Marvin Anthony Johnson (born 29 October 1968) is an English former professional

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 spent his entire career at

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

, playing as a defender.

Playing career

Johnson signed professional terms with Luton Town on 12 November 1986 as an 18-year-old

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

who could also play as either a full back or

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 ...

. Johnson made his league debut for Luton on 5 March 1988, in a 2–0 loss against

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

. His career spanned 16 years across the top four league divisions of England, experiencing three relegations and a promotion. Appointed as club

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

during 1995–96, Johnson made a total of 440 appearances for Luton, 373 of which came in the league. Towards the end of his career Johnson was plagued by injuries, and he officially retired from playing in 2003.

Coaching career

In 2002, with Johnson still registered as a player, he was appointed as assistant to youth team manager John Moore. A year later and with Johnson now retired, Moore moved on and Johnson became youth team manager himself, a position he retained until he was released from his contract by

Kevin Blackwell Kevin Patrick Blackwell (born 21 December 1958) is an English former professional football goalkeeper who since retiring as a player has worked as a coach and a manager. He is currently the manager of Thai League 1 club Nakhon Ratchasima. Ear ...

in June 2007. During his tenure, he oversaw the development of players such as

Curtis Davies Curtis Eugene Davies (born 15 March 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Derby County. Davies began his career at Luton Town, for whom he made his professional debut in 2003. Davies moved to Premier ...

Leon Barnett Leon Peter Barnett (born 30 November 1985) is an English former professional Association football, footballer. A Defender (association football), defender, he primarily played as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, centre-back, but a ...

and Kevin Foley, who have all since played in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. Johnson spent the 2008–09 season as manager of non-league side St Neots Town, though he left the club after a 17th-placed finish in the United Counties Football League Premier Division. On 20 December 2009, Johnson was appointed as the

assistant 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 ...

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

side

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...

. Johnson is currently the Director of Coaching at Virginia Revolution Soccer Club and holds a UEFA 'A' license and a UEFA Coaching Level 'B' license.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Marvin 1968 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Brent People from Wembley English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Black British sportsmen Luton Town F.C. players English Football League players