Lindsay Johnson (born 8 May 1980) is an English 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 ...

who played for Everton Ladies and the

England women's national football team The England women's national football team, also known as the Lionesses, have been governed by the Football Association (FA) since 1993, having been previously administered by the Women's Football Association (WFA). England played its first in ...

. Johnson was a fast and versatile defender, with the ability to play in any of the defensive positions.

Early life

Johnson was born in

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

. She was educated at Fens Primary School, Manor College of Technology, and

Hartlepool Sixth Form College Hartlepool Sixth Form College, otherwise known as 'HSFC', is one of fewer than 100 specialist sixth form colleges (for ages 16–19) in England. History It was originally known as West Hartlepool Grammar School (also known as Brinkburn Grammar S ...

. Her interest in sport in general began at a very early age. At the age of six years, she began

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

training, although was not allowed to compete until the age of eight years. She went on to represent her county at

200m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a Sprint (running), sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run th ...

and the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

and also represented her county at

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

Club career

Johnson's football career began at the age of 11 years when she joined a girls club. She also played for

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

on one or two occasions while attending Manchester Metropolitan University. However, her Premier League career began relatively late when she joined Liverpool Ladies, from where she joined Everton Ladies in 2003. Everton fans gave her the nickname "Lindsay Lightning" due to her pace. She played for Everton in their 1–0 FA Women's Cup Final defeat to Charlton Athletic Ladies in 2005, earning the Player of the Match award. She also played in Everton's League Cup win in 2008, beating

Arsenal Ladies Arsenal Women Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is an English professional women's football club based in Islington, London, England. The club plays in the Women's Super League, the top tier of English women's football. Arse ...

in the final. Johnson's loyalty to Everton was rewarded with another two Cup finals in 2010: a 3–1 defeat by

Leeds Carnegie Leeds Carnegie was a brand name used by several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University. These include: Current * Leeds Carnegie Handball Club Changed name * Leeds Carnegie (ba ...

in the Premier League Cup, in which

Fara Williams Fara Tanya Franki Merrett MBE (born 25 January 1984) is an English former footballer who played as a central midfielder for multiple clubs, as well as the English national team. A consistent goalscorer and set-piece specialist, Williams was co ...

scored Everton's consolation, followed by a memorable extra–time win over Arsenal in the FA Women's Cup. When the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

season culminated in Everton's

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. ...

, Johnson postponed her plans to retire and decided to play on for another season in FA WSL 2. In October 2015, she confirmed that Everton's match against

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

would be her last. Johnson marked the occasion with a goal in Everton's 5–3 win.

International career

Johnson represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at Under-21 level, before making her senior debut against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in September 2004. Her performances during the following season's

Algarve Cup The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and ...

ensured a regular place in coach

Hope Powell Hope Patricia Powell, CBE (born 8 December 1966) is an English former international footballer and former women's first-team manager of Brighton & Hove Albion. She was the coach of the England women's national football team and the Great Britain ...

's England squad. Although initially left out of the 2007 World Cup squad, she was included as a late replacement for

Steph Houghton Stephanie Jayne Darby (, , born 23 April 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays for Women's Super League club Manchester City and the England women's national team. At club level, Houghton started at Sunderland in her native Nor ...

, who sustained a fractured fibula in training. In May 2009, Johnson was one of the first 17 female players to be given central contracts by

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

. That August she was named in the squad for the Women's UEFA 2009, her versatility meaning she could provide cover for injury worries Alex Scott and

Faye White Faye Deborah White, (born 2 February 1978) is an English former footballer who captained Arsenal Women in the FA Women's Super League and is the longest-serving female captain of England to date. Her Lionesses career spanned 15 years and five m ...

. She replaced White in the first half of the quarter-final game against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and played all of the semi-final extra-time victory against the Netherlands. Johnson was allotted 153 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.

International goal

:''Scores and results list England's goal tally first.''

Personal life

Johnson, a fan of

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

, was a teacher of PE at The King's Academy, but gave up her teaching career to focus on her football career. She also works as a mentor and trainer for BTEC students studying fitness and sports development at Cardinal Heenan Sports College and as part of this is at the forefront of the SHAPE initiative that aims to promote health and physical activity among young children in central

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 ...

. She is related to Jenny Wilkes, also a footballer; who plays for Newcastle United Women and England at Junior level.

Honours

Club

;Everton *

FA Women's Cup The Women's FA Challenge Cup Competition is the top annual cup tournament for women's clubs in English football. Founded in 1970, it has been named the WFA Cup, FA Women's Cup and now Women's FA Cup (Vitality Women's FA Cup for sponsorship reas ...

: 2009–10 *

FA Women's Premier League Cup The Women's National League Cup is an annual English football cup competition, founded in 1991 by the Women's Football Association (WFA). It was renamed the FA Women's Premier League Cup from 1994 to 2018. The first edition of the Cup includ ...

: 2007–08

International

;England *

Cyprus Cup The Cyprus Women's Cup is a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football. It has been held annually in Cyprus since 2008. Although the competition takes place in Cyprus, the hosts have yet to take part in th ...

: 2009

References

External links

Lindsay Johnson
at The FA website

at the Everton website {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Lindsay 1980 births Living people Footballers from Hartlepool English women's footballers Liverpool F.C. Women players Everton F.C. (women) players England women's international footballers FA Women's National League players Women's Super League players Coventry United W.F.C. players England women's under-23 international footballers Women's association football defenders 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players