Lee Johnson (footballer)

On 18 March 2013, Johnson was appointed manager of League One side Oldham Athletic, signing onto a two-year contract. At the age of 31, his appointment made him the youngest manager in the Football League, with him also managing in the same league as his father, Gary, who was then the manager of Yeovil Town.[16] His first game in charge was a 3–0 victory over Hartlepool United the day after his appointment, which saw Oldham move out of the relegation zone.[17] He went on to lead the club to safety soon afterwards, with his run of form notable with wins against Bury and promotion-chasing Yeovil, which was also highlighted as it was reported to be the first instance of father and son managing against each other since Bill Dodgin, Sr. of Bristol Rovers and Bill Dodgin, Jr. of Fulham faced each other in the early 1970s.[18][19]

During the off-season prior to his first full season in charge, Johnson vowed to make changes to the squad, thus resulting in a change of play, which resulted in fan favourite Robbie Simpson controversially being on the list of players that were released by the club.[20] However, Johnson hit back, completing the signings of James Dayton, Sidney Schmeltz and Korey Smith, the latter chose to make his initial loan into a permanent deal, with Johnson also appointing the player as the new team captain.[21] Oldham started the season as Johnson intended, winning 4–3 at Stevenage.[22] Such form continued throughout the season, with Oldham playing high quality football, receiving plaudits from opposition managers and pundits alike. In January, various changes were made, notably losing the services of James Tarkowksi to Brentford for an undisclosed fee.[23] Johnson made signings that would go on to make a big impact to Oldham's second half of the season, most notably the loan of Gary Harkins from St. Mirren.[24] After various excellent performances throughout the first half of the season, Johnson was rewarded with a new three–year contract, extending his contract until the summer of 2018, stating, "I love the club, the new contract extension makes me feel valued by the owner and the board. I know I will get it right and that I will be given time to do that, at what is a fantastic club".[25] As their season came to a close, the Latics ended the season on a 10-game unbeaten run, which saw the club finish fifteenth, two points short of the top–half of the table, making this the club's best finish for the side since the end of the 2008–09 season under John Sheridan.

During the first half of the 2014–15 league campaign, Johnson led his side to be in the top ten of the league, which soon saw his name emerge with links to a variety of clubs.

On 25 February 2015, Johnson was appointed as the new head coach of fellow League One club Barnsley, after an undisclosed compensation package was agreed between the Tykes and Oldham Athletic for the services of Johnson and his assistant Tommy Wright.[26] His first match in charge was a 1–0 victory at Gillingham, which occurred three days following his appointment.[27] Despite taking over the club whilst they sat sixteenth and were underachieving,[26] Johnson guided to the club to an eleventh-placed finish, after their form resulted in them picking up five victories, six draws and three sorrow defeats.[28]

During his first full season in charge, Johnson had Barnsley in a mixed form prior to the new year period, picking up ten victories out of a possible thirty, as well as picking up an eight-game losing streak.[29] However, 2016 saw Barnsley hold up a seven-game winning streak, which suddenly moved the side higher up the league positions.[30] Johnson's name suddenly emerged as many club's targets to fulfil their managerial posts, and by the time he left Barnsley, the club were sat twelfth, a huge improvement from them sitting twenty-second in the table in November.[31] He had also led the club to the Football League Trophy final,[32] in which his successor Paul Heckingbottom managed to claim the cup win.[33] He left Barnsley on 6 February 2016.[31]

On 6 February 2016, Johnson was appointed as the new manager of relegation-threatened Championship club Bristol City, signing onto a three-and-a-half-year deal, after an undisclosed compensation fee was agreed between the Robins and Barnsley.[31] Under Johnson's management, City went on to record several victories during their sixteen games in the league, eventually finishing a comfortable twelve points above the relegation zone in eighteenth place.[34] Despite the loan signing of Tammy Abraham, who scored 26 goals for the club in the 2016–17 season, City remained in the relegation dogfight until the penultimate game of the season,[35] eventually finishing three points above the relegation zone in seventeenth place, a minor improvement of their previous season's finish.[36]

Despite fans demanding for Johnson to be dismissed, he remained as City manager ahead of the 2017–18 season, and brought in right-back Eros Pisano[37] and Senegalese striker Famara Diedhiou to boost their hopes of success, the latter signing for a club record transfer fee of £5.3 million.[38] In October 2017, Johnson received manager of the month award for September, after guiding City to an undefeated streak of six games, scoring thirteen goals across that month.[39] Later that month, as part of an interview for the BBC Points West programme, Johnson described his past of receiving death threats across the previous season, after completing the signing of Bristol Rovers striker Matty Taylor, also revealing how he was forced to move home, following the aftermath of his family's home address being publicised online.[40] In the 2017–18 season, Johnson led the club to the semi-finals of the EFL Cup, defeating several Premier League clubs in the lead up, notably defeating José Mourinho's Manchester United.[41] During the semi-finals, Bristol City exited the competition after a 3–5 aggregate defeat to eventual champions Manchester City, a game in which saw opposition manager Pep Guardiola praise Johnson for his side's style of play.[42] City ended the season in eleventh place in the Championship, eight points adrift from play-off qualification.[43] In their following league campaign, Johnson's side finished the season in eighth place, their best league finish since the 2007–08 season, despite maintaining fifth position towards the closing stages of the season.[44]

On 23 May 2019, Johnson signed onto a new four-year contract with Bristol City, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2023.[45] That October, he was charged with misconduct by the FA as a response to alleged language towards a match official.[46] He received a £2,000 fine and a one-match ban.[47] Following a run of four consecutive defeats, on 4 July 2020, Johnson was dismissed as head coach of Bristol City.[48] Having been appointed in February 2016, he was the longest-serving manager in the Championship prior to his departure.[48]

On 5 December 2020, Johnson was appointed the new head coach of Sunderland following the departure of Phil Parkinson. He signed a two and a half year deal with the club.[49][50] Despite only being announced that morning, his first game in charge was later that afternoon, with his new side losing 1–0 at home to Wigan Athletic.[51]

As of match played 2 February 2021

Yeovil Town

• Football Conference: 2002–03
• Football League Two: 2004–05

Heart of Midlothian

• Scottish Cup: 2005–06

Bristol City

• Football League One runner-up: 2006–07

Kilmarnock

• Scottish League Cup: 2011–12

Individual

• Football League One Manager of the Month: January 2016[55]
• EFL Championship Manager of the Month: September 2017[39]