Wes Morgan

Wes Morgan

Morgan warming up for Leicester City in 2013
Personal information
Full name Westley Nathan Morgan[1]
Date of birth (1984-01-21) 21 January 1984
Place of birth Nottingham, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
 Leicester City
Number 5
Youth career
1995–1999 Notts County[3]
1999–2000 Dunkirk[4]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2012 Nottingham Forest 352 (12)
2003 → Kidderminster Harriers (loan) 5 (1)
2012– Leicester City 191 (8)
National team‡
2013– Jamaica 29 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:31, 23 October 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13:37, 3 September 2016 (UTC)

Westley Nathan "Wes" Morgan (born 21 January 1984) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a defender for and is captain of English club Leicester City and the Jamaica national team.

He spent the majority of his career with his boyhood club, Nottingham Forest, playing 402 official games and scoring 14 goals. He was their longest-serving player when he transferred to Leicester City in January 2012. Morgan became Leicester's captain later that year, and has gone on to play nearly 200 matches in all competitions for them, captaining them to the Championship title in 2014 and the Premier League title two years later, leading their team to their first ever Premier League title.

Born and brought up in England, Morgan chose to represent his ancestral Jamaica at international level, making his debut for them in 2013. He was part of their teams that competed in two Copa América tournaments and finished runners-up at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Career

Nottingham Forest

Early years

Morgan playing for Nottingham Forest in 2002

Morgan was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire. Having been rejected by Nottingham Forest's near neighbours Notts County at the age of 15, and went to study business at South Notts College while playing semi-professionally in central midfield for Dunkirk F.C. in the Midland Football Alliance. His performances were tracked by non-league teams and Forest, who took him as an apprentice while he continued studying. There was no transfer fee, but Dunkirk received two Forest kits. Their clubhouse has his Forest and Leicester shirts on the wall.[5]

In February 2003, with manager Paul Hart considering him close to a first-team breakthrough after his reserve performances, Morgan was loaned to Kidderminster Harriers of the Third Division.[6] He made his professional debut on 1 March, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–3 loss to Scunthorpe United at Aggborough, deflecting a 25-yard Peter Beagrie shot for the first goal.[7] Morgan totalled five appearances for the Worcestershire side, scoring his first goal two weeks after his debut, heading to confirm a 2–0 victory at Cambridge United.[8]

Hart wanted Morgan to lose weight before joining the first team, which became a priority as the team had lost several players after losing in the last season's play-offs.[5] He made his debut at left back on 12 August 2003 away to Port Vale at the age of 19; after a goalless draw Forest won a penalty shootout to advance to the second round of the League Cup.[9] Four days later he made his First Division debut in a 3–0 loss to Reading; Hart considered him the man of the match.[5] On 18 October, he scored his first goal for Forest, heading Eoin Jess' cross to finish a 6–0 win over bottom team Wimbledon at the City Ground.[10] He totalled 32 games across the season, also scoring an equaliser on 3 December in the home game against Ipswich Town, and was sent off twice over the campaign.

First-team regular

In the 2007–08 campaign, Morgan missed only four games all season, as he helped Forest finish second in the league and gain promotion from League One to the Championship.[11] His only goal of the season came in a 2–0 victory at Tranmere Rovers, while Forest kept a season-record 24 clean sheets.

Morgan found it hard adapting to life back in the Championship during the first half of the 2008–09 season, with Forest languishing in the relegation zone by Christmas. Following the dismissal of Colin Calderwood on Boxing Day 2008, and the arrival of Billy Davies soon after, Morgan and the Forest defence looked far more solid as the season progressed which eventually led to the Reds retaining their Championship status. At the end of the 2008–09 season he had made a total of 274 appearances in all competitions, including 255 starts.

October 2011 saw Wes Morgan make his 400th appearance for Nottingham Forest against Hull City in a match in which he was also handed the captaincy.

On 20 January 2012, Nottingham Forest announced they rejected a bid for Morgan from local rivals Leicester City.[12]

Leicester City

Morgan (right) playing for Leicester City in an FA Cup quarter-final match against Chelsea on 18 March 2012

On 30 January 2012, Morgan joined East Midland rivals Leicester City for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £1 million. As a result of his performances towards the end of the 2011–12 season, he was awarded with the Leicester City captaincy ahead of the 2012–13 season.[13] His impressive performances early on earned him a nomination for Championship Player of the Month for September.[14]

Leicester won the 2013–14 Football League Championship, in which he missed only one game.[15] Afterwards, the club used a clause in his would-be expired contract to keep him for another season;[16] he eventually signed a new three-year deal.[15]

In the Premier League for the 2014–15 season, Morgan scored his first goal of the season in a 4–3 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on 21 March 2015, and another in 3–0 win over Newcastle on the 5 May. On 19 April 2015, Morgan was selected in the "The Football Manager Team of the Decade" at the Football League Awards.[17]

Morgan kept his place for the 2015–16 season, playing in every minute of all 38 Premier League matches,[18] one of only 4 players to achieve that accolade (including teammate Kasper Schmeichel) in that season. On 3 April 2016, he scored the only goal against Southampton,[19] despite feeling ill.[5] On 1 May, he equalised with a header in a 1–1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford, and the next day Leicester won the title, with Morgan becoming the first Jamaican to win a Premier League medal.[20] After captaining Leicester City to the title, Morgan was included in the Premier League PFA Team of the Year, alongside teammates Jamie Vardy, N'Golo Kanté and Riyad Mahrez.[21]

Manager Claudio Ranieri said "Wes Morgan is Baloo off The Jungle Book. He is a big gentle bear who looks after all the lads. He does not speak so much but when he does speak, everybody listens. He is the perfect captain. I never knew anything about him before I came here. But I watched all the matches, I watched how solid, strong and intelligent he was".[5]

International career

On 1 September 2013, Morgan was called up to the Jamaican squad for the first time.[22][23] He made his debut in a 0–0 draw against Panama at the Estadio Rommel Fernández in Panama City on 7 September 2013.[24] Morgan captained the Reggae Boyz for the first time in the 3–1 defeat to Canada on 9 September 2014.[25]

Morgan was part of the Jamaican squad invited to the 2015 Copa América in Chile. He played every minute of their campaign, in which they were eliminated in last place in their group.[26] Weeks later, he was again an undisputed part of their team at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States and Canada, helping them to a first final, which was lost 3–1 to Mexico at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.[27]

Personal life

Morgan has a child with the sister of fellow professional footballer, Leon Best.[28]

He is a co-owner of Blue Ink, a tattoo studio in Leicester.[29]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 22 October 2016.[18][30]
Season Club Division League FA Cup League Cup Other[31] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2002–03Kidderminster Harriers (loan)Third Division5100000051
Total 5100000051
2002–03Nottingham ForestFirst Division0000000000
2003–04322103000362
2004–05Championship431404000511
2005–06League One432301000472
2006–07380501051491
2007–08421102010461
2008–09Championship421202000461
2009–10443203020513
2010–11461201020511
2011–12221003100252
Total 3521220020110140214
2011–12Leicester CityChampionship170200000190
2012–13451301020511
2013–14452003100483
2014–15Premier League372300000402
2015–16382000000382
2016–1791001040141
Total 19188051602109
Career total 5482128025215161724

International

As of match played 3 September 2016.[32]
International statistics
National team Year Apps Goals
Jamaica 2013 4 0
2014 6 0
2015 13 0
2016 6 0
Total 29 0

Honours

Club

Leicester City

Nottingham Forest

Individual

International

Jamaica

References

  1. ↑ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. p. 292. ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0.
  2. ↑ "Wes Morgan". LCFC.com. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  3. ↑ "Foxes Move For Morgan". LCFC.com. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  4. ↑ Robertson, Gregor (22 December 2015). "Leicester City captain Wes Morgan's fairytale rise". Sky Sports.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Percy, John (16 April 2016). "Wes Morgan: The making of the Leicester City captain". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  6. ↑ Livie, Alex. "Harriers set to land Morgan". Sky Sports. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "Kidderminster 1-3 Scunthorpe". BBC Sport. 1 March 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  8. ↑ "Cambridge 0-2 Kidderminster". BBC Sport. 15 March 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  9. ↑ "Port Vale 0-0 Nottm Forest". BBC Sport. 11 August 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "Nottm Forest 6-0 Wimbledon". BBC Sport. 18 October 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  11. 1 2 "Nott'm Forest 3-2 Yeovil". BBC Sport. 5 May 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  12. ↑ "News | Foxes Bid Rejected". Nottingham Forest F.C. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  13. ↑ "Leicester sign Wes Morgan from Nottingham Forest". BBC. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  14. ↑ "Award Nominations For Nigel And Wes". LCFC.com. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  15. 1 2 "Wes Morgan Signs New Leicester City Contract". Leicester City F.C. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  16. 1 2 "Wes Morgan set to sign new deal with Leicester City". Leicester Mercury. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  17. ↑ "Winners announced for The Football League Awards 2015". The Football League. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  18. 1 2 "Wes Morgan". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  19. ↑ Gheerbrant, James (3 April 2016). "Leicester City 1-0 Southampton". BBC. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  20. ↑ "Leicester City: The ridiculous statistics". Football 365. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  21. 1 2 "PFA awards: Leicester and Spurs dominate Premier League team". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  22. ↑ "Leicester City's Wes Morgan gets chance to fulfil World Cup dream". Leicester Mercury. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  23. ↑ "Wes answers Jamaica call". www.LCFC.com. Leicester City F.C. 1 September 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  24. ↑ "Morgan Makes International Bow". 7 Sep 2013. Retrieved 7 Sep 2013.
  25. ↑ "Wes Morgan to captain Boyz against Canada today". 9 Sep 2014. Retrieved 11 Sep 2014.
  26. ↑ "Argentina 1-0 Jamaica". BBC Sport. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  27. ↑ "Jamaica 1-3 Mexico". BBC Sport. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  28. ↑ Ryder, Lee. "Leon Best roars: Bring on Nottingham Forest – NUFC News – Newcastle United". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  29. ↑ Hattenstone, Simon (29 April 2016). "Strange times in Leicester: 'If we win the league, you'll see the biggest party ever'". theguardian.com. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  30. ↑ "W. MORGAN". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  31. ↑ Includes Football League play-offs, Football League Trophy, FA Community Shield and UEFA Champions League matches.
  32. ↑ "Wes Morgan". National Football Teams. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  33. ↑ "Spurs' Gareth Bale wins PFA player of the year award". BBC Sport. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  34. ↑ "Gareth Bale wins PFA Player of Year and Young Player awards". BBC Sport. 28 April 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  35. ↑ "Luis Suarez: Liverpool striker wins PFA Player of the Year award". BBC Sport. 27 April 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  36. ↑ "The Football League announces its Team of the Decade". The Football League. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  37. 1 2 "Leicester City's player of the year Wes Morgan focuses on final fling". Leicester Mercury. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  38. ↑ "Leicester City captain Wes Morgan suffers defeat as Mexico beat Jamaica in Gold Cup final". Leicester Mercury. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wes Morgan.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/22/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.