Johnston aiming for silverware with Dynamos

LONDON, UK – When Joe Johnston stepped on to the ice at Streatham earlier this season, fans on both sides did a double take. One of the key drivers behind the reformation of the Redskins in 2003, Johnston came back after a seven year absence from the sport to Captain his local team and epitomised their spirit. For years the talisman and hero of the South London club, Johnston skated out in 2009 wearing the unfamiliar Dynamos’ uniform to a mixture of boo’s and cheers from the Redskins partisan support. Even his ex team mates could only look across on the warm up with disappointment at seeing him in the colours of their long time rivals.
 
To add insult to injury, he scored past his old club as the rampant Dynamos’ tore apart the ramshackle Redskins. His dignified lack of celebration appeased the Redskins fans as much as it riled some of the Dynamos fans, however to most it was a sensible option from a level headed player.
 
As with any other summer in recent years, Johnston’s phone was ringing again with offers from different clubs. However with the Redskins future in doubt, he decided to listen to what was on offer:
 
“Obviously it was a massively tough and heart wrenching decision to leave a club I adore so much in Streatham. The situation at that time seemed pretty bleak and as far as I was aware we were almost certain to be without a coach and looked to be registering in ENL 2. I, like many others felt I had to make a decision for my own career, and that along with the fact that I really wanted to have a crack at winning something meant I was reluctantly resigned to leaving,
 
“I’m not ashamed to admit I got very emotional over the whole thing. A lot of the amazing fans and most of the people around the club have known me since I was born. At the end of the day I’ve played for Streatham since I was four years old and for nearly all of my life, I’m a local lad and still regard the club as my club so it was obviously a very hard move,
 
“I had some interest from quite a few teams, all very flattering to be honest. Invicta stood out to me because not only have they been so successful in ENL for the past however many years, but they are the nearest team to me geographically after Streatham. I’ve known Kevin Parrish since we were kids from the Streatham hockey schools, junior hockey and later at Guildford so we chatted and it all just fell in to place really”
 
One question that often comes up in any discussion about Joe Johnston, is why he hasn’t played at a higher level. Fellow team mate Andy Smith is probably the other example of an ENL player who could and probably should have moved up a level, however in Johnston’s case, it isn’t that easy:
 
“I’d honestly love to have a go at EPL. I think any player who plays to win wants to test themselves as best they can. I’ve had quite a few offers over the past few years but I just can’t commit. When Jesse Hammill took over at Romford he called me and gave me a great offer but after talking to him more I realised I just couldn’t put the time and effort in that is needed at that level,
 
“If I was younger and was getting paid serious money then maybe, but it is one hell of a commitment. I read Steve Maile’s article the other week on ProHockeyNews.com and have to say I agreed with a lot of his views on playing in the EPL. It just wouldn’t be fair to me or whatever team was involved. I work for Sky Sports and work shifts. That includes weekends too. It just isn’t feasible to be in say somewhere like Sheffield or Manchester on a Sunday night then be starting work 5am Monday morning. Not at my age anyway!
 
“It’s hard enough now to be honest. At least once I week I get home from training at 2am and my alarm goes off at 4am and some games I’ll have worked all weekend starting at 5am. By Sunday I’m obviously knackered but will finish work at 2.30pm then rush to a rink somewhere to play a game. It’s really hard going and I’m struggling enough with it now. Grabbing a few hours sleep here and there in the back of my car is not ideal but necessary,
 
“I have had to take a bit of holiday to play some games so it’s a real balancing act. I must come across as a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde because one weekend I’ll be my normal chatty self, the next I’m a miserable, grumpy zombie. ENL is good, tough hockey and seems to be improving every week let alone every year. The balance is just right for me and suits me with all the commitments of work and personal life. So as much as I’d like to try EPL I think ENL is competitive, honest and entertaining, and I’m happy in this league”
 
Johnston’s contentment probably stems from the fact his new team sit top of the league with a healthy margin on Cardiff and Bracknell. After a slow start by his standards he has started to find his goal scoring touch again of late. With 15 goals and 29 assists already this year, Johnston is happy with his season so far, but has the move down the A2 lived up to expectations?:
 
“It has been everything I thought it would to be honest. It’s a great club that is run very professionally and I was made to feel really welcome from the start. The supporters are great and it’s amazing how my opinion has changed now I’m on the other side. I used to hate going to Invicta and the frosty reception you’d receive as an opposing player. The crowd would make you feel so unwelcome and would get on your back before the game had even started so as much as I disliked it I guess they were doing their job very well,
 
“On the other side they are great, very loud and supportive. I’ve always worn number 17 but because it was already taken I was offered a reversal so that’s why I’m wearing the ludicrous number 71 this season. It didn’t go unnoticed in the stands and early on they started the tongue-in-cheek chant: ‘JJ is our superstar la la la la la…!’ (to the tune of Boney M’s ‘Brown Girl in the Ring’). A cheeky dig that only superstar players wear high numbers,
 
“I have tried to explain I was a victim of circumstances but it keeps falling on deaf ears. It’s nice though; it’s quirky and makes me smile even if I am a bit embarrassed by it. We have a great bunch of lads and the dressing room is a good place to be. From a personal point of view it has been a bigger change than I thought it would be in the beginning. I had a fairly slow start and still don’t feel I’ve played near my best yet. I dislocated my knee at Streatham back in last February and my first game for Invicta was the first competitive hockey I’d played in about 8 months, 
 
“I think coming back from a long term injury like that was tougher than I’d anticipated and probably explains the slow start.  I’ve felt better recently though and feel I’m finally getting in my groove a bit more. I haven’t been scoring anywhere near the amount of goals I’d like to have though and as a result my confidence has been down. I feel I’ve been a tad unlucky and my goal scoring touch has seemed to have eluded me a bit – although again that is improving recently,
 
“All I can do is just keep working at it. I’ve probably been a bit guilty of trying too hard at times too. I’ve scored goals my whole career so I just keep telling myself that it can’t have changed overnight, and I just need to keep plugging away. Kev (Invicta Coach Kevin Parrish) has been good, he’s just said that I should worry when I’m not getting in the correct positions and not getting any chances at all. And all the boys are encouraging, they keep telling me I’m still up there with the top points scorers but it’s pressure I put on myself,
 
“I always expect more from myself and I’m my own worst critic, always have been. I guess you can either throw all your toys out of the pram and sulk or just keep working away and keep faith in your own ability”
 
One reason for Johnston’s perceived dip in confidence could be down to the fact that he is now a small cog in a big wheel rather than the big cog he has been in the past at Streatham. He may be labelled as a superstar by the Invicta fans but in truth he blends in amongst the array of talent in their squad:
 
“At Streatham I was relied on heavily to score goals along with a few others, with the team I’m on now there’s 15 odd other guys all equally capable of banging them in. We’ve got some exceptional talent this year. Vas (Peter Vaisanen) has been immense all year and is a real spark and a leader, Boikey (Nolan Boike) is absolutely on fire right now and can’t stop scoring, Nicky Lewis has been grafting hard and has a good eye for goal and Els (Elliott Andrews) has the experience and vision to make things happen,
 
“For me though Andy Smith is the best player in the whole league by a country mile. He makes the really difficult things look effortless and he’s so easy to play with. His skill level is amazing and he can win a game on his own through a moment of brilliance. I think because of all the offensive flair we have, my role is different compared to when I was at Streatham, my job is more defensive at times and I’ve developed my passing, link-up play and playmaking a bit more too”
 
The Dynamos fans have had to get used to cheering their old enemy and similarly the Dynamos players had to welcome a player who had tormented them throughout the years in a Redskins jersey. Johnston is grateful for the welcome he received from his new team mates but confesses they are an odd bunch, and as the resident Londoner he feels the fashion sense out in Kent isn’t what it could be:
 
“Due to the cold weather there’s been some rascal clobber flying around the changing room of late. Els, the self confessed ‘speedster’ of ENL South has these nasty moon boot things he insists on wearing. I’m sure they keep his feet warm in fairness. That’s nothing compared to the catwalk king of Cardiff Nicky Lewis. He’s blatantly wearing the ladies fashion must have of the winter – ‘Ugg Boots’. Don’t challenge him about it though or you’ll get an earful of: ‘Shut up man…they’re not Ugg’s man… these are Quicksilver man…’ in that Welsh twang,
 
“Secret Santa threw up some surprises too. Shane Kemp got a Dynamo’s baby grow and a nappy due to his adolescent looks. Because of my hairy chest I was given a full Austin Powers suit, and due to Vas working in Nando’s he was presented a full chicken suit, feet and all. What we didn’t know is that it’s an unwritten rule that you have to wear any costumes up to the bar after. Vas and I learned the first rule of playing for Invicta the hard way – pray you avoid the Lennon brothers drawing your name out when it’s Secret Santa time”
 
So with spirit high and the team flying at the top of the table, most fans believe the title is all but won. A shock 5-1 loss in Bracknell recently sent shockwaves through the league, not only for the result but also the margin. A defeat of that magnitude isn’t something the Dynamos are used to in the ENL and Johnston believes that complacency is something they are determined not to let creep in:
“We are in the driving seat at the moment but to use a predictable cliché there is a very long way to go. Anyone who thinks it’s all over should be reminded that we still have some massive games coming up: Cardiff home and away, Chelmsford away, Bracknell home, Oxford away twice, Wightlink home and away…some real tough ones in that mix,
 
“I think if we win most of those we will be almost there for the title, but believe me we’re not thinking that far ahead just yet. We seem to have quite a relaxed approach, we work hard in training and take each week as it comes which I think is the proper way to do it. We’ll see but with the class throughout our squad I’d be disappointed if we’re not there or thereabouts come the end of the season”
 
As for the other teams in the ENL, Johnston acknowledges that with rising standards, no games can be taken for granted:
 
“Most teams are capable of causing an upset on their day. Probably the toughest so far was Cardiff away. We beat them comfortably at home but I think we caught them on a bad day and we played well. Down there it was a different story,  however we didn’t exactly cover ourselves in glory that night. They are hardworking, tough and organised, what you always expect from any Cardiff side,
 
“Chelmsford have a great team too with skill and great speed. I like their style of play and they’ve given us some good games already. I know Dean Birrell very well from our time together at Streatham and have a lot of time and respect for him. We had some great times and looking back we had an amazing team and spirit, one year in particular, and think we achieved a lot more than people gave us credit for. We had a team of youngsters and relative unknowns and pushed Invicta right to the wire,
 
“As a coach I think he’s tactically spot on and you could see he had done his homework against us this season, I didn’t expect anything less. I’d really like to work with Deano again at some point in the future as I felt we made a good team. He gave me my confidence back, believed in me and allowed me to help with key decisions and I learned a lot from a coaching point of view from him. Isle of Wight are tough, particularly at home, plus Bracknell and Oxford have great teams this year also so in terms of play-offs I think it’s pretty much of a muchness,
 
“Doesn’t matter who we get it will be a battle. It’s all good for ENL hockey in my opinion. Our focus is on staying in first position for now though, we’ll deal with the play-offs when we get there”
 
One team that is looking unlikely to make the play offs is his old club Streatham. The Redskins sit comfortably in mid table after a solid start to their campaign and Johnston is delighted that they have managed to turn it round. Seemingly a purveyor of fashion, he does have one doubt about the team:
 
“I’m still in touch with everyone around the club and I’m being kept up to date with all the goings on like news on the new rink etc. The other thing is that a lot of my mates are on that team. Josh Allam and I are best mates and have been close friends since we were 5 or 6 so it was difficult. I got a lot of stick from him about going, especially to Invicta, but he understood my reasons and concerns,
 
“We were at the Isle of Wight Festival when I told him and he wasn’t impressed, so much so he kept challenging me to a face off in the dance tent. Mind you it was safe to say we’d had a few that day. I still see all the boys quite a lot. I spent New Years Eve in Streatham with Barry Spours and a few of the lads. On the odd weekends where we’ve had no games or matches have been cancelled instead of doing what I probably should’ve been doing and enjoying a rare Sunday off I’ve been found on the High Road supporting the Redskins,
 
“I have so much time and respect for Spoursy too and always knew he had the makings of a great coach. I’m pleased for him and proud of the way the team is performing now considering the start they had and the problems at the beginning of the season. Things are definitely going in the right direction, apart from those red short covers that is, they’re naughty!”
 
Johnston won the British National League with the Guildford Flames as a youngster and played for GB from the age of 12 upwards. His granddad Alex was a top referee and his Uncle Jimmy played for the Redskins and also for his country. With such a family history in the sport what does the future hold for Joe:
 
“I’m not sure what the near future holds for me just yet. I’m so busy with work and life etc that I just operate on a weekly basis pretty much so I haven’t thought as far ahead as next season. Once this season is done and dusted I’ll take stock and make a decision, but that’s a long way off yet. I’ll have to see who’s interested and what I want to do,
 
“I’m not getting any younger so will make a decision on what to do and whether to continue playing. Coaching is something I’d like to look at too. I don’t know if I’d make a great coach yet because I have little experience but I have some good ideas and it’s definitely an avenue I’d like to go down one day”
 
Whatever happens with Mr Johnston you can be sure that wherever he ends up, the fans will welcome him on their team’s roster. If he can win over the Invicta faithful he can surely win over any fan base.
Thanks for reading and stay safe,
Carrsy
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com