Alan Morris (15 July 1954 – 31 December 1998) was an English footballer. He made an appearance in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

and also played at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

for

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...

. He played as either a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

or striker.Sumner (1999), p 91

Playing career

Morris was born in

. As a youngster, he made his first–team debut for Chester in a

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...

tie against Oswestry Town at

Sealand Road Sealand Road was the home stadium of Chester City Football Club (until 1983 known as Chester Football Club) from 1906 until 1990. Although officially known simply as The Stadium, it was more commonly referred to as Sealand Road. It was much loved ...

in 1974–75, as the club rested several of its regular players. He then dropped into non–league football, finishing as Caernarfon Town's leading scorer in 1981–82.Sumner (1999), p 91 Morris then had a spell with

during 1983–84 in the

Alliance Premier League The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in Football in England, England consisting of three divisions, the National League (division), National League, National League Nor ...

. The season ended with him playing at Wembley alongside fellow former Chester players

Ian Howat Ian Howat (born 29 July 1958) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played in The Football League for Chester and Crewe Alexandra. He later appeared for several non-league clubs. Playing career A product of Chester's youth policy, Howat ...

and

Peter Sutcliffe Peter William Sutcliffe (2 June 1946 – 13 November 2020) was an English serial killer who was dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper (an allusion to Jack the Ripper) by the press. Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attempting t ...

as Bangor drew 1–1 with

Northwich Victoria {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

in the final of the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

before losing the replay at Stoke. Morris returned to Chester in the summer of 1984 and he made a belated Football League debut at the age of 30 as a substitute against

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

. This proved to be his only appearance in his second spell at Chester and he returned to Bangor. He was also heavily involved in local league football in

and worked as a

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Sain ...

. He was murdered outside his home in Chester on New Year's Eve 1998.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Alan 1954 births 1998 deaths Footballers from Chester English men's footballers English Football League players National League (English football) players Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders Chester City F.C. players Bangor City F.C. players Caernarfon Town F.C. players People murdered in England