Wes Morgan
 Morgan warming up for Leicester City in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Westley Nathan Morgan[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 21 January 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Nottingham, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[2] | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Leicester City | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–1999 | Notts County[3] | ||
| 1999–2002 | Nottingham Forest | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2002–2012 | Nottingham Forest | 352 | (12) |
| 2002 | → Kidderminster Harriers (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 2012– | Leicester City | 138 | (6) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2013– | Jamaica | 10 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:29, 8 April 2014 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Westley Nathan "Wes" Morgan (born 21 January 1984) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Leicester City. He spent a majority of his career with his boyhood club, Nottingham Forest where he had been a regular at centre-back for the club for several years before moving to Leicester City in January 2012. He was Nottingham Forest's longest-serving player before his move to the King Power Stadium.
Career
Nottingham Forest
Morgan was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire. Having been rejected by Nottingham Forest's near neighbours Notts County at the age of 15, Morgan had contemplated abandoning football as a career option, but then the chance came to join Forest.
Following a series of stellar performances in the youth team the central defender made his debut on 12 August 2003 against Port Vale at the age of 19, and throughout the 2003–04 season managed to hold down a place in the first team, playing alongside several partners including ex-England international Des Walker, and Michael Dawson, who also went on to play for the national side.
In the 2007–08 campaign, Morgan was a virtual ever-present in defence, as he helped Forest gain automatic promotion finishing second in the league, as Forest were promoted from League One to the Championship. His only goal of the season came in a 2–0 victory at Tranmere Rovers. Morgan helped Forest keep 24 clean sheets in all that season, the record for the league, helping him secure his first honour of his career.
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 lead 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.[4]
Leicester City
On 30 January 2012, Wes Morgan joined East Midland rivals Leicester City for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £1m. 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.[5] His impressive performances early on earnt him a nomination for Championship Player of the Month for September.[6] Leicester were then promoted to the Barclays Premier League for the 2014–15 season.
Morgan started the 2014/2015 season well for Leicester, he started in all 3 league games. On 19 April 2015, Morgan was selected in the The Football Manager Team of the Decade at the Football League Awards.[7]
International career
On 1 September 2013, Morgan was called up to the Jamaican squad for the first time.[8] He made his debut in a 0–0 draw against Panama at the Estadio Rommel Fernández in Panama City on 7 September 2013.[9] Morgan captained the Reggae Boyz for the first time in the 1–3 defeat to Canada on 9 September 2014.[10]
Personal life
Morgan has a child with the sister of Blackburn Rovers F.C striker Leon Best.[11]
Career statistics
- As of 3 January 2015.
| England | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | Division | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[12] | Total | ||||||||||
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||||||
| 2002–03 | Kidderminster Harriers (loan) | Third Division | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |||||
| Kidderminster Harriers Career Total | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |||||||
| 2002–03 | Nottingham Forest | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2003–04 | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 2 | |||||||
| 2004–05 | Championship | 43 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 1 | ||||||
| 2005–06 | League One | 43 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 2 | ||||||
| 2006–07 | 38 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 49 | 1 | |||||||
| 2007–08 | 42 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 1 | |||||||
| 2008–09 | Championship | 42 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 1 | ||||||
| 2009–10 | 44 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 51 | 3 | |||||||
| 2010–11 | 46 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 51 | 1 | |||||||
| 2011–12 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 2 | |||||||
| Nottingham Forest Career Total | 352 | 12 | 20 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 402 | 14 | |||||||
| 2011–12 | Leicester City | Championship | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |||||
| 2012–13 | 45 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 51 | 1 | |||||||
| 2013–14 | 45 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 3 | |||||||
| 2014–15 | Premier League | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | ||||||
| Leicester City Career Total | 125 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 137 | 4 | |||||||
| Career Total | 482 | 16 | 26 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 544 | 19 | |||||||
International
- As of match played 9 September 2014.[13]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamaica | 2013 | 4 | 0 |
| 2014 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 0 | |
Honours
- Club
Leicester City
Nottingham Forest
- Football League One (Runner-up): 2007–08
- Individual
- Championship Team of the Year (3): 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14
- Football League Team of the Decade: 2005–2015
- Leicester City Player of the Season: 2012–13
- Leicester City Players' Player of the Season: 2012–13
References
- ↑ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. p. 292. ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0.
- ↑ The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 294.
- ↑ "Foxes Move For Morgan". LCFC.com. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
- ↑ "News | Foxes Bid Rejected". Nottingham Forest F.C. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
- ↑ "Leicester sign Wes Morgan from Nottingham Forest". BBC. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
- ↑ "Award Nominations For Nigel And Wes". LCFC.com. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
- ↑ "Winners announced for The Football League Awards 2015". The Football League. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
- ↑ "Wes answers Jamaica call". www.LCFC.com. Leicester City F.C. 1 September 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ↑ "Morgan Makes International Bow". 7 Sep 2013. Retrieved 7 Sep 2013.
- ↑ "Wes Morgan to captain Boyz against Canada today". 9 Sep 2014. Retrieved 11 Sep 2014.
- ↑ Ryder, Lee. "Leon Best roars: Bring on Nottingham Forest – NUFC News – Newcastle United". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
- ↑ Includes Football League play-offs and Football League Trophy matches.
- ↑ "Wes Morgan". National Football Teams. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wes Morgan. |
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