Stephen Morgan (born 19 September 1968) is an English football coach and former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. As a player, he was a defender from 1986 until 2000, notably for

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, and in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

with

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

, Bury,

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

and Halifax Town. He finished his career with Non-league

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

. Following his retirement he has worked in youth team coaching and has held roles at

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

and

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

Playing career

Morgan began his career with

, after progressing through the club's successful youth ranks. He made his first-team debut on 17 March 1986, as a substitute in a 1–1 draw with

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a association football, football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two be ...

. A strong, well-built player, he was comfortable in either a defensive or midfield role, and spent much of his early career deep in defence alongside Dave Burgess or Mike Davies. Fast and skilful, he possessed an accurate cross, often after an overlapping run down the left flank. Morgan was virtually an ever-present throughout his first three seasons, although his popularity faltered when fans questioned his attitude to the cause. Indeed, his playing style often gave the impression that he was too relaxed, and with the Blackpool struggling in the Third Division, he was often made a

scapegoat In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...

by supporters.Calley, Roy (1992). ''Blackpool: A Complete Record: 1887–1992'', p. 108. Breedon Books Sport. Towards the end of the 1988–89 season, First Division

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reportedly offered around £300,000 for him. The cash-strapped Seasiders could have used the money, but Morgan could not agree personal terms with the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

ers. A year later, in July 1990, he joined Second Division

for less than one-third of the amount Wimbledon had allegedly offered. Morgan left Plymouth Argyle to play for Coventry City in the Premier League. Eventually, Morgan would play for nine clubs, including loan periods at

and Bury, before bringing his fourteen-year professional career to a close in 2000 with Halifax Town, after playing just one game for the Shaymen. He joined

soon after and retired from competitive football at the end of the 2000–01 season.

Coaching career

Morgan took up a coaching role with

in 2008, coaching their U15 side.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Steve English men's footballers 1968 births Living people Blackpool F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Bury F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players Footballers from Oldham Premier League players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. non-playing staff Accrington Stanley F.C. non-playing staff Men's association football defenders