Craig Johnston Q&A

T IS no secret. Many Australian football significant for Liverpool’s contribution to the traditional FA
fans – and especially Socceroos of the past
two decades – grew up and were inspired
by the image of Craig Johnston scoring for
Liverpool in the 1986 FA Cup final.
A surfer from the beaches of Newcastle in New
South Wales had somehow transported himself to
Wembley’s hallowed turf, showing Australian kids that,
yes, dreams can come true.
But just as that goal against Everton, in a 3-1
victory, was the highlight of Johnston’s football
career, two years later he was back at Wembley
amid darker circumstances.
Johnston’s sister had been involved in a serious
accident prompting the Australian to flag retirement
at the age of 27 so he could dedicate time to her
wellbeing. Johnston was dropped for the final,
watching from the bench as his career
literally ticked down.
Liverpool lost the 1988 final to
Cup ‘song’ that participating clubs recorded. Breaking
with convention that dictated stiff footballers perform
clunky sing-a-longs out of tune, Johnston (who now lives
and works as a professional photographer in Florida)
masterminded the “The Anfield Rap”, at a time when hip-
hop was far from mainstream. Look it up on YouTube.
Football – nor music – was ever the same again.
+ Do you ever tire of talking about the
1986 FA Cup final?
It doesn’t happen that often. Mainly because I spend a
lot of time in America, and now more and more, in the
Caribbean with my photography. Talking about the FA
Cup or football in general is a very welcome break for
me these days. They are fabulous memories.
+ Why is there so much romance associated with the Cup?
It is a romantic notion. You go to the bible and you talk
about David and Goliath. The big boys versus the small

J o hnston Wimbledon’s legendary Crazy Gang, boys. Gods versus the peasants. How could that not
Craig Australian Johnston making a late entry be romantic when the very notion of the tournament
nly
is the o cored in an
as a substitute, but it could is that [an amateur or part-time team] can knock out
s
to have nal. Now a
be argued the Australian Liverpool FC? The FA Cup pits the flash rich footballers
won something more – up against people who have proper jobs – metal
fi er,
FA Cup photograph perspective on life. workers, coal miners. How can it not be romantic?

r ofe ssional triumph

, The 1988 final was also Everybody loves the underdog.
p cts on

He scored,
he refle hip-hop with
d
pain an hew Hall
Matt
images BOB THOMAS / GETTY IMAGES + CRAIG JOHNSTON

he shoots
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 “The Anfield Rap was
a light-hearted attempt
at doing another bad
football song and it ended
up being a wonderfully
bad football song. It has
legendary status at
Liverpool because
it is so bad!”
+ But has the romance gone out of the FA Cup?
I remember when Man U pulled out [in 2000 to take
part in the FIFA Club World Cup] and to me that was a
shame on Man U. I think we all thought that. But what
that did was bring up the memories of how important
the FA Cup was. I don’t know if going to South America
and playing will ever compare with going to Accrington
Stanley on a cold January Saturday afternoon and
getting the life kicked out of you by local miners. It’s
a cultural thing. Some institutions need to be well
respected and the FA Cup is one of them.
+ Your final game before you retired was the 1988
FA Cup final. Was that a great way to go out?
I don’t have many regrets in life or my career but my
biggest is that that game was supposed to be my last
as a footballer. It was supposed to be. My sister had
got really badly injured in an accident [in Morocco] and
I had been up and down to London, where she was in
a coma. We then transported her back to Australia and
we were hoping treatment would bring her out of it and
bring her back to consciousness. I’d been dealing with
that for six months and I wanted to help mum and dad
because they were on their own with it.
+ That must have been taxing on you, personally?
[Before the 1988 final] I went to the club and said I’m
going to retire. They didn’t really believe me because
people don’t retire from football at 27. They said, “You
won’t be paid”. I said, “That’s understandable; I’m not
here, you can’t pay me. But I want to help my sister
and help my parents with her rehabilitation”. I had that
conversation and a paper got a sniff from somewhere –
and it wasn’t me – and said we are going to run with the
story before the Cup final unless you give us an exclusive
for after the game. I was in a really, really, bad position. I
was actually playing regularly, I was in good form, and I
was supposed to play against Wimbledon.
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+ But you didn’t start the game?
The journalist didn’t betray my confidence but the
newspaper did and once they got the story off me
they said they were going to run it before the Cup
final rather than after – it was too big a story. I told
them they couldn’t do that, but they said they were
going to do it anyway. When the story broke I was
dropped. The biggest regret I had in my football life is
that somehow somebody found out about the private
discussions I had with the club. The way it ended
makes me very, very sad. [Pauses] Um . . . yeah.
+ But you did get on the pitch against Wimbledon.
We’d had this extremely bad news in the family – Faye’s
progress wasn’t as quick as we all thought it would
be. When something like that happens you tend to see
things very differently. The final was going to be my last
game where I did everything: I went there, I pulled my
boots on, I tried my hardest. When you are a substitute
it is just not the same. You are not playing. You are a bit
player in the pantomime. I always had 90 minutes plus
The famous scissors kick
celebration after scoring in
the 1986 final
I would have done it differently. But the private the dressing room craic [banter] that went on. All the time. The Anfield Rap was basically a way of saying,
conversations I had with the club, somehow, and it nationalities and all their different accents and different “Look here’s all these accents in our dressing room
wasn’t via me, leaked out. I made a handshake with ways of approaching things. Rap, at the time, didn’t and here is how we all get on”. It was a light-hearted
people and they broke that trust. really exist but there was a band called Run DMC who attempt at doing another bad football song and it
came along and I loved rap music. ended up being a wonderfully bad football song. It is
+ On a lighter note, The Anfield Rap. Please explain! really strange but it has legendary status at Liverpool
Nobody liked football songs. They were all a bit of a + How does that turn into an FA Cup final song? because it is so bad! In a way, it was one of the worst
laughing stock and were also pretty dreadful. I love I wanted to talk about this unique team spirit at and in a way it has also been one of the best. Paul
music and I love videos and I was a keen observer of Liverpool because we were winning everything at the Dalglish, Kenny’s son, came over to an Orlando Magic
game [recently] so we had two or three hours of
reminiscing about Liverpool. Then, all of a sudden, after
to give. I was watching the game [from the bench] and a few beers, he burst into song with The Anfield Rap. I
it wasn’t a very good game and we weren’t playing so still get a few dollars here and there for royalty cheques.
well and I just so wanted to be on the field. But it was always only a small amount of money.
+ What was going through your mind? + Speaking of Kenny Dalglish, any thoughts about
I just got sadder and sadder because as the clock Liverpool at the moment?
ticked down from 90 minutes, so did my career. I think The man who was in charge of Liverpool for the FA
I got about 25 minutes and I was very upset about that. Cup Ffnal in 1986 was called Kenny Dalglish and we
I couldn’t help my teammates because I was on the also won the league that year. We were only the third
bench, I had been stitched up by the papers and been team in that century up to that point who had won the
dropped from what could have been the best final double. But I think Liverpool have really lost their way.
moments of my football life. I have never really talked I think the players are used to putting in less than 100
about it until now. I was very upset by the decision by per cent. I think these players have got both Benitez
the newspaper to run the story when they promised me and Roy Hodgson sacked. I think Hodgson did a
they would run it afterwards for the sake of the team. marvellous job. But there’s only one man who can
We didn’t need that kind of publicity before kick off. bring up the energy and commitment levels and that is
Dalglish. He knows what the club is about, he knows
+ So, the FA Cup final gave you the best and Johnston with his sister, where they have come from, he knows where they
Faye, after she was
the worst time of your playing career? need to be. He is one of those people who enthuses
seriously injured in an
That’s fair to say. The media definitely broke a promise accident in Morocco others with his passion and professionalism. He wants
they gave to me but that’s big business. In hindsight 125 per cent out of those players. No matter what.
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