Andy Morrison

Football player infobox2


playername = Andy Morrison
fullname = Andrew Morrison
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1970|7|30|df=y
cityofbirth = Inverness
countryofbirth = Scotland
height = 5'11"
currentclub =
position = Central defender (retired)
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1987-1993 1993-1994 1994-1996 1996-1998 1998-2002 2000 2000 2001 2001
clubs = Plymouth Argyle Blackburn Rovers Blackpool Huddersfield Town Manchester City → Blackpool (loan) → Crystal Palace (loan) Manchester City → Sheffield United (loan)
caps(goals) = 113 (6) 005 (0) 047 (3) 045 (2) 036 (4) 006 (1) 005 (0) 003 (0) 004 (0)

Andrew Morrison (born 30 July 1970 in Inverness) is a Scottish ex-football player who played at centre half.

Early career

Morrison began his career at Plymouth Argyle and became a firm favourite at the club. In 1995 he transferred to Blackburn Rovers, then managed by compatriot Kenny Dalglish, but was unable to break into the team (which was at that time challenging to become Premier League champions) and was sold to fellow Lancastrians Blackpool.

After two years each with Blackpool and Huddersfield Town, Morrison became a Manchester City player in 1999 and was an instant favourite with the fans, who nicknamed him 'Mozza'. After becoming captain, he led City to victory over Gillingham in the Division Two play-off final at Wembley.

Injury woes

In the Division One, Morrison was famously sent off for sticking out his tongue at Stan Collymore in a draw with Fulham. His performances endeared him to then Scotland manager Craig Brown and there was talk of his being called up to the international team to play in a crucial Euro 2000 qualifying match against England. However, twelve games into the season, Morrison picked up an injury which meant he would miss the rest of the season, which ultimately saw City promoted to the Premiership. He spent fourteen months attempting to return to the Manchester City team, even requesting that then-City manager Joe Royle loan him out to his former team Blackpool [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_3/903378.stm BBC SPORT | ENGLISH DIVISION 3 | Morrison moves to Blackpool ] ] and also to Crystal Palace to improve his match fitness. His absence had prompted Royle to sign Spencer Prior to help the team earn promotion, and subsequently Steve Howey and Richard Dunne to help the team stay in the top flight.

Return to action

Morrison returned in a League Cup game against Ipswich in December 2000 in which he was man of the match [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/1080334.stm BBC SPORT | MAN CITY | Morrison delight at return ] ] . However, due to the number of yellow cards he had picked up in reserve-team games [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/1081824.stm BBC SPORT | ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP | English Premier League preview ] ] he could not play Premiership football until New Year's Day 2001, when he was man of the match in a 1-1 draw with Coventry. In his next outing, an FA Cup game against Birmingham, he scored with a bullet header in a 3-2 victory. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/1102403.stm BBC SPORT | FA CUP | Man City survive Birmingham comeback ] ]

In another FA Cup game, against Liverpool, Morrison was cautioned by a police officer after squirting the Liverpool fans when he had been substituted. He only played a few more games for City before being loaned out to Sheffield United, where he picked up the injury that ended his career. Morrison had been loaned out to try and improve his fitness. City were subsequently relegated to Division One once more and Kevin Keegan became manager at Maine Road. Keegan brought in players such as Stuart Pearce and Eyal Berkovic, and it was speculated that Morrison's time at the club was over. Nevertheless, Keegan praised the Scot for his hard work in training [ [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/s/30/30302_weaver_told_to_fight_for_his_place.html Weaver told to fight for his place - Sport - Manchester Evening News ] ] , and with City's defence leaking goals many hoped Morrison would be given his chance; however, he failed to recover from the injury he sustained while he was at Sheffield United and he was released at the end of the season. This was not before he was given his chance to say farewell to the Manchester City fans in a match against Crystal Palace [ [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/s/9/9729_andy_salutes_blues_fans.html Andy salutes Blues fans - Football - Sport - Manchester Evening News ] ] . Keegan said of Morrison: "Andy received cult status when the club gained promotion. He is a first-class professional and deserves a chance to further his career." [ [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/s/26/26962_morrison_handed_free_transfer.html Morrison handed free transfer - Sport - Manchester Evening News ] ]

In late 2002, Morrison was given a trial at Bury. He played 45 minutes for Bury's reserve team, but his injury prevented him taking any further part. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bury/2498871.stm Morrison on trial at Bury] - BBC Sport]

Playing legacy

He is remembered by Manchester City fans as one of their best-ever captains, and was voted so in the club's official magazine. Only Roy Paul and Tony Book were deemed to be better captains than him. The magazine also listed Morrison second in a list of hard men, behind Mike Doyle but above the likes of Stuart Pearce and Gerry Gow. Many feel that it was Morrison's leadership skills and ability to get the players around him to raise their game that enabled Manchester City to return to the Premiership after their fall into Division Two. In an interview with the BBC on 23 September 2005, Joe Royle spoke of his sympathy for Nottingham Forest, a team which, like Manchester City, had fallen two divisions. He said, "Big clubs in that division are a scalp and everyone wants to beat them. We had that at City and it was hard for us, but we got the hang of it. The catalyst for us was signing Andy Morrison. He was the man for the job and the man for the division. He dragged us up kicking and screaming. He is the kind of player that Forest need - if they can find somebody like him. We only got him because of his injury record, and because he had had a major fall-out with the manager at Huddersfield. He was as strong as they come and feared nobody - he played a big part in turning things round for us." [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/nottm_forest/4273392.stm BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Nottm Forest | Royle sympathy for Megson's task ] ]

Post-retirement

After Morrison's departure from Bury, he decided to retire from the playing side of the game. He became assistant manager to Andy Preece at Worcester City, but he resigned in April 2007. [ [http://www.worcestercityfc.co.uk/NewsItem.aspx?nid=269 Andy Morrison resigns] - WorcesterCityFC.co.uk]

Controversy

In August 2006, Morrison pleaded guilty to four charges of fraud concerning income support, jobseeker's allowance, and council tax benefits, dating from August 2003 to July 2005. He failed to inform the Department for Work and Pensions and Vale Royal Borough Council in Cheshire that he had £58,000 in his bank account while he was still claiming benefits. He defrauded the authorities out of more than £6,500 and was ordered to pay £95 court costs and carry out a fifty-hour community punishment order. In mitigation it was said that he "was dissipating the capital very quickly, spending his own money on operations. He blames no-one apart from himself. He is not financially-astute at all. He is very naive when it comes to finance. He has little or no knowledge of the financial world".

During a pre-season friendly match against Kidderminster Harriers on 5 August 2006, an incident in the changing-room area caused the game to be abandoned after 71 minutes. Harriers' manager Mark Yates called the referee over to him and said he was going to take his team off due to an off-the-field incident involving Morrison. On 17 August, Worcester City announced the results of an internal enquiry in the incident. The club fined Morrison the maximum allowed under FA guidelines, suspended him for three games, and warned him of his future conduct. The Football Association itself fined Morrison £750 and also gave him a six-match touchline ban.

Honours

Manchester City
*Division Two play-off final winner: 1998/99
*Division One runners-up (promoted): 1999/2000

References

External links

* [http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=5614 Morrison's profile at Soccerbase]