9. Michael Johnson
A picture says a thousand words. A product of four separate academies (Leeds United, Excelsior, Everton and Manchester City), Michael Johnson went on to make his debut for City in 2006. He went on to make seven consecutive first team appearances before suffering an injury setback, but this run showed his promise and manager Stuart Pearce showed his dedication to home-grown talent. The following season, Johnson made 23 appearances for City before suffering a further injury and this same season (2007-08) marked his last in which he made consistent appearances for the future Premier League champions. After making just 10 appearances - scoring one goal - in his next three seasons at City, Johnson was loaned out to Championship side Leicester City. At Leicester, MJ was signed to a season-long deal which was subsequently cut short due to injury. Making just 9 appearances for the club, he was sent back to parent club Manchester City in January 2012. Just a year after being sent back to City, in January 2013 it was announced that Michael Johnson was released by the club the preceding month. Making just five appearances in his last five seasons and no appearances at all in his final three, it is proven that Johnson did not reach anywhere near where he could have done. Although injuries sustained hitherto have impacted his amount of (and lack of) appearances, the above photo shows that he was also in bad shape at the time. Former City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson commented on the situation stating:
" an excellent player... everyone thought he would become the next big star for England."
Injuries played a part, but Johnson's lack of dedication to football was also a major factor as well as his reported drinking problems. He's just 25 and may go on to still achieve success in football, but since his release he has stated that he has lost his love and passion for the beautiful game.
Current Status: Free agent.
What He Could Have Been: First team player for Liverpool and England - the next Steven Gerrard.