 Wednesday, 23rd Nov 2022 12:35 John Wark and Terry Butcher are among those to have paid tribute to Blues legend David Johnson, who has died aged 71. Johnson, who had been battling throat cancer, was with the Blues between 1972 and 1976, scoring 46 times in 174 starts and four sub appearances. Wark played alongside the eight-times-capped England frontman both for Town - Johnson was in the team the day the Scotland international made his debut in the FA Cup sixth round replay against Leeds at Filbert Street in March 1975 - and at Liverpool and the pair remained close in recent years. “Although I first met him at Ipswich in my early days, we were as close as anything when I went to Liverpool,” Wark told TWTD. “Even lately we were working at Liverpool doing hospitality when Ipswich have been away and I’ve not been working at Portman Road. I saw him at all the games. We always hit it off, as everybody did with him. “They called him ‘The Doc’ at Liverpool, but I still called him Jonty, after his shop in Ipswich. “We’d all meet after we’d finished and sit in the directors’ box and I used to sit with him a lot and just reminisce. “He played in my debut in 1975. For me, he was a real, proper centre forward. Quick and he was hard, he could mix it. “I remember him when I played against Leeds, he could handle himself playing against Norman Hunter and people like that. “But he was a good lad to hang about with as well. He was always cracking jokes. I got on really well with him because of the Ipswich connection.” Wark believes Johnson should go down as one of the club’s best ever strikers: “When you think about his goals. He was here for four years. “He was a great player, a legend. They don’t talk about the legends of the seventies too much, but he was, everyone talks about 81 and all that. “He is perhaps sometimes overshadowed by Paul Mariner, who was my mate and he was great striker, but Doc was a handful as well. “And you’ve got to think, he played when it was really hard when people could headbutt you and knock you about. He could handle himself. “He was always the life and soul. You get players who are the ones in the dressing room who are bubbly and keep the dressing room going, he was one of those. “A sad day. I’ve been getting calls from boys at Liverpool all morning and I’m sure I’ll get a lot of calls and that just shows you how popular he was.” Wark remembers Johnson and Town teammate Kevin Beattie both scoring for England in a 5-1 victory over Scotland at Wembley in 1975. “I went and watched that,” he recalled. “I didn’t talk to them for a while! I was at the club then and I remember going to Wembley because he and the Beat were playing. ‘I can’t believe you, I’m not talking to you, big man, scoring against Scotland’. “To get in the England team in that era showed how good a striker he was, you could name lots of top strikers at that time. “But never mind his ability as a footballer, he was a really great lad. A legend and a great guy.” Butcher joined the club shortly after Johnson had moved on to Anfield but saw him in action from the Portman Road stands. “He was one of my heroes,” he said. “I used to watch him play for Town. Very good. Quick, strong, a good goalscorer, a great Town player. “Part of that era when Bobby [Robson] was starting to get things together and it was starting to click. It’s a really sad day.” Butcher has fond memories of Jonty’s the clothes shop in Tacket Street in which the striker had a stake during his time with the Blues. “He used to have the clothes shop in town, which is still there. That was a lovely clothes shop as well. I used to get some of my clothes in there.” Butcher added: “A lovely character, but all the players that were at the club were good characters, that was the way it was. “A lovely person, you could approach him and speak to him, he was funny and he was really good company, a nice guy.”
Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
   Blogs 296 bloggersIpswich Town Polls[ Vote here ] |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
