Johnny Morrissey

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Johnny Morrissey
Personnel
Surname John Joseph Morrissey
birthday April 18, 1940
place of birth Liverpool ,  England
position Winger (left)
Juniors
Years station
Liverpool FC
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1957-1962 Liverpool FC 36 ( 06)
1962-1972 Everton FC 259 (43)
1972-1973 Oldham Athletic 6 ( 01)
1 Only league games are given.

John Joseph "Johnny" Morrissey (born April 18, 1940 in Liverpool ) is a former English football player . The winger was one of the few people who were under contract first with Liverpool and immediately afterwards with local rivals Everton . For Everton, he won two English championships in 1963 and 1970 .

Athletic career

Morrissey was part of the youth department of Liverpool FC and shortly after his 17th birthday he signed his first professional contract with the "Reds". The winger initially acted on the right side. There, his assignments were rare, as Kevin Lewis was preferred. Shortly after the turn of the year he benefited from an injury at Roger Hunt , which led left winger Alan A'Court to take over his position in the middle and Morrissey the vacant position on the left. With the up-and-coming Ian Callaghan, however, he quickly grew more competition and so the Board of Directors decided to sell Morrissey to local rivals Everton FC for £ 10,000 in 1962 . The fact that this happened without the knowledge of coach Bill Shankly caused loud discord and Shankly openly threatened to resign if such a process should repeat itself.

The fact that Morrissey found the rival's team without long periods of getting used to it quickly confirmed Shankly's concerns. Highlights of the 1962/63 season, which ultimately ended with winning the English championship , were his goal on September 22, 1962 for a 2-2 draw in the Merseyside Derby against the ex-club and the hat-trick against West Bromwich Albion (4: 2) a week later. At the end of the season, he had contributed seven goals in 28 league games. However, he did not earn an undisputed regular place and so he found himself exposed to strong competition in the person of Derek Temple in the mid-1960s . This led, among other things, to the fact that he only played a marginal role in the early rounds on the way to winning the FA Cup in 1966 and was not used in the final against Sheffield Wednesday (3-2). From the season 1966/67 was "Mogsy", as Morrissey was called by Everton's supporters, but again more often represented in the first team. This benefited him from the fact that, as a winger, he not only had good ball control and two-footed control, but was also exceptionally robust in addition to his offensive qualities - this also earned him the recognition of proven "rough legs" such as Liverpool's Tommy Smith . In addition there was his speed, which he played especially in the first few meters during a start.

In the 1967/68 season Morrissey reached another FA Cup final with Everton and in this case he had a decisive share in the success with his 1-0 winner from a penalty against Leeds United in the semifinals. However, the final against West Bromwich Albion was disappointing and resulted in a 0-1 defeat. He finally completed his best year in the 1969/70 season, when Morrissey scored nine goals in 41 league games on the way to his second English league title . He had shown a good performance against the reigning champions from Leeds, especially at the beginning of August 1969, and posed major problems for opposing right-back Paul Reaney . The following season 1970/71 was not very satisfactory. Regardless of this, he continued to count among the regulars before it was harder for him to defend his position again in the 1971/72 season. In May 1972 Morrissey left the club in the direction of the third division side Oldham Athletic .

In Oldham, however, Morrissey only spent a year before retiring due to an injury. His son of the same name later also joined the professional team of Everton FC, but only played two competitive games there and only found his luck with the Tranmere Rovers .

Title / Awards

literature

  • Ivan Ponting: Everton Player by Player . Hamlyn, London 1998, ISBN 0-600-59581-1 , pp. 58 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Morrissey, Johnny
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Morrissey, John Joseph (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH April 18, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Liverpool , England