Roger Johnson opens up on troubled Wolves spell
Roger Johnson has held his hands up and admitted he was ‘not right’ with everything he did at Wolves as he hopes to set the record straight on his controversial spell at Molineux.
Johnson is the latest guest on the club’s Old Gold Club podcast and spoke to hosts Chris Iwelumo and Mikey Burrows about his four-year spell at the club.
Centre-half Johnson, 36, is currently out of contract having been released by National League side Bromley.
And in the podcast he lifts the lid on numerous incidents during his time at the club, addressing the captaincy issue, back-to-back relegations, denying turning up drunk to training, being part of Kenny Jackett’s bomb squad, his eventual relief at his 2015 exit and those controversial Soccer AM comments.
When Johnson joined Wolves in the summer of 2011 he would go on to replace Karl Henry as captain.
He told Burrows and Iwelumo he did not ask for the captaincy after his transfer from Birmingham and says, in hindsight, he would not have taken the role.
Though he does not believe the captaincy issue split the dressing room and still believes it was the players, not Mick McCarthy, to blame for their subsequent relegation at the end of the 2011-12 season. He said: “I hold my hands up. I have not been in the right with everything I have done at Wolves.
“I should not probably have taken the captaincy.
“My performance levels were not good enough, but I do not want to make this whole thing to be ‘poor Roger’.
“I was signed to help the club and I think, in that period, I did not do that.”
Johnson was reportedly sent home and fined after allegedly turning up to training drunk, the day after a 5-0 defeat to Fulham in March.
But Johnson wanted to set the record straight on that story. He admitted he had a few beers with friends that Sunday night, but says he did not report drunk the next day.
He said: “This story does bug me, massively. I was disappointed with how Wolves dealt with it to be honest.
“I felt I’m kind of getting scapegoated for what has gone on at the club and I felt it was a bit unfair because, yes, I was not playing under Terry.
“Terry pulls me in on Wednesday and says ‘you turned up to training drunk’.
“I said ‘did I? Was I late? Did I train?’ So that was my answer back. He said ‘oh the press have got it now and are going to run the story’.
“I said ‘what do you mean they are going to run the story? Was I drunk on Monday, then?’
“I will be totally honest, yes I had a few beers on the Sunday because I was disappointed I was not playing, that we were still losing. I had a couple of beers with a couple of friends.
“I still turned up to work, I still trained."
And he also spoke about being told he was not in Kenny Jackett’s plans at the start of the the 2013-14 League One promotion season, and explained he took a 25 per cent pay cut to join Sheffield Wednesday and then West Ham on loan.
The defender would then return to Wolves and trained with the development squad like he had when Jackett arrived.
But Johnson would end up in controversy again as he went on television programme Soccer AM in the summer of 2014 and said: “I’m employed by the club so I’d probably give up a fair amount of money if I just walked out."
Johnson would finally leave Wolves after reaching a mutual agreement to terminate his contract in January 2015.
And Johnson addressed those comments.
He said: “If I could take the comments back, I would."
Roger Johnson’s episode of the Old Gold Club will be broadcast on Wolves’ Facebook and YouTube channels from 6pm tonight, while the full podcast will be available on all the regular channels straight afterwards.
