text: eddie johnson ( english footballer ) edward william " eddie " johnson ( born 20 september 1984 ) is an english former footballer , who ended his career with portland timbers in major league soccer . he was a midfielder but also played as a striker and represented his country at the under - 16 , under - 18 , under - 19 and under - 20 levels . he is now employed as under - 20s manager for dundee . born in chester , johnson began his career with crewe alexandra and manchester united 's academies . he had loan spells with royal antwerp , coventry city and crewe alexandra , before he was released by manchester united in 2006 and joined bradford city , where he played 64 league games in two seasons . he was released from bradford in 2008 , and after initially turning down a move to chester city , he was given a trial at crewe , which was unsuccessful , and instead he joined chester where he spent six months before his contract was terminated to allow him to move to austin aztex . his form during two seasons in the united soccer leagues first division won him a transfer to portland timbers at the end of the 2010 season . early life johnson was born in chester , england , on 20 september 1984 . he attended boughton heath primary school , high school and the bishops ' blue coat church of england high school in the city . despite growing up as an everton supporter , johnson started his football career at crewe alexandra 's academy at the age of 10 . in 1999 , he signed for premier league side manchester united as a junior player . club career manchester united johnson signed as a trainee at manchester united in 2001 . two years later , he was part of their fa youth cup - winning team , scoring in the final against middlesbrough , and had his first involvement with the first team . he made his debut for united on 28 october 2003 against leeds united when he came on as a 112th - minute substitute in a 3 – 2 league cup victory at elland road . johnson was loaned out to the belgian club royal antwerp in january 2004 where he made 11 appearances , scoring five goals , including a 20 - yard strike on his debut against - zolder . in july 2004 , he was sent on loan to championship - side coventry city for the 2004 – 05 season in order to gain first - team experience . he scored on his coventry debut in a 2 – 0 victory against sunderland on 7 august 2004 , before he scored a second later that month in a 4 – 1 defeat of nottingham forest . johnson did not score again until october , when he scored three times in four games , but they proved to be his last goals of the season . he finished his stay with coventry with 26 appearances . in july 2005 , johnson again moved on loan this time returning to crewe alexandra in a six - month deal . it took him eight games to score his first goal which came in a 1 – 1 draw with plymouth argyle on 13 september 2005 . three more goals followed by the end of 2005 including one on boxing day against hull city , who then offered him a permanent deal . hull and manchester united agreed a fee for johnson but he decided to extend his loan deal at crewe until the end of the 2005 – 06 season . it was not until the last game of the season against millwall that he scored another to bring his tally to five from 22 games . having failed to make an impact at manchester united , johnson was among seven united players given a free transfer at the end of the 2005 – 06 season . he was offered a contract at crewe , but also attracted interest from barnsley and bradford city , the latter of whom he joined on a two - year deal in june 2006 . bradford city the start of johnson 's career at league one side bradford city was marred by an ankle ligament injury in a pre - season friendly at boston united which was expected to keep him out of the first month of the season . he recovered to make his debut in city 's 2006 – 07 season 's opening game at nottingham forest as a late substitute . two weeks later he scored his first bradford goals by netting twice against his former club crewe in a 3 – 0 bradford victory . johnson struggled for goals at city , and had only scored another two by the time he was ruled out for a month after going off at half - time against chesterfield on 16 december 2006 with a shin injury . he returned to the city team after a six - game absence for a friday night game with tranmere rovers , which ended 1 – 1 . he had a goal disallowed against yeovil town a week later for offside . following a poor run of form , city manager colin todd was sacked , with his replacement david wetherall converting johnson from a striker to a midfielder after an injury to marc bridge - wilkinson . however , city were relegated after a defeat to chesterfield with johnson finishing the season with just four goals . at the start of the 2007 – 08 season , new manager stuart mccall continued to employ johnson in a midfield role , and he was rewarded with goals in back - to - back games and the club 's player of the month in september . in november , he was ruled out for 11 weeks because of a back injury , before he was sidelined again when he gashed his shin in his comeback game against wrexham on 26 january 2008 . johnson returned two weeks later as a second - half substitute against bury . he was used in his former striker 's role later in the season , and scored his sixth league goal in a 1 – 0 victory over morecambe on 5 april 2008 . johnson scored again three days later in a 1 – 1 draw with barnet , as he tried to secure a new contract with bradford . however , on 29 april 2008 , johnson was deemed to be surplus to requirements at valley parade and was released by manager stuart mccall along with 13 other bradford players . mccall said releasing johnson was one of the hardest decisions in his first year as manager , adding : " it went right down to the wire with eddie . he 's got terrific energy , a good engine and has enjoyed himself at this club . " johnson played a total of 71 games in all competitions for city , scoring eight goals . chester city in june 2008 , johnson was offered a two - year contract by fellow league two side chester city , but two weeks later , he turned down the deal . instead he returned to crewe alexandra on trial after he and his mother went to see coach dario gradi , and scored twice in a 4 – 1 pre - season friendly victory over quorn on 16 july 2008 . despite spending the rest of the summer with crewe , the club decided not to offer johnson a full - time contract , because coach steve holland felt he was not better than the club 's other forwards . instead , johnson was given another chance with chester city , with whom he trained in the run up to the start of the 2008 – 09 season . he scored in a friendly against an everton reserve team , but despite the club wanting to sign johnson , the transfer was put on hold because of the club 's salary cap . johnson had to wait a number of weeks to sign for chester , after a deal to take paul rutherford to northwich victoria , freeing up money to pay johnson , failed to go through before the 2008 summer transfer deadline closed . johnson finally signed for chester on 15 october , agreeing a two - year contract with his hometown club . his debut came three days later in a home game with port vale , with chester losing 2 – 1 , when he had two opportunities to score and was substituted late in the second half . his first goal for chester was a consolation goal in a 2 – 1 defeat to morecambe on 15 november . he missed four weeks out through injury , which coincided with the club 's improvement in form under new manager mark wright , until he returned as a last - minute substitute against his former side bradford city . austin aztex the following month , with chester in financial hardship , johnson was allowed to talk to united soccer leagues first division side austin aztex , managed by adrian heath , who was caretaker manager during johnson 's loan spell at coventry city . johnson 's contract was terminated by chester city on the final day of the january transfer window to allow him to move to the austin aztex . his last game for chester had been during december ; he played just 11 times during his six months with chester , scoring only once . johnson 's move to austin aztex was finalised in march and completed their initial starting side , which included fellow english players alex tapp and gifton noel - williams and welshman gareth evans . upon johnson 's transfer , team manager adrian heath said : " i think it 's fair to say that eddie has lost his way recently and i hope we can get him back on the right path to where he is again one of the bright young players in english football . " johnson played in the club 's first game , which was a 2 – 0 friendly defeat to major league soccer 's new england revolution and scored in another pre - season match . johnson scored his first goal for austin on 25 april against fellow expansion side the cleveland city stars when he scored in the 13th minute of play . johnson scored his second goal in the final minute of the match . in the 2009 season , johnson played 22 league matches , scoring five goals making him the aztex leading goalscorer , but he was forced to miss part of the season because of work permit problems after he returned to england with evans . johnson also played in two of the aztex 's three us open cup matches , playing in the first round , scoring the second goal in a 2 – 0 win over mississippi and in austin 's 2 – 0 defeat to houston dynamo in the third round . the austin chronicle named johnson the city 's best player . the newspaper 's citation said : " he 's been out there hustling every game and providing leadership and a steadying influence on and off the field . at 24 , with a background that includes manchester united and english national youth teams , he might not be with us much longer , but it 's a treat while it lasts . " he went on to win one of the club 's player of the season awards . during the close - season , johnson sought a possible new club back in england , and before the start of the 2010 season in america , he was given a trial with major league soccer side seattle sounders fc joining them for their pre - season training camp . having trained with sounders , johnson decided to stay with austin aztex and signed a new two - year contract . in the first game of the aztex season , johnson hit the goalpost with a 20 - yard curling shot , but lawrence scored with the rebound , helping the aztex to a 2 – 0 victory against montreal impact . during may , johnson scored five goals , including two in a 3 – 3 draw with tampa bay and made two assists to help austin record an unbeaten spell . he again scored two goals in a 2 – 1 aztex victory over miami and helped take his team to the top of the table by being the club 's leading goalscorer throughout the campaign . heath also used him in his original position in attack , including as a sole striker in a defeat to puerto rico islanders . it was a result that saw the aztex lose their top spot for the first time in three months . a week later , johnson scored his tenth goal of the season to give his side their fourth win in five games by defeating carolina 3 – 2 . the aztex returned to the top of the table with a 2 – 0 victory against nsc minnesota stars with johnson scoring the opening goal of the game . aztex qualified for the end - of - season play - offs where they faced montreal impact over two legs . johnson scored one of aztex 's two goals in the second leg but their season finished with a 5 – 2 aggregate defeat . johnson played a total of 28 games during the season , scoring 15 goals , and earned a place in the 2010 season best xi . portland timbers johnson 's form for the aztex attracted the attention of the portland timbers , a major league soccer expansion side for the 2011 season . at the end of the 2010 league season , johnson was announced as one of the timbers first four signings , along with steve cronin , ryan pore and bright dike . because portland had second draft pick behind fellow expansion side vancouver whitecaps , they announced they had previously signed johnson , by taking him to their former usl side before the transfer deadline on 14 august and loaning him back to the aztex for the remainder of the 2010 season . he was listed on the timbers ' roster as a forward . johnson was a late substitute for jorge in the timbers ' first mls home game and fourth in all , as they defeated chicago fire 4 – 2 on 15 april 2011 . johnson announced his retirement on 20 april 2012 , the same day that portland acquired forward mike fucito . coaching career dundee in july 2014 , johnson was announced as the new under - 20 manager for dundee . international career johnson has represented england at under - 16 , under - 18 , under - 19 and 20 levels . his form during his time at manchester united earned him a place in the england team in the 2003 fifa world youth championship , after scoring twice in a friendly game before the tournament . johnson played in all three of england 's games against japan , egypt and colombia during the tournament in the united arab emirates , but england picked up just one point and were eliminated in the group stage . career statistics club updated to 14 august 2011 . honours individual ussf d - 2 pro league best xi ( 1 ) : 2010 personal life johnson married during the off - season between the 2010 and 2011 american league seasons .