Sam Johnson (footballer, born 1992)

Sam Johnson

Johnson warming up for Port Vale before the match against Northampton Town on 20 April 2013.
Personal information
Full name Samuel William Johnson[1]
Date of birth (1992-12-01) 1 December 1992
Place of birth Newcastle-under-Lyme, England[2]
Height 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)[2]
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Gateshead
(on loan from Port Vale)
Number 1
Youth career
Stoke City
2007–2011 Port Vale
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011– Port Vale 22 (0)
2011 → Stafford Rangers (loan) 11 (0)
2014 → Alfreton Town (loan) 4 (0)
2015–2016 → F.C. Halifax Town (loan) 25 (0)
2016– → Gateshead (loan) 10 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 September 2016 (UTC).


Samuel William "Sam" Johnson (born 1 December 1992) is an English professional football goalkeeper who plays for National League club Gateshead, on loan from League One side Port Vale.

He turned professional at Port Vale in April 2011, and played on loan at non-league Stafford Rangers later in the year, before making his debut for the "Valiants" in October 2012, and helping the club to secure promotion out of League Two in 2012–13. He was loaned out to Alfreton Town in November 2014, and F.C. Halifax Town in December 2015, and won the FA Trophy with Halifax in May 2016. He was loaned out to Gateshead in June 2016.

Playing career

Born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Johnson started his career in the youth ranks at local side Stoke City, before he was released by the "Potters" at age 14.[3] He quickly joined the city's other local league club – Port Vale, after youth team coach Mark Grew spotted his potential.[3] In 2010–11 he was handed a squad number after the club's number 1, Chris Martin, picked up a stomach bug.[3] Aged only 17, he still towered over the rest of the dressing room at six-foot six.[3] Johnson was not fazed by the prospect of a first team debut, Grew comparing him to Paul Musselwhite in his unflappable, rather laid-back personality.[3] In April 2011 he was offered a professional one-year deal at the club.[4]

He spent September 2011 on loan at nearby Northern Premier League Premier Division side Stafford Rangers.[5] He made his debut in a 5–4 defeat by Hednesford Town at Keys Park on 29 August, though manager Greg Clowes refused to blame Johnson for the five goals conceded.[6] The loan was then extended into October.[7] He then went on to concede just nine goals in his next ten games, and he returned to Vale Park having played a total of thirteen games. He agreed a new one-year deal with the club in May 2012.[8]

Chris Neal and Johnson are the club's only two professional goalkeepers in the 2012–13 campaign. After Neal picked up a groin strain, manager Micky Adams had little recourse but to hand Johnson his debut on 9 October, in a Football League Trophy clash with Walsall at the Bescot Stadium.[9] Before the match, Adams said "We think an awful lot of him in terms of his development, but he's a first-year professional and he'll either sink or swim."[10] Despite making "a string of important saves", he was unable to prevent the two "Saddlers" goals in a 2–2 draw; however in a remarkable turn of events he saved three penalties and then went on to score the winning penalty as the 22nd penalty taker of the penalty shoot-out.[11][12][13]

"We were having a laugh before the game saying I was going to score the winning penalty, but I never dreamed it would happen. I've never actually taken one before, so to score one on my debut, and for it to be the winner, is just incredible. I've never, ever felt so nervous before I stepped up to take it. I just picked my corner and hoped their keeper would go the other way. Luckily he did."
— Johnson speaking after making "a debut that dreams are made of".[14]

Vale secured promotion into League One at the end of the 2012–13 season, and though Johnson did not feature in any league games he was named as the club's young player of the season.[15] He signed a new two-year contract with the club in May 2013.[16]

Johnson made his debut in the Football League on 30 November 2013, again away at Walsall, and impressed again after keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 victory; after the game Adams confirmed Johnson would keep goal in the absence of Chris Neal, who had injured his wrist in training.[17] He played seven league games before Neal recovered and was returned to the first team.[18] He returned to the first team after Neal picked up another injury on 22 March.[18]

Johnson started the 2014–15 season as the club's first choice goalkeeper.[19] Neal regained his first team place after six games though, and Johnson was loaned out to Alfreton Town of the Conference Premier to gain more first team experience.[20] He played four games for Nicky Law's "Reds" before a shoulder injury cut his loan spell short.[21] He signed a new one-year contract with the Vale in June 2015.[22]

As Neal picked up an injury in pre-season, Johnson was due to start the 2015–16 campaign as first-choice goalkeeper.[23] However manager Rob Page signed Jak Alnwick days before the opening game of the season after Johnson had a shaky pre-season, leaving Johnson as the club's third-choice goalkeeper.[24] He joined National League side F.C. Halifax Town on a one-month loan on 27 November.[25] His loan deal was extended into the end of the season after he gained a first team place.[26] He played a total of 25 league games for the club but could not prevent Halifax from being relegated at the end of the 2015–16 season. He did though play at Wembley Stadium in the FA Trophy final, and kept a clean sheet as Halifax beat Grimsby Town 1–0.[27]

In June 2016, it was announced that Johnson would spend the 2016–17 season on loan at National League club Gateshead.[28] He played the first ten league games of the season, before losing his first team place to Dan Hanford.[29]

Style of play

In October 2012, Port Vale manager Micky Adams said that "I wouldn't say he's a laid-back character, but he can look horizontal at times. But he's a nice lad and if my daughter brought him home I'd be delighted."[14]

Statistics

Club Season Division League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Stafford Rangers (loan)2011–12[30]Northern Premier11000002[lower-alpha 1]0130
Alfreton Town (loan)2014–15[31]Conference Premier4000000040
F.C. Halifax Town (loan)2015–16[32][33]National League25000008[lower-alpha 1]0330
Gateshead (loan)2016–17[34]National League100000000100
Port Vale2010–11[35]League Two0000000000
2011–12[36]League Two0000000000
2012–13[37]League Two0000001[lower-alpha 2]010
2013–14[38]League One150100000160
2014–15[31]League One7000100080
2015–16[32]League One0000000000
2016–17[34]League One0000000000
Total 220101010250
Career total 7101010110840
  1. 1 2 Appearance/s in the FA Trophy.
  2. ↑ Appearance/s in the EFL Trophy.

Honours

with Port Vale
with F.C. Halifax Town

References

  1. ↑ "List of Temporary Transfers of Players under Written Contract Between 01/09/2011 and 30/09/2011" (PDF). The Football Association. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Sam Johnson eager to make his mark". The Sentinel. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Young 'keeper drafted in". port-vale.co.uk. 20 August 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  4. ↑ Shaw, Steve (22 April 2011). "Port Vale: Ede tips young stars for bright future". The Sentinel. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  5. ↑ "Johnson Joins Stafford Rangers". port-vale.co.uk. 29 August 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  6. ↑ "Football: Possible keeper boost for struggling Rangers". The Sentinel. 2 September 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  7. ↑ "Duo go on Loan". port-vale.co.uk. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  8. ↑ "Four players put pen to paper on new deals". The Sentinel. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  9. ↑ Johnson, Dave. "Micky announces his team over 24 hours before the Walsall match". port-vale.co.uk. port-vale.co.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  10. ↑ "Port Vale at Walsall: Young keeper Sam Johnson to make first-team debut in trophy clash". The Sentinel. 9 October 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  11. ↑ "Match report v Walsall". The Sentinel. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  12. ↑ "'Nervous' Port Vale keeper Sam Johnson hits winning JPT penalty". BBC Sport. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  13. ↑ "Keeper Sam Johnson won't be fazed by hero status, says assistant boss Mark Grew". The Sentinel. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  14. 1 2 "Debut boy Sam Johnson the hero in penalty shoot-out at Walsall". The Sentinel. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  15. ↑ "Tom Pope wins player-of-the-year award". The Sentinel. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  16. ↑ Pearson, Guy (31 May 2013). "Birchall and Johnson sign but Rob Page linked with Sheffield United job". The Sentinel. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  17. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (30 November 2013). "Adams set to stick with 'terrific' Johnson while Neal is out for at least a month.". The Sentinel. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  18. 1 2 Baggaley, Mike (24 March 2014). "Goalkeeper Chris Neal set to miss rest of season". The Sentinel. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  19. ↑ "Sam Johnson says he faces huge challenge from Chris Neal". The Sentinel. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  20. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (20 November 2014). "Goalkeeper Sam Johnson joins Alfreton on loan". The Sentinel. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  21. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (8 December 2014). "Sam Johnson suffers shoulder injury". The Sentinel. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  22. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (9 June 2015). "Keeper Sam Johnson signs new contract". The Sentinel. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  23. ↑ "Port Vale: Keeper Sam Johnson will not let us down - Adam Yates". BBC Sport. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  24. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (6 August 2015). "Rob Page forced to be ruthless as Jak Alnwick is poised to replace Sam Johnson". The Sentinel. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  25. ↑ "FC Halifax: Johnson, Clappison and McDonald join on loan". BBC Sport. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  26. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (29 January 2016). "Sam Johnson extends deal at Halifax". The Sentinel. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  27. 1 2 "Non-League Finals Day: Halifax Town and Morpeth Town cause double Wembley upset". BBC Sport. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  28. ↑ "Johnson joins Gateshead on season loan". BBC Sport. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  29. ↑ "Gateshead 0 Solihull Moors 0: Battling point from long trek north". Birmingham Mail. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  30. ↑ "Reports 2011-2012". www.staffordrangersfc.co.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  31. 1 2 "Games played by Sam Johnson in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  32. 1 2 "Games played by Sam Johnson in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  33. ↑ Sam Johnson profile at Soccerway
  34. 1 2 "Games played by Sam Johnson in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  35. ↑ "Games played by Sam Johnson in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  36. ↑ "Games played by Sam Johnson in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  37. ↑ "Games played by Sam Johnson in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  38. ↑ "Games played by Sam Johnson in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  39. ↑ Sherwin, Phil; Johnson, Dave (2013), Port Vale This Side Up: 2012-2013 Promotion Celebration, BGL, ISBN 978-0-9926579-0-1
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