John Morrissey (soccer player)

John Morrissey
Personnel
Surname	John Joseph Morrissey
birthday	March 8, 1965
place of birth	Liverpool ,  England
size	173 cm
position	Winger (right)
Juniors
Years	station
	Everton FC
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1983-1985	Everton FC	1 ( 00)
1985	Wolverhampton Wanderers	10 ( 01)
1985-1999	Tranmere Rovers	470 (50)
1 Only league games are given.

John Joseph Morrissey (born March 8, 1965 in Liverpool ) is a retired English football player . As a right winger and "classic number 7" he spent almost 14 years with the Tranmere Rovers and the total number of 585 competitive games had previously been exceeded by only three other footballers at the club.

Athletic career

John Morrissey, whose father of the same name was a successful footballer especially at Everton FC in the 1960s , began his own career with this club. Immediately after graduating from school, he joined the "Toffees" permanently and in March 1983 he signed his first professional contract. As a fast-paced right winger he came into play in the English youth national team, but in the top-class first team of Everton FC he could not prevail until the end of the summer of 1985. His only two appearances were on November 7, 1984 by substitution in the European Cup Winners' Cup against Inter Bratislava and his debut in the starting eleven on the last day of the league against Luton Town , which however no longer had any sporting value, as the "Toffees" were already at this point English master had been established. In midfield he played alongside Jason Danskin , Derek Walsh and Neill Rimmer , who had never been in a championship game, and it was almost logical that the game against Luton was lost 2-0. Due to a lack of athletic perspective, coach Howard Kendall let him move to the Wolverhampton Wanderers , who had recently been relegated to the third division, in early August 1985 .

The interlude with the "Wolves" lasted just two months and this despite the fact that he had stood in the first ten championship games and scored the first goal of his professional career against Bolton Wanderers (1: 4). Morrissey later stated that he had not been paid for months, so he was relieved when fourth division Tranmere Rovers had agreed to pay a transfer fee of £ 8,000 in October 1985 . With this move to the club based in Birkenhead , he also returned to his usual Liverpool surroundings.

Morrissey spent the rest of his active professional career in the service of the Rovers and in almost 14 years he accumulated 585 competitive games, making him the player with the fourth-most appearances in the club's history behind Ray Mathias , Harold Bell and Steve Mungall . The man with the number 7 was rarely not part of the team and for many years he was considered a reliable flank giver for strikers like Ian Muir , Chris Malkin , Jim Steel , John Aldridge and David Kelly . He succeeded with two promotions in the seasons 1988/89 and 1990/91 also the march from the fourth to the second highest division and in the subsequent seven years he secured the class remainder. "Mogsy", as he was usually called by the Tranmere Rovers, only fell victim to tactical constraints more often in the mid-1990s - especially in away games. After disagreements with coach John King , he found himself in the 1995/96 season more often in the replacement role, before John Aldridge King succeeded and thus also Morrissey was taken into account again. But even under Aldrige he continued from regular to supplementary player during the 1996/97 season, but with his ability to "expand" a game, despite his sometimes old-fashioned style of play as a "classic" winger, he remained a valuable part of the Team. One of the special abilities was that he was able to hold the ball above average in precarious situations. His last year ended with a substitution in the league against West Bromwich Albion (3-1) on May 9, 1999 and a benefit game ("testimonial match") against Everton FC in July 1999. After the end of his active career, he retired retired from the soccer business and instead started working in the family business with his father.

literature

• Gilbert Upton / Steve Wilson / Peter Bishop: Tranmere Rovers - The Complete Record . Breedon Books, Derby, 2009, ISBN 978-1-85983-711-5 , pp. 214 .

Web links

• Profile at Tranmere Rovers
• John Morrissey in the soccerbase.com database
• Statistical data from the Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1995-96 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-09-180854-9 , pp. 149 .
2. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1996-97 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1996, ISBN 978-1-85291-571-1 , pp. 170 .
3. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1997-98 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1997, ISBN 978-1-85291-581-0 , pp. 191 .
4. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1998-99 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1998, ISBN 978-1-85291-588-9 , pp. 210 .
5. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1999-2000 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1999, ISBN 978-1-85291-607-7 , pp. 214 .