract he looked to be an absolute world-beater. Can't blame the club for what happened after.
A tragic waste of talent.
Good luck to the lad, wherever and whatever he ends up doing.<br /><br />-- Tue Jan 15, 2013 2:06 pm --<br /><br />
baildon blue said:Its a shame we gave him a 5 year contract coz he wasnt worth it.
Hindsight is always 20/20 vision. When we offered him that contract he looked to be an absolute world-beater. Can't blame the club for what happened after.
bluenova said:RVZ Urmston said:I don't know Johno personally, but he lives in the next road from me. He bought the house of someone who I knew and moved his parents in with him, so to blame his parents is a bit harsh. You rarely see him about, it's a quiet, but very nice road he lives on. I've never heard of any parties or any complaints about him from neighbours until the incident with cars he shunted outside his house. The big shame is, what a talent and what a waste.
You're right - all the pop psychology is harsh, and I suspect OTT.
How about a fairly simple scenario:
He was given far too much money as a teenager, got injured and then had far too much time on his hands to spend it - so he spends it the way we all would have at 19. He's obviously someone who struggles with his weight, so not being able to train pushes him over the edge and makes it harder to get fit. He's set for life financially, he's so far away from playing that he's probably fed up/depressed just thinking about football, as any of us would be, so finding the motivation to push himself 100% was probably just too much.
Leave him to get on with his life now, and hopefully he'll be able to move on.
Do not be so sure its easy to lose a couple million on one bad drunken night at the crap tables. Ask Allen Iverson or Michael Jordan you forget these guys are not educated they think it will last forever. If he is drinking and gambling I would say that he is most likely broke or near enough there already.
To be fair, Michael Jordan despite leaving after his sophomore year had a decent education at his university. Iverson I grant like many others was simply there to play the sport before going to a professional league. Your point otherwise is something I generally agree with.didactic said:bluenova said:RVZ Urmston said:I don't know Johno personally, but he lives in the next road from me. He bought the house of someone who I knew and moved his parents in with him, so to blame his parents is a bit harsh. You rarely see him about, it's a quiet, but very nice road he lives on. I've never heard of any parties or any complaints about him from neighbours until the incident with cars he shunted outside his house. The big shame is, what a talent and what a waste.
You're right - all the pop psychology is harsh, and I suspect OTT.
How about a fairly simple scenario:
He was given far too much money as a teenager, got injured and then had far too much time on his hands to spend it - so he spends it the way we all would have at 19. He's obviously someone who struggles with his weight, so not being able to train pushes him over the edge and makes it harder to get fit. He's set for life financially, he's so far away from playing that he's probably fed up/depressed just thinking about football, as any of us would be, so finding the motivation to push himself 100% was probably just too much.
Leave him to get on with his life now, and hopefully he'll be able to move on.
Do not be so sure its easy to lose a couple million on one bad drunken night at the crap tables. Ask Allen Iverson or Michael Jordan you forget these guys are not educated they think it will last forever. If he is drinking and gambling I would say that he is most likely broke or near enough there already.
taconinja said:To be fair, Michael Jordan despite leaving after his sophomore year had a decent education at his university. Iverson I grant like many others was simply there to play the sport before going to a professional league. Your point otherwise is something I generally agree with.didactic said:bluenova said:You're right - all the pop psychology is harsh, and I suspect OTT.
How about a fairly simple scenario:
He was given far too much money as a teenager, got injured and then had far too much time on his hands to spend it - so he spends it the way we all would have at 19. He's obviously someone who struggles with his weight, so not being able to train pushes him over the edge and makes it harder to get fit. He's set for life financially, he's so far away from playing that he's probably fed up/depressed just thinking about football, as any of us would be, so finding the motivation to push himself 100% was probably just too much.
Leave him to get on with his life now, and hopefully he'll be able to move on.
Do not be so sure its easy to lose a couple million on one bad drunken night at the crap tables. Ask Allen Iverson or Michael Jordan you forget these guys are not educated they think it will last forever. If he is drinking and gambling I would say that he is most likely broke or near enough there already.
Agreed im not using them as examples of a lack of education but as an example of how easy it is to lose millions in one night. Granted unlike Johnson these guys pockets are much deeper so they bounced back. But that £25 000 a week Johnson was on does not last long when you drinking and gambling and pissing it down the toilet.