Andy Morrell
Encyclopedia
Andrew Jonathan "Andy" Morrell (born 28 September 1974) is an English footballer who is currently player-manager of Wrexham. Initially handed the role on an interim basis after Dean Saunders
left to manage Doncaster Rovers
, Morrell was given the job until the end of the season after a run of seven wins in nine games.
, South Yorkshire
and brought up in Market Bosworth
, and attending Twycross House School, he played for the Leicestershire County Cricket Club
from under-15 to under-19 level. He started his football career as a youth team player at Nuneaton Borough, before deciding to make the move north to Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne to study Sports science
. It was then that he started playing for Newcastle Blue Star
.
Morrell's first big break came when he started talking to Sky Sports
presenter Rob McCaffrey
, and it turned out that Rob was helping to write the autobiography of Joey Jones
, who was then Wrexham's first-team coach, and so Rob arranged for him to have a trial at the club.
After a week's trial he was kept on at Wrexham and was coached by their striking
coach Ian Rush
, from whom he learnt a great deal. With his new strike partner Lee Trundle
he scored 34 league goals in only 45 games in the 2002–03 season, making him top scorer in all four divisions that year, having only scored two goals the entire previous season. This caught the eye of Coventry City
manager Gary McAllister
who signed him on a free transfer that summer.
Morrell scored nine goals in 19 starts in his first season with Coventry; however, this decreased to six goals the following season following a transition to a wide midfield
position.
Morrell signed for Blackpool
on a free transfer on 15 August 2006, after failing to make an appearance for Coventry during the first three games of the 2006–07
season.
On 5 May 2007, he scored four goals in Blackpool's 6–3 victory at Swansea City. He also scored against Oldham Athletic
in the second leg of the play-off semi-final, which put his league goals in his nine months with Blackpool at 17, which was the total he scored in three years with Coventry. He finished the 2006–07 season as Blackpool's top scorer with 20 goals in all competitions.
On 7 May 2008, Morrell was offered a new contract by Blackpool. On 9 August, he signed a two-year contract with League Two
club Bury.
On 28 June 2010, he signed a two-year contract with his former club Wrexham, scoring the winning goal on his debut, a 1–0 win over Cambridge United
in the first game of the season. On 23 September 2011, he took over as caretaker
player-manager at Wrexham, following the departure of Dean Saunders
to Donaster Rovers
. After leading Wrexham to seven wins in nine games, he was appointed player-manager on a permanent basis on a contract until the end of the 2011–12
season on 29 October.
Wrexham
Dean Saunders
Dean Nicholas Saunders is a former Wales international footballer who played as a striker in a professional career which lasted from 1982 until 2001. He is the manager of Doncaster Rovers....
left to manage Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers F.C.
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is an English football club, based at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The team currently competes in the Football League Championship, after being promoted via the League One play-offs in 2008, and have remained there since.The club was founded in...
, Morrell was given the job until the end of the season after a run of seven wins in nine games.
Career
Born in DoncasterDoncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
, South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
and brought up in Market Bosworth
Market Bosworth
Market Bosworth is a small market town and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It formerly formed a district known as the Market Bosworth Rural District. In 1974 it merged with the Hinckley Rural District to form a new district named Hinckley and Bosworth...
, and attending Twycross House School, he played for the Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
from under-15 to under-19 level. He started his football career as a youth team player at Nuneaton Borough, before deciding to make the move north to Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne to study Sports science
Sports science
Sport science is a discipline that studies the application of scientific principles and techniques with the aim of improving sporting performance...
. It was then that he started playing for Newcastle Blue Star
Newcastle Blue Star F.C.
Newcastle Blue Star F.C. was a football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It was established in 1930 and joined the Wearside League in 1973. In 1978, it won the FA Vase. Having won promotion to the Northern Premier League Premier Division at the end of the 2008/09 season via the...
.
Morrell's first big break came when he started talking to Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
presenter Rob McCaffrey
Rob McCaffrey
Robert McCaffrey is a British television presenter. He is most notable for presenting shows such as Goals On Sunday and You're On Sky Sports...
, and it turned out that Rob was helping to write the autobiography of Joey Jones
Joey Jones
For other persons named Joey Jones, see Joey Jones.For other similarly named people, see Joseph Jones or Joe Jones.Joseph Patrick "Joey" Jones is a former Wales international football full-back who played for Liverpool for three seasons, including the 1977 season, in which they chased "the...
, who was then Wrexham's first-team coach, and so Rob arranged for him to have a trial at the club.
After a week's trial he was kept on at Wrexham and was coached by their striking
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
coach Ian Rush
Ian Rush
Ian James Rush, MBE, is a retired football player from Flint, Wales. He is best remembered as a player for Liverpool, where he was among the top strikers in the English game in the 1980s and 1990s. He also had spells playing at Chester City, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield...
, from whom he learnt a great deal. With his new strike partner Lee Trundle
Lee Trundle
Lee Christopher Trundle is an English footballer who currently plays for Neath.-Career:Trundle was a late entrant into professional and league football, playing for non-league teams Burscough, Stalybridge Celtic, Southport, Bamber Bridge and Chorley before joining Welsh Premier League club Rhyl in...
he scored 34 league goals in only 45 games in the 2002–03 season, making him top scorer in all four divisions that year, having only scored two goals the entire previous season. This caught the eye of Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
manager Gary McAllister
Gary McAllister
Gary McAllister MBE is a Scottish former professional footballer.McAllister played primarily as a midfielder, in a successful career spanning over nineteen years. He started his career at local side Motherwell before moving south of the border to Leicester City at the age of 20...
who signed him on a free transfer that summer.
Morrell scored nine goals in 19 starts in his first season with Coventry; however, this decreased to six goals the following season following a transition to a wide midfield
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
position.
Morrell signed for Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
on a free transfer on 15 August 2006, after failing to make an appearance for Coventry during the first three games of the 2006–07
2006-07 in English football
The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five...
season.
On 5 May 2007, he scored four goals in Blackpool's 6–3 victory at Swansea City. He also scored against Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...
in the second leg of the play-off semi-final, which put his league goals in his nine months with Blackpool at 17, which was the total he scored in three years with Coventry. He finished the 2006–07 season as Blackpool's top scorer with 20 goals in all competitions.
On 7 May 2008, Morrell was offered a new contract by Blackpool. On 9 August, he signed a two-year contract with League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
club Bury.
On 28 June 2010, he signed a two-year contract with his former club Wrexham, scoring the winning goal on his debut, a 1–0 win over Cambridge United
Cambridge United F.C.
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional football club from Cambridge, England. They are currently playing the 2011-2012 season in the Conference National, the fifth tier of the English league system, where they have competed since 2005 following their relegation from the Football League...
in the first game of the season. On 23 September 2011, he took over as caretaker
Caretaker manager
In association football, a caretaker manager is someone who takes temporary charge of the management of a football club, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caretaker may also be appointed if the regular manager is ill or unable to attend to his...
player-manager at Wrexham, following the departure of Dean Saunders
Dean Saunders
Dean Nicholas Saunders is a former Wales international footballer who played as a striker in a professional career which lasted from 1982 until 2001. He is the manager of Doncaster Rovers....
to Donaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers F.C.
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is an English football club, based at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The team currently competes in the Football League Championship, after being promoted via the League One play-offs in 2008, and have remained there since.The club was founded in...
. After leading Wrexham to seven wins in nine games, he was appointed player-manager on a permanent basis on a contract until the end of the 2011–12
2011–12 in English football
The 2011–12 season is the 132nd season of competitive football in England.The season began on 5 August 2011 for the Football Leagues, with the Premier starting eight days later, League Football Conference Starting one day before Premier League starts.The Championship, League One, and League Two...
season on 29 October.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| Wrexham | 1998–99 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 1999–2000 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 1 | |
| 2000–01 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 3 | |
| 2001–02 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 27 | 4 | |
| 2002–03 | 45 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 35 | |
| Subtotal | 109 | 40 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 120 | 43 | |
| Coventry City Coventry City F.C. Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry... |
2003–04 | 30 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 9 |
| 2004–05 | 34 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 7 | |
| 2005–06 | 34 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 3 | |
| Subtotal | 98 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 111 | 19 | |
| Blackpool Blackpool F.C. Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the... |
2006–07 | 40 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 48 | 20 |
| 2007–08 | 38 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 5 | |
| Subtotal | 78 | 21 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 92 | 25 | |
| Bury Bury F.C. Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the... |
2008–09 2008–09 in English football The 2008–09 season was the 129th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Hull City were all playing in the Premier League after winning promotion from the Championship last season. Stoke returned to the top flight after a 23-year absence, while... |
41 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 46 | 8 |
| 2009–10 2009–10 in English football The 2009–10 season was the 130th season of competitive football in England.The season began on 8 August 2009 for the Championship, League One and League Two and 15 August 2009 for the Premier League... |
32 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 9 | |
| Subtotal | 73 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 79 | 18 | |
| Wrexham | 2010–11 2010–11 in English football The 2010–11 season was the 131st season of competitive football in England.The season began on 6 August 2010 for the Football Leagues, with the Premier League and Football Conference both starting eight days later on 14 August 2010. The Championship, League One, and League Two ended on 7 May... |
11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
| Total | 369 | 99 | 16 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 422 | 108 | |
Managerial statistics
| Team | Nation | From | Total | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 66.67 |
|---|
Honours
Blackpool- League OneFootball League OneFootball League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
play-off final winner: 2006–07
Wrexham
- Conference NationalConference NationalConference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
Manager of the Month: October 2011
External links
- Andy Morrell profile at blackpoolfc.co.uk