Joe Morrell må legge opp

Vår tidligere midtbanespiller Joe Morrell tvinges til å legge opp. Bare 28 år gammel.

NYHETER: Sommeren 2024 forlot Morrell Pompey etter å ha vært med å vinne League One med Pompey. Han hadde vært sentral i første del av sesongen, men karantener etterfulgt av skade de siste månedene gjorde at midtbanespilleren ikke var i aksjon i sesonginnspurten.

Kontrakten hans med Pompey gikk ut ved sesongslutt. Pompey prøvde å få en avtale om en prestasjonsrettet kontrakt hvor Morrell fikk betalt ut fra hvor mye han spilte, ettersom han hadde vært mye ute med både skade og karantener, men Morrell og Pompey ble ikke enige.

Morrell skrev et lengre innlegg i sosiale medier i fjor sommer der han skrev at Pompey var en helt spesiell fotballklubb som alltid ville ha en plass i hans hjerte. «105 kamper, ikke så mange mål og noen røde kort, men viktigst: Å vinne League One», skrev Morrell videre.

Morrell skrev også at det alltid hadde betydd mye for han å spille for Pompey og at han alltid vil være stolt av å si at han har spilt for Pompey. Han takket så alle i klubben for tre flotte år på Fratton Park.

SE OGSÅ: Joe Morrells spillerprofil

 

Morrells egne ord

Morrell kom aldri på banen for noen lag forrige sesong. Han har brukt det siste året på å opptrening etter sin kneskade, men i sommer var det ventet at han skulle signere for en ny klubb. Flere klubber i League One var interessert i spilleren som spilte for det walisiske A-landslaget også mens han spilte for Pompey. Blant annet var Plymouth og Reading interessert.

Men i dag kom Morell med meldingen som overrasket mange. Han har bestemt seg for å legge opp. Bare 28 år gammel.

«This is not something that I ever thought that I would be writing at the age of 28, but today I’ve officially retired from professional football. After almost two years of rehab, trying to get my body back in to a place to train, play and compete in the professional game, I’ve had to admit the fact that I am no longer capable of this.

It’s been an incredibly tough 21 months, full of promise, hope, tears and dark moments, but I’m at peace with the fact that I’ll never again be able to play. I can’t thank my close friends, family and most importantly my amazing wife enough, for the support that they’ve given me during this time. I firmly believe that I will come out of this period a more resilient, well rounded person with a greater sense of perspective on what’s important in life.

‘Football is what I do and not who I am. I am truly one of the lucky ones, and I’m so thankful for the career that I’ve had. Being able to live out not just my dream, but the dream of millions of boys and girls around the world was never something that I took for granted, and I hope that it always came across that way.

Starting at Bristol City, and finishing at Portsmouth, with stops at Cheltenham Town, Lincoln City and Luton Town. I would like to thank all of the supporters, staff, and teammates of these clubs for all of the love and support you gave me during my time there.

Almost 200 appearances in all three EFL divisions, 37 caps for the Welsh National Team, including trips to two major tournaments, UEFA Euro 2020 and The FIFA World Cup 2022. I’m proud to say that I gave it absolutely everything to make the most of my career, and the sacrifices, sweat and tears were all worth it. I will be approaching the next stage of my life with the same passion, enthusiasm and ambition and I can’t wait to get started with that process now.»

 

Pompeys hovedtrener John Mousinho sine kommentarer til dagens nyhet

«Joe was a massive influence around the club, to be honest.

He scored in my first game as head coach, so I have really fond memories of that. There were a couple of blips in that League One half season, he was sent off against Fleetwood, sent off against MK Dons for a bit of petulance, and ended up with a four-game ban. So we really missed him towards the back end of the season.

‘Then it was a case of “Right Joe, can you iron that out of your game and become the player we know you can become?”. He subsequently started almost every game he was available for in the promotion season.

‘He got injured in January, but, up until then, was absolutely magnificent. He was the vice-captain of the team, captain whenever Marlon didn’t play, an excellent leader, an excellent player, a real pleasure to work with.

Joe was here for the whole of last year and was a really positive influence on everything we had around the place. I credit Joe Morrell with some part in us staying up, he was in and around the dressing room and was a big part of it. I loved having him here, he wasn’t one of those you’d think was a nuisance, he was a really positive influence to have around the place.

‘He came back and trained a bit towards the back end of the season, so I am surprised and disappointed for him that he’s had to take this route. However, I will be very surprised if Joe doesn’t end up back in football because of how well he sees the game. I am really looking forward to seeing that side of him.»