David Turnbull and Mikey Johnston pile misery on one another as post-Celtic moves go wrong

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The grass isn’t always greener on the other side, as David Turnbull and Mikey Johnston are finding out the hard way.

The attacking duo were brave to leave Celtic before the start of this season, and try to aim for the glittering stars of the English Premier League.

Celtic have found that more of their young stars are making moves down south, with the champions of Scotland unable to financially compete with those even in England’s second tier.

Johnston came through Celtic’s academy, including making his debut for his boyhood club in 2017, and a lot was expected of the winger.

As for Turnbull, after years of noise around his talents, the Hoops finally got their man when they signed the attacking midfielder from Motherwell in 2020.

But it’s fair to say, whether it’s under Neil Lennon, Ange Postecoglou or Brendan Rodgers, the duo just couldn’t cement that regular place in Celtic’s team.

And now, they have ended up piling more misery on each other, as their recent exits from Scotland’s most successful club have turned sour. 

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David Turnbull relegated with Cardiff City, as Mikey Johnston’s West Brom miss out on play-offs

When Turnbull moved to Cardiff City in January 2024, the hope was to, hopefully, push for promotion in the Championship and try to get back to England’s top tier with the Welsh side.

But fast forward to the present, and following Cardiff’s 0-0 draw against West Brom over the weekend, they have now been relegated to League One for the first time in 22 years.

The 25-year-old started the match, with Aaron Ramsey in interim charge, playing as a number six, but was subbed off after 71 minutes without making an impact.

Over ten minutes later, Johnston came on at the other end, hoping to provide West Brom with a final hope of securing a play-off spot, but also struggled to make an impact.

Despite Albion sitting in the Championship’s top six for large parts of this season, they have fallen and fallen in recent months, especially after Tony Mowbray replaced their departed boss Carlos Corberan, who joined Valencia in December.

And since then, ex-Celtic boss Mowbray has been sacked, as the Midlands outfit face another year in the Championship.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
6	CoventryCoventry	45	19	9	17	62	58	4	66
7	MillwallMillwall	45	18	12	15	46	46	0	66
8	BlackburnBlackburn	45	19	8	18	52	47	5	65
9	MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough	45	18	10	17	64	54	10	64
10	West BromWest Brom	45	14	19	12	52	44	8	61
11	SwanseaSwansea	45	17	9	19	48	53	-5	60
12	Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday	45	15	12	18	59	68	-9	57
13	WatfordWatford	45	16	8	21	52	60	-8	56
14	NorwichNorwich	45	13	15	17	67	66	1	54

Turnbull and Johnston’s stats this season

Whilst Turnbull will now have to get used to life in League One, at least Johnston, come next season, can still push for promotion, even though this campaign will be seen as a failure for the Baggies.

One thing the duo can’t argue about is the fact that they now have had the platform to express themselves.

But, for one reason or another, they haven’t managed to find that consistent spark, with injuries also not helping Turnbull.