City Player Speaks:“I think not all the fans have bought in

Sean Morrison said he used the statistic as motivation heading into the last 90 minutes of the season at Huddersfield on Sunday.

Morrison: “I think not all the fans have bought into me at Cardiff City,I've done my best for three years"



Tuesday 9th May 2017


The result was a superb tackle right at the death to deny Huddersfield grabbing a consolation as Rajiv van La Parra looked nailed on to beat Brian Murphy.

It proved significant, of sorts. Though the game and the eventual scoreline had little say in the grand scheme of things, Warnock had wanted a top-half finish.


“As a central defender, you obviously want clean sheets,” said Morrison. “ I was looking in the programme before the game and noted that we had ten clean sheets and I fancied one more.

“I remembered that through this season it's been something we haven't been happy with as defenders this season; we've conceded a lot of goals, especially late goals, and not enough clean sheets.”

It left Warnock beaming.

“That tackle epitomised things for me,” explained the boss.

“It's the last minute of the last game of season, you're winning 3-0 and you've got the skipper dying to make a tackle to stop them from scoring – that's what I call team spirit and passion. That was all credit to him and the way all the lads have responded to me.”

Warnock has sung the praises of Morrison, a player who has not been without his share of criticism and who was honest enough to admit the fans have not necessarily seen him as a terrace idol.

But there is no doubt he has the faith and trust of Warnock who stuck with him as skipper when he arrived to replace Paul Trollope, with the 26-year-old playing every game since the veteran took charge.

He even described him as among his main choices for player of the year, a revelation that brought a smile to Morrison's face.

“When he says things like that it brings me a lot of confidence,” he said. “I think not all the fans have bought into me at Cardiff, which is fine because I still think they have seen me wear my heart on my sleeve and I have done my best for three years here.

“But I know the gaffer believes in me. We talks a lot on and off the pitch. He knows what I'm about and what I'm capable of. He gave me a lift from the minute he came in by keeping the armband on me, something that is a massive honour because nothing gives me more pleasure than leading out these boys.

“He helps bring the best out of people, not just me, look at Kenneth Zohore who's had a massive three months. He's a fantastic guy and the personality he has brings that spirit out which is the best it's been here, which I think you can see out on the pitch with bodies on the line, we'd die for each other. With new players coming in, if they can buy into the spirit here and we can build we can kick on.”

Something Morrison is desperate for having admitted that while he has loved his time as a Bluebird, he arrived with ambition that is so far unfulfilled.

“I've been here three seasons so far and we've had mediocre seasons ever year,” he said. “They've been amazing in one way – I've met a lot of good people and played a lot of good football – but we haven't been able to quite get there or to the level we want to be."

“Last year we went to the second to last game but not quite there and I'm not a player – and I'm sure I speak on behalf of the squad – who wants to be in the midtable of the Championship for the rest of our careers. We want to win things, play in play off finals, win the league, play in the Premier League. That's our goal and with a bit of rest, because there's a lot of tired bodies, we can go on."

“We've finished the season well, and if we can use the building blocks and the foundations put in place, hopefully it can be a very satisfying season for us."

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Very honest from Morrison and you've got to respect that. I'm undecided on him. Reminds me a bit of Darren Purse. Can be a true leader but can go missing at times and can turn in match-winning performances but also has the odd gaffe up his sleeve. I think there are certainly better defenders around and I'd ideally start with Bamba and Manga as a centre back partnership over time if both stay on but we could do a lot worse.

He couldn't lead a horse to water, he gets the odd goal but as a defender, he's inept at the best of times, we should be looking at Manga and Bamba as CB next season with Gunners or Bamba as captain.

Warnock loves Morrison though so he'll still be skipper next season.

Solid player, always gives his all but used as a scape goat. He's got his faults, if he didn't then he'd be in the prem.

Continously praised by managers and team mates for being a leader and good example but I guess some fans know better.

Solid player, always gives his all but used as a scape goat. He's got his faults, if he didn't then he'd be in the prem.

Continously praised by managers and team mates for being a leader and good example but I guess some fans know better.

Well said, that man!

A lot worse than Sean Morrison in our squad this season but (as you say) some fans know far better than the quality manager who works with him/them every day and clearly sees him as captain material!

As we know, Neil Warnock isn't one for pussy footing around, so he would surely have been replaced well before now if he wasn't 'up to the job' he was given?

Solid player, always gives his all but used as a scape goat. He's got his faults, if he didn't then he'd be in the prem.

Continously praised by managers and team mates for being a leader and good example but I guess some fans know better.

Agree with you think hes a good solid championship defender ,hes definitely the best defender in the air and just needs to work on his distribution

Solid player, always gives his all but used as a scape goat. He's got his faults, if he didn't then he'd be in the prem.

Continously praised by managers and team mates for being a leader and good example but I guess some fans know better.

Agree with you think hes a good solid championship defender ,hes definitely the best defender in the air and just needs to work on his distribution

There's definitely areas he can improve, but for every 5 headers he wins in our box our fans pick out the one he didn't. He's surprisingly young aswell 26 and arguably not come into his peak yet.

Solid player, always gives his all but used as a scape goat. He's got his faults, if he didn't then he'd be in the prem.

Continously praised by managers and team mates for being a leader and good example but I guess some fans know better.

Been saying this all season. Best header I championship but only gets recognised for bad distribution or missing tackle.

If Morrison plays the majority of games next season, we can forget about challenging for promotion.

Good honest account and he is right not all fans are behind him. One thing you cannot criticise is his commitment. He chips in with goals too and is a must to stay. Manga bamba and morrison is a great back 3. With wing backs Bennett and Richards I would love to see this given a go under a proper manager like warnock. Trollope tried for us to be wales when he was clueless

Let's be fair the people who criticse him ain't basing it on true football related opinion because if they are then their delusional.

The guy takes a dump on the streets of Cardiff on a night out and get's criticised for performances on the field but it's not even proper criticism because they just don't like him because of what he done on a night out on the piss.

The guy never gets beat in the air and is a decent captain.

I'm not a fan.

However, he does have a number of very decent qualities.

He's a real threat from set pieces and has made some excellent tackles this season. He rarely misses a game and has a very good disciplinary record for a centre half.

For me though the negatives slightly outweigh the positives. He's slow and struggles against pacey strikers running at him. His distribution is very poor and he can be out jumped and outmuscled by opposing forwards. He gets turned too easily also.

I don't think he's captain material either - I saw an interview with him once where he said he's not a captain who shouts and screams but someone who leads by example. He probably thinks that the manager can do the shouting and bawling! Sometimes during a game however I think there needs to be a bit more evidence of leadership on the pitch.

I agree that he is a very solid Championship defender but for me he's not quite good enough for a team serious about mounting a promotion push. My first choice would be Manga and Bamba provided Bruno can be persuaded to stay.

If not the I can see Morrison being first choice next season and I can't see that leading to promotion I'm afraid.

NW likes Central Defenders to be no nonsense types and in Sean Morrison and Sol Bamba he has just that. I don't understand why some of our fans see him only as an average Championship defender because the stats suggest he is much more than that.

Last season only 1 player (Moore - Reading) blocked more shots than SM, he was 6th in the Championship for clearances with 398, 4th in the Championship for % of headers won - 65%. 4 goals and 4 assists and only booked 3 times during the season.

In my opinion Sean Morrison had a decent season and the stats show him to be an above average Championship Central Defender. Little wonder NW thinks so much of him.

NW likes Central Defenders to be no nonsense types and in Sean Morrison and Sol Bamba he has just that. I don't understand why some of our fans see him only as an average Championship defender because the stats suggest he is much more than that.

Last season only 1 player (Moore - Reading) blocked more shots than SM, he was 6th in the Championship for clearances with 398, 4th in the Championship for % of headers won - 65%. 4 goals and 4 assists and only booked 3 times during the season.

In my opinion Sean Morrison had a decent season and the stats show him to be an above average Championship Central Defender. Little wonder NW thinks so much of him.

Some great stats on show for Morro, stats don't lie.

Let's be fair the people who criticse him ain't basing it on true football related opinion because if they are then their delusional.

The guy takes a dump on the streets of Cardiff on a night out and get's criticised for performances on the field but it's not even proper criticism because they just don't like him because of what he done on a night out on the piss.

The guy never gets beat in the air and is a decent captain.

He's dominant in the air and a massive threat at set pieces. His distribution is not something that worries me but there are a couple of things that do.

1. When a player (particularly fast/tricky) is in a one-on-one situation with Morrison, he gets in massive trouble. Compare him to Bamba/Manga in that sense and the difference is huge.

2. His concentration/reading of the game. Quite often he lets his man go at a set piece which leads to a goal or gets caught out of position. That said, he improved a lot at this under Warnock.

I remember Hudson getting similar criticism in his first few years here, which to me was unjustified. He won the fans over in the end. Morrison also gets unjustified criticism, I think he'll win the fans over in the end, like Hudson.

I think if he was alittle more vocal then the fans would appreciate him more,saying that i think since warnock gave hima bit more confidence hes been massive for us in both boxes,i remember as someone said above it took hudson a while ppl was saying he was a carthorse at first now we all appreciate what he was and that was a leader. i think morrison will be at his best next yr with bamba beside him all season and tbh hes as good as any other cb in this league. lets hope he doesnt get caught shitting in the street again tho

I'm someone who supported Hudson through his "hard times" here when he was getting stick but that's because I could see Hudson always got picked on when the ball unfortunately deflected off him, when actually he was the only one reading the game before the others.

Morrison for me doesn't read the game like Hudson which is why I'd agree with more of the criticism of SM but having said that, Hudson had a few more years on Morrison before we saw his very best so we may see a much improved SM over the next 2 years as his experience grows. He's a monster in the air is SM and I do enjoy watching his goals!

Finally, in a sort of defence of Morrison, over the last few seasons the team in front of him have been extremely average and I'd say he's faired better than that. If he had better midfield and wide protection he probably would look better.

4 consecutive managers have rated him and played him regularly and 3 made him skipper. I know those managers have had various levels of success , but they are all experienced football men who know a bit about the game, and I trust their opinion more than the average terrace fan.

Yes he makes mistakes but also scores his fair share of goals. I was happy when we signed him and haven't changed my mind

Personally i've never been sold on him. Slow, cant seem to win headers in his own box, Ball watches, uncomfortable on the ball, and doesn't read the game well enough. he's a decent championship defender and probably suits Warnock's style of play but Manga and Bamba would be a better partnership at the back, but I have a strange feeling that if Warnock manages to re sign Manga then we might go with 3 Centre backs in Manga, Bamba and Morrison with possibly Callum Patterson as right wing back and Joe Bennett on the left.

Proper centre half and a virtual fixture in the divisions top defence in 2017 with the most clean sheets since Jan 1st.
Was immense at Huddersfield and will be in Warnock syarting 11 next season without a doubt.
More appearances and minutes than any of our other players this season.
Never let's us down.
Contrast with Manga, classy, but we are lucky to get half a season from him and seems to play to his full potential for only half of those.

Some of our fans don't know a good thing when it's right in front of them.

When he leaves he'll probably suddenly become a hero, just like when the half wits slagged of Hudson and Turner

Proper centre half and a virtual fixture in the divisions top defence in 2017 with the most clean sheets since Jan 1st.
Was immense at Huddersfield and will be in Warnock syarting 11 next season without a doubt.
More appearances and minutes than any of our other players this season.
Never let's us down.
Contrast with Manga, classy, but we are lucky to get half a season from him and seems to play to his full potential for only half of those.

Some of our fans don't know a good thing when it's right in front of them.

When he leaves he'll probably suddenly become a hero, just like when the half wits slagged of Hudson and Turner

Exactly mate,exactly, they did the same with Hudson

Proper centre half and a virtual fixture in the divisions top defence in 2017 with the most clean sheets since Jan 1st.
Was immense at Huddersfield and will be in Warnock syarting 11 next season without a doubt.
More appearances and minutes than any of our other players this season.
Never let's us down.
Contrast with Manga, classy, but we are lucky to get half a season from him and seems to play to his full potential for only half of those.

Some of our fans don't know a good thing when it's right in front of them.

When he leaves he'll probably suddenly become a hero, just like when the half wits slagged of Hudson and Turner

Great post!
I'd love to keep Manga but Morrison is a great centre half imo.