John Crumplin

John Crumplin (born May 26, 1967 in Bath) is a former professional football player who played for the English club Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. in the late 80s and early 90s.

He first played at right wing, where he was mediocre, and the crowd used to sing the ironic chant 'Johnny Crumplin, football genius'. A change of position from right wing to rightback led to a dramatic change in form. When people sang the chant, they meant it after that. There were even unofficial "football genius" T-shirts on sale outside the ground.

He marked Liverpool F.C.'s John Barnes out of a 4th round FA Cup tie at Anfield in 1991, helping Brighton come back from 2-0 down to force a replay at the Goldstone where he did it all over again.

In 1997 he helped win the FA Trophy while playing with Woking F.C.

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/football_focus/4184877.stm BBC poll for cult hero at Brighton & Hove Albion]