Ian Johnson (born 7 March 1983 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He is the grandson of former

player

Ronnie Moran Ronald Moran (28 February 1934 – 22 March 2017) was a Liverpool F.C., Liverpool captain and coach who twice served as caretaker manager in the early 1990s. Having spent his entire playing career at the club, he then became a member of the Boo ...

Playing career

Johnson started his career at

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

. He made his debut for the club on 9 January 2001 in a 3–2 away win against

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

, and made a further appearance in the next round of the competition in a 2–1 defeat against

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

. He signed a one-year professional contract with the club at the end of the season, but failed to make a first-team appearance during the following season and was released in April 2002. He then joined

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

, where he made one appearance in the

Liverpool Senior Cup The Liverpool County Football Association Senior Cup, commonly known as the Liverpool Senior Cup, is a football knockout tournament involving teams from the city of Liverpool, England and surrounding areas. It is the County Cup competition of ...

, scoring in a 3–1 win against

Prescot Cables Prescot Cables Football Club is a supporter-owned football club based in Prescot, Merseyside. It was established in 1884 and has also been known as Prescot and Prescot Town. They compete in the and play their home games at Valerie Park. They ...

. He was released, however, in March 2003 without making a single league appearance for the club. He then signed for

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

, playing seven times and scoring once, before joining

Burscough Burscough () is a town and civil parish in West Lancashire in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. It is located to the north of Ormskirk and northwest of Skelmersdale. The parish also includes the hamlet of Tarlscough and the Martin M ...

in March 2004. After a good first season with the club, in which he scored six goals, Johnson suffered a cruciate ligament injury, keeping him out for most of the following season. He played a number of games for

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...

. In 2008, he signed for newly formed

A.F.C. Liverpool Affordable Football Club Liverpool is a semi-professional football club based in Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district b ...

, where he played 14 times and scored twice during the 2008–09 season.

Coaching and management career

Johnson was assistant manager at

to Simon Haworth between 2016 and April 2018 and returned to Marine Football Club in May 2018, when he was named as manager Tommy Lawson's new assistant. He was made caretaker manager of the club in September 2018 after Lawson's resignation. Later that month Neil Young was appointed manager and he became first team coach. Johnson moved on to

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921 Stalybridge Celtic ...

as Assistant Manager in June 2020, leaving the club in September 2021. He returned to Marine in December 2021 as Head of Scouting.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Ian 1983 births Living people Footballers from Liverpool English footballers Association football midfielders Wigan Athletic F.C. players Southport F.C. players Marine F.C. players Burscough F.C. players A.F.C. Liverpool players North West Counties Football League players Marine F.C. non-playing staff Marine F.C. managers Clitheroe F.C. players