NO WINE FOR JOSE:
Bristol City boss Lee Johnson on the biggest night of his career and THAT touchline embrace with ball boy
MANCHESTER United vanquished, media duties done, history written. Finally it was time for Lee Johnson to retire to his office and sample that £450 wine he had meant to share with a long-since departed Jose Mourinho.
As he reclined in his seat at 11.30pm and took a sip of the delicately aerated Barca Velha, what was going through the 36–yearold’s mind as he reflected on the biggest night of his career?
‘I thought, “Bloody hell, we’ve brought a sommelier in to decant this and it tastes like Echo Falls!’’ he says with a smile. ‘Our goalkeeping coach ended up downing most of it.’
It is the morning after the night before. Johnson has had little sleep since Mourinho’s Carabao Cup holders were sent packing when Korey Smith’s injury-time winner sparked incredible scenes and a touchline embrace with a ball boy that has since appeared on TV screens across the world.
‘It was one of those football insomnia nights,’ he reveals. ‘The adrenaline, the emotion, there’s no way you’re nodding off after that. The ball boy — I just needed to celebrate with someone — it could have been a 90-year-old granny, my mum, anyone.’
You could forgive Johnson for savouring every drop of that wine. At the moment all is rosé. Third in the Championship, Manchester City to come in the semi-final and adulation from everywhere. It has not always been this way.
A poor run in his first job at Oldham Athletic almost ended Johnson’s management career in its infancy. The axe hovered at Barnsley before a run of eight defeats was halted.
Perhaps the toughest challenge yet came when Bristol City, the club he had played for and who his father Gary had managed, went through a similar run earlier this year.
The January signing of Matty Taylor, from city rivals Rovers, saw Johnson’s address posted online. Death threats from both sides of the divide — and a house move — followed. With the campaign against him at its peak in March, Gary almost died only to be saved by the father of Wednesday night’s first goalscorer.
‘He had a triple heart bypass and Joe Bryan’s dad was the surgeon,’ Johnson recalls.
‘We’ve never really spoken about it but while he was in hospital he developed Guillain-Barre syndrome which is when your immune system starts attacking your nerves. He was gone. We thought he had 36 hours.
‘Joe’s dad spotted it and they gave him this special treatment you have to apply to the NHS for because it costs about 50 grand. They did that, he had physio every day, got the feeling back in his legs, toes and fingers and then he goes and signs a two-year deal at Cheltenham! At the same time I was getting grief for how we were doing. Punches on the nose from everywhere.’ Along with his dad, Johnson has also used Kenny Dalglish as a mentor since the age of 26. ‘A mutual friend who saw me as a managerin-waiting set up a meeting. I see him for coffee whenever I can. He’s the oracle, a proper fella. He finds simplicity and clarity in every circumstance.’
It was Dalglish’s recommendation that got Johnson in front of Oldham chairman Simon Corney in 2013. Not that first impressions were great. ‘He turned up for his interview, a 31-year-old wearing shirt pins and a tie clip,’ recalls Corney. ‘I looked at him and thought, “I can’t have that”. But then we spoke and he was incredibly impressive. I knew he was destined for big things.’
It would appear Corney was not wrong but social-media savvy Johnson is wary of the noise. ‘My daughter is nine and I try to teach her not to get too up or down based on what people say,’ he explains. ‘Every now and then she taps in Lee Johnson on Twitter. If you do that you’re asking for trouble. “I hate that midget p **** , I hope he dies” or “He’s a legend, the best young manager in England”. You have to laugh at it. She doesn’t see the worst stuff but she gets the idea.’
While he did not get to share his wine with Mourinho, he did have a lengthy chat with the United boss before the match — and a lasting memento from the Portuguese. ‘He gave me a lovely shirt afterwards which said, “Hope to see you in the Premier League soon — well done. Big Hugs, Jose”.’
Johnson famously keeps a diary. ‘It’s not like, “Dear Diary, I met Jose tonight”, he says, laughing. ‘It’s all about tactics used, what’s worked and what hasn’t — which I need given the mistakes I have made.’
There will be no room for error when the unstoppable machine from the other side of Manchester comes calling. Johnson’s relationship with City goes back to his Oldham days when he used a personality profiler subsidised by the big neighbours.
He has already had a text from City executive Brian Marwood and has delved into the City Football Group, doing a case study on New York City. ‘I asked Brian to tell them to go easy on us in the first leg,’ he jokes. ‘I know they’ll need to be at it in the second but they can give us a chance.’
Armed with inside information, can the rocking Robins succeed where all others have failed? ‘Probably not, but we’ll die trying,’ Johnson says. ‘Who knows? We’ve beaten four Premier League teams so far. What I would say about our lot is that it will be a different game to most of the Premier League games they’ve had. We will find a way to press them.’
And will he be ordering another bottle of expensive vintage for his first meeting with Pep Guardiola? ‘I’m going to need a pre-signed contract to say he will taste it,’ he says. ‘I’m not having my goalie coach drink another £450 bottle of wine.’