Jeffrey David Johnson (born 26 November 1953) is a Welsh former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. In addition to his club career – playing over 400 games in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, he also represented his country at youth and under-23 level. He began his career at

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

in 1970, and played on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

in 1972, before joining Crystal Palace the following year. He moved on to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

in 1976, and was voted Player of the Year in 1980, and helped the club to win promotion out of the

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

in 1979–80. He signed with Newport County in 1981, before moving on to Gillingham the next year. He joined

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

in June 1985, and played a minor role in the club's promotion out of the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

, before he joined non-League

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

in May 1986.

Career

Johnson started his professional career with

in 1970, when Joe Mercer was finishing his six-year reign. He made six First Division appearances in 1970–71, 1971–72 and 1972–73. He also had a lengthy spell on

, playing 38 games in the

. In December 1973, Johnson rejoined his former Manchester City

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Malcolm Allison Malcolm Alexander Allison (5 September 1927 – 14 October 2010) was an English football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Mal", he was one of English football's most flamboyant and intriguing characters because of his panache, fedora and ...

, at Crystal Palace in December 1973. Palace suffered

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

from the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

in 1973–74. Palace were four points off the promotion places in 1974–75 and three points shy of the promotion places in 1975–76, although Palace reached the FA Cup semi-final that year. Johnson made 26 league appearances that season and played in four out of eight games in the cup run. Johnson left

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon which is the home ground of Premier League side Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted international footba ...

in July 1976, and moved on to

Len Ashurst Leonard Ashurst (10 March 1939 – 25 September 2021) was an English football player, manager and administrator. He spent most of his playing career with Sunderland, making 458 appearances, the second most in the club's history. He retired a ...

, who finished six points behind Palace in 1976–77, who occupied the third and final promotion place. Jack Charlton then took over at

Hillsborough Hillsborough may refer to: Australia *Hillsborough, New South Wales, a suburb of Lake Macquarie Canada *Hillsborough, New Brunswick *Hillsborough Parish, New Brunswick * Hillsborough, Nova Scotia, in Inverness County *Hillsborough (electoral d ...

, and Wednesday dropped to 14th in 1977–78 and 1978–79. Johnson was voted the club's Player of the Year in 1979–80, as Wednesday won promotion in third place. The club adapted comfortably to the Second Division in 1980–81, though at the end of the season, Johnson dropped back down a division to sign with Newport County, and was reunited with Len Ashurst at

Somerton Park Somerton Park was a football, greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Newport, South Wales. Football In April 1912 Newport County had been accepted to play in the Southern League for the 1912–13 season. Shortly afterwards, the site ...

. Newport posted a 16th-place finish in 1981–82. He then moved on to

Keith Peacock Keith Peacock (born 2 May 1945, in Barnehurst) is an English former footballer and manager. He was the first player to come on as a substitute in the Football League. Early life He was educated at Erith Grammar School, now named Erith School. ...

's Gillingham, and became a key first team player at

Priestfield Stadium Priestfield Stadium (popularly known simply as Priestfield and officially known from 2007 to 2010 as KRBS Priestfield Stadium and from 2011 as MEMS Priestfield Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent. It has ...

. Gillingham finished 13th in the Third Division in 1982–83 and eighth in 1983–84, before missing out on the promotion places by one place and four points in 1984–85. He joined John Rudge's

in June 1985, making his debut on 17 August 1985 in a 1–0 defeat at Exeter City. He suffered a setback in October 1985 when he broke his foot. Unable to regain his first team spot with Port Vale, who went on to win promotion out of the

in 1985–86, he was given a free transfer in May 1986, to

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

club

. After leaving the game he spent many years as a

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

driver in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Individual *

Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

Player of the Year:

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

Sheffield Wednesday *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

third-place promotion: 1979–80 Port Vale *

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

fourth-place promotion: 1985–86

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jeff 1953 births Living people Welsh men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Cardiff Wales men's under-23 international footballers Manchester City F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players English Football League players Northern Premier League players British taxi drivers