Jody Morris

Jody Morris

Personal information
Full name	Jody Steven Morris
Date of birth	(1978-12-22) 22 December 1978
Place of birth	Hammersmith, England
Height
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
000?–1996	Chelsea
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1996–2003	Chelsea	124	(5)
2003–2004	Leeds United	12	(0)
2004	Rotherham United	10	(1)
2004–2007	Millwall	65	(5)
2008–2012	St. Johnstone	104	(4)
2012–2013	Bristol City	4	(0)
Total		319	(15)
International career‡
1994–1995	England U16	11	(0)
1997	England U20	4	(0)
1996–1999	England U21	7	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 April 2012 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 January 2011

Jody Steven Morris (born 22 December 1978) is an English former football midfielder. He has previously played for Chelsea, Leeds United, Rotherham United, Millwall and St. Johnstone.

Club career

Morris came through the youth ranks at Chelsea, alongside his close friend John Terry. He became the youngest player to ever play in the Premier League for Chelsea when he debuted at the age of 17 years and 43 days in the home game against Middlesbrough on 4 February 1996. 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, when Claudio Ranieri took over from Vialli as Chelsea boss, Morris' first team opportunities diminished, and he was linked with a host of clubs including being reunited with his former England under-21 manager Peter Taylor at Leicester. Morris never regained his position as a first team regular at Chelsea, 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 appearances for the club. After a short spell at Rotherham United, where he scored once against Stoke City, 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 season. 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.

Morris signed a one-year contract with Bristol City in June 2012, reuniting him with Derek McInnes. Morris had his contract terminated with Bristol City on 31 January 2013 having only made four league appearances for the club.

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 Airport 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 drink-driving on 1 November 2006, after driving the wrong way down a one-way street. Morris, who had one previous conviction for drink-driving, was disqualified from driving for four years, given 80 hours community service and a two-year suspended jail sentence.

Honours

Chelsea

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1998
• UEFA Super Cup (1): 1998
• FA Cup (1): 2000
• Charity Shield (1): 2000

St. Johnstone

• Scottish Football League First Division (1): 2008–09

External links

• Jody Morris career statistics at Soccerbase
• England profile at The FA

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