Sheffield Wednesday, Powerleague kickabouts and failed trials at Burnley: The remarkable rise of Marvin Johnson

It’s a small gesture, but it’s one that the members of Romulus FC appreciate greatly and paints a picture as to Johnson’s character. The payment goes to cover the cost of club tracksuits at the semi-professional club he called home for two seasons. It’s a payment he never misses.

Only a decade ago the Sheffield Wednesday left winger was stepping out in the red and white of the Birmingham-based club playing sides such as Sheffield FC in the Northern Premier League. He found a home having been released by then-Conference side Solihull Moors as he turned into his 20s.

Unlike the majority of his teammates, Johnson never had an academy football upbringing and instead made his way through non-league and on the six-a-side pitches of the Midlands. Such was his love of the game, he’d often play three or four times a week.

“He came in as a little skinny thing and we played him up front to start with,” remembers Richard Evans, Romulus’ manager at the time.

“We played a game up Manchester way, I remember Wes Brown's brother played, and well Marvin ripped him to bits and scored four goals.

“Because he was a young kid, he needed to get up to it physically and he worked really hard. The difference between being a pro and a non-league player is determination. And he had that.

“He was probably the most focused kid we've had and he just loved football. When he wasn't playing or training with us he was playing with his mates at the Powerleague. We used to try to get him to stop, but he just love playing so much but he wouldn't have it.”

Speaking to The Star, Johnson remembered his time with Romulus fondly and regaled his story with a smile on his face.

And he explained that despite opportunities to join professional clubs in his teenage years, the burning ambition to become a professional footballer arrived late.

The now 31-year-old trialled at a number of Midlands clubs as well as Crewe and Burnley before making the switch to Kidderminster Harriers – where he first shared a changing room with Chey Dunkley – in 2012.

“I wasn't too bothered about going into full-time football as such,” Johnson said. “I was just playing an enjoying it. I was in college and concentrating on that and it wasn't something I thought too much about.

“I didn't have another career in mind per se. I was doing my coaching badges and was just enjoying playing at the weekend. I was open to anything, I wasn't closed off to just wanting to be a footballer or anything in particular. My studies were football related but I would have had a go at anything.

“I had a few different options when I was a teenager, I could have gone to West Brom. But because it wasn't my mindset of 'this is entirely what I want to do', I didn't give it everything and really go for it in that sense.”

Romulus didn’t receive a fee for Johnson from Kidderminster. Their policy is to insist merely on a sell-on fee so as not to stand in the way of youngsters able to move on up through the pyramid.

In recent years Ben Richards-Everton has gone on to play for Accrington Stanley and Bradford, Taylor Allen plays for Forest Green and Nathan Bisset played for Bristol Rovers and Plymouth. When Kiddy sold Johnson to Scottish Premier League side Motherwell, Romulus did OK out of the deal.

It was a switch that sparked something in the then-22-year-old. Nine seasons on he arrived at Wednesday via Oxford, Middlesbrough and a loan stint at Sheffield United.

“I went away from home and so my whole mindset towards football changed,” he remembered. “I had one focus all of a sudden. That's when, away from everything on my own, I got myself focused and got my head down.

“I really enjoyed that switch to full-time mentality and everything fell into place from there.”

The non-league experience is one shared in the Wednesday changing room by Dunkley, Josh Windass, Harlee Dean and Lee Gregory.

And it is that upbringing Johnson credits with an attitude and playing style that has allowed him to play in a number of different positions this season to good effect.

“I have a few mates who went into academies when they were younger and they weren't even playing by the time they were 20 or 21,” he said.

“I learned coming up that way through the hustle and bustle of things rather than being dropped straight into the system. I think it helps me even now. I adapt to different situations in games and out of games.

“Academy football is sometimes about playing the percentages and being safe. But I have found I can adapt and play different ways.”

At some stage this summer Romulus FC will notice a payment, a small gesture of gratitude, hit their bank account. It’s a sign of what that club means to Marvin Johnson, who feels he owes it more than it could ever owe him.

“I remember he never missed training,” Evans remembered. “I used to go pick him up because he didn't drive. And he hasn't changed. He's so down to earth and all the lads in the team with him then are still pals with him now, they've all stayed friends no matter where he plays. He's a good kid.

“We thought really highly of him. He had a lot of pace and he took to the Northern Premier straight away. He was tearing sides to bits. We knew he was going to do well, he's worked hard for it and he deserves everything he's got.

“Everyone at the club keep an eye on how he’s doing. We’re delighted for him.”