8) Michael Johnson
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If you’ve seen that goal against Derby County then you probably clapped as much as Sven Goran-Eriksson, who thought he’d found, “the next big star for England“.
The young graduate of his beloved Leeds, Everton and Manchester City’s academies was a thrilling introduction to Manchester City’s team in 2006. Although injuries broke his run of seven consecutive games for the 1st team, it was clear they had a talent on their hands.
When Johnson announced his return with that fabulous strike against basement boys Derby in August 2007, it felt like a new dawn for City. Not only was an academy man scoring an absolute gem, it was also City’s first home league goal that year.
Unfortunately, the sheer frequency and seriousness of his injuries meant that he never managed a good run in games in the first-team. Despite his obvious talent, he was restricted to 43 appearances for Manchester City and Leicester on loan, between 2006-2012. He was then released by Manchester City, without even playing in half of those seasons.
After this, he was caught drink driving several times, until he finally addressed the English media to state that he was dealing with mental health issues and "would be grateful if I could now be left alone to live the rest of my life.”
