Jody Morris

Chelsea

Morris came through the youth ranks at Chelsea, alongside his close friend John Terry. He became the youngest player to ever play in the Premier League for Chelsea when he debuted at the age of 17 years and 43 days in the home game against Middlesbrough on 4 February 1996 and was named Chelsea's Young Player of the Year for 1996–97. While at Chelsea, he made 124 league appearances and was a late substitute in the 2000 FA Cup final, receiving a winner's medal. In April 2000, Chelsea won 3–1 against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League; Morris was later described by Xavi as one of his toughest opponents. Morris played 173 times for Chelsea across all competitions. He was also briefly made captain of the club by manager Gianluca Vialli. However, when Claudio Ranieri took over from Vialli as Chelsea boss, Morris' first team opportunities diminished, and he was linked with a host of clubs including being reunited with his former England under-21 manager Peter Taylor at Leicester. Morris never regained his position as a first team regular at Chelsea, finding himself behind players, such as Roberto Di Matteo, Dennis Wise, Didier Deschamps and Emmanuel Petit. He was offered a new five-year contract with Chelsea in 2003, but chose to turn it down.

Leeds, Rotherham, and Millwall

Graeme Souness offered him the chance of regular first team football at Blackburn Rovers and they shook hands on a deal, but it fell through. He joined Leeds United instead, but…

Chelsea Academy

In the 2013–14 season Morris returned to Chelsea, initially to help coach the Under-21 squad. He was then an assistant coach of the Under-18 team, and moved to head coach of the team for the 2016–17 season. The team won the FA Youth Cup for the fifth successive time in 2018. At Chelsea, Morris coached possession-based attacking football, and used several formations including the 3–4–3, 3–5–2, 4–3–3 and 4–4–2. In his two seasons as head coach, Chelsea's Under-18s won 59 matches and lost 5 times. They won the treble in 2016–17 and the quadruple in 2017–18.

Derby County and Chelsea

In May 2018, Morris became assistant to former Chelsea teammate Frank Lampard at Derby County. Their first game in charge was a 2–1 win over Reading, thanks to a last-minute winner from Tom Lawrence. On 25 September, Derby knocked Premier League team Manchester United out of the EFL Cup at Old Trafford on penalties, following a 2–2 draw. At the end of the season, Derby qualified for the Championship play-offs after coming sixth in the league. In the semi-finals, they overturned a 1–0 loss at home to Leeds United in the first leg with a 4–2 win at Elland Road in the second that gave them a 4–3 aggregate win. This took them to the final against Aston Villa, which Derby lost 2–1. Morris returned to Chelsea in July 2019 as part of the first-team coaching staff following the appointment of Lampard as head coach. They finished 4th in the Premier League and qualified for…

Morris grew up in Hammersmith, London, a mile-and-a-half away from Chelsea's Stamford Bridge. His skill as a footballer was evident at a young age, with fellow player Rio Ferdinand dubbing him "the best schoolboy footballer in London". In September 2001, Morris, Chelsea teammates John Terry, Frank Lampard and Eiður Guðjohnsen, and Leicester City's Frank Sinclair, were drunk and unruly in a Heathrow Airport hotel containing many Americans left stranded by the September 11 attacks. The Chelsea quartet were each fined two weeks' wages, totalling around £100,000, which was donated to the 9/11 relief efforts. In August 2002, Morris, along with fellow footballers John Terry and Des Byrne, was cleared of a charge of affray in relation to an incident at a nightclub. In 2006, Morris drove down a one-way street the wrong way while three times over the drink-drive limit. This resulted in a driving ban for four years, 80 hours of community service and a two-year suspended jail sentence.

Player

Chelsea

FA Cup: 1999–2000 FA Charity Shield: 2000 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1997–98 UEFA Super Cup: 1998

Manager

Chelsea U18

FA Youth Cup: 2016–17, 2017–18 Under-18 Premier League: 2016–17, 2017–18 Under-18 Premier League Cup: 2017–18 Premier League National: 2017–18