The right-back joined from Accrington Stanley for £100,000 in September 2020
Former Pompey defender Callum Johnson admits not playing in front of the Fratton Roar is his biggest career regret.
Despite featuring on 48 occasions for the Blues, the right-back’s time on the south coast coincided with games being forced to take place behind closed doors following the Covid outbreak.
Callum Johnson was part of the Pompey team who largely played behind closed doors at Fratton Park in the 2020-21 season. Picture: Joe Peplerplaceholder image
Callum Johnson was part of the Pompey team who largely played behind closed doors at Fratton Park in the 2020-21 season. Picture: Joe Pepler | PinPep Media / Joe Pepler
And, by the time crowds were allowed back in for the 2021-22 season, Johnson had been sent out on loan to Fleetwood for the season by Danny Cowley, never to play for Pompey again.
’Probably the only thing in my whole career I look back on and regret’
He told The News: ‘Not playing in front of a full Fratton Park is probably the only thing in my whole career I look back on and regret.
‘I mean, I couldn’t really control that, there’s nothing I could have done, but it’s something I really wish would have been different.
‘Since I’ve come to terms with my retirement, that’s the only thing I think about with any regret. Having fans there is something which would have made it extra special.
‘I remember playing against Peterborough (December 2020), with fans allowed back for the first time. There were 2,000 there and my dad came down to watch. We won 2-0, through Tom Naylor and Jack Whatmough, I can still recall the scorers!
‘Even though the stadium was nowhere near full capacity, I was thinking “I can’t wait until the fans come back in properly. This is going to be unbelievable. Then, after three games and another Covid scare, fans weren’t allowed to return for the rest of the season!
Callum Johnson was released on a free transfer by Danny Cowley in the summer of 2022. Picture: Joe Peplerplaceholder image
Callum Johnson was released on a free transfer by Danny Cowley in the summer of 2022. Picture: Joe Pepler | PinPep Media / Joe Pepler
‘The last game of that season was one of the worst moments of my career. We were in the play-off positions and facing Accrington at Fratton Park, there were no fans and the game was dead, no tempo, no intensity.
‘You would have thought it was a game which didn't matter. Obviously Accrington had nothing to play for, but we did. I remember in the game thinking “How are we going to get going here?”.
‘It was a hot day, it was slow and we lost 1-0 to drop out of the play-offs on the final day. It’s painful thinking about it.
‘I loved my time at Pompey, I loved everything about the place, but Danny Cowley wanted to move me on the following summer, so I never got to play at Fratton Park in front of the fans.
‘You can’t change it, you just think what if. What if there was no Covid? What if the fans were at Fratton Park? Pompey and Bradford are the two biggest clubs I’ve played for, it would have been nice to have played in front of them at Fratton Park.
‘It wasn’t to be, but the fans were good to me in my time there and even now, after announcing my retirement, I have received a lot of messages from Pompey supporters wishing me all the best. Which was really kind of them.’
Following the free transfer signing of Kieron Freeman and with Mahlon Romeo’s move impending, Johnson was made surplus to requirements after 11 months with the Blues.
Pompey’s 2021-22 season in League One opened with an away trip to Fleetwood in the league, with Johnson coming off the bench in a 1-0 victory, and then a Carabao Cup clash at Millwall.
It proved to be his final action in a Pompey shirt, with Cowley subsequently sanctioning a season-long loan to Fleetwood in August 2021, before releasing the former Middlesbrough man on a free transfer in the summer of 2022.
Sent off in his final Pompey appearance
Johnson added: ‘That was harsh at Millwall, the only red card of my career.
‘The ball was bouncing, it was a 50/50 and I went in and won it. My follow-through was a bit high, but my studs weren't up, they were low. I won the ball and took the man out after my follow-up went high, so the ref thought it was high all the way through.
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‘As I walked off the pitch, Jed Wallace ran over to me and said “It’s definitely not a red”. Then their manager, Gary Rowett, came across to me and said “That was never a red card son, never in a million years”.
‘We appealed. I had to write a statement and mentioned those comments from Millwall’s player and manager. We also had a different angle of it pitchside - and they still turned it down!’
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