Michael Johnston (born 16 December 1987) is a Welsh

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 is player-manager of Bangor 1876. He plays as a defender.

Playing career

Michael Johnston began his career in the

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

youth system, and was a member of the Wales under-17 and under-19 teams. He joined Tranmere's reserve squad in 2007, and was loaned to

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club () was a Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. Founded in 1876, Bangor City have been founder members of the North Wales Coast League, the Welsh National League, the North Wales Combination, the W ...

that September. After being voted Bangor City's player of the season, he joined them on a free transfer in April 2008. He remained with the club for eight seasons, winning three

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...

s and the

Welsh Premier League The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. It was found ...

championship in 2010–2011. Johnston signed with

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 UK census, the community � ...

in 2015, where he played mostly at

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. He joined

Caernarfon Town Caernarfon Town Football Club () is a professional Welsh football club based in Caernarfon, Gwynedd. They play in the . They are nicknamed "the Canaries" because of the club's yellow and green strip, a nickname that dates from 1895. Caernarfon ...

in July 2016, and moved to Brickfield Rangers in September. In 2012, Dave Jones of the '' Daily Post'' nominated Johnston for the

UEFA Best Player in Europe Award The UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award (previously known as the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award) is an association football award given to the footballer playing for a men's football club (association football), football club in Europe that is ...

, writing "I cover the Welsh Premier week in, week out and he's one of the best defenders I've seen." In 2016 Jones named him one of the ten best defenders in WPL history. In June 2019 he signed for

phoenix club Bangor 1876.

Management career

In February 2022 he was appointed joint manager of Bangor 1876 alongside Mel Jones.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Michael 1987 births Men's association football defenders Men's association football player-managers Bangor 1876 F.C. players Bangor City F.C. players Caernarfon Town F.C. players Living people Llandudno F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Welsh men's footballers Welsh football managers Brickfield Rangers F.C. players 21st-century Welsh sportsmen