Happy Birthday - David Johnson

[Red Astaire]

62 today apparently. Now he was a little before my time so I don't know much about him. A quick look at his stats I see he played 213 times and scored 78! That's really very good. Anyone fancy filling me on what he was like? Seems he should get more recognition with stats like that yet I've barely heard of him.

 

[gkmacca]

I liked him. I'm not sure how to describe him - maybe a bit like a young Shearer, I suppose, in his overall game (but not quite as good), he was mobile, a very good header but also a good striker of the ball. He could play out wide if needed, his link-up play was good and the more fluid Liverpool's formation was the more he seemed to thrive. His misfortune was being around when Rush started breaking through, but he was a smart player who could work with just about anyone. Other clubs tended to use him in a much more one-dimensional way, but I think we glimpsed him at his very best.

 

[Red Astaire]

Nice thanks GK. 🙂

 

[gkmacca]

He's sort of become Kenny's forgotten partner, but I actually think they had a great partnership. Kenny still had plenty of energy and aggression in those days, so he tended to keep swapping with Johnson in terms of who was more advanced, so it made for a very interesting and unusually flexible combination (although it also meant that Johnson wasn't as easy to categorise as most centre forwards of the time, so didn't get as much personal publicity). When Rushie replaced him Kenny started to be more withdrawn and a much more conventional partnership developed as a result.



Any old excuse!

 

[Red Astaire]

Booom! What a game that looked. Were you there GK?

Also a quick look on wikipedia says that he played for Everton.... Twice!!! 😱

 

[gkmacca]

Oh sadly not - what a regret! Yes, he was always a red and I think his whole family were, and Shanks tried to sign him from the bluenoses (I think).

 

[Hansern]

Some of the football in that clip is just amazing.

 

[Red Astaire]

Some of the football in that clip is just amazing.

Indeed! That last goal looked sublime and The King was on fire - Seemed to be at the heart of everything. I wish I could have seen him play in the flesh.

 

[Whaddapie]

Wasn't he the first player to cross Stanley Park?

 

[gkmacca]

I think that was Dave Hickson.

 

[jimmy]

Happy birthday David Johnson.
He was one of my heroes in my early days as a fan.

 

[Spionkop69]

That 7th goal is just amazing and was scored by the vastly underrated (by others) Terry Mac. What an engine he had.

I liked David Johnson he had a knack of being in the right place at the right time. But as Macca says this was around the time a certain Ian Rush was coming through.

 

[gkmacca]

I love Terry Mac. He was an incredible player. His 'refuelling' habits made Molby look like a disciple of Jamie Oliver but he could run and run on the pitch and could do absolutely anything. If he was around today as a player - and Spanish - Fudgie wouldn't be able to walk more than a few steps at a time without spontaneously spunking.

 

[Red Astaire]

I love Terry Mac. He was an incredible player. His 'refuelling' habits made Molby look like a disciple of Jamie Oliver but he could run and run on the pitch and could do absolutely anything. If he was around today as a player - and Spanish - Fudgie wouldn't be able to walk more than a few steps at a time without spontaneously spunking.

Ha ha! What an image!

 

[Whaddapie]

I love Terry Mac. He was an incredible player. His 'refuelling' habits made Molby look like a disciple of Jamie Oliver but he could run and run on the pitch and could do absolutely anything. If he was around today as a player - and Spanish - Fudgie wouldn't be able to walk more than a few steps at a time without spontaneously spunking.

Didn't know that about him, Macca... Got any stories about him?

 

[gkmacca]

Not really, just countless repetitive tales about how he was legless the evening before some games and then he went out and dominated the match. Terry Mac just loved horse racing and ale. (The most notorious tale is when the squad was up on the balcony during the reception after the 77 victory and he was caught short, so he pissed over the side - accidentally right on to a nurse below). And he was a genius footballer. His interview comes up every now and again on LFCTV and I heartily recommend it. He's quite a shy bloke - he got the writers' and the PFA player of the year awards and he didn't even go and collect them, mainly because he didn't like formal events, but he seems a great bloke. I can't praise him too much as a player - he was astonishing, week in, week out.

 

[LarryHagman]

Terry MacDermott had everything a midfielder should have; engine, workrate, skill, touch, aggression, passing range. The lot. Criminally underrated when the great player discussions come around.