Westley Nathan Morgan(born 21 January 1984) is a former professionalfootballerwho made over 750 professional appearances as adefenderforNottingham Forest,Leicester Cityand theJamaican national team.
 Morgan warming up forLeicester Cityin 2013 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Westley Nathan Morgan[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 21 January 1984[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Nottingham,England | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.86 m)[3] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1999 | Notts County[4] | ||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Dunkirk[5] | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2012 | Nottingham Forest | 352 | (12) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003 | →Kidderminster Harriers(loan) | 5 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2021 | Leicester City | 277 | (11) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 634 | (24) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Jamaica | 30 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Morgan spent the first ten years of his career with his boyhood club,Nottingham Forest,playing 402 matches 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 captained the club for 9 years until his retirement in 2021. He captained the club during its most successful ever period,[6][7]captaining them to theChampionshiptitle in 2014, their firstPremier Leaguetitle two years later in 2016 and their firstFA Cupwin in 2021, in which he made his final ever professional appearance coming on as a substitute in the2021 FA Cup Final.
Born and raised in England, Morgan chose to represent Jamaica at international level, making his debut for them in 2013 and was part of their teams that competed in twoCopa Américatournaments and finished runners-up at the2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.He was also the first Jamaican player to score in aUEFA Champions Leaguegame.
Club career
editNottingham Forest
editEarly years
edit
Morgan was born inNottingham.[2]Having been rejected byNottingham Forest's near neighboursNotts Countyat the age of 15, he went to study business atSouth Notts Collegewhile playing semi-professionally in central midfield forDunkirkin theMidland 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.[8]
In February 2003, with managerPaul Hartconsidering him close to a first-team breakthrough after his reserve performances, Morgan was loaned toKidderminster Harriersof theThird Division.[9]He made his professional debut on 1 March, playing the full 90 minutes of a 3-1 loss toScunthorpe UnitedatAggborough,deflecting a 25-yardPeter Beagrieshot for the first goal.[10]Morgan totalled five appearances for theWorcestershireside, scoring his first goal two weeks after his debut, heading to confirm a 2–0 victory atCambridge United.[11]
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.[8]He made his debut at left-back on 12 August 2003 away toPort Valeat the age of 19; after a goalless draw, Forest won apenalty shoot-outto advance to the second round of theLeague Cup.[12]Four days later he made hisFirst Divisiondebut in a 3–0 loss toReading;Hart considered him theman of the match.[8]On 18 October, he scored his first goal for Forest, headingEoin Jess' cross to finish a 6–0 win over bottom teamWimbledonat theCity Ground.[13]He totalled 32 games across the season, also scoring an equaliser on 3 December in the home game againstIpswich Town,and was sent off twice over the campaign.
First-team regular
editIn the2007–08 campaign,Morgan missed only four games all season, as he helped Forest finish second in the league and gain promotion fromLeague Oneto theChampionship.[14]His only goal of the season came in a 2–0 victory atTranmere 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 ofColin Calderwoodon 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.[15]
Leicester City
edit
On 30 January 2012, Morgan joined East Midland rivalsLeicester Cityfor an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £1 million. As a result of his performances towards the end of the2011–12 season,he was rewarded with the Leicester City captaincy ahead of the2012–13 season.[16]His impressive performances early on earned him a nomination forChampionship Player of the Monthfor September.[17]
Leicester won the2013–14 Championship,in which he missed only one game.[18]Afterwards, the club used a clause in his would-be expired contract to keep him for another season;[19]he eventually signed a new three-year deal.[18]
In thePremier Leaguefor the2014–15 season,Morgan scored his first goal of the season in a 4–3 defeat toTottenham Hotspuron 21 March 2015, and another in 3–0 win overNewcastleon the 5 May. On 19 April 2015, Morgan was selected in the "Football Manager Team of the Decade"at theFootball League Awards.[20]
Morgan kept his place for the2015–16 season,playing in every minute of all 38 Premier League matches,[21]one of only 4 players to achieve that accolade (including teammateKasper Schmeichel) in that season. On 3 April 2016, he scored the only goal against Southampton,[22]despite feeling ill.[8]On 1 May, he equalised with a header in a 1–1 draw withManchester UnitedatOld Trafford,and the next day Leicester won the title, with Morgan becoming the first Jamaican to win a Premier League medal.[23]After captaining Leicester City to the title, Morgan was included in the Premier LeaguePFA Team of the Year,alongside teammatesJamie Vardy,N'Golo KantéandRiyad Mahrez.[24]He also became the third outfield player in Premier League history to play every minute of a title-winning season afterGary Pallisterin 1992–93 andJohn Terryin 2014–15.[25]
ManagerClaudio Ranierisaid "Wes Morgan isBaloooffThe 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 ".[8]On 25 February 2017, reports emerged alleging that Morgan was among several teammates who met with chairmanVichai Srivaddhanaprabhafollowing their 2–1 Champions League defeat at Sevilla on 22 February,[26]which led to Ranieri being sacked.[27][28][29]
On 14 March 2017, he scored the first goal in Leicester's 2–0 win againstSevilla,contributing to a 3–2 aggregate score which allowed the club to qualify for the quarter-finals of theUEFA Champions League.This also made him the first Jamaican player to score in a Champions League game.[30]
Morgan later came on in the 82nd minute of the2021 FA Cup Finalto help Leicester win their first ever FA Cup.[31]
On 21 May 2021, Leicester City announced that Morgan would retire at the end of the season.[32]
International career
editOn 1 September 2013, Morgan was called up to theJamaican squadfor the first time.[33][34]He made his debut in a 0–0 draw againstPanamaat theEstadio Rommel FernándezinPanama Cityon 7 September 2013.[35]Morgan captained theReggae Boyzfor the first time in the 3–1 defeat toCanadaon 9 September 2014.[36]
Morgan was part of the Jamaican squad invited to the2015 Copa Américain Chile. He played every minute of their campaign, in which they were eliminated in last place intheir group.[37]Weeks later, he was again in the team at the2015 CONCACAF Gold Cupin the United States and Canada, helping them to their firstfinal.Jamaica lost 3–1 toMexicoatLincoln Financial FieldinPhiladelphia.[38]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nottingham Forest | 2002–03[39] | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003–04[40] | First Division | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 36 | 2 | ||
| 2004–05[41] | Championship | 43 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 51 | 1 | ||
| 2005–06[42] | League One | 43 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 2 | |
| 2006–07[43] | League One | 38 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[a] | 1 | 49 | 1 | |
| 2007–08[44] | League One | 42 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 46 | 1 | |
| 2008–09[45] | Championship | 42 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 46 | 1 | ||
| 2009–10[46] | Championship | 44 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 51 | 3 | |
| 2010–11[47] | Championship | 46 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 51 | 1 | |
| 2011–12[48] | Championship | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 25 | 2 | ||
| Total | 352 | 12 | 20 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 402 | 14 | ||
| Kidderminster Harriers(loan) | 2002–03[39] | Third Division | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | |||
| Leicester City | 2011–12[48] | Championship | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13[49] | Championship | 45 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 51 | 1 | |
| 2013–14[50] | Championship | 45 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 48 | 3 | ||
| 2014–15[51] | Premier League | 37 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 40 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16[52] | Premier League | 38 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 38 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17[53] | Premier League | 27 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10[d] | 1 | 40 | 3 | |
| 2017–18[54] | Premier League | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19[55] | Premier League | 22 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 25 | 3 | ||
| 2019–20[56] | Premier League | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21[57] | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[e] | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Total | 277 | 11 | 16 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 323 | 14 | ||
| Career total | 634 | 24 | 36 | 1 | 33 | 2 | 27 | 1 | 730 | 29 | ||
- ^Three appearances and one goal inFootball League Trophy,two appearances inLeague One play-offs
- ^Appearance in Football League Trophy
- ^abcAppearances inChampionship play-offs
- ^One appearance inFA Community Shield,nine inUEFA Champions League
- ^Appearances inUEFA Europa League
International
edit| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamaica | 2013 | 4 | 0 |
| 2014 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 30 | 0 | |
Honours
editNottingham Forest
- Football League Onerunner-up:2007–08[14]
Leicester City
Jamaica
- CONCACAF Gold Cuprunner-up:2015[61]
Individual
- PFA Team of the Year:2010–11 Championship,[62]2012–13 Championship,[63]2013–14 Championship,[64]2015–16 Premier League[24]
- The Football League Team of the Decade[65]
- Leicester CityPlayer of the Season:2012–13[66]
- Leicester City Players' Player of the Season: 2012–13[66]
- CONCACAF Best XI:2016[67]
References
edit- ^"Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed".Premier League. 2 February 2018.Retrieved11 February2018.
- ^abHugman, Barry J., ed. (2010).The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11.Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 294.ISBN978-1-84596-601-0.
- ^"Wes Morgan".Leicester City F.C.Retrieved22 December2018.
- ^"Foxes Move For Morgan".LCFC.com. Archived fromthe originalon 1 February 2012.Retrieved30 January2012.
- ^Robertson, Gregor (22 December 2015)."Leicester City captain Wes Morgan's fairytale rise".Sky Sports.
- ^"Leicester City Captain Wes Morgan Calls Time On Historic Career".LCFC.com.Retrieved7 June2021.
- ^"Leicester confirm title-winning captain Wes Morgan will retire".The Athletic.Retrieved7 June2021.
- ^abcdePercy, John (16 April 2016)."Wes Morgan: The making of the Leicester City captain".The Daily Telegraph.Retrieved3 May2016.
- ^Livie, Alex."Harriers set to land Morgan".Sky Sports.Retrieved3 May2016.
- ^"Kidderminster 1–3 Scunthorpe".BBC Sport.1 March 2003.Retrieved3 May2016.
- ^"Cambridge 0–2 Kidderminster".BBC Sport.15 March 2003.Retrieved3 May2016.
- ^"Port Vale 0–0 Nottm Forest".BBC Sport.11 August 2003.Retrieved3 May2016.
- ^"Nottm Forest 6–0 Wimbledon".BBC Sport.18 October 2003.Retrieved3 May2016.
- ^ab"Nott'm Forest 3–2 Yeovil".BBC Sport.5 May 2008.Retrieved19 December2015.
- ^"News | Foxes Bid Rejected".Nottingham Forest F.C. Archived fromthe originalon 26 April 2012.Retrieved19 July2012.
- ^"Leicester sign Wes Morgan from Nottingham Forest".BBC Sport.30 January 2012.Retrieved19 July2012.
- ^"Award Nominations For Nigel And Wes".LCFC.com.Retrieved12 October2012.
- ^ab"Wes Morgan Signs New Leicester City Contract".Leicester City F.C. 4 July 2016.Retrieved4 May2016.
- ^"Wes Morgan set to sign new deal with Leicester City".Leicester Mercury.13 June 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 24 August 2014.Retrieved19 December2015.
- ^"Winners announced for The Football League Awards 2015".The Football League.Retrieved22 April2015.
- ^"Wes Morgan".Soccerbase.Retrieved2 September2015.
- ^Gheerbrant, James (3 April 2016)."Leicester City 1–0 Southampton".BBC Sport.Retrieved3 April2016.
- ^"Leicester City: The ridiculous statistics".Football 365. 3 May 2016.Retrieved3 May2016.
- ^ab"PFA awards: Leicester and Spurs dominate Premier League team".BBC Sport.21 April 2016.Retrieved7 May2018.
- ^Shamoon Hafez (15 May 2016),"Chelsea 1–1 Leicester City",BBC Sport,retrieved12 January2017
- ^Phil Dawkes (22 February 2017),"Sevilla 2–1 Leicester",BBC Sport,retrieved21 October2017
- ^Marc Albrighton denies involvement in Claudio Ranieri's exit from Leicester,Sky Sports, 26 February 2017,retrieved6 July2020
- ^Matt Hughes (25 February 2017),"Vardy part of meeting that sealed fate of Ranieri",The Times,retrieved6 July2020
- ^"Claudio Ranieri: Sacked Leicester manager says his 'dream died'",BBC Sport,24 February 2017,retrieved6 July2020
- ^McNulty, Phil (14 March 2017)."Leicester City 2–0 Sevilla (3–2 agg)".BBC Sport.Retrieved17 March2017.
- ^McNulty, Phil (15 May 2021)."FA Cup final 2021: Foxes lift FA Cup for first time after Youri Tielemans' great goal".BBC Sport.Retrieved15 May2021.
- ^"Leicester City Captain Wes Morgan Calls Time On Historic Career".www.lcfc.com.Retrieved21 May2021.
- ^"Leicester City's Wes Morgan gets chance to fulfil World Cup dream".Leicester Mercury.3 September 2013.Retrieved11 March2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^"Wes answers Jamaica call".LCFC.com.Leicester City F.C. 1 September 2013.Retrieved1 September2013.
- ^"Morgan Makes International Bow".7 September 2013.Retrieved7 September2013.
- ^"Wes Morgan to captain Boyz against Canada today".9 September 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved11 September2014.
- ^"Argentina 1–0 Jamaica".BBC Sport.21 June 2015.Retrieved4 May2016.
- ^"Jamaica 1–3 Mexico".BBC Sport.27 July 2015.Retrieved4 May2016.
- ^ab"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2002/2003".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved13 February2017.
- ^"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2003/2004".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved13 February2017.
- ^"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2004/2005".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved13 February2017.
- ^"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2005/2006".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved13 February2017.
"Weymouth v Nottingham Forest, 14 November 2005".11v11.com.AFS Enterprises.Retrieved14 February2017. - ^"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2006/2007".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved13 February2017.
- ^"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2007/2008".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved13 February2017.
- ^"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2008/2009".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved13 February2017.
- ^"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2009/2010".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved13 February2017.
- ^"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2010/2011".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved13 February2017.
- ^ab"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2011/2012".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved14 February2017.
- ^"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2012/2013".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved14 February2017.
- ^"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2013/2014".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved14 February2017.
- ^"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2014/2015".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved14 February2017.
- ^"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2015/2016".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved14 February2017.
- ^"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2016/2017".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved8 September2017.
- ^"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2017/2018".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved14 May2018.
- ^"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2018/2019".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved16 March2019.
- ^"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2019/2020".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved17 August2019.
- ^"Games played by Wes Morgan in 2020/2021".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Retrieved21 May2021.
- ^"Wes Morgan: Overview".Premier League.Retrieved17 April2018.
- ^McNulty, Phil (15 May 2021)."Chelsea 0–1 Leicester City".BBC Sport.Retrieved15 May2021.
- ^"W. Morgan: Summary".Soccerway.Perform Group.Retrieved17 April2018.
- ^"Leicester City captain Wes Morgan suffers defeat as Mexico beat Jamaica in Gold Cup final".Leicester Mercury.27 July 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 2 October 2015.Retrieved19 December2015.
- ^"Spurs' Gareth Bale wins PFA player of the year award".BBC Sport.17 April 2011.Retrieved7 May2018.
- ^"Gareth Bale wins PFA Player of Year and Young Player awards".BBC Sport.28 April 2013.Retrieved7 May2018.
- ^"Luis Suarez: Liverpool striker wins PFA Player of the Year award".BBC Sport.28 April 2014.Retrieved7 May2018.
- ^"The Football League announces its Team of the Decade".EFL.com.19 April 2015.Retrieved1 May2022.
- ^ab"Leicester City's player of the year Wes Morgan focuses on final fling".Leicester Mercury.1 May 2013.Retrieved19 December2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^"Bryan Ruiz and Alex Morgan Named 2016 CONCACAF Players of the Year".CONCACAF.18 January 2017.Retrieved18 January2017.
External links
edit
- Wes Morgan profileat the Leicester City F.C. website
- Wes Morganat Soccerbase
