Andrew Johnson Bio Send To Friend  

Johnson joined Fulham in the summer of 2008 following a two-year spell with Everton which was persistently dogged by rumours that the player was not happy in the north.

The striker's return to London was delayed by a previous injury but he eventually completed his move to Craven Cottage for a fee believed to be in the region of £10.5 million

Johnson began his career with Birmingham City. He played in the 2001 Worthington Cup final against Liverpool but missed a penalty in the sudden-death shoot-out that gave the Cup to the Reds.

He put that behind him with some fine performances as Birmingham won promotion to the Premiership for the 2002/03 season. But the forward did not get to play for the Blues in the top flight, as he was reluctantly forced to transfer to Crystal Palace in July 2002 as part of the deal which took Clinton Morrison to Birmingham. He was valued at £750,000. He played 104 times for the St Andrews club, scoring 13 goals.

'AJ' came of age in 2003/04 as Palace, against all the odds, went on an amazing late-season surge to win promotion to the Premiership through the play-offs. He bagged a superb 32 goals in all competitions, 28 of those in the league campaign - making him the top scorer in the division.

Johnson's lightening pace, quick feet and intelligent running off the ball gave most Premier League defences plenty to think about. Although he could not stop Palace from dropping back into the Championship he finished as the top English goalscorer with 21 in 37 games.

He made his England debut in February 2005, replacing Wayne Rooney in the 61st minute. It seems unlikely he will add to the six caps he has won for his country.

One year after trying to help Crystal Palace win an immediate promotion back into the top flight, which ultimately failed, Johnson was back in the Premier League.

Johnson headed to Goodison Park for £8.6million in the summer of 2006 after Everton had outbid Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic for the striker's services. When Johnson moved on to Everton, he left Palace having scored 85 goals in 160 games.

The forward repaid some of his transfer fee immediately, scoring six goals in his opening seven league matches, including a brace in a famous 3-0 victory over Liverpool. He went on to finish his first season with 12 goals as Everton grabbed a sixth place finish and a UEFA Cup place. But it wasn't without controversy.

Labelled a 'diver' by some Premiership managers, because of the ease he went down in the penalty area, incensed Everton manager David Moyes took the unusual step of sending a video of several clear penalties denied to Johnson to the Professional Game Match Officials Board.

Johnson only scored six Premier League goals in 2007/08 but the Toffees still made a profit on the player when they sold him to Fulham.

His debut for the Cottagers was delayed slightly due to injury, finally making his bow in a 2-1 home win over Bolton Wanderers. But he had to wait for his first goal, which was also the 100th League goal of his career, in a 2-0 home win over Wigan Athletic.