A Hit Or A Flop

[Salvatore Matrecano]

I will give you one to think about, David Johnson.

Most I suspect will immediately shout Hit! You remember an infectious character, battling attitude and of course the fantastic season in 2002/3 when he hit 25 in the playoff campaign under Paul Hart, possibly our most fondly remembered season of the last 20 wretched years.

Why a flop then? He joined for a whopping £3.5M in 2001. His form in his first 2 seasons was so poor he was loaned out twice. He then hit his stride with that 25 goal season and signed a 3 year contract extension the following summer. However not long into the next season he suffered a horrific double leg fracture, I can still picture him lying in agony in front of the Trent End with a concerned Lynn Jarrett (much loved late club doc) kneeling beside him. Maybe Not DJ’s fault but he never rediscovered any kind of form following injury but of course we had him for 3 more seasons, we didnt have a reliable goal scorer and that was undoubtedly a contributing factor in our eventual relegation to L1.

So hit or flop? Big outlay, poor start, one great season then an injury ravaged career resulting in relegation.