Steve Morrow
Encyclopedia
Stephen Joseph "Steve" Morrow (born July 2, 1970 in Belfast
) is a Northern Irish
former football player. He is currently International Partnerships Performance Supervisor at Arsenal Football Club
, where he also played for much of the 1990s.
as youth, before joining Arsenal in July 1987. A versatile utility man, who could play at full back, centre back or midfield
, Morrow had loan spells at Reading
, Watford
and Barnet
, before making his debut for Arsenal as a substitute in a First Division
match on April 8, 1992 against Norwich City
, in place of the injured Nigel Winterburn
. In the meantime, he had already made his full international debut for Northern Ireland
, in May 1990 against Uruguay
; he went on to win 39 caps for his country from then until 1999.
Morrow became a semi-regular in 1992-93
, as well as suffering the most notorious moment of his career. He played most of his matches in midfield, replacing the injured Paul Davis
as Arsenal got to both the League Cup
and FA Cup
semi-finals. Morrow started the League Cup final against Sheffield Wednesday
; after falling behind to a John Harkes
goal, Arsenal equalised through Paul Merson
, and then Merson set up Morrow to score the winner (which was also his first goal for the club). In the celebrations after the match, Arsenal skipper Tony Adams
attempted to pick up Morrow and parade him on his shoulders, but Adams slipped and Morrow awkwardly hit the ground. He broke his arm
and had to be rushed to hospital
.
As a result, Morrow missed the rest of that season, including the FA Cup final (also against Wednesday), where Arsenal completed the Cup Double. Before the final kicked off, Morrow received his League Cup winners' medal, making him the only player ever to have picked up a medal before a Cup final, much to the delight of football trivia buffs everywhere.
Morrow was fit enough by the start of the next season but played fewer matches (only 13, as opposed to 25 the previous season). However, one of those was the scene of an Arsenal triumph, the club's 1994 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final
win over Parma; in an Arsenal midfield depleted of John Jensen
, David Hillier
and Martin Keown
, the 23-year-old Morrow partnered 20-year-old Ian Selley
in central midfield, both playing the game of their lives as Arsenal beat Parma 1-0 with an Alan Smith
goal.
He had nearly left the club in March 1994, following an approach from the Premier League's bottom club Swindon Town
, but the transfer fell through and he signed a new contract with Arsenal, where he spent three more years.
Morrow went on to play over 20 matches the following season, including a second Cup Winners' Cup final (which Arsenal lost to Real Zaragoza
). He scored his second Arsenal goal in the League Cup ironically against Sheffield Wednesday again, and scored his first Arsenal league goal (his third and final goal for the club) in a 3-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers, who would go on to win the Premier League that season. However, he never found favour under new Arsenal boss Bruce Rioch
, who only gave the Irishman five matches in 1995-96
. After the arrival of Arsène Wenger
in 1996, Morrow was told he was surplus to requirements at Highbury, and he was loaned to Queens Park Rangers
in March 1997; the deal was made permanent that summer. He played 85 games for Arsenal in total, scoring three goals.
At QPR, Morrow was initially a regular, but the club struggled, going from contenders for promotion to the Premiership
to facing relegation to the Second Division
. Injuries to his shoulder ligaments ruled Morrow out for most of the 1999-2000
season, and he lost his place in the side. Morrow later had a loan spell at Peterborough United
, but it did not become permanent, and he was released on a free transfer in the summer of 2001.
Struggling to find a club in the UK
, Morrow moved to the United States
to play for Major League Soccer
side Dallas Burn
. He spent two seasons at Dallas (who renamed themselves FC Dallas
in 2004), before retiring because of a persistent neck injury.
but was forced to resign in late May due to personal reasons. However, he returned to the club on January 27, 2005 under coach Colin Clarke. When Clarke was fired on November 7, 2006, Morrow was named interim head coach. On December 11, 2006, FC Dallas General Manager Michael Hitchcock
removed the 'interim' from his title. Morrow was fired as coach on May 20, 2008.
of Major League Soccer
in the United States, BEC Tero of Thailand
and Hoang Anh Gia Lai
of Vietnam
, and assisting Arsenal's academies in countries such as Egypt
and Ghana
.
He has also worked as a live match analyst for Arsenal's online webcasts.
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
) is a Northern Irish
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
former football player. He is currently International Partnerships Performance Supervisor at Arsenal Football Club
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
, where he also played for much of the 1990s.
Playing career
Morrow first played for BangorBangor F.C.
Bangor Football Club is an intermediate, Northern Irish football club playing in IFA Championship 1. The club, founded in 1918, hails from Bangor and plays its home matches at Clandeboye Park. Club colours are gold and royal blue...
as youth, before joining Arsenal in July 1987. A versatile utility man, who could play at full back, centre back or midfield
Midfield
Midfield is the part of a sports pitch that lies approximately in the center. It is a term most commonly associated with football to refer to the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region, but it can be used in field hockey to describe the same area, or in...
, Morrow had loan spells at Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
, Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
and Barnet
Barnet F.C.
Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....
, before making his debut for Arsenal as a substitute in a First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
match on April 8, 1992 against Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
, in place of the injured Nigel Winterburn
Nigel Winterburn
Nigel Winterburn is a retired English footballer who played at left-back for Arsenal. He is best known for his role alongside Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Lee Dixon, forming a celebrated defensive line in the Premier League and European football during the 1990s.-Early career:Winterburn was born...
. In the meantime, he had already made his full international debut for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
, in May 1990 against Uruguay
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...
; he went on to win 39 caps for his country from then until 1999.
Morrow became a semi-regular in 1992-93
1992-93 in English football
The 1992–1993 season was the 113th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:This season saw the birth of the FA Premier League. This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions....
, as well as suffering the most notorious moment of his career. He played most of his matches in midfield, replacing the injured Paul Davis
Paul Davis (footballer)
Paul Vincent Davis is an English former footballer.Born in Dulwich, London, Davis signed for Arsenal as an apprentice in 1977 and turned professional the following year...
as Arsenal got to both the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
and FA Cup
FA Cup
The 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...
semi-finals. Morrow started the League Cup final against Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
; after falling behind to a John Harkes
John Harkes
John Harkes is an American former soccer player. Harkes was the first American ever to play in the English Premier League, and the second American to score at Wembley Stadium. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. He appeared in two FIFA World Cup tournaments, and won two MLS Cup...
goal, Arsenal equalised through Paul Merson
Paul Merson
Paul Charles Merson is a retired English football player, and former player-manager of Walsall. His playing career has included spells at Arsenal, Middlesbrough, Aston Villa, Portsmouth and finishing his playing career at Tamworth. He also played for England 21 times...
, and then Merson set up Morrow to score the winner (which was also his first goal for the club). In the celebrations after the match, Arsenal skipper Tony Adams
Tony Adams (footballer)
Tony Alexander Adams, MBE is an English football manager and former player.Adams spent his entire playing career of 22 years as a defender at Arsenal. He is considered one of the greatest Arsenal players of all time by the club's own fans and was included in the Football League 100 Legends...
attempted to pick up Morrow and parade him on his shoulders, but Adams slipped and Morrow awkwardly hit the ground. He broke his arm
Arm
In human anatomy, the arm is the part of the upper limb between the shoulder and the elbow joints. In other animals, the term arm can also be used for analogous structures, such as one of the paired forelimbs of a four-legged animal or the arms of cephalopods...
and had to be rushed to hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
.
As a result, Morrow missed the rest of that season, including the FA Cup final (also against Wednesday), where Arsenal completed the Cup Double. Before the final kicked off, Morrow received his League Cup winners' medal, making him the only player ever to have picked up a medal before a Cup final, much to the delight of football trivia buffs everywhere.
Morrow was fit enough by the start of the next season but played fewer matches (only 13, as opposed to 25 the previous season). However, one of those was the scene of an Arsenal triumph, the club's 1994 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final
1994 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final
The 1994 European Cup Winners' Cup Final was a football match on 4 May 1994 contested between Arsenal of England and Parma of Italy. It was the final match of the 1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup and the 34th European Cup Winners' Cup Final. The final was held at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen,...
win over Parma; in an Arsenal midfield depleted of John Jensen
John Jensen
John Jensen , nicknamed Faxe, is a former Danish international footballer who is unemployed. He is known for his temper and is often outspoken in interviews. His playing career lasted over a decade, during which he played most famously for Arsenal F.C...
, David Hillier
David Hillier
David Hillier is an English former footballer.Hillier was born in Blackheath, London and had played schoolboy football for his region before joining Arsenal in January 1984 as an associated schoolboy. He later became a trainee and turned professional in February 1988; Hillier captained the Arsenal...
and Martin Keown
Martin Keown
Martin Raymond Keown is a former English footballer. Widely regarded as one of the best man-markers of his generation, Keown played for six different football clubs during his career but it was with Arsenal that he will be best remembered. Keown made over three hundred appearances for Arsenal...
, the 23-year-old Morrow partnered 20-year-old Ian Selley
Ian Selley
Ian Selley is an English footballer, who plays for Kingstonian.-Arsenal:Selley joined Arsenal in 1990 as a trainee and won a South East Counties League title medal and Floodlit Cup Winners medal in his first season. He made his first-team debut at the age of eighteen in a 1-0 defeat against...
in central midfield, both playing the game of their lives as Arsenal beat Parma 1-0 with an Alan Smith
Alan M. Smith
Alan Martin Smith is an English former football striker. He played for Leicester City and Arsenal at professional level, and won thirteen caps for England.-Leicester City:...
goal.
He had nearly left the club in March 1994, following an approach from the Premier League's bottom club Swindon Town
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
, but the transfer fell through and he signed a new contract with Arsenal, where he spent three more years.
Morrow went on to play over 20 matches the following season, including a second Cup Winners' Cup final (which Arsenal lost to Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. is a Spanish association football team from Zaragoza in Spain. Founded on 18 March 1932, Real Zaragoza have spent the majority of their 78 year history in the Spanish top-flight. Real Zaragoza are Spain's 9th highest ranked team in overall league points...
). He scored his second Arsenal goal in the League Cup ironically against Sheffield Wednesday again, and scored his first Arsenal league goal (his third and final goal for the club) in a 3-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers, who would go on to win the Premier League that season. However, he never found favour under new Arsenal boss Bruce Rioch
Bruce Rioch
Bruce David Rioch is an English-born football manager and former player. He was manager of Aalborg BK in the Danish Superliga, until his sacking on 23 October 2008....
, who only gave the Irishman five matches in 1995-96
1995-96 in English football
- Premiership :Newcastle United were 12 points clear at the top of Manchester United, but Alex Ferguson's relatively young and inexperienced side overhauled them during the second half of the season to win the title....
. After the arrival of Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...
in 1996, Morrow was told he was surplus to requirements at Highbury, and he was loaned to Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
in March 1997; the deal was made permanent that summer. He played 85 games for Arsenal in total, scoring three goals.
At QPR, Morrow was initially a regular, but the club struggled, going from contenders for promotion to the Premiership
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
to facing relegation to the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
. Injuries to his shoulder ligaments ruled Morrow out for most of the 1999-2000
1999-2000 in English football
-Premier League:Manchester United were crowned FA Premier League champions with an 18-point margin over runners-up Arsenal and with just 3 league defeats all season. This was despite their failure to retain the European Cup and withdrawal from the FA Cup in order to compete in the FIFA Club World...
season, and he lost his place in the side. Morrow later had a loan spell at Peterborough United
Peterborough United F.C.
Peterborough United Football Club are a professional English football club based in Peterborough. Peterborough United formed in 1934 and played in the old Midland League, which they won six times; eventually being admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead. Their home ground is...
, but it did not become permanent, and he was released on a free transfer in the summer of 2001.
Struggling to find a club in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Morrow moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to play for Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
side Dallas Burn
FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...
. He spent two seasons at Dallas (who renamed themselves FC Dallas
FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...
in 2004), before retiring because of a persistent neck injury.
Managerial career
On February 3, 2004 he was named as an assistant coach to FC DallasFC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...
but was forced to resign in late May due to personal reasons. However, he returned to the club on January 27, 2005 under coach Colin Clarke. When Clarke was fired on November 7, 2006, Morrow was named interim head coach. On December 11, 2006, FC Dallas General Manager Michael Hitchcock
Michael Hitchcock
Michael Hitchcock is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and television producer.In 2011, Hitchcock became a writer and consulting producer for season 3 of the FOX television series Glee, where he had guest starred in season 1 as rival glee club director Dalton Rumba.As an actor, he has...
removed the 'interim' from his title. Morrow was fired as coach on May 20, 2008.
Back at Arsenal
On 12 September 2008 Morrow returned to Arsenal as International Partnerships - Performance Supervisor, managing Arsenal's international partnerships, which currently include the Colorado RapidsColorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league...
of Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
in the United States, BEC Tero of Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Hoang Anh Gia Lai
Hoang Anh Gia Lai
Hoàng Anh Gia Lai is a Vietnamese soccer club based in Pleiku. They play in the top division in Vietnamese soccer. Their home stadium is Pleiku Stadium.The team signed an agreement with Arsenal F.C...
of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, and assisting Arsenal's academies in countries such as Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
.
He has also worked as a live match analyst for Arsenal's online webcasts.