Topic: Craig Johnston on Talksport right now

[john_mac]

Fat chance of that hey John, but if this changes peoples view on hillsborough it could only help our cause further dont you think?

I don't know, maybe my minds too inflamed with anything that has anything to do with McKenzie. Maybe I'm twisted but can't help seeing it as something they should have done when it mattered now jumping on a bandwaggon when time is running out and files will need to be released.

[Stussy]

Superb interview - must be listened to - get on it.

Skippy is a wonderful man and his stories and attitude are inspiring and its clear he was and still is really attuned to us.

[koppitekop11]

Wow, just finished listening to this and I gotta say its one of the best interviews Ive ever heard.

The story of how he became a footballer is so inspirational. Think Il be telling that tale in about 10 years time to one or two of the little things currently swimming around in my sack

Also his rant at the end is quality. "Gordan Taylor, the lads have my number so if you wana give me a call I'l walk it through you!" ......... "Chairman wake up, get yourself in a room, 50% of the wages, and if you dont then your all cowards and your clubs gonna go bankrupt, how about that?"

Legend!

[fowlermagic]

Terry Mc to Johnston ....How about Kruge as your nickname? I dont like that. Well thats it Kruge it is.

Superb interview and by all accounts sounds like a wonderful man

PS - Just finished listening to all of it and the common thread running through all of Craig's personal stories is full of passion, drive and a love....from studying like a demon to get the grades to allow him to travel half ways around the world for a trial with Boro while in his sick bed fighting to keep his leg, washing the players cars for a year so he has the money to pay his way while practicing 8 hours a day by himself, spending half a million quid virtually bankrupt banging on the door of Bayern Munich to get the Predator off the ground and lastly him walking away from the game at 27 to take care of his sis is just amazing. Totally forget about those days when he packed his bags and left us but thank god this interview reminded me why Craig is a true legend and one hell of a man. There was Utd fans there praising the man in their tweets and hats off to Keys & Gray for wiping the schedule to make sure they told as much of Craigs story as they could. I could have listened all day as it was inspirational......should have this interview tagged as a must read if you want to post on RAWK.

[pewithree3]

Craig Johnston was superb in helping the recovery of a young lady crushed at
Hillsborough.

[Red_Mist]

Just listened...some great stories there. He's had an interesting life that's for sure. Speaks with real passion. Top bloke.

[ronnnie yates]

wow , what an interview , hate talkshite , BUT, this is a must listen to. loved the bit at the end with the wages/community comment , he is 100% correct , the players earn fucking stupid money

[El_Macca_17]

Can't recommend this highly enough, whatever your opinions of the source may be. It's obvious how passionate he is about things that mean a lot to him. The story of how he was given his last league winners medal was particularly poignant.

[paulrazor]

wow , what an interview , hate talkshite , BUT, this is a must listen to. loved the bit at the end with the wages/community comment , he is 100% correct , the players earn fucking stupid money

he just missed the boat

i think he got screwed over by bad investments. he retired not long before the boom in wages. if he was playing now hed be on 100k a week. and he would deserve it.

[MBL?]

interview here:

http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/richard-keys-and-andy-gray/blog/2011-09-15/remarkable-life-and-times-craig-johnston

That was brilliant.

[stevensr123]

He is fuckin' spot on about wages, these designers for apple don't make 50-150 grand a week, yet they make apple billions of dollars a year.

footballers are living in a fantasy land if they fuckin' think they can get away with it any longer. Something HAS to happen. Football as we know it cannot continue, more and more clubs are going in to debt. The bubble, just like the housing market, has got to burst.

[El_Macca_17]

Gordon Taylor now replying on Durham's show.

[MiserableP15]

Gordon Taylor now replying on Durham's show.

Now there's a pair of c*nts I have no interest in listening to.

[walshys_mullet]

Very moving from Craig there.

[DangerScouse]

he just missed the boat

i think he got screwed over by bad investments. he retired not long before the boom in wages. if he was playing now hed be on 100k a week. and he would deserve it.

One last thing, didn’t you have a big falling out with the FA recently?
Yeah, they fucked me over. Because of their delaying tactics, incompetence and gamesmanship I went bankrupt. It cost me Ł1.5 million and my marriage. At one stage, after countless pointless meetings with them, I lost it. I nearly punched one of them out. Instead I ran around the car park with a pair of women’s knickers on my head shouting “You’re a bunch of twats!” But listen, that’s a whole other story so I’ll have to tell you that another time.

http://fourfourtwo.com/interviews/webexclusives/94/article.aspx

[timmyonions]

Just finished listening.I must say it was the most enjoyable interview i`ve ever listened to.Truley an
inspirational story and the manc fan hit the nail on the haed when he said Craig was a credit to Liverpool and a credit to his family.

[suptoyou]

One of the best football interviews I have listened to.

Thanks for the link.

[timmyonions]

Gordon Taylor now replying on Durham's show.

Durham is a c*nt.Taylor will spout out complete shite and Durham will lap it up.

[John C]

Let us know, for me we haven't fought for twenty odd years for Talksport, McKenzie's lovechild, and their presenters (esp Gray) to suddenly jump on a populist bandwaggon. 

Its not populist though John, you could even regard it as a considered risk for them to have a Hillsborough week. Lets face it there's a ridiculous amount of LFC supporters that are either ignorant or uneducated about Hillsborough and perhaps indeed unaffected due to their age and locality so are uninterested. Translate that to the rest of the country and there's probably a spilt of genuine football fans that want this pursuing & justice brought and others that just want to hear how long Wayne Rooney's hair is now. So there's a risk of viewers switching off mate.


Good on them for highlighting it with the prospect of more educated sports fans coming out of the other side of the week.

[John C]

Craig Johnston is an inspiring man.

The week after Hillsborough I was with my son and daughter placing my scarf on the barrier near my old spec on the Kop. As I looked to my right, stood a yard or so away on his own, both hands on the crush barrier gazing out over the pitch, was a guy in a leather jacket and jeans. It was Johnno. He turned to meet my gaze. He told me he'd just flown over from Australia simply to share in the grief of the club and people he loved. The tears welled in both our eyes as he told me. We instinctively hugged each other, tears trickling . I thanked him warmly for showing how much he cared and how much it meant. We left him standing there gazing across the Anfield pitch he had graced not that many years earlier.

That brief moment helped me enormously in dealing with what was happening.

Nice story mate. Oh I recall him coming back sharpish, I'll never ever forget that Timbo. A good man.

[lfc786]

what a amazing interview from craig

[audioedge]

Craig is absolutely amazing, what a guy. 

Why is Andy Gray butting in at every opportunity with absolute shite though? 

[horne]

the guy should be employed and back in the game somewhere and somehow....legend and genius....a great creative thinker who isnt afraid to speak his mind...and without greed ...he really cares about improving the game,and in this country too.
Love him to bits ...top fella...i would have him at the FA and let him run amok....come up with ideas and back him till the hilt and make sure those things happen

didnt realise that the hairy-handed halfwit was married to a scouse girl?

[jaffod]

Haven't heard the interview yet but I can tell you Craig's autobiography is probably the best one I have ever read. Talks about how he just knew he had to fly back to Liverpool straight after Hillsbororough, top bloke.

[chiplege]

Haven't heard the interview yet but I can tell you Craig's autobiography is probably the best one I have ever read. Talks about how he just knew he had to fly back to Liverpool straight after Hillsbororough, top bloke.

By far the best interview I've ever heard.  What a man, pure class personified.  Shame he isn't chairman of the Permier league, or Fifa!  God bless you Craig

[MBL?]

Its great to hear from a footballer who is actually intelligent. Also fair play to whoever's idea it was to give him 50 minutes.

[koppitekop11]

Just listened to the Durham an Taylor interview now an I gotta say its some of the biggest load of shite ive heard (dont know why I sound so surprised like).

Taylor is a full on greedy, in-denial c*nt.

[RossoBianchi]

Just to say... what an interview. Must admit being a baby of 1985, my knowledge of Johnston is pretty sparse; before today he was just some ex-scouse Aussie guy who made Preds. But that was truly fantastic - heart-warming, inspirational, educational, all sorts of things. Fair fucks to him, the game needs more of his sort.

[Big Red Richie]

Haven't heard the interview yet but I can tell you Craig's autobiography is probably the best one I have ever read. Talks about how he just knew he had to fly back to Liverpool straight after Hillsbororough, top bloke.

Funny enough, I was on the Kop the week following Hillsborough, when they had the ground open to let people lay flowers and the like, and Craig Johnston came walking past, down from the back of the Kop, with all of his family in tow.  He brought all of his family over to make sure they saw it for themselves.

I always remember that.

In those days, as now, you never got that close to the players, and to see him just stroll past you within a couple of feet was just strange.  I walked past him and gave him a solemn nod of the head, as if to say, "hi mate. nice of you to be here", he just returned the solemn nod, as if to say "no problem. where else WOULD I be".



I havent listened to the interview yet, so can someone tell me how long it is? and I'll have a listen later. Ta.

[gritsvanilla]

Brilliant interview from a truly great, intelligent man, overlooked somewhat in the Liverpool legends stakes but Craig was a true Liverpool great, the Dirk Kuyt of his day if you like albeit with a little more speed and skill than Dirk. His rant at the end about money in football was spot on and so refreshing to hear.

[redgriffin73]

I havent listened to the interview yet, so can someone tell me how long it is? and I'll have a listen later. Ta.

Am listening now, it says 50mins on the bar at the bottom.

[Big Red Richie]

Cheers.  I'll have a listen later on, or tomorrow.

[koppitekop11]

In those days, as now, you never got that close to the players, and to see him just stroll past you within a couple of feet was just strange.

Not that I disagree with you mate as I was born a year after Hillsborough but from all the autobiographies ive read and the tales Ive been I told I thought it was the opposite.

From what I gathered players wernt wrapped up in the bubbles they are today and it was common to see them out and about e.g. down the pub e.g. ive heard Aldo, Rush, Souness and Kenny all saying they were very close to the Everton lads and would often be in the pub with them.

A great story nonetheless mate and just sums up the man

[Hij]

Keys and Gray are talking to Craig on their show right now.  Absolutely fucking brilliant stuff!

I didn't realise how much Keys was affected by the Hillsborough disaster, as his wife is a scouser.

Keys and Gray have also announced that they're having a Hillsborough week at the beginning of October, as they want the truth out.

Whatever you think of them, fair play is what I say.

I imagine the interview will be on the site later.

Have they edited this out of the online version? I have admittedly skimmed through but thought it would be more than a 6-8 minute discussion

[redgriffin73]

Have they edited this out of the online version? I have admittedly skimmed through but thought it would be more than a 6-8 minute discussion

I'm listening right now and just heard it, about 25mins in. Mentioned for maybe a minute or two.

[Hij]

I'm listening right now and just heard it, about 25mins in. Mentioned for maybe a minute or two.

Cheers.

[Moldyman]

Listened to it earlier on, brilliant. True Liverpool legend.

[Occy]

The reason I support the reds today, being Australian and knowing the story of how he came to play for the reds is inspiring.

And he doesn't talk shite like most well trained sport pundits who don't call it how it is.

[gritsvanilla]

Not that I disagree with you mate as I was born a year after Hillsborough but from all the autobiographies ive read and the tales Ive been I told I thought it was the opposite.

From what I gathered players wernt wrapped up in the bubbles they are today and it was common to see them out and about e.g. down the pub e.g. ive heard Aldo, Rush, Souness and Kenny all saying they were very close to the Everton lads and would often be in the pub with them.

A great story nonetheless mate and just sums up the man

Apparently half the first team of the day was never out of the Conti, only ever went once (it was crap and full of poses) and i saw Rushy, Johnno, Barnsey and Elton Welsby!

[liverpoolsox]

I understand people might feel uneasy about the source but surely anything thats educating the uninformed can only be a good thing. Im not keys and grays biggest fans but i say fairplay to them and hopefully itll be a success in wiping out some of the ignorance