Motherwell fans could be perhaps forgiven about not knowing too much about Marvin Johnson when he arrived at Fir Park as he was a player who had been floundering around the lower echelons on English football with sides like Solihull Moors and Romulus before his impressive performances with National League side Kidderminster Harriers caught the eye of many potential suitors.
Marvin joined Motherwell in the exciting February 2015 transfer deadline day which also saw the arrival of Nathan Thomas, George Long and Conor Grant, the club had to fend off some stern interest from English side Yeovil Town who were eager to sign him.
‘Well boss Ian Baraclough described him as a rapid winger who can be a real match winner, Johnson took some time to adjust to his new surroundings before his qualities really shown.
Marvin made his debut in Dingwall coming on as a substitute against Ross County in a 3-2 defeat. As time progressed he matured into a real asset, he proved to be a real speed demon who could take the ball from defence to attack in the blink of an eye, he possessed a wonderful left foot capable of floating in delightful crosses and proved useful at set pieces, under Mark McGhee he also added a degree if versatility to his game as he feature as a left back on many occasions.
With Motherwell deep in the mire during the 2014/15 season and with relegation looking a distinct possibility, the club would have to play a two legged play off against Rangers for survival, it was in these games that Marvin really shone as the Steelmen recorded a terrific 6-1 aggregate win, Johnson of course netted his first goal for the club in the 2nd leg in somewhat bizarre circumstances, have picked up the ball and running more than half the field before turning Rangers defender Ricky Foster inside out, he lined up to shoot which was blocked and looked to be heading to goal harmlessly towards Cammy Bell’s goal only for the Rangers keeper to misjudge it completely, one of those rare moments that sent Fir Park into absolute bedlam.
During the 2015/16 campaign he was deployed in almost every position down the left side featuring as a left back, left midfielder, left winger and a left sided forwarded as new ‘Well boss Mark McGhee looked to play his old 433 formation that brought him success during his first spell with the club during the 2007/08 season.
Proving his versatility, Marvin won many admirers and after enjoying a great League Cup campaign early in the 2016/17 season, he decided to hand in a transfer request which was somewhat surprising as he had no long signed a new three year deal. The club eventually sold him to English League One side Oxford United for an undisclosed fee but it was said that this broke the U’s previous record spend. Only a year later however, he moved to Middlesbrough after impressing, but his moved seemed to echo his exit from Fir Park in that he handed in a transfer request late into the transfer window. Johnson moved to the Riverside Stadium for a fee in the region of 2.5 million, Motherwell enjoyed a nice cut of this as they had inserted a clause in the previous transfer in regards to futures sales for the winger.
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Name:
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Marvin Nicholas Johnson |
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Height:
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5′ 10″ |
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Weight:
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11st 9lbs |
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Date of Birth:
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1st December 1990 |
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Place of Birth:
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Birmingham |
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Position:
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Winger |
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Nationality:
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English |
Football Career:
| Solihull Moors | 2010 | 2011 |
| Coleshill Town (Loan) | 2010 | |
| Romulus | 2011 | 2012 |
| Kidderminster Harriers | 2012 | 2015 |
| Hednesford Town (Loan) | 2014 | |
| Motherwell | 2015 | 2016 |
| Oxford United | 2016 | 2017 |
| Middlesbrough | 2017 | – |
Well Career:
| Apps | Goals | |
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League:
|
48 (5) | 6 |
|
Scottish Cup:
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2 | 1 |
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League Cup:
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7 | 3 |
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Other:
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2 | 1 |
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Total:
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59 (5) | 11 |