Jody Morris

Jody Morris
Personal information
Full name Jody Steven Morris[1]
Date of birth (1978-12-22) 22 December 1978[1]
Place of birth Hammersmith, England
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)[1]
Playing position Midfielder
Youth career
000?–1996 Chelsea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1996–2003 Chelsea 124 (5)
2003–2004 Leeds United 12 (0)
2004 Rotherham United 10 (1)
2004–2007 Millwall 65 (5)
2008–2012 St Johnstone 104 (4)
2012–2013 Bristol City 4 (0)
Total 319 (15)
National team‡
1994–1995 England U16 11 (0)
1997 England U20 4 (0)
1996–1999 England U21 7 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 April 2012.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 January 2011

Jody Steven Morris (born 22 December 1978) is an English former football midfielder. He has previously played for Chelsea, Leeds United, Rotherham United, Millwall and St Johnstone.

Club career

Morris came through the youth ranks at Chelsea, alongside his close friend John Terry.[2] He became the youngest player to ever play in the Premier League for Chelsea when he debuted at the age of 17 years and 43 days in the home game against Middlesbrough on 4 February 1996[3] and was named Chelsea's Young Player of the Year for 1996–97.[4]

While at Chelsea, he made 124 league appearances and was a late substitute in the 2000 FA Cup Final,[5] receiving a winner's medal. He was also briefly made captain of the club by manager Gianluca Vialli.[6]

However, when Claudio Ranieri took over from Vialli as Chelsea boss, Morris' first team opportunities diminished, and he was linked with a host of clubs including being reunited with his former England under-21 manager Peter Taylor at Leicester.[7] Morris never regained his position as a first team regular at Chelsea, finding himself behind players, such as Roberto di Matteo, Dennis Wise, Didier Deschamps and Emmanuel Petit.[2] He was offered a new five-year contract with Chelsea in 2003, but chose to turn it down.[8] Graeme Souness offered him the chance of regular first team football at Blackburn Rovers and they shook hands on a deal, but it fell through.[8] He joined Leeds United instead,[9] but made only 12 appearances for the club.[10] After a short spell at Rotherham United,[11] where he scored once against Stoke City,[12] he joined Millwall in 2004.[13]

Morris made 70 first-team appearances for Millwall, before fracturing his cheekbone, and then suffered cruciate knee ligament damage at Derby County on his comeback game, towards the end of the 2005–06 season. He signed a new one-year deal in June 2006, with the club having an additional one-year option.[14] In June 2007, Morris was released by Millwall.[15] Morris then had a brief trial period at Charlton Athletic, and trained with League Two side Brentford, in a bid to earn himself a contract at the West London club.

Morris signed for Scottish side St Johnstone on a short-term deal at the end of February 2008, playing under Derek McInnes, his former teammate at Millwall during the 2006–07 season.[16] He scored a goal on his debut against Dundee.[17] He played in the club's Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Rangers in April 2008 but was one of two Saints players to miss in the penalty shoot-out.[18] After a successful five months at McDiarmid Park, Morris signed a two-year deal with the Perth side at the end of the season. He was part of the title-winning team that in May 2009 gained promotion to the Scottish Premier League after a seven-year absence. Morris signed a new contract with Saints in October 2009, while Derek McInnes praised his influence on the squad.[19] After McInnes left St Johnstone to manage Bristol City in October 2011, Morris assisted caretaker manager Alec Cleland with the coaching of the squad.[20]

Morris signed a one-year contract with Bristol City in June 2012, reuniting him with Derek McInnes.[21] Morris had his contract terminated with Bristol City on 31 January 2013 having only made four league appearances for the club.

Legal issues

Morris has had a bad image over several legal and ethical issues. Chronologically, these include allegations that: he was one of a group of Chelsea players who drunkenly abused American tourists at Heathrow Airport within hours of the 9/11 attacks on New York City and the Pentagon;[22] that he was involved in a drunken brawl (in 2002);[23] that he was involved in a sexual assault (in 2003).[24][25] He was also arrested for drink-driving on 1 November 2006, after driving the wrong way down a one-way street. Morris, who had one previous conviction for drink-driving, was disqualified from driving for four years, given 80 hours community service and a two-year suspended jail sentence.[26]

Honours

Chelsea

St Johnstone

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2003). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004. Queen Anne Press. p. 302. ISBN 1-85291-651-6.
  2. 1 2 "Profile: Jody Morris". BBC Sport. 9 January 2002. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
  3. ↑ |url=http://www.11v11.com/teams/chelsea/tab/stats/option/youngest|.
  4. ↑ "Profile: Jody Morris". BBC. 22 August 2002.
  5. ↑ "Wembley clockwatch". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 20 May 2000. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  6. ↑ Forsyth, Paul (21 August 2009). "Jody Morris relishes his second coming after wondering if he was totally washed up". London: Times Online. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
  7. ↑ Webster, Rupert. "Minor Role Makes Morris Motor". Sky Sports.
  8. 1 2 Murray, Ewan (18 March 2008). "Morris becomes a Saint in hunt for redemption". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
  9. ↑ "Morris completes Leeds move". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 19 July 2003. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  10. ↑ "Jody Morris – Leeds United Statistics". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 26 February 2005. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  11. ↑ "Rotherham bring in Morris". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 13 March 2004. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  12. ↑ "Stoke 0–2 Rotherham". BBC Sport (BBC). 12 April 2004. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
  13. ↑ "Millwall land Morris". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 2 July 2004. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  14. ↑ "Jody Morris profile". millwallfc.co.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
  15. ↑ "Lions release Morris and Cottrell". BBC Sport (BBC). 9 June 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2007.
  16. ↑ "Saints snap up former Chelsea star Morris". Retrieved 27 February 2008.
  17. ↑ "Dundee 3–2 St Johnstone". BBC Sport (BBC).
  18. ↑ Murray, Ewen (21 April 2008). "Alexander pulls out all the stops as Rangers progress to second final". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
  19. ↑ "Morris pens deal to stay with Saints until 2012". The Scotsman (Johnston Press). 30 October 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  20. ↑ "Alec Cleland keen on St Johnstone manager's job". BBC Sport (BBC). 22 October 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  21. ↑ "Bristol City sign St Johnstone captain Jody Morris". BBC Sport (BBC). 13 June 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  22. ↑ "Leeds release Morris". ABC News Online. 7 March 2004. Retrieved 1 May 2007.
  23. ↑ "Footballers cleared over club brawl". BBC News. 22 August 2002. Retrieved 1 May 2007.
  24. ↑ "Jody Morris released on bail". Evening Standard. 22 October 2003. Retrieved 1 May 2007.
  25. ↑ "Jody Morris sex charge dropped". BBC News. 30 January 2004. Retrieved 1 May 2007.
  26. ↑ "Lions star gets ban". South London Press. 10 November 2006. Retrieved 24 June 2007.

External links

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