Steve Morison
Steven William Morison is a professional football manager and former footballer who was most recently manager of National League club Sutton United. He played as a centre-forward during a 19-year career, scoring 242 goals in 697 appearances.
Morison began his career at Northampton Town, making his first-team debut in 2002, before joining Conference South club Bishop's Stortford in November 2004. He signed for Stevenage Borough in August 2006, scoring the winning goal in the 2007 FA Trophy final, the first competitive cup final to be held at the new Wembley Stadium, and helped the club lift the trophy again in 2009. Across three seasons, he scored 86 goals in 151 appearances for Stevenage, which places him second on the club's all-time goalscoring list. He joined Millwall for £130,000 ahead of the 2009–10 season, contributing to their promotion to the Championship in his first season.
He signed for Premier League club Norwich City in June 2011 and later joined Leeds United in January 2013, spending a season back on loan at Millwall before rejoining permanently in August 2015. Morison scored the decisive goal in the 2017 League One play-off final as Millwall returned to the Championship. He finished his Millwall career with 92 goals in 343 appearances, placing him third on the club's all-time goalscoring list. He concluded his playing career at Shrewsbury Town, retiring in October 2019. Internationally, he earned 20 caps for Wales, scoring once, having previously represented England C, scoring three goals in eight appearances.
Following retirement, Morison obtained coaching qualifications, working with Northampton Town's under-18 team before joining Cardiff City as under-23 coach. He served briefly as Cardiff's caretaker manager before being appointed first-team manager in November 2021, a position he held until September 2022. He became manager of Hornchurch in June 2023 before taking charge of Sutton United in January 2024, leaving the role in September 2025.
Early life
Born in Enfield, London, Morison attended Enfield Grammar School, leaving school at the age of 16 with a single GCSE qualification. He subsequently earned a National Diploma in sports science.Club career
Northampton and Bishop's Stortford
Morison joined Northampton Town as part of the club's youth system following a successful trial period, having also spent time on trial at Leicester City. Upon turning 18, he signed a two-year professional contract with Northampton. He impressed manager Kevan Broadhurst and subsequently made his first-team debut at the end of the 2001–02 season, in a 2–2 draw against Cambridge United. The following season, Morison played a largely peripheral role as a substitute, making 15 appearances and scoring his first goal for Northampton in a 2–2 draw against Plymouth Argyle. He played just five times during the 2003–04 season, scoring once. He was offered a new six-month contract on 10 June 2004 and was informed by manager Colin Calderwood that he would need to prove his value to the team.Morison played the opening five matches of the club's 2004–05 season but failed to score. He made two further appearances for the club, scoring Northampton's equaliser away at Darlington on 18 September 2004. The following month, Morison signed for Conference South club Bishop's Stortford for an undisclosed fee. He scored on his debut in a 1–1 draw against Redbridge. He helped Bishop's Stortford reach the semi-final of the FA Trophy and ended the season as both the club's top goalscorer and the 2004–05 FA Trophy leading goalscorer. In the following season, Morison initially struggled for form and was used primarily as a substitute during the first two months of the season. He returned to the starting line-up for a match against Histon in November 2005, scoring a hat-trick in a 5–0 victory. Morison scored 15 times over the course of the season.
Stevenage Borough
After opening the 2006–07 season by scoring two goals in two matches for Bishop's Stortford, Morison joined Conference National club Stevenage Borough on a two-year contract in August 2006 for a "small four figure fee". He scored on his debut in a 3–2 defeat against Crawley Town on 19 August 2006, and followed this up with a hat-trick against Morecambe in a 3–3 draw at Christie Park in the club's next fixture. Morison scored regularly during his debut season, contributing to the club's success in the FA Trophy, where he finished as the competition's top goalscorer with eight goals. This included scoring the winning goal in the final in May 2007 against Kidderminster Harriers, as Stevenage overturned a 2–0 deficit to win 3–2 at Wembley Stadium in front of a competition-record crowd of 53,262. Morison made 53 appearances during the season, scoring 34 times in all competitions and finishing as the club's leading goalscorer.Morison maintained his goalscoring form throughout Stevenage's 2007–08 season, scoring 22 goals in 43 appearances, as the club narrowly missed out on the Conference Premier play-offs. At the end of the season, Morison submitted a transfer request as he sought a return to the Football League. Although the club accepted the request and received interest from League Two club Crewe Alexandra, no transfer materialised, and Morison subsequently signed a new three-year contract with Stevenage. The contract contained a clause allowing him to leave the club at the end of the 2008–09 season for a pre-agreed fee, should Stevenage fail to achieve promotion to the Football League.
He scored 30 goals in 51 appearances for the Hertfordshire club during the 2008–09 season, and captained the team for the majority of the season. His season began with a 5–0 away defeat to Wrexham, a match in which Morison was sent off for an "off-the-ball headbutt". He missed the following three games through suspension, but returned in early September 2008, scoring a hat-trick against eventual champions Burton Albion and two goals against Altrincham in successive matches. Morison also scored seven times in seven games in the FA Trophy that season, including one in the 2–0 victory against York City in the final on 9 May 2009. During his three-year spell at the club, Morison made 152 appearances and scored 89 goals. This tally ranks him as the second-highest goalscorer in the club's history. Morison was also included in the club's 'Wall of Fame', which recognises "the six greatest players in Stevenage's history as voted for by the club's supporters".
Millwall
Stevenage failed to achieve promotion to League Two, thereby activating a release clause in his contract. He was permitted to leave the club and, shortly thereafter, agreed personal terms with League One club Millwall on 15 May 2009, with a transfer fee of £130,000 being agreed. Morison made his debut for Millwall in the opening match of the 2009–10 season, starting in a 1–1 draw with Southampton on 8 August 2009, during which he provided the assist for Millwall's equaliser. A month later, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 victory against Huddersfield Town. After scoring seven goals in five matches in March 2010, Morison was named Football League One Player of the Month. He scored in Millwall's 2–0 win against Huddersfield Town on 18 May 2010, his 23rd goal of the season, as Millwall progressed to the League One play-off final, where they defeated Swindon Town 1–0 at Wembley Stadium on 6 June 2010. The victory marked Morison's third successive win at the stadium. He scored 23 goals in 52 appearances during his debut season at MillwallFile:Morison celebrates against QPR.ogv|thumb|250px|right|Morison celebrating his 14th goal of the season in a 2–0 win over league leaders QPR
Morison began the 2010–11 season by assisting two of Millwall's goals in a 3–0 victory over Bristol City at Ashton Gate on 7 August 2010. In the club's following league match, he scored two headed goals as Millwall defeated Hull City at The Den. It was reported that Millwall rejected a £2 million offer for Morison from Nottingham Forest on 15 October 2010, with Millwall manager Kenny Jackett stating there would be "no chance" that Morison will be sold in the January transfer window. A day later, Jackett clarified that the club had not received a formal bid for Morison from Forest. Morison subsequently signed a new -year contract with Millwall on 5 February 2011, ending transfer speculation regarding his long-term commitment to the club. Morison concluded the season having scored 17 goals in 43 appearances.
Norwich City
At the end of the 2010–11 season, Morison submitted a written transfer request amid speculation linking him to a move to newly promoted Premier League club Norwich City. Millwall rejected the request. A day later, Morison stated: "Norwich have made a couple of bids that have been turned down so I've done what I've done. I want to play in the Premier League, I might not get another opportunity". Millwall subsequently accepted an offer from Norwich after the two clubs agreed a fee for the player on 2 June 2011. It was the fourth bid Norwich had submitted for Morison. He signed for the club on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee on 6 June 2011.Morison made his Norwich City debut against Wigan Athletic during the club's opening match of the 2011–12 season, playing 75 minutes in a 1–1 draw and providing the assist for Norwich's equalising goal. He scored his first goal for the club in Norwich's first home win of the season, a 2–1 victory over Sunderland on 26 September 2011. He scored his 10th goal of the season in a 3–3 draw away to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on 5 May 2012. Morison's late goal from a tight angle drew Norwich level after they had trailed 3–2 with five minutes remaining. During his first season at the club, he scored 10 goals in 37 appearances.
The following season, under new Norwich manager Chris Hughton, Morison featured predominantly as a substitute, starting only four matches during the first half of the 2012–13 season. He scored his first goal of the season in a 5–2 home defeat to Liverpool on 29 September 2012, a match in which he was named in the starting line-up. Morison made his final appearance for Norwich in a 4–3 defeat to Manchester City in the club's last match of 2012. He made 59 appearances during his one-and-a-half-year spell at the club, scoring 12 goals.