Ian Johnson (born 7 March 1983 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He is the grandson of former

player

Ronnie Moran Ronald Moran (28 February 1934 – 22 March 2017) was an English footballer who played as a left-back for Liverpool, also captaining the side. He later twice served as caretaker manager for Liverpool in the early 1990s. Having spent his entire ...

Playing career

Johnson started his career at

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

. 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 association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

, 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 of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

. 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 resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

, 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 (soccer), football knockout tournament involving teams from the city of Liverpool, England and surrounding areas. It is the County cu ...

, 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, playing seven times and scoring once, before joining

Burscough Burscough () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of West Lancashire, Lancashire, England. The town is located approximately north-northeast of Liverpool and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Its north ...

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 parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley, 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 to ...

. In 2008, he signed for newly formed A.F.C. Liverpool, 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 Celti ...

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 men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Wigan Athletic F.C. players Southport F.C. players Marine A.F.C. players Burscough F.C. players A.F.C. Liverpool players North West Counties Football League players Marine A.F.C. non-playing staff Marine A.F.C. managers Clitheroe F.C. players 21st-century English sportsmen