Trevor William Morley (born 20 March 1961) is an English football manager, former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

and pundit. As a player, he was a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

who notably played top flight football for

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two ...

and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...

. He also played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for Northampton Town and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, as well as for Norwegian clubs Brann and

Sogndal Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages ...

. He had initially began his career with non-league side

Nuneaton Borough Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football. In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton t ...

. He now resides in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and works as a pundit for TV 2. He also had a spell as manager of Norwegian fifth-tier side

SK Bergen Sparta Sportsklubben Bergen Sparta is a Norway, Norwegian sports club from Bergen, founded in 1925 and named after Sparta. It has sections for amateur boxing, and formerly for association football. It was a member of Arbeidernes Idrettsforbund before th ...

Playing career

Non-league

Morley is the son of a former

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

player and was rejected as a teenager by

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

. Forced to move into

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

with Corby Town and

with whom he won the Southern League title in 1982.

Northampton Town

In the summer of 1985 Morley moved to Northampton Town for £20,000 making his debut of

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River ...

on 17 August 1985. His move to Northampton arose after manager

Graham Carr William Graham Carr (born 25 October 1944) is an English former professional footballer, manager and scout. He is currently an associate director for Northampton Town. Club career Carr, a half-back, joined his first professional club, Nor ...

moved from Nuneaton to Northampton, and took Morley and Eddie McGoldrick with him. Morley captained Northampton, as they won the 1986–87 Fourth Division championship by a nine-point margin.

Manchester City

After scoring 39 league goals in 139 appearances for Northampton, Morley was signed by manager

Mel Machin Melvyn Machin (born 16 April 1945) is an English former football player and manager. A midfielder, he started his career at Port Vale in 1962, before he moved on to Gillingham four years later. He made his name at the club from 1966 to 1970, ...

for

in January 1988 as part of an exchange deal that saw Tony Adcock move to the County Ground. The deal valued Morley at £235,000. He made his debut for City 23 January 1988 in a 2–0 home defeat by

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa P ...

. He scored 18 league goals for Manchester City, including the equaliser at

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...

on the last day of the 1988–89 season that meant Manchester City won promotion, a point ahead of Crystal Palace. On 23 September 1989, he put City 2–0 ahead in the famous 5–1

derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

win over

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in the First Division. When manager Machin was sacked by Manchester City chairman Peter Swales, his replacement

Howard Kendall Howard Kendall (22 May 1946 – 17 October 2015) was an English footballer and manager. Kendall joined Preston North End as an apprentice and stayed with the club when he turned professional. He was a runner-up in the 1964 FA Cup with Preston, ...

saw no place in his side for Morley.

West Ham United

Signed by manager

Lou Macari Luigi Macari (born 7 June 1949) is a Scottish former footballer and manager. He began his playing career at Celtic where he was one of the Quality Street Gang, the outstanding reserve team that emerged in the late 1960s that also included Ken ...

at the end of 1989, Morley joined

from City in a deal that saw Ian Bishop also move to Upton Park, and Mark Ward travel in the other direction. Morley was valued at £450,000. Morley made his debut, along with Bishop, against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nation ...

on 30 December 1989. His first goal came on 20 January 1990 in a 2–1 away win at

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's ...

. Morley was West Ham's top scorer, with 17 goals from 48 appearances for the 1990–91 season as they were promoted to the First Division having finished as runners-up to

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

in the Second Division. The following season Morley scored only five goals from 32 appearances. Morley was stabbed by his wife in March 1991, missing eight league games from March until 10 April 1991. Manager

Billy Bonds William Arthur Bonds (born 17 September 1946) is a former professional footballer and manager, who is most often associated with West Ham United with whom he spent 27 years as player and manager. He played 799 first-team games for West Ham i ...

, in a difficult season, often used Mike Small and

Clive Allen Clive Darren Allen (born 20 May 1961) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward for seven different London clubs. Allen was a prolific striker throughout his career. In 1986-87 he won the PFA and Football Writers' A ...

as the main strikers as West Ham finished bottom of the First Division. In the 1992–93 season with West Ham now back in the second tier of English football, Morley flourished. He was again top scorer with 22 goals from 49 appearances with West Ham again gaining promotion, this time to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

as runners-up to

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...

. This season saw Morley's only sending-off as a West Ham player. In the

Anglo-Italian Cup The Anglo-Italian Cup ( it, Coppa Anglo-Italiana, also known as the Anglo-Italian Inter-League Clubs Competition and from 1976 to 1986 as the Alitalia Challenge Cup, Talbot Challenge Cup or Gigi Peronace Memorial) is a defunct European football c ...

in a home game to Reggiana having received some rough treatment by

Gianluca Francesconi Gianluca Francesconi (born 10 September 1971 in Rome) is a retired Italian professional footballer who played as a defender. Career Francesconi gained acclaim after helping A.C. Reggiana 1919 gain a historic promotion to Serie A during the 199 ...

, Morley struck out at the player and was sent off. His suspension only applied to games in the Anglo-Italian Cup. With West Ham now back in the top tier of English football Morley scored his first Premier League goal on 18 August 1993 in a 2–0 away win at

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

, a game which saw the debuts of Lee Chapman and David Burrows and Mike Marsh who had joined following the departure of Julian Dicks to

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

. In their first Premier League season West Ham finished 13th with Morley again the top scorer, this time with 16 goals from 49 games. Other notable goals by Morley this season came in a 1–0 home defeat of Chelsea, a 2–2 home draw with

, a 4–1 away win at

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

and a 2–0 away win at

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. In season 1994–95 Morley failed to score at all in 16 appearances. With goals now coming from Tony Cottee and

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Don Hutchison Donald Hutchison (born 9 May 1971) is a former professional footballer. Hutchison is a football television pundit and commentator for Talksport and ESPN FC. As a player, Hutchison was a midfielder, who played in the Premier League for Liverpoo ...

, Morley was allowed to leave, his last game coming on 14 May 1995, the last game of the season, in a 1–1 home draw with Manchester United. Needing a win to clinch the 1994–95 Premier League title, Manchester United could only draw, handing the title to Blackburn Rovers. Morley scored 70 goals in 215 league and cup appearances for the Upton Park club. He was voted Hammer of the Year in 1994.

Reading

Prior to joining

in the summer of 1995, Morley played on loan at

SK Brann Sportsklubben Brann (commonly known as Brann, and less often as SK Brann) is a Norwegian professional football club, founded 26 September 1908, from Bergen. Brann had been in the Eliteserien, Norway's Premier Division of Football, since 1987, bar ...

for his third summer stint. In 1996 Morley suffered a severe head injury playing against

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

. Elbowed by Jon Gittens Morley's forehead was crumpled, a sliver of shattered bone entering his eye. He suffered a depressed fracture above his right eyebrow. The injury required forty staples, extensive surgery including facial reconstruction, four days in hospital and the insertion of six metal plates in his skull which will remain for the rest of his life. He was Reading's player of the season for season 1996–97. In November 1997 he memorably scored a late winner at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Premier League club Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the ...

to knock

side

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

out of the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

and put Reading in the quarter-finals. He also played for

in 1998.

Personal life

Morley was stabbed by his wife in 2000, he later speculated that she was behind false accusations of him being in a

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

relationship with friend and team mate Ian Bishop. Morley stated “The rumours about me being gay killed me for a while. I’ve got nothing against gays – I now have friends who are gay – but it’s not nice to be called a homosexual when you aren’t one. How many times does

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stu ...

have to come out and tell the world he isn’t gay? The more you say it, the more people start to believe it’s true… It ruined my football for a while. I’d go out onto the field and hide. I didn’t want to be there… Hearing gay comments from some West Ham fans was hard to take.” He later had a spell

scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth Social movement, movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hik ...

for

in Norway and, in 2000, took on the manager's role at

of the Norwegian Fifth Division. He currently lives in Norway, where he runs a for-profit shelter for addicts and works as a football pundit for TV 2.(in Norwegian)

Honours

Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premi ...

: 1990–91 Second Division

References

External links

The Wonderful World of West Ham statisticsStatistics at Soccerbase.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morley, Trevor 1961 births Living people English footballers Association football forwards Nuneaton Borough F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Reading F.C. players Sogndal Fotball players SK Brann players Premier League players English Football League players Eliteserien players Expatriate footballers in Norway English expatriate footballers English association football commentators Corby Town F.C. players Arsenal F.C. non-playing staff Footballers from Nottingham Stabbing survivors Association football scouts English football managers