Barnsley Morgan attended
Penistone Grammar School and played
Sunday league football for Hoyland Common Falcons. He began his career at
Barnsley, and made his first-team debut under
Danny Wilson in a 6–0 defeat to
West Ham United in a
Premier League tie at
Upton Park on 10 January 1998. He was one of three "Tykes" players
sent off in a 3–2 defeat to
Liverpool at
Oakwell on 28 March after his arm appeared to make contact with
Michael Owen's head. He ended the
1997–98 season with 11 Premier League and three
FA Cup appearances to his name as Barnsley were
relegated in 19th-place. He played 19
First Division games under
John Hendrie's stewardship in the
1998–99 campaign, and was in a 3–1 home defeat to
Norwich City on 8 September. He established himself as a key first-team player under
Dave Bassett and was named as the club's Player of the Year in the
1999–2000 season, playing a total of 45 games, including three appearances in the
play-offs as Barnsley reached the
play-off final at
Wembley, where they lost 4–2 to
Ipswich Town. He also scored his first goal in professional football in a 3–2
League Cup victory over
Bradford City at
Valley Parade on 12 October. He made 45 appearances in the
2000–01 season. He scored the only goal of the game against
Burnley in
caretaker manager Eric Winstanley's first game in charge on Boxing day. He was also sent off twice, firstly for a bad
foul on
Birmingham City's
David Holdsworth in a 4–1 defeat at
St Andrew's on 28 August and secondly for a
professional foul on
Ian Moore in a 2–1 defeat to Burnley at
Turf Moor on 20 January. Late in 2000 he was also linked with a move to
Bobby Robson's Newcastle United However, this never materialised. He also received the fifth and sixth red cards of his career, in defeats away to
Wolverhampton Wanderers and
Crewe Alexandra, leaving him as the club record-holder for red cards. He scored two goals in 36
Second Division matches in the
2002–03 season, with both goals coming in a 3–2 home victory over
Cardiff City on 9 November.
Sheffield United Morgan signed for First Division club
Sheffield United on a
free transfer in July 2003. He made his debut in a 0–0 draw with
Gillingham at
Bramall Lane on 9 August. He was sent off for violent conduct on his seventh appearance for the club, during a 3–1 defeat to
Nottingham Forest at the
City Ground on 13 September. He scored his first goal for the "Blades" with a
volley in a 3–0 FA Cup fourth round win at Nottingham Forest on 25 January 2004. He ended the
2003–04 season with 36 appearances to his name, and added to his goal tally with a
header against Bradford City on 20 March. He was voted as United's
Player of the Year for 2004 and following the departure of
Rob Page in the summer, Morgan was named as the club's new
captain by manager
Neil Warnock. He made 47 appearances in the
2004–05 campaign, scoring three goals and receiving two red cards. He was sent off once and scored four goals in 42 games in the
2005–06 season as United secured
promotion to the Premier League after finishing as runners-up to
Reading. His fourth goal of the season came on the final day of the season as United celebrated promotion with a 1–0 home victory over
Crystal Palace. Morgan made 24 Premier League appearances in the
2006–07 season, scoring once in a 2–1 home win over
Charlton Athletic on 2 December. However, United were relegated on
goal difference after losing 2–1 at home to
Wigan Athletic on the final day of the season. He played 30 games of the
2007–08 campaign under
Bryan Robson and
Kevin Blackwell, and was twice sent off for receiving two bookable offences in wins over
Preston North End and
Hull City. This took Morgan on to six red cards at the club, giving him the distinction of becoming the
club's all-time most sent off player. On 8 November 2008, during a 2–1 defeat at former club Barnsley, Morgan
elbowed
Iain Hume as he was waiting for an aerial ball, and Hume suffered a
fractured skull as a result whilst Morgan received only a
yellow card. Hume underwent emergency surgery and spent 48 hours in the high-dependency unit of a Manchester hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The Football Association chose not to charge Morgan as
referee Andy D'Urso had shown Morgan a yellow card at the time of the incident; this was despite
Barnsley Central MP
Eric Illsley calling an
Early day motion in
Parliament for the FA to review their decision. Barnsley and Hume considered taking legal action against Morgan, who described the period since the incident as "a test of character". Morgan went on to make a total of 50 appearances throughout the
2008–09 campaign, helping the club to qualify for the play-offs with a third-place finish, However, they lost 1–0 to Burnley in the
play-off final at Wembley. He featured 40 times during the
2009–10 as United finished two places outside the play-offs. He played nine games at the start of the
2010–11 season under
Gary Speed, making his final appearance in professional football in a 1–0 home defeat to
Coventry City on 30 October. In July 2012, during the Blades' pre-season tour of Malta, Morgan announced his retirement from professional football as he had not appeared for the first-team for almost two years due to a long-standing
cruciate ligament problem and was now an established member of the
coaching staff at
Bramall Lane. ==Style of play==