William Robert Johnson (born 25 September 1999) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Leiston Leiston ( ) is a town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is close to Saxmundham and Aldeburgh, north-east of Ipswich and north-east of London. The town had a population of 5,508 at th ...

. Having begun his career at local club Beccles Town, Johnson joined

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

's under-23 set-up in August 2018 from

Norwich United Norwich United Football Club is a football club based in Blofield, Norfolk, England. Affiliated to the Norfolk County FA, they are currently members of the and play at Plantation Park. History The club was established in 1903 as Poringland an ...

following a successful trial. He remained at Norwich for two years, spending time on loan at Lowestoft Town and Braintree Town of the

National League South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National League (English football), National Leagues and step ...

during the 2019–20 season. Johnson signed for

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

in July 2020 and spent one season with the club, before returning to Braintree Town on two different occasions between spells with Gloucester City and

. In July 2023, he signed for

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Latimer Park. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in 1976, and have ...

, before returning to Leiston on a permanent basis in February 2024.

Career

Johnson spent the majority of his youth career at Beccles Town, progressing through the various age groups for his local club. He later joined the Community Sports Foundation's Football and Education Programme in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, which allows young footballers to continue their academic studies alongside a full-time football training programme. The programme was delivered by former

footballers Adam Drury,

Ryan Jarvis Ryan Robert Jarvis (born 11 July 1986) is an English footballer who plays for side Leiston, where he plays as a midfielder. Club career Norwich City Born in Fakenham, Norfolk, Jarvis became Norwich City's youngest ever first-team player wit ...

and Simon Lappin. Towards the end of the 2017–18 season, Johnson went on trial with

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

. He was offered the opportunity to train with Norwich City during pre-season ahead of the 2018–19 season, with a view to earning a full-time contract. Although Johnson was injured early-on during the trial, he was offered a one-year contract, with the option of a further year, which he signed on 6 August 2018. Upon signing for Norwich City from

, he was placed in the club's under-23 team to continue his development. Norwich took up the option of extending Johnson's contract for a further year in 2019. He played three times for the under-23 team during the first half of the 2019–20 season, which included two appearances in the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

. Johnson joined

club Braintree Town on loan for the remainder of the 2019–20 season, making 10 appearances during the loan agreement. His contract at Norwich expired in June 2020. Johnson signed for League Two club

on 22 July 2020. He made his professional debut in the club's 3–2 defeat to

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

Broadhall Way Broadhall Way, known as the Lamex Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is an association football stadium in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. It has been the home ground of Stevenage (formerly Stevenage Borough and Stevenage Town) since the early 1960s, a ...

in the EFL Trophy on 6 October 2020. He was released by Stevenage at the end of the 2020–21 season. Ahead of the 2021–22 campaign, following his release from Stevenage, Johnson returned to Braintree Town on a permanent basis. He went onto feature 34 times in all competitions before departing the club at the end of the season before he eventually joined Gloucester City in December 2022. Johnson returned to Braintree on a third occasion in March 2022, providing competition to Jack Sims ahead of their play-off push. He immediately dual-registered with

following the move. On 9 July 2023, Johnson agreed to join Southern League Premier Division Central side,

. On 24 February 2024, he returned to Leiston, joining on a permanent basis.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Billy 1999 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Beccles Town F.C. players Norwich United F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Lowestoft Town F.C. players Braintree Town F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players Gloucester City A.F.C. players Leiston F.C. players Kettering Town F.C. players National League (English football) players Southern Football League players Footballers from Great Yarmouth 21st-century English sportsmen