July 3rd, 1996, was a good time in England. Three Lions was top of the charts, Euro 96 had just finished, and Lincoln City were on the cusp of a new era.
1996 was our ‘Summer of Love’, the 40-somethings of today look back and remember it as a golden age, before mobile phones and the internet, long summer evenings kicking a ball about, listening to Britpop going off all around, and just being young. Oh, how I long for a return to those days.
Alan Johnson probably doesn’t, because 30 years (no, surely not) ago today, the player who captained Lincoln City on the final day of the season, was revealing how he was on the move to Hong Kong after being given a free transfer.
It was claimed the 25-year-old was due to fly out to the Far East the following week after agreeing a 12-month deal with Sing Tau FC. The move came quickly for Johnson, who had been looking for another club after leaving City, and it was reportedly agreed that he may have a longer stay if both player and club were happy after the first season.
Alan Johnson at Lincoln City
Alan Johnson arrived at Sincil Bank during a time when a bit of money seemed to be sloshing around. Keith Alexander was trying to place nice football, but it wasn’t working. However, we had seen Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup, and Everton in the League Cup, so as the coffers swelled, transfers were possible.
In March 1994, with us dropping down the table, Keith made a double swoop. He paid £50,000 for Tony Daws, a prolific striker who was only 27. He’d been deadly for Scunthorpe, but picked up a back injury and probably struggled to recreate that form with City. Bear in mind, with inflation, £50,000 would be worth around £100,000 in today’s money.
We also swooped for a 22-year-old defender called Alan Johnson. While I remember Johnson, he is a player who seems to slip from people’s minds.
He’d been a regular for Wigan since breaking through in 1989, and by the age of 22, he’d already played 180 games. A special talent, Wigan had a reasonable valuation of him – £150,000, which would be around £300,000 today. City wanted to pay £30,000, which meant the valuations were a little closer than those of Steve Mardenborough.
Not long after the capture, the tribunal dropped the price: £40,000, plus £20,000 after 50 outings, and 20% of any sale. The Latics were not happy.
“We are very disappointed for the club and just as importantly for the supporters,” said Wigan chairman Stephen Gage. “It really does make us consider our position regarding taking cases to tribunal.
“We were given a fair hearing and were able to state our case as usual. In fact, we felt our case was more detailed than Lincoln’s, but as the Lincoln vice chairman said the advantage in these cases is with the buying club.
“Tribunals’ main aim is to make sure that players are looked after, but we have been unhappy with the outcome of the three hearings we have been involved with.”
It’s fair to say he was a hit. He went into the side wearing squad number 28, and played every minute through until the end of the season, even helping us beat Wigan 1-0. He was taunted and took a blow to the head in that game, as well as heading against his own bar before an own goal from the Latics gave us the win.
Keith left, and in came Sam Ellis, who wasn’t quite as lucky. Johnson picked up a couple of injuries, but was still a decent player, slotting in at left back, as well as in the middle of defence. Eventually, he fell out of favour under Ellis.
Johnson was certainly a player I feel is underrated. He could operate in a couple of different positions, was tough in the tackle, but was able to get up and down as well. Sadly, he played at a tough time, and in 1995/96, things got tougher. He missed the end of 94/95, then at the start of 95/96, Ellis loaned him to Preston North End. Steve Wicks saw him come back after the Lilywhites signed Russ Wilcox, but he played three times before Wicks was also sacked.
He never really seemed to fall into favour with John Beck. Jon Whitney came in at left back and limited Johnson’s impact. He did hit the 50-game mark for the Wigan payment, but the deal was that should he leave the club, we’d pay whatever portion of the 50 games he’d completed, so if he hit 49, they’d get 98% of the fee due. Complicated.
He only got a decent run under Beck as the end of the season approached. With safety assured, he got a run out in the centre of defence, and for the 5-0 win against Torquay on the final day, he captained the side.
It looked like redemption, but two days later, he was ruthlessly axed. Out went Andy Leaning, Phil Daley, Udo Onwere and Johnson, although he was told to ‘stay in touch’. He didn’t need to – Hong Kong came knocking.
Did he live the dream over there? He did not. A summer spell wasn’t enough to convince either party to stay, and he was back in the Football League for the 1996/97 season, playing at the heart of Rochdale’s defence. A year after his release, he was back at the Bank, playing a blinder as they beat us 2-0 to deny us a play-off spot.
He only played 60-odd games for Rochdale before retiring. His son, Will, now plays for Fleetwood Town.
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