 Morrison inBirmingham City strip, 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michael Brian Morrison[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1988-03-03)3 March 1988 (age 37)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Bury St Edmunds,Suffolk, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Centre back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Cambridge United | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2005 | Cambridge United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2008 | Cambridge United | 108 | (3) |
| 2008–2011 | Leicester City | 77 | (5) |
| 2011 | Sheffield Wednesday | 12 | (0) |
| 2011–2015 | Charlton Athletic | 136 | (6) |
| 2014–2015 | →Birmingham City (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2015–2019 | Birmingham City | 164 | (14) |
| 2019–2022 | Reading | 108 | (8) |
| 2022–2023 | Portsmouth | 22 | (0) |
| 2023– | Cambridge United | 111 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 2006–2008 | England C | 8 | (3) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11:05, 23 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Michael Brian Morrison (born 3 March 1988) is an English professionalfootballer who plays as acentre back for andcaptainsEFL League Two clubCambridge United.
Morrison began his senior career in theConference National withCambridge United. After three years as a first-team player, he moved on toLeicester City, contributing to their promotion to the Championship in 2009. He spent the second half of the 2010–11 season withSheffield Wednesday ofLeague One before moving to another League One club,Charlton Athletic. He helped Charlton gain promotion to the Championship in his first season, was appointed vice-captain, and played regularly until 2014, when he joined another Championship club,Birmingham City, initially onloan.
While a Cambridge United player, he representedEngland at semi-professional level.
Morrison was born inBury St Edmunds, Suffolk.[3] He grew up in nearbyHaverhill, and attendedCastle Manor School.[4] He started his football career withCambridge United, where he came through their youth academy and at the age of 15 became the youngest player to ever feature for their reserve side.[5] He made his debut for Cambridge United in October 2005 againstHalifax Town when he was aged 17,[6] and was voted young player of the year for three years in row between 2006 and 2008.[7] He appeared forEngland C – the team that represents England at semi-professional level – against Finland in November 2007 and against Wales in May 2008 when England retained theFour Nations Tournament title.[8][9]
Morrison joinedLeicester City on 2 July 2008, signing a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[10] Pleased at joining Leicester, Morrison believed his transfer was in the best interests of Cambridge, who could have lost him on a free transfer.[11] He saw managerNigel Pearson as his mentor due to his past experience as a defender.[12] Morrison made his professional debut in a 2–0 win overMilton Keynes Dons on 9 August,[13] and scored his first goal in a 4–2 win overHuddersfield Town on 24 January 2009.[14] He returned to the first-team line-up in November 2008 afterPatrick Kisnorbo was ruled out by injury.[15] Helping Leicester win promotion as champions, he ended their last home game of the season by scoring two goals againstScunthorpe United on 24 April, the night they received the League One trophy.[16]
Happy to fight for a first-team spot in the 2009–10 season,[17] Morrison's squad number was changed from 15 to 4. On 6 October 2009, Morrison signed a two-year contract extension with Leicester, to run until June 2012.[18] He scored his first goal of the season in a 2–1 home win overSheffield United on Boxing Day.[19] Morrison took over the right back role in January 2010, after a poor display from teammateRobbie Neilson.[20]
On 7 January 2011, Morrison signed forSheffield Wednesday on a three-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[21]
On 12 July 2011, Morrison joined League One sideCharlton Athletic on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[22] He quickly established himself as a key member of Chris Powell's team, winningLeague One Player of the Month for November 2011. He established himself as the team's first choice centre-half during the 2012–13 Championship campaign, in which the Addicks finished in ninth place. On 24 June 2014, Morrison signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him at the club until 2016.[23]
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Morrison joinedBirmingham City on 31 October 2014 on a two-month emergency loan.[24] He went straight into the starting eleven for the following day's goalless draw atWolverhampton Wanderers,[25] and kept his place thereafter, establishing himself as centre-back of choice alongside captainPaul Robinson. In December, it was announced that Morrison would sign a three-and-a-half-year contract with Birmingham once his loan ended and the January transfer window opened.[26] His loan was initially extended for a few days to ensure his eligibility for the third-round FA Cup tie againstBlyth Spartans, when he captained the team, and the permanent move was confirmed on 5 January 2015.[27]
Morrison left the club after his contract expired in June 2019, after failing to agree a new deal.[28]
On 19 July 2019, Morrison joined another Championship club,Reading, on a two-year contract.[29] He scored his first goal for the club to complete a 2–0 league win againstHuddersfield Town on 24 August.[30]
On 11 May 2021, Morrison signed a new one-year contract with Reading.[31]
On 26 July 2022,Portsmouth announced the signing of Morrison on a one-year contract.[32]
On 26 January 2023, Morrison re-joinedCambridge United, on a one-and-a-half-year contract.[33]
Morrison represented England at semi professional level during his time at Cambridge United playing for theEngland C, sometimes known as the National Game XI. He played against Finland in November 2007 and against Wales in May 2008 when England retained theFour Nations Tournament title.[8][9]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup[a] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cambridge United | 2005–06[6] | Conference Premier | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[b] | 2 | 27 | 4 | |
| 2006–07[34] | Conference Premier | 46 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 48 | 1 | ||
| 2007–08[35] | Conference Premier | 40 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 47 | 0 | |
| Total | 108 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 122 | 5 | ||
| Leicester City | 2008–09[36] | League One | 35 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 43 | 3 |
| 2009–10[37] | Championship | 31 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 35 | 3 | ||
| 2010–11[38] | Championship | 11 | 0 | — | 4 | 1 | — | 15 | 1 | |||
| Total | 77 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 93 | 7 | ||
| Sheffield Wednesday | 2010–11[38] | League One | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Charlton Athletic | 2011–12[39] | League One | 45 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 50 | 5 |
| 2012–13[40] | Championship | 44 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 45 | 1 | ||
| 2013–14[41] | Championship | 45 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 51 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15[42] | Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 136 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 150 | 8 | ||
| Birmingham City | 2014–15[42] | Championship | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | |
| 2015–16[43] | Championship | 46 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 49 | 4 | ||
| 2016–17[44] | Championship | 31 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 32 | 3 | ||
| 2017–18[45] | Championship | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 35 | 1 | ||
| 2018–19[46] | Championship | 43 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 44 | 7 | ||
| Total | 174 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 183 | 15 | |||
| Reading | 2019–20[30] | Championship | 44 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 48 | 2 | |
| 2020–21[47] | Championship | 35 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 36 | 4 | ||
| 2021–22[48] | Championship | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 29 | 2 | ||
| Total | 108 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 113 | 8 | |||
| Portsmouth | 2022–23[49] | League One | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[f] | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| Cambridge United | 2022–23[49] | League One | 19 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24[50] | League One | 38 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 1 | |
| 2024–25[51] | League One | 41 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[f] | 0 | 46 | 1 | |
| 2025–26[52] | League Two | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| Total | 111 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 120 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 748 | 38 | 40 | 4 | 20 | 1 | 16 | 2 | 824 | 45 | ||
Leicester City
Charlton Athletic
Individual
This towering centre-half played for the reserves at the age of 15 while still a schoolboy and became the youngest-ever Cambridge United player to do so.
The fee for Morrison, who has been voted Cambridge's young player of the year for the past three years, also includes additional payments for appearances and a sell-on clause.
