Stephen Anthony Johnson (born 23 June 1957) 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 played as a striker. He played 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 ...

for six different clubs and also played in non-league football and abroad.

Playing career

Johnson played non-league football for

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...

and

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

before being signed by

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 ...

side

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

in November 1977.''Player Memories'', Chester City v. Rochdale matchday programme; 26 February 1994; pg. 24 He spent six years at

Gigg Lane Gigg Lane is a football ground in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, built for Bury F.C. in 1885. The first match was played on 12 September 1885 between Bury and a team from Wigan. One of the world's oldest professional football stadiums, Gig ...

and then had a relatively short spell with

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

before moving to

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, ...

in February 1984. 13 months later Johnson joined

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

for £40,000, but he could not settle in the area and returned north by rejoining Rochdale on loan and then reuniting with his former Wigan manager

Harry McNally Harold McNally (7 July 1936 – 12 December 2004) was an English football player, coach and manager, noted for his spells as manager of Wigan Athletic and Chester City. The Non-League Background Unusually for a Football League manager, McNa ...

at Chester City in March 1986 in a further loan deal. Johnson's aerial power was a welcome asset to Chester's attack and he scored six times in the final 10 games of the season to seal promotion from

Division Four 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 ...

. Johnson then spent two years with Scunthorpe until he joined Chester on a permanent basis ahead of the 1988–89 season. He played regularly alongside

Carl Dale Carl Dale (born 29 April 1966) is a Welsh former professional footballer. During his career, he made over 300 appearances in the Football League for Cardiff City and Chester City, scoring over 100 goals. He remains a cult favourite among the ...

in the Chester attack as they narrowly missed the Third Division play–offs. During his spell at Chester, his all action playing style earned him the nickname 'Mean Machine'. After spending the summer months playing in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

, Johnson joined

for a third time to bring the curtain down on his league career. He later played for

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

, where he made a scoring

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

debut on 1 September 1990, and in October 1990 he made one league appearance for

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

. He also played for non-league teams

Northwich Victoria {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

, Radcliffe Borough, Castleton Gabriels,

Caernarfon Town Caernarfon Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Tref Caernarfon) is a semi-professional Welsh football club based in Caernarfon, Gwynedd. The club is nicknamed "the Canaries" because of its yellow and green strip, a nickname that dates from ...

and

Haslingden Haslingden is a town in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It is north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels' or 'valley growing with hazels'. At the time of the 2011 census the town (including Helmshore) had a population of 15,96 ...

, while working as a financial advisor.

Honours

Chester City

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 ...

runners-up: 1985–86

External links

Iron Alphabet profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Steve 1957 births Living people Footballers from Liverpool English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Bangor City F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players Bury F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Limerick F.C. players Cork City F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Radcliffe F.C. players Rochdale Town F.C. players Caernarfon Town F.C. players Haslingden F.C. players English Football League players League of Ireland players National League (English football) players English expatriate men's footballers