This time last year it was hard not to get excited about a magnificent mop-haired midfielder who was the hub of a Manchester City team challenging for the Champions League places. Michael Johnson, then 19, had a retro haircut and a playing style to match, an elegant, upright approach that had many City fans comparing him with Colin Bell. As always, we in the press reacted with hyperbole. The next Steven Gerrard it was proclaimed. Some went so far as to herald a future England captain.
On Thursday, Manchester city publicly admitted Johnson had a problem. He has not played in the Premier League since August, suffering from an abdominal injury. But it seems the malaise is not confined to his physical fitness and has been a concern for some time. "Michael is a young lad who has been unlucky," said Mark Bowen, Mark Hughes' astute assistant. "He has had a nagging injury that has held him back. When Michael in on the training ground and is focused he is a fantastic asset for this club. When young players have been in and out of action as long as he has it can mess your mind up a little bit because they just want to be out there playing. He has just got to be strong, fight through it, train hard and get back in the team. In the early part of the season he was a big player for us and we miss him."
Reading between the lines, this is worrying indeed, and seeming confirmation of the rumours that Johnson had lost his way. He's good when he's focused; the injury has messed with his mind. Liverpool and Arsenal reportedly bid for the player last year - City offered him a lucrative contract to stay - and with that kind of attention it is tempting to start believing the hype. His work ethic, it was alleged, had suffered as a consequence.
It was ever thus, it will be said. Too much, too young. But the contemporary footballer is under more scrutiny than ever. As recently as the mid-Nineties, players like Roy Keane, Bryan Robson and Paul Ince could hit the pub hard and then sweat off the hangover in the morning. They were always footballers first and celebrities second. That is no longer true. Our culture of gossip has advertised every vapid detail of footballers lives, let alone wives. However gifted you might be, if you put fake tan and Cristal above deep heat and turf, you will fail. With an industry of distraction around you, that can be tricky for a young man who finds himself suddenly wealthy.
The City academy prides itself on producing rounded, decent individuals, and the club are doubtless giving Johnson the support he needs. But, ultimately, he will have to rediscover the hunger himself. He could do a lot worse than look across the dressing room at Stephen Ireland. Last season, with Johnson ascendent, Ireland was in disarray. He pretended one of his grandmothers had died to get out of Ireland duty, only to pretend that it was a different grandmother when he was discovered. It subsequently emerged that Ireland was having a difficult time in his persoanl life and he quit international football. Another bright light about to be extinguished.
This season Ireland has been the most improved player in the Premier League, absolutely terrific, scoring seven goals from midfield. He nearly left for Sunderland in the summer but was seemingly determined to make it at City. The arrivals of Robinho and Shaun Wright-Phillips might have discouraged some, but Ireland has just got better and better.
These are exciting times to be playing for City. And the England national team has some phenomenal players coming through the various age groups. Johnson has reached his diverging paths. In fact, it sounds like he has already started wandering up the wrong one. There is still time to back-track - Johnson is not 21 till February - but if he wants to follow Ireland he will need to act quickly. The history of football is littered with swiftly forgotten talent. And nightclubs up and down the country will always offer up a bore who will tell you how he could've been a contender.
On Thursday, Manchester city publicly admitted Johnson had a problem. He has not played in the Premier League since August, suffering from an abdominal injury. But it seems the malaise is not confined to his physical fitness and has been a concern for some time. "Michael is a young lad who has been unlucky," said Mark Bowen, Mark Hughes' astute assistant. "He has had a nagging injury that has held him back. When Michael in on the training ground and is focused he is a fantastic asset for this club. When young players have been in and out of action as long as he has it can mess your mind up a little bit because they just want to be out there playing. He has just got to be strong, fight through it, train hard and get back in the team. In the early part of the season he was a big player for us and we miss him."
Reading between the lines, this is worrying indeed, and seeming confirmation of the rumours that Johnson had lost his way. He's good when he's focused; the injury has messed with his mind. Liverpool and Arsenal reportedly bid for the player last year - City offered him a lucrative contract to stay - and with that kind of attention it is tempting to start believing the hype. His work ethic, it was alleged, had suffered as a consequence.
It was ever thus, it will be said. Too much, too young. But the contemporary footballer is under more scrutiny than ever. As recently as the mid-Nineties, players like Roy Keane, Bryan Robson and Paul Ince could hit the pub hard and then sweat off the hangover in the morning. They were always footballers first and celebrities second. That is no longer true. Our culture of gossip has advertised every vapid detail of footballers lives, let alone wives. However gifted you might be, if you put fake tan and Cristal above deep heat and turf, you will fail. With an industry of distraction around you, that can be tricky for a young man who finds himself suddenly wealthy.
The City academy prides itself on producing rounded, decent individuals, and the club are doubtless giving Johnson the support he needs. But, ultimately, he will have to rediscover the hunger himself. He could do a lot worse than look across the dressing room at Stephen Ireland. Last season, with Johnson ascendent, Ireland was in disarray. He pretended one of his grandmothers had died to get out of Ireland duty, only to pretend that it was a different grandmother when he was discovered. It subsequently emerged that Ireland was having a difficult time in his persoanl life and he quit international football. Another bright light about to be extinguished.
This season Ireland has been the most improved player in the Premier League, absolutely terrific, scoring seven goals from midfield. He nearly left for Sunderland in the summer but was seemingly determined to make it at City. The arrivals of Robinho and Shaun Wright-Phillips might have discouraged some, but Ireland has just got better and better.
These are exciting times to be playing for City. And the England national team has some phenomenal players coming through the various age groups. Johnson has reached his diverging paths. In fact, it sounds like he has already started wandering up the wrong one. There is still time to back-track - Johnson is not 21 till February - but if he wants to follow Ireland he will need to act quickly. The history of football is littered with swiftly forgotten talent. And nightclubs up and down the country will always offer up a bore who will tell you how he could've been a contender.
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