Norwich City: Oli Johnson interview on career regrets

Colchester United nil, Norwich City five: the definition of revenge spelt out at the Colchester Community Stadium just five months on from a 7-1 defeat by the U's at Carrow Road and the Canaries' lowest ebb.

Among the goal scorers were two of the usual suspects, Chris Martin claiming a brace and Grant Holt adding the fifth, while Gary Doherty found a rare strike for the third. But it wouldn't be noughties Norwich without a cult hero in the mix, and Oli Johnson's fine left-footed finish sublimely ticked that box.

Arguably the high point of his City career, Johnson's goal encapsulated what that era meant: a hungry, instinctive player plucked from the English lower leagues taking a defiant performance from comfortable victory to merciless thrashing.

Johnson became a cult hero at Carrow Road (Image: Mark Chapman/Focus Images Ltd)

"I felt quite confident when I went on the pitch," he recalls from that day. "Straight away I was involved and doing things quite effectively.

"I managed to get the goal, which was a bit of a blur really. The pitch was really muddy, so I thought it was going to stop on the line. I could have slid Chrissy Martin in for his hat-trick - if it didn't go in I'd certainly have got an earful from him!

"But it went in, and my confidence was soaring at that point. I'd started well and hit the ground running. That was exactly what I needed."

But it was to be the first of just four goals in yellow and green, Paul Lambert's charge up the leagues leaving the striker behind before he'd had time even to enjoy the surroundings of professional football's upper echelons.

City were promoted back to the Championship just over three months after Johnson's arrival, and fellow attacker Simeon Jackson was brought in to compete for a starting berth.

"Straight away I just felt out of my depth again," he says. "There's a bit of a theme really around confidence and stuff like that. If I would have had a better mindset... I mean, that comes from experience and having the support around you and stuff.

"I probably didn't have the games under my belt to have that attitude where you stick your chest out and say: 'Right, we've got a top striker coming in, but I'm going to give him a fight for minutes.'

"We had Chrissy Martin, Holty, and I kind of just accepted my role as fourth-choice striker."

Paul Lambert's 2010 signing had plenty of competition, including from Chris Martin (centre) (Image: Mark Chapman/Focus Images Ltd)

It's not all negative when the 36-year-old looks back, and in hindsight he describes his time in Norfolk as an "amazing achievement". In truth it was, given he'd been playing in the ninth tier less than two years before making the move. But it's hard to reflect without a hint of regret, as he ponders what more he could have done.

"I coped with it quite well," he continues. "But it'll always be something I look back on, there's always a little void that I won't fill dropping out of the league so quick.

"I know what could have been. I didn't really expect to have a Championship career, but I knew I was a decent League Two player even if not League One. Part of me thinks about what could have been, but that's just life and that's football.

"The fact that it was through injury softened the blow in a sense, because it wasn't on ability or lack of performance. But on the other hand you feel a bit aggrieved, a bit robbed of a league career."

Much like a number of his contemporaries, the injuries the Wakefield native mentions hastened his descent down the leagues. From Norwich he moved to Oxford United, then York and quickly the Conference North with Guiseley, where he was plying his trade while Norwich were still enjoying the fruits of their promotion to the Premier League.

He's recovering from another ailment as he speaks to the Pink Un over the phone, waiting to complete his latest recovery before looking for a new club. But Johnson has been keen to turn his experience into a positive one, and his own fitness struggles have inspired a move into personal training.

"I run my own personal training business from a local gym," he adds light-heartedly. "I really enjoy that. I am quite an active person, I've always enjoyed training and stuff. Hindsight's a wonderful thing, but if I'd have known what I know now in my early 20s I think that would have helped a lot.

"My experience of injuries has made me want to learn more about the body, and how to be more robust and resilient. It's something I enjoy, and I might not have gone into it without stopping football early."