130: Marvin Johnson, Luton Town, Panini Football League 96 Official Sticker Collection

This week we take on a request post from the good people at the My Best Eleven podcast which is about as close as we have come to a former professional footballer requesting a post about themselves. Today’s subject sits seventh in the list of Luton Town’s all-time appearances, served as the Hatters’ captain and was instrumental in the development of several academy graduates during his time as the club’s Youth Team manager. He was also keen for us to make it clear it was his co-host who requested this post. We hope this does the trick for both of you.

I was one of four boys in my English Literature A Level class of around twenty. This might sound like a dream come true for any would be Casanova but for an increasingly spotty bloke with a dodgy beard it was far more ‘Inbetweeners’ than ‘Skins’. Especially when we were studying Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. Rather than knuckling down and wowing our classmates with our literary analysis my mate Tom and I spent a worrying amount of time putting together classic footballing elevens based around increasingly questionable themes. I’d love to say that, now I’m the other side of the classroom, I’ve grown out of this but we celebrated both our fiftieth post and Christmas 2021 on these very pages with attempts to cobble together fantasy sides.

Alongside Andrew McMellon former Luton Town skipper Marvin Johnson hosts a podcast giving former pros the chance to do the said same thing focusing on the best players they played alongside throughout their careers. They also provide their guests the opportunity to name their favourite manager and select the formation for good measure. Taking inspiration from their hard work, and this blog’s SEO tendencies, I am going to attempt to piece together an eleven of players involved in Johnson’s distinguished career for Luton Town with the caveat that we have to already have written about them. Let’s get tenuous.

Marvin Johnson made his Luton Town debut in March 1988 in a 2-0 defeat to Wimbledon. Both sides impressed in the 1987/88 campaign with the Hatters winning the League Cup and the Dons picking up the FA Cup. In goal for our eleven is Dave Beasant who kept clean sheets in both Johnson’s debut and the FA Cup Final. In fact Wimbledon’s Wembley appearance came at the expense of Luton Town and the two sides were only separated by four points (and Newcastle United) in the final standings in the First Division. Johnson played a greater role in the subsequent season where the Hatters again reached the League Cup Final. Although Johnson was not part of the side who suffered defeat to Nottingham Forest he did fall foul of the Kenilworth Road plastic pitch during a clash with fellow league strugglers Aston Villa. The well travelled Roy Wegerle, who will be up top in our side, had opened the scoring with a lovely strike but Johnson’s misreading of the bouncing ball led to a spectacular own goal and the points being shared.

Luton’s survival in the following season was only secured on the final day thanks to Hatters’ legend Mick Harford, who also makes our side up front, netting an own goal for Derby County. With Johnson a peripheral figure, and pivotal midfielder Kingsley Black departing for Forest, the club slipped out of the top flight in 1992 thus missing out on a place in the inaugural Premier League. Despite Luton’s struggles in the second tier the club enjoyed a fruitful FA Cup run in 1993/94 knocking out top flight Newcastle United and West Ham United before falling to Chelsea in the semis. Johnson did not feature in these big ties but was established in the first team in the following season where the Hatters forced Premier League Southampton to a replay. Unfortunately they came across an inspired Matt Le Tissier and were on the receiving end of a 6-0 rout. This may, however, have been part of a deep state conspiracy so we’ll omit ‘Le God’ from the side just in case this match never actually happened.

Marvin Johnson was made Luton captain ahead of the 1995/96 season. The Hatters had added continental flair to the squad in the form of Bulgarian midfielder Bontcho Guentchev, who makes our side, but suffered relegation to the third tier. They did enjoy a foray into Europe thanks to the Anglo-Italian Cup but failed to impress against the likes of Genoa and a Perugia side featuring a youthful Marco Materazzi who joins Johnson in our side in defence. Another Italian’s season was defined by his encounters with Johnson’s Luton Town side. Ivano Bonetti was on the score sheet when Grimsby Town trounced the Hatters 7-1 in the FA Cup but a 3-2 defeat for the Mariners at Kenilworth Road a few weeks later resulted in the midfielder suffering a fractured cheekbone thanks to a flying plate of chicken. It only seems fair to give him a place in our side to make up for that.

Despite a third-place finish in Division Two Luton missed out to Crewe Alexandra in the play-offs in 1997. Class of ’92 graduate Simon Davies arrived at Kenilworth Road to bolster the squad (and our side) but a disappointing mid-table finish was all he had to show for his brief spell at the club. Meanwhile Johnson continued to rack up appearances for his boyhood club and received his testimonial in 1998. Sheffield Wednesday, managed by former Hatters’ favourite David Pleat, provided the opposition and a star studded squad including the likes of Paolo Di Canio, Ritchie Humphreys and A Sticker’s Worth 500 Words’ favourite Benito Carbone who completes our forward line. Unfortunately for Johnson, and Luton, such prestigious visitors were increasingly rare at Kenilworth Road as the Hatters dropped down to the fourth tier after a poor 2000/01 campaign. Injuries had limited Johnson’s involvement in the relegation season but he played a greater part in the Hatters’ promotion in 2001/02. Having started to cut his coaching teeth with the youth team he called time on his playing career after racking up 440 appearances for Luton Town over sixteen years.

Johnson’s work with the Luton academy brought through several talented youngsters including Curtis Davies and Kevin Foley before he was relieved of his duties by Kevin Blackwell in 2007 as the club descended into a free fall that would see them crash out of the Football League. After managing non-league St Neot’s Town and serving as assistant manager at Kettering Town Johnson headed across the Atlantic where he currently serves as Director of Coaching at Virginia Revolution Soccer Club. He also presents a podcast we may have already mentioned which has featured such luminaries as Tony Daley, Gavin Peacock and the exceptionally versatile Ian Marshall who completes our line up in defence. Despite the trials and tribulations that have beset Luton Town since Johnson’s debut the club can look forward to their first season in the Premier League. There’ll no doubt be some comings and goings in the next few weeks but the Hatters can rest easy in the knowledge they won’t be facing such formidable opponents as the side below. Brighton & Hove Albion might have Lewis Dunk but they don’t have Big Marv.

Dave Beasant

Marvin Johnson, Marco Materazzi, Ian Marshall

Kingsley Black, Simon Davies, Bontcho Guentchev, Ivano Bonetti

Roy Wegerle, Mick Harford, Benito Carbone