Johnson: Bradley Paul (Brad)

2008-2011 (Leeds Player Details)(Player Details)

Midfield

Born: Hackney, London: 28-04-1987

Debut: v Crewe Alexandra (a): 15-01-2008

5’10” 10st 12lb (2007)

After first showing an aptitude for motor-cycling, he turned his full attentions to football at the age of nine when he started playing for Interwood FC in the Waltham Forest Youth League in the 1996-97 season and the team won the League and the League Cup in his first season there, with Johnson leading the way with fifty-one goals. In his second season he scored twenty-nine goals as his team won the League and just missed out in a couple of Cup Finals. He joined his boyhood favourites Arsenal in 1998, training with the Under-Twelves Academy side and he progressed to the Waltham Forest District side Under Fifteen representative team in 2000. 2002 saw him representing the Leyton Pennants Youth Under-Sixteen team and his medals accumulated each year. By 2003 he had progressed through the Under-Seventeens into the Waltham Forest Reserves and then the first team where he made six appearances in the 2003-04 season. He was spotted by Cambridge United and became a trainee in December 2004. He made his League debut for Cambridge when he came on as a substitute with twenty minutes left on the clock in the 1-2 League Two home defeat by Scunthorpe United on 7th December 2004. He was an unused substitute but played in the successful Under-Eighteen team managed by Steve Thompson. He came to the attention of Northampton Town and was signed by them when only eighteen on 16th May 2005. He made his debut for the Cobblers on 27th August 2005 in their League Two 1-0 away win at Carlisle United, with eight minutes to go. He was an unused substitute in the home 1-1 draw with Bury on 10th September, before making his run-on debut in the 5 - 2 home win over Notts County on 18th October 2005 and then came on as a twenty-seventh minute substitute in the 0-0 home draw with Grimsby Town befor being substituted himself in the seventy-fourth minute. During his time at the club he was sent out on loan twice. Firstly with Ebbsfleet (Formerly Gravesend & Northfleet) from 12th November 2005 to 30th April 2006, playing twenty-four times including three from the bench and scoring five goals in the Conference League. He was then with Stevenage Borough, for a month from 14th November 2006, making just four appearances without scoring, once more in the Conference. He was recalled by Northampton and, after Stuart Gray became the Northampton manager, Johnson featured regularly in the first team and he signed a new two-year contract extension, in April 2007, which would have kept him with the club until June 2009. Johnson had scored his first goal in the ninetieth minute of the 3-0 home win over Millwall on 23rd January 2007 and had played his part in the Cobblers gaining promotion to League One at the end of the 2006-07 season, and he also won the club's "Young Player of The Year" award. He soon began to attract attention from a host of CCCL sides, including Coventry City, Colchester United and Queens Park Rangers. He was widely expected to sign for Leicester City, early in the January 2008 transfer window, but could not agree terms. Two days later, Dennis Wise stepped in and he moved to Leeds United on a three-and-a-half-year deal for £250,000 on 8th January 2008. He had scored eight goals in fifty-three League games, including nine off the bench for the Cobblers. He had also scored once in the F.A. Cup from two starts and one game from the bench, once in three starts in the League Cup and played two other games. Johnson made his first appearance in a Leeds shirt on 15th January 2008, when he replaced David Prutton in their League fixture at Crewe Alexandra. He only played one game under Denis Wise before he was replaced by Gary McAllister on 30th January 2008. He scored his first goal at Elland Road on 8th March 2008 in a 2-0 win over Bournemouth. The new Manager played him mainly on the left wing but he also played at Left-Back, and seemed to have cemented his first team spot as Leeds marched to Wembley only to be beaten in the Play-off finals by Doncaster Rovers, which consigned them to another season in League One. He was not in the team for the start of the 2008-09 season and seemed to have fallen out of favour and so he was loaned to Brighton and Hove Albion on 27th October 2008 until 3rd January 2009. He scored twice on his Brighton debut as they beat top-of-the-table Leicester City 3-2. He scored five goals in ten League starts while at Brighton, but had to be content with a few games from the bench after he returned to Leeds. He came off the bench in both of the Play-off Semi-Finals against Millwall but with the transfer of Fabian Delph he had regained his first team spot at the start of the 2009-10 season. His form was excellent and he had not missed a game and had already scored five times by the end of September 2009. However he picked up an injury and was out for a month and found himself at left back for the injured Andy Hughes, rather than his preferred midfield role. When Shane Lowry was brought in as cover for the left back position, Johnson found himself struggling to make the team as Robert Snodgrass was preferred on the left of midfield. However, Johnson persevered and won his place back late in United's promotion run. He was a virtual ever-present in United's first CCCL campaign and had other clubs taking notice of ability particularly in the Cup games with Arsenal, when he scored an outstanding goal. With his contract almost at an end he began negotiations with the club for a renewal, but there was no success between the two parties as several clubs looked on with interest and when negotiations broke down he was placed on the transfer list as the club announced on 18th November 2010, that "Johnson had refeused the club's final offer. Consequently, he had been placed on the transfer list with immediate effect and, if an acceptable offer was received, he would be allowed to move to another club during the January transfer window." Leeds United CEO Shaun Harvey said: "We are disappointed that Bradley has not accepted our offer, but we were pleased to be assured that we can count on his 100 per cent commitment while ever he is a player at this club." There were rumours of interest from Scottish side Rangers and EPL sides Stoke City, Wigan Athletic and Bolton Wanderers but not came to fruition and the transfer window closed with no one prepared to pay for his services. Therefore he became available on a Bosman at the end of his contract. It was Norwich City who took up the negotiations, offering him a three year conract on 1st July 2011. He went straight into the Norwich starting eleven making his debut in the first game of the new season on 21st August 2011 at Carrow Road in a 1-1 draw with Stoke City. His first Norwich goal was not long arriving and it came on 17th September 2011 at the Reebok against Bolton Wanderers when he scored with a fine header in the forty-second minute to give the Canaries a 2-0 lead in a game they finally won 2-1. Close to the end of the 2011-12 season he had scored twice in twenty-four League starts and three games from the bench and one further substitute appearance in the F.A. Cup in Johnson's first EPL season.