Fly Me Over the Pond: Adam Johnson and the Middlesbrough FC Youth Academy

Adam Johnson arrived on the international scene in style last week to a mixed reaction from Boro fans. The Fly Me To The Moon message boards varied between “Well done to a Boro product,” down to “Judas Johnson the money grabbing rat.”

The fact is, Boro fans should take pride in the rise of the exciting winger to superstar status. The hand of Middlesbrough Football Club guided his development and the very successful youth academy we boast was the environment that helped him flourish. 

Arguably, Johnson’s goal for England was a greater source of pride for the club than current player Stephen McManus heading in a late winner in ‘Manchester United’ injury time for Scotland. You cannot help but think that any success McManus achieves will be viewed as largely down to his Celtic roots. Similarly, the seeds of Johnson’s superstar status were sowed at the Boro.

The only argument that seems to be thrown around is that Johnson’s switch to Manchester City showed a “lack of loyalty” to the club. In the current society we live, it seems a remarkable double standard. Adam Johnson left because he wanted to play on a better team with better players and reach his potential, which he is achieving right now.

Over 10,000 Middlesbrough fans are currently not attending games once a week as they feel the team should be doing better and play more entertaining football. Some of those same fans believed Adam Johnson should train and play daily, while also cutting off his career options to stay with a team so many do not even want to watch. If those same fans have a grudge against Johnson, it seems bizarre. Surely it is a players' right to choose his career path, as much as it is a fans right to watch a game or not go.

On the other end of the playing scale many players actually do not want to leave Boro like Johnson did. Chris Killen may have been happy to stay, Jeremie Aliadiere would have stayed, and Josh Walker did not want to leave. The fans, however, rarely waste energy thinking about such players. The reason is they were not match winners, and will not be missed. Does this mean that fans in general lack loyalty? Not at all, it is just that those players were not helping the club succeed so we moved on.

Sadly, Boro in their current situation were not helping Adam Johnson. He has moved on and should be wished well. The success of the Boro academy has been a constant through dark times and Johnson has overtaken Downing to become the flagship player developed.

All you have to do to put in perspective the success of the Boro academy is look at the powerhouse clubs. Recent graduates from the Chelsea and Liverpool youth ranks have a tough task to get in the first team, but why are they not playing at clubs like Sunderland, lower end Premier League, or even Championship teams?

Since Steven Gerrard, is Neil Mellor the best Liverpool youth product? If so, when you bear in mind how many young players would prefer to play for Liverpool than Boro, Dave Parnaby and his staff are doing a phenomenal job of grooming young men who go on to become good professional footballers.

Boro youth academy is something all fans should take pride in. If a player leaves, we should wish him success and realize the reputation of our club for developing players grows every time, and that can help us attract the best young players of the future.