Jody MORRIS

There is none so popular amongst a football club's supporters than a local-boy-done-good and Jody Morris, a dyed-in-the-wool Chelsea supporter from nearby North End Road, was welcomed with open arms by the Stamford Bridge faithful after breaking into the first team at the tender age of 17. A tenacious midfielder with a good range of passing, he made his first team bow as a substitute for John Spencer in a 5-0 rout of Middlesbrough in February 1996. Although he failed to feature again that season, he was given a huge boost when, after appearing as a substitute at Southampton in the opening game of the next campaign, he was included in the starting line-up for Ruud Gullit's first game in charge at the Bridge, a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough. He scored his first goal for the club in a Coca Cola Cup tie at Blackpool which The Blues won 4-1 but was substituted at half-time in the next game, a 5-1 humbling by Liverpool. A broken jaw and the surprise emergence of another young midfielder, Paul Hughes, kept Jody out of the team until March and, in a season when Chelsea finally broke their 26-year trophy hoodoo by winning the FA Cup, his handful of appearances throughout the remainder of the campaign only came when Gullit was protecting his more senior players before big Cup games.

Morris was selected ahead of Dan Petrescu for the following season's Charity Shield and was replaced by the Romanian at half-time as Manchester United won the season's first trophy on penalties after a 1-1 draw. However, if he thought this was the sign of things to come, he was mistaken. He featured just twelve times in the League, three as a substitute, scoring his only Premiership goal in the final minute of the season to cap a 2-0 victory over Bolton. Chelsea won the Coca Cola and European Cup Winners Cups that year but Jody made just one start in each competition. He found the net with a stunning curling shot two minutes from the end of extra-time to beat Southampton 2-1 in the 4th round of the Coca Cola and performed superbly in the second-leg of the ECWC semi-final as The Blues overturned a 1-0 deficit to reach the Final in Stockholm. He was a non-playing substitute in the Final as Chelsea beat Stuttgart 1-0. Gianluca Vialli strengthened his squad considerably that summer and Jody's first League start didn't come until mid-December. However, his fine form after Christmas saw him selected consistently during the club's push for Champions League qualification. He eventually appeared 18 times and scored one goal, a low volley in a 1-1 draw with Blackburn. (Kelvin Barker).

 Chelsea played 61 competitive games throughout the 1999/2000 season and Jody emerged as an important member of the squad. He made a total of 46 appearances, including 11 in the rarefied atmosphere of the Champions League. He showed his growing maturity with a disciplined performance against a star-studded Barcelona side as the Catalans were beaten 3-1 at Stamford Bridge, and retained his place for the second-leg as Chelsea were beaten after extra-time. He was also prominent in Chelsea's two most impressive away performances in the competition, a 1-1 draw with AC Milan and an incredible 5-0 slaughter of Galatasaray in Istanbul. Jody had a liking for 5-0 victories that season, scoring his first goal of the campaign in the famous mauling of Manchester United in October and then completing the scoring in an FA Cup 6th round tie against Gillingham. He also scored in a 3-1 win over Wimbledon and had the distinction of scoring the last English League goal of the 20th Century when he chested the ball over the line to seal a 3-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday on December 29th 1999. After his impressive display against Barcelona, he was left out of the side for the FA Cup semi-final win over Newcastle but, to compensate, he was given the captain's armband for the next match and led his men to a 2-1 win over Coventry. At the end of the season, he won an FA Cup winner's medal when he replaced Gianfranco Zola in the last minute of a 1-0 triumph against Aston Villa at Wembley.

Jody began the following campaign amongst the substitutes but was given the opportunity to replace the suspended Dennis Wise at Manchester United in Claudio Ranieri's first game in charge. He performed well and kept his place for the ill-fated trip to Switzerland where Roberto Di Matteo's injury in the game against St Gallen appeared to have opened the door for Morris to have a run in the side. It was an opportunity he failed to take and for the next two seasons he fell behind Sam Dalla Bona in the midfield pecking order. He made just 13 League starts that season, finding some good form in the last month, but 2001/02 was an injury-ravaged disaster for the dimunitive midfielder as he was forced to miss much of the campaign with a broken ankle, and made the starting line-up for just two Premiership matches. With his contract up for renewal at the end of the season, Jody was given an extended run in the side during 2002/03. Initially playing alongside Frank Lampard in the centre of midfield, he looked determined to secure a new deal and when he moved wide to accommodate the returning Emmanuel Petit, he did a reasonable job. Unfortunately, Ranieri was looking for something more than just 'reasonable' and as the season wore on, it became increasingly clear that Morris would not be offered new terms. He made 33 appearances in all competitions throughout the season, scoring a superb goal in a 4-0 FA Cup win at Shrewsbury. However, he became a free agent as the season ended and that summer he joined Leeds United. (Kelvin Barker)