Tony Morley
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| Tony Morley | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Anthony Morley | |
| Date of birth | August 26, 1954 | |
| Place of birth | Ormskirk, England | |
| Playing position | Winger | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1969–1972 | Preston North End | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1972–1976 1976–1979 1979–1983 1983–1985 1984 1985–1986 1986–1987 1987–198? 198?–19?? 1989 1990 |
Preston North End Burnley Aston Villa West Bromwich Albion →Birmingham City (loan) Seiko ADO Den Haag West Bromwich Albion →Burnley (loan) Tampa Bay Rowdies Hamrun Spartans |
84 (15) 91 (5) 137 (25) 33 (4) 4 (3) 30 (13) 28 (7) 5 (0) |
| National team | ||
| 1980–1981 1981–1982 |
England B England |
2 (0) 6 (0) |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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William Anthony Morley (born 26 August 1954) is an English former football player who played in the Football League for Preston North End,Hamrun Spartans, Burnley, Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City, as well as playing for other teams abroad. He also won six caps for England.
[edit] Football career
Morley was born in Ormskirk and represented Ormskirk and District Schools. He signed as an apprentice with Preston North End in July 1969 before turning professional in August 1972.[1] In February 1976 he moved across Lancashire to join Burnley for a £100,000 fee. He joined Aston Villa for £200,000 in June 1979.[1]
A skilful winger, Morley enjoyed the best days of his career at Villa Park. He was seen as a wayward genius but was moulded by manager Ron Saunders into one of the most dangerous players around. He was famed for scoring spectacular goals, in particular one against Everton at Goodison Park which won him the 'Goal of the Season' award for 1980–81.
He was a vital part of the Villa side that won the League Championship in 1980–81 and the European Cup the year after. His brilliant dribble and cross set up Peter Withe for the winning goal against Bayern Munich in the final. His full Villa record was 170(+10 as sub) appearances, 34 goals.
Morley won six caps for England, but his career fell into decline after not being picked for any of their games at the 1982 World Cup. This despite the fact that England boss Ron Greenwood supposedly favoured attacking football. After adding a European Super Cup Winners' medal to his collection, he was transferred from Villa to local rivals West Bromwich Albion.
He won a Dutch Cup runners-up medal in 1987 playing for FC Den Haag.
Morley is now a regular on the 'Villa Old Stars' circuit. He also provides colour commentary for radio broadcasts on Aston Villa's website.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Matthews, Tony (2005). The Who's Who of West Bromwich Albion. Breedon Books, pp157–158. ISBN 1-85983-474-4.
- Tony Morley. Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
- Tony Morley. The Football Association. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
- Barrie Courtney (2004-03-21). England - International Results B-Team - Details. RSSSF. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Morley, Tony |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Morley, William Anthony |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Professional footballer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1954-08-26 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ormskirk, Lancashire, England |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
