AUSTRALIAN football icon and ex-Liverpool star Craig Johnston has signalled his intention to run youth training sessions on the Mid North Coast in the coming months.
Mr Johnston – who made 271 appearances for “the Reds” between 1981 and 1988 – was in the region last week promoting a live show he is hosting in Port Macquarie during the June long weekend.
Sitting down with News Of The Area, the ex-midfielder known in England as “Skippy” said he has long hoped to pass on his knowledge of the game directly to the region’s budding footballers.
“I’ve always wanted to open a ‘Johnston Academy’ here in northern NSW,” said Johnston, who noted details of upcoming training opportunities were yet to be confirmed.
“All through my career, whether it be at Middlesbrough or Liverpool or then when I moved to Germany, I always had a dream to coach kids the way I coached myself over my career.
“It is a really specific way of coaching.”
That coaching style reflects a back-to-the-basics footballing philosophy Johnston says is often overlooked in the modern game.
“Basically, if you can’t trap a ball and pass a ball, you can’t play the game,” he said.
“Really there are only two skills a player ever has for 90 minutes – he gets the ball and he gives it.
“If he makes a mistake, it is because he doesn’t get the ball quick enough and he doesn’t give it accurately enough.
“You can fix these problems if you practice them every day.”
Johnston – known for his high work rate and direct approach as a player – said his fundamentals-first ethos was a key factor in his successful transition from the parks of Lake Macquarie to the top of the English game.
Another major element of his story is resilience, having overcome a series of seemingly insurmountable obstacles along the way to eventual induction in the Football Australia Hall of Fame.
Born in South Africa to Australian parents of Scottish descent, Johnston arrived in the Hunter as a young boy before contracting a severe bone infection at the age of six.
Coming close to losing his leg, he was told from an early age he would never reach a professional level.
“I had a very difficult story in terms of health and rejection,” Johnston told NOTA.
“All the experts said I would never make it as a player.”
At age 15, despite the opinions of local representative coaches, Johnston wrote letters to several British clubs seeking an opportunity.
Against the odds, English first division side Middlesbrough responded, inviting the teenager to trial.
Johnston soon turned up in North Yorkshire with little more than a dream and his football boots, only to be quickly sent packing by the legendary Jack Charlton, who was managing Middlesbrough at the time.
Undeterred, Johnston continued to train in a carpark near the club’s home ground until his natural talent was eventually recognised by Middlesbrough players including a young Graeme Souness.
He signed for ‘Boro’ in 1977, scoring 16 goals in 64 league appearances before moving to Liverpool in 1981.
“I went from not being able to make the under 13 and 14 rep teams in Boolaroo, to winning everything there is to win with the best team in the world, all within about 15 years,” Johnston reflected.
“I became the youngest player ever to play for Middlesbrough, the most expensive player in Britain, the first million-dollar player.
“I signed for Liverpool, won five league championships, a European Cup, and scored the winning goal in an FA Cup final.”
Johnston will share those stories and more at Panthers Port Macquarie on Saturday, 6 June, when he hosts the “Craig Johnston: You’ll Never Walk Alone” event, which will raise funds for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service Port Macquarie Volunteer Support Group.
“It is my own story, but specifically with my own words, pictures and music,” he said.
“Many people have written many things about me in many different ways, but this is straight from the horse’s mouth and straight from the heart.”
Both group and individual tickets to the show are still available.
For further information, contact Richard.mcgovern@rescuehelicopter.com.au or Panthers Port Macquarie.
By Douglas CONNOR
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