Steve Morison

Steven William Morison (born 29 August 1983) is a football manager and former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was most recently the manager of EFL Championship club Cardiff City.

Morison started his career at Northampton Town at the age of 16, progressing through the club's centre of excellence. He made his first-team debut in 2002. Morison joined Conference South club Bishop's Stortford for an undisclosed fee in November 2004. After just under two years playing regularly at Stortford, he signed for Stevenage Borough for a "small four-figure fee" in August 2006. During his first season with the club, Morison scored the winning goal in the 2007 FA Trophy Final, the first competitive cup final to be held at the new Wembley Stadium. He also helped the club win the FA Trophy again in May 2009, in what was ultimately his last game for the club.

Having scored 86 times in 151 appearances during his three seasons at Stevenage, Morison joined Millwall for £130,000 ahead of the 2009–10 season. He helped the club to secure promotion to the Championship in his first season there. He signed for Premier League club Norwich City in June 2011. After scoring 12 goals in 59 games for Norwich in the top tier of English football, Morison signed for Leeds United in January 2013. He rejoined Millwall on a season-long loan after just five months at Leeds. He returned to Leeds for the 2014–15 season, before signing for Millwall on a permanent basis in August 2015.

Morison scored the winning goal in the 2017 EFL League One play-off Final to help Millwall achieve promotion back into the Championship during the 2016–17 season. He played over 300 games for Millwall over his two spells with the club, scoring 92 goals, which ranks him in third place in Millwall's all-time record goalscorers list. Morison joined Shrewsbury Town on an initial season-long loan agreement in June 2019. Although the transfer was made permanent at the start of the 2019–20 season, Morison announced his retirement from playing in October 2019. Having already gained his coaching badges, he was appointed Northampton Town's under-18 coach, before later joining Cardiff City as the lead coach of the club's under-23 team. Morison was appointed as first-team manager of Cardiff City in November 2021.

Morison also earned eight caps for the England C team, scoring three goals. Morison qualified to play Wales through his Welsh ancestry, and made his senior international debut in August 2010. He went on to represent Wales 20 times, scoring one goal.

Early life

Born in Enfield, London, Morison attended Enfield Grammar School, leaving school at the age of 16 with one GCSE qualification. He went on to earn a National Diploma in sports science.

Club career

Northampton and Bishop's Stortford

Morison joined Northampton Town as part of the club's youth system after a successful trial period with the club, having also spent time on trial at Leicester City. When Morison turned 18, he signed a two-year professional contract with Northampton. He impressed manager Kevan Broadhurst and subsequently made his debut at the end of the 2001–02 season in a 2–2 draw against Cambridge United. The following season, Morison played a largely peripheral role as a substitute, playing 15 games, scoring his first goal for Northampton in a 2–2 draw against Plymouth Argyle. He played just five times during the 2003–04 season, scoring once. He was offered a new six-month contract at the club on 10 June 2004, and was told by manager Colin Calderwood that he had to prove his worth at the club.

Morison played the opening five games of the club's 2004–05 season, but failed to score. He featured two more times for the club, scoring Northampton's equaliser away at Darlington on 18 September 2004. The following month, Morison signed for Conference South club Bishop's Stortford for an undisclosed fee. He scored on his debut in a 1–1 draw against Redbridge. He helped Stortford reach the FA Trophy semi-final and Morison ended the season as the club's top goalscorer, as well as finishing as the 2004–05 FA Trophy top goalscorer. The following season, Morison struggled for form at the start of the club's league season, and was used as a substitute during the first two months of the season. He started in a game against Histon in November 2005, scoring a hat-trick in a 5–0 win. Morison scored 15 times during the season.

Stevenage Borough

He started the 2006–07 season by scoring two goals in two games for Stortford, before joining Conference National club Stevenage Borough on a two-year deal in August 2006 for a "small four figure fee". He scored on his debut in a 3–2 defeat against Crawley Town on 19 August 2006, following this up by scoring a hat-trick against Morecambe in a 3–3 draw at Christie Park in the club's next match. Morison scored regularly for Stevenage during his debut season, helping the club to success in the FA Trophy, finishing as the competition's top goalscorer with eight goals. This included scoring the winning goal in the final in May 2007 against Kidderminster Harriers, as Stevenage came from two goals behind to win 3–2 at Wembley Stadium in front of a competition record crowd of 53,262. Morison played 53 games during the season, scoring 34 times in all competitions, finishing as the club's top goalscorer for the season.

Morison continued his scoring form throughout Stevenage's 2007–08 season, scoring 22 times in 43 appearances, as the club narrowly missed out on the Conference Premier play-offs. At the end of the season, Morison handed in a transfer request as he sought a return to the Football League. Despite the club accepting the request, and receiving interest from League Two club Crewe Alexandra, no transfer materialised and Morison signed a new three-year contract at Stevenage. There was a clause in the contract that stated he could leave the club at the end of the 2008–09 season for a pre-arranged fee if Stevenage did not win promotion into the Football League.

He scored 30 goals in 51 games for the Hertfordshire club during the 2008–09 season, and captained the team for the majority of the season. His season started with Stevenage losing 5–0 away to Wrexham; a game in which Morison was sent-off for an "off-the-ball headbutt". He missed the next three games through suspension, but returned in early September 2008, following up a hat-trick against eventual champions Burton Albion with a brace against Altrincham. He later scored goals in away victories to both Weymouth and York City respectively, as well as scoring in a 3–1 win over Kidderminster Harriers to ensure Stevenage made the play-offs, finishing in the final play-off spot. Morison played regularly during the club's successful FA Trophy campaign in the same season, scoring seven times in seven games, including once in the 2–0 victory against York in the Final on 9 May 2009. Stevenage failed to achieve promotion to League Two, thus activating a release clause in his contract. Morison was allowed to leave and, shortly after, agreed personal terms with League One club Millwall on 15 May 2009, with a fee of £130,000 being agreed for the transfer. During his three-year tenure at the club, Morison made 152 appearances, scoring 89 goals. This record places him as the club's second highest goalscorer in their history. Morison was also included in the club's 'Wall of Fame', which features "the six greatest players in Stevenage's history as voted for by the club's supporters".

Millwall

He made his debut for Millwall in the opening game of the 2009–10 season, starting in the club's 1–1 draw with Southampton on 8 August 2009; providing the assist for Millwall's equaliser. A month later, Morison scored his first goal for Millwall in a 3–1 victory over Huddersfield Town. Having scored seven goals in five match in March 2010, Morison was named Football League One Player of the Month. He scored in Millwall's 2–0 win against Huddersfield Town,on 18 May 2010, his 23rd goal of the season, as Millwall progressed to the League One play-off final, where they beat Swindon Town 1–0 at Wembley Stadium on 6 June 2010; Morison's third successive victory at the stadium. He scored 23 times in 52 appearances during his debut season at Millwall

He started the 2010–11 season by assisting two of Millwall's goals in the club's opening day 3–0 victory against Bristol City at Ashton Gate on 7 August 2010. In the club's following league match, he scored two headed goals as Millwall beat Hull City at The Den. It was reported that Millwall rejected a £2million offer for Morison from Nottingham Forest on 15 October 2010, with Millwall manager Kenny Jackett stating there is "no chance" that Morison will be sold in the January transfer window. A day later, Jackett said the club had not received a formal bid for Morison from Forest. Morison subsequently signed a new -year contract with Millwall on 5 February 2011, ending transfer speculation about his long-term commitment to the club. Morison ended the season having scored 17 goals for Millwall in 43 appearances.

Norwich City

At the end of the 2010–11 season, Morison handed in a written transfer request amid speculation about a move to newly promoted Premier League club Norwich City. Millwall rejected the transfer request. A day later, Morison revealed "Norwich have made a couple of bids that have been turned down so I've done what I've done. I want to play in the Premier League, I might not get another opportunity". Millwall accepted an offer from Norwich for Morison after the two clubs agreed a fee for the player on 2 June 2011, it was the fourth bid Norwich had made for Morison. He signed for the club on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee on 6 June. Morison made his Norwich City debut against Wigan Athletic during the club's first game of the 2011–12 season, playing 75 minutes of the match in a 1–1 draw. He assisted Norwich's equalising goal, beating Adrián López Rodríguez on the right wing and providing a cross that was ultimately turned in by Wes Hoolahan. He scored his first goal for the club in Norwich's first home win of the season, a 2–1 victory against Sunderland on 26 September 2011. He scored his tenth goal of the season in a 3–3 draw away to Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on 5 May 2012. Morison's late strike from a tight angle drew Norwich level after they had trailed 3–2 with five minutes remaining. During his first season at the club, he scored ten goals in 37 appearances.

The following season, under new Norwich manager Chris Hughton, Morison featured predominantly as a substitute, starting just four games during the first half of the 2012–13 season. He scored his first goal of the season in a 5–2 home defeat to Liverpool on 29 September 2012, a match in which he started. Morison made his last appearance for Norwich in a 4–3 defeat to Manchester City in the club's final game of 2012. He made 59 appearances during his one-and-a-half year spell at the club, scoring 12 goals.

Leeds United

On the last day of the 2013 January transfer window, Morison signed for Championship club Leeds United as part of a swap deal. The transfer involved Luciano Becchio

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