Jody Morris
Encyclopedia
Jody Morris is an English football midfielder
. He plays for Scottish
club St. Johnstone. He has previously played for Chelsea
, Leeds United
, Rotherham United
and Millwall
.
.
While at Chelsea he made 124 League appearances and was a late substitute in the 2000 FA Cup Final
, receiving a winner's medal. He was also briefly made captain of the club by manager Gianluca Vialli
. However, he was never a first team regular, finding himself behind players such as Roberto di Matteo
, Dennis Wise
, Didier Deschamps
and Emmanuel Petit
.
He was offered a new five-year contract with Chelsea in 2003 but chose to turn it down. 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. He joined Leeds United instead, but made only 12 appearance for the club. After a short spell at Rotherham
, where he scored once against Stoke, he joined Millwall
in 2004.
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
campaign. He signed a new one-year deal in June 2006, with the club having an additional one-year option. In June 2007 Morris was released by Millwall. 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
. He scored a goal on his debut against Dundee. 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. 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. After McInnes left St. Johnstone to manage Bristol City
in October 2011, Morris assisted caretaker manager Alec Cleland
with the coaching of the squad.
within hours of the 9/11 attacks
on New York City
and the Pentagon
; that he was involved in a drunken brawl (in 2002); that he was involved in a sexual assault (in 2003). He was also arrested for drunk-driving on 1 November 2006, after driving the wrong way down a one-way street. Morris, who had one previous conviction for drunk-driving, was disqualified from driving for four years, given 80 hours community service and a two-year suspended jail sentence.
St. Johnstone
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...
. He plays for Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
club St. Johnstone. He has previously played for Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
, Rotherham United
Rotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...
and Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
.
Playing career
Morris came through the youth ranks at Chelsea, alongside his close friend John TerryJohn Terry
John George Terry is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League...
.
While at Chelsea he made 124 League appearances and was a late substitute in the 2000 FA Cup Final
FA Cup Final 2000
The 2000 FA Cup Final took place on 20 May 2000 and was the last to be played at the old Wembley Stadium. It was contested between Chelsea and Aston Villa, who had finished 5th and 6th respectively in the Premier League that season...
, receiving a winner's medal. He was also briefly made captain of the club by manager Gianluca Vialli
Gianluca Vialli
Gianluca Vialli is an Italian football manager and former player. Since retiring, he has gone into management and punditry and is a commentator for Sky Sport Italia....
. However, he was never a first team regular, finding himself behind players such as Roberto di Matteo
Roberto Di Matteo
Roberto Di Matteo is a Swiss-born Italian former professional footballer and the current assistant manager of Chelsea. As a midfielder, he enjoyed spells at Schaffhausen, Zürich Aarau, Lazio, and Chelsea. He was capped by Italy 34 times, scoring two goals for the Italian national team, and played...
, Dennis Wise
Dennis Wise
Dennis Frank Wise is an English former football manager and player, and former Executive Director at Newcastle United....
, Didier Deschamps
Didier Deschamps
Didier Claude Deschamps is a retired French footballer and current manager of Marseille. He played as a defensive midfielder. As an international, he assisted France with victories in the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000...
and Emmanuel Petit
Emmanuel Petit
Emmanuel "Manu" Laurent Petit is a retired French footballer, who played his club football for Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona, and Chelsea...
.
He was offered a new five-year contract with Chelsea in 2003 but chose to turn it down. Graeme Souness
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur,...
offered him the chance of regular first team football at Blackburn Rovers and they shook hands on a deal, but it fell through. He joined Leeds United instead, but made only 12 appearance for the club. After a short spell at Rotherham
Rotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...
, where he scored once against Stoke, he joined Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
in 2004.
Morris made 70 first-team appearances for Millwall before fracturing his cheekbone and then suffered cruciate knee ligament
Anterior cruciate ligament injury
An injury to the anterior cruciate ligament can be a debilitating musculoskeletal injury to the knee, seen most often in athletes. Non-contact tears and ruptures are the most common causes of ACL injury....
damage at Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
on his comeback game towards the end of the 2005–06
2005-06 in English football
The 2005–06 season was the 126th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*The rebuilt Wembley Stadium was due to open in time for the FA Cup final in May. However, in August 2005, The Football Association reserved the Millennium Stadium as a backup, as there was some doubt whether...
campaign. He signed a new one-year deal in June 2006, with the club having an additional one-year option. In June 2007 Morris was released by Millwall. Morris then had a brief trial period at Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
, and trained with League Two side Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
in a bid to earn himself a contract at the West London club.
Morris signed for Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
side St. Johnstone on a short-term deal at the end of February 2008, playing under Derek McInnes
Derek McInnes
Derek John McInnes is a former Scottish football player and current manager of Bristol City. McInnes featured prominently for Greenock Morton, Rangers, West Bromwich Albion and Dundee United during his playing career. He won two caps for the Scotland national football team while with West...
, his former teammate at Millwall during the 2006–07 season
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...
. He scored a goal on his debut against Dundee. He played in the club's Scottish Cup
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
semi-final defeat to Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
in April 2008 but was one of two Saints players to miss in the penalty shoot-out. After a successful five months at McDiarmid Park
McDiarmid Park
McDiarmid Park is a football stadium in Perth, Scotland, the home ground of St. Johnstone FC. It has an all-seated capacity of 10,673.-History:...
, 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
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
after a seven-year absence. Morris signed a new contract with Saints in October 2009, while Derek McInnes praised his influence on the squad. After McInnes left St. Johnstone to manage Bristol City
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
in October 2011, Morris assisted caretaker manager Alec Cleland
Alec Cleland
Alexander 'Alex' Cleland is a Scottish former professional footballer.-Playing career:Cleland started his career with Dundee United, for whom he made 159 appearances, lifting the Scottish Cup in 1994. He signed for Rangers in a joint deal with Gary Bollan in 1995 and established himself in the...
with the coaching of the squad.
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 AirportLondon Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
within hours of the 9/11 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
on New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
; that he was involved in a drunken brawl (in 2002); that he was involved in a sexual assault (in 2003). He was also arrested for drunk-driving on 1 November 2006, after driving the wrong way down a one-way street. Morris, who had one previous conviction for drunk-driving, was disqualified from driving for four years, given 80 hours community service and a two-year suspended jail sentence.
Honours
ChelseaChelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
- UEFA Cup Winners' CupUEFA Cup Winners' CupThe UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
(1): 1998 - FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
(1): 1999/2000 - Charity Shield (1): 2000
St. Johnstone
- Scottish Football League First DivisionScottish Football League First DivisionThe Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....
(1): 2008/09