Born: 12th March 1979, Birmingham
Years at Crewe: 1994-1999
Crewe appearances: 103
Crewe goals: 7
Other clubs: Derby County 1999-2001,
Leeds United 2001-present
International honours: 1 England cap
Seth is considered by many as the best player the Crewe Alexandra football academy has produced. His powerful, robust style of play and undying commitment won over the Alex fans straight away.
The story behind Johnson's introduction to Crewe Alexandra is comical but many argue fateful. The Crewe Alex junior ranks were touring Devon, due to play Johnson's local side Dawlish Generals, the game was cancelled but somehow Seth was never told and he turned up and was willing to train with the youngsters. He impressed the coaches and was snapped up aged 11 and moved to South Cheshire.
His appearances in various academy sides saw him progress steadily, and he made his debut aged 17 against Preston North End in the back end of the 1995-1996 season. As Crewe achieved promotion in 1997 via the playoffs, Seth made thirteen appearances scoring his first goal against local rivals Wrexham in a 1-1 draw at the Racecourse. He was used as a substitute in both the semi and final of the playoffs, replacing Colin Little and Danny Murphy respectively.
As Murphy moved on, Johnson saw his chance to stake a claim in the spot vacated by Danny. He began to find his feet, and was asked to switch positions by Dario Gradi constantly, filling in at centre-half, left back, left wing back and sometimes as an emergency striker.
Seth came of age in 1998-99, helping to preserve our First Divison status, and defying the odds in doing so. Five goals, Nine yellow cards and one red said it all: he was everywhere and was not afraid to put himself about. His goals against Bolton Wanderers, West Bromwich Albion and Bristol City were all vitally important to the Alex's survival hopes. He instantly became a hero when he turned down a move to Jim Smith's Premiership outfit Derby County, instead staying to help us stay up.
When our status was ensured, he completed the club record £3.4m move to Derbyshire. He continued his combative style of play for the Rams, picking up 14 yellows, but scored his first goal against Wimbledon in a 2-2 draw. 2000-2001 saw him make his sole England appearance to date, against Italy at the Delle Alpi in Turin, replacing Gareth Barry and nearly scoring with his first touch, a six yard shot which was fantastically saved by Buffon. It remains one of the finest saves in memory.
Leeds United splashed out £7m on 22-year old Seth in 2001 as the cash crisis at Pride Park took its toll. They were forced to sell their prize asset, but Crewe received a portion of the sum due to a sell-on clause that was administered by the board on his sale to Derby.
It was a big move for Seth. Leeds were hoping to challenge for the League
Championship and Peter Ridsdale's spending had promised much. However, as the Yorkshire club began to feel the strain of Ridsdale's spending spree, David O'Leary, the manager who brought him to Leeds was sacked and the sales of high profile stars such as Jonathan Woodgate, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler and countless others made his progression under new boss Terry Venables hard. Life became depressing for Leeds' players, not least Johnson who had been suffering with a knee injury for months.
Middlesbrough agreed a fee with Leeds for Seth, but his back injury forced the deal to fall through. Under Venables, he began to play more as they were basically running out of players, but never made much impact. Only a reminiscing goal at Upton Park gave Seth any satisfaction from a depressing year.
It seems like a mass waste of talent that Seth is languishing at such a farcically run club as Leeds United. Middlesbrough may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but at least they are ambitious. One can only hope that he can find some success at Leeds or at another club.
Seth's career seems to be slowly slipping downhill after he was arrested on suspicion of drink driving on the M62 outside of Bradford, and he is still awaiting an internal investigation from the Elland Road club and the Crown Prosecution Service are considering investigating the case.
Seth scored seven goals in 103 games while at Crewe and has a lot of fans at Crewe, who only wish him the very best and is a worthy member of our Hall of Fame.
The story behind Johnson's introduction to Crewe Alexandra is comical but many argue fateful. The Crewe Alex junior ranks were touring Devon, due to play Johnson's local side Dawlish Generals, the game was cancelled but somehow Seth was never told and he turned up and was willing to train with the youngsters. He impressed the coaches and was snapped up aged 11 and moved to South Cheshire.
His appearances in various academy sides saw him progress steadily, and he made his debut aged 17 against Preston North End in the back end of the 1995-1996 season. As Crewe achieved promotion in 1997 via the playoffs, Seth made thirteen appearances scoring his first goal against local rivals Wrexham in a 1-1 draw at the Racecourse. He was used as a substitute in both the semi and final of the playoffs, replacing Colin Little and Danny Murphy respectively.
As Murphy moved on, Johnson saw his chance to stake a claim in the spot vacated by Danny. He began to find his feet, and was asked to switch positions by Dario Gradi constantly, filling in at centre-half, left back, left wing back and sometimes as an emergency striker.
Seth came of age in 1998-99, helping to preserve our First Divison status, and defying the odds in doing so. Five goals, Nine yellow cards and one red said it all: he was everywhere and was not afraid to put himself about. His goals against Bolton Wanderers, West Bromwich Albion and Bristol City were all vitally important to the Alex's survival hopes. He instantly became a hero when he turned down a move to Jim Smith's Premiership outfit Derby County, instead staying to help us stay up.
When our status was ensured, he completed the club record £3.4m move to Derbyshire. He continued his combative style of play for the Rams, picking up 14 yellows, but scored his first goal against Wimbledon in a 2-2 draw. 2000-2001 saw him make his sole England appearance to date, against Italy at the Delle Alpi in Turin, replacing Gareth Barry and nearly scoring with his first touch, a six yard shot which was fantastically saved by Buffon. It remains one of the finest saves in memory.
Leeds United splashed out £7m on 22-year old Seth in 2001 as the cash crisis at Pride Park took its toll. They were forced to sell their prize asset, but Crewe received a portion of the sum due to a sell-on clause that was administered by the board on his sale to Derby.
It was a big move for Seth. Leeds were hoping to challenge for the League
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Middlesbrough agreed a fee with Leeds for Seth, but his back injury forced the deal to fall through. Under Venables, he began to play more as they were basically running out of players, but never made much impact. Only a reminiscing goal at Upton Park gave Seth any satisfaction from a depressing year.
It seems like a mass waste of talent that Seth is languishing at such a farcically run club as Leeds United. Middlesbrough may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but at least they are ambitious. One can only hope that he can find some success at Leeds or at another club.
Seth's career seems to be slowly slipping downhill after he was arrested on suspicion of drink driving on the M62 outside of Bradford, and he is still awaiting an internal investigation from the Elland Road club and the Crown Prosecution Service are considering investigating the case.
Seth scored seven goals in 103 games while at Crewe and has a lot of fans at Crewe, who only wish him the very best and is a worthy member of our Hall of Fame.