After a tough start to the season which has included a number of narrow defeats against title challengers, the signing of Ricky Johnson will be a huge boost to the management and players.

Sports have been creating chances but our youthful front 3 have not had the luck in front of goal hitting the woodwork numerous times. Sports will be hoping for a change of fortunes, but also Ricky will provide a different threat due to his physical presence and he is somebody who has thrived on converting chances and balls into the box. Everybody is hoping Ricky can quickly get up to the speed of the game, after several seasons without competitive football.

The Ex Banbury United captain left Banbury back in May 2021 after scoring 97 goals in 278 appearances across three spells. He has since had a number of injuries and operations on his Achilles which have prevented him from returning to football. Of course Ricky is no stranger to Easington Sports after starting his non league career with the club. Back in the early 2000s Ricky formed a formidable partnership with Adam Daley where in one season they scored over 40 goals a piece.

It was obvious that Ricky would be destined for higher level football and so he quickly moved onto Hook Norton, Witney United and Woodford, before making the step up to Banbury United. After success in the Southern league Ricky moved to Leamington in 2012 and went on to play 80 games scoring 22 goals before moving onto Ardley United in the 2014/15 season. Ricky returned to Banbury and became the captain and an ever present player in the first team either in central defence of upfront before eventually cutting ties with the club in 2021.

With all of this experience, Ricky is going to prove to be a massive role model and leader for the younger players in the first team squad. Sports have worked hard to ensure both the first team and development team squads are formed from the best talent in the Banbury area and so it is fantastic to see a player returning to where it all started…. Like so many other great Banbury legends of the past.

Lets hope Ricky can stay fit after his long injury layoff and can boost our goals and points tally to get the first team back up to a position in the league which is a fairer reflection of the way we have started this season.

Ricky goes straight into the squad for today’s game against last seasons division 1 champions of the UCL league. Not an easy start!!

(Picture courtesy of Oxford mail)