Cardiff City probably have Steve Morison regret | OneFootball

While Steve Morison had a spell as Cardiff City's manager, he would have been suited to the club during his playing days

Steve Morison is something of a divisive figure at Cardiff City following his short spell as the club's manager, spending less than 11 months as boss in the Welsh capital between 2021 and 2022.

The former Millwall striker helped to bring down the age profile of Cardiff's squad along with the wage bill, kept them in the division comfortably during the 2021/22 campaign and had a distinctive style of play, but his personality and the way he spoke about some of the club's younger players made him unpopular amongst some.

Since leaving the Bluebirds in September 2022, Morison has managed Isthmian League side Hornchuch before relegating Sutton United from League Two to the National League, so perhaps they made the right call in hindsight.

However, while Morison failed as Cardiff's manager, there may be a sense of regret that he never joined the club as a player, with the hard-working Welsh international being someone that would have suited the Bluebirds' style of play.

Cardiff City may regret not signing Steve Morison as a player

It's not unfair to say that Morison was never the most talented of players, but he was certainly hard-working, and he scored goals in the Championship, so much so that he earned a move to the Premier League with Norwich City in 2011.

Morison is a Millwall legend thanks to his goals and leadership qualities, and he's someone you could have imagined playing for the Bluebirds, a side with a reputation of being tough to beat, physical and hard-working, while not necessarily being the most talented or the easiest on the eye.

During Morison's playing days, Millwall and Cardiff certainly weren't too dissimilar in terms of style of play or mentality, and you could certainly have imagined the Welsh international playing for the Bluebirds in his prime.

Morison played 207 games in the Championship, scoring 34 goals and registering 28 assists, perhaps not the most impressive of returns, but during the 2010/11 campaign he scored 17 goals in 43 games for Millwall, showing he could do it consistently in the second tier.

Cardiff were also a significantly better side than Millwall for the majority of Morison's playing days, with the Bluebirds often competing at the top of the Championship table, and a move to the Bluebirds would have been better for the striker than joining Norwich in 2011.

In hindsight, the Premier League was a step too far for Morison, but a move to a top end Championship club wouldn't have been, and a club like Cardiff could have been perfect for the striker in his prime.

Regardless of what you think of him as a manager, Bluebirds supporters may be disappointed that he never represented the club during his playing days as he could have been someone that became a cult-hero in the Welsh capital.

Steve Morison would have felt aggrieved at his Cardiff City sacking

While he never played for the club, Morison looked set for a long spell with the Bluebirds when he became their manager, but he was sacked in controversial circumstances, perhaps unfairly.

He was initially appointed as the club's U23 manager after fellow Millwall legend Neil Harris had taken charge of the first-team, but after Harris' successor Mick McCarthy was sacked, Morison took charge on an interim basis with the club battling relegation.

Over the course of the next couple of months, Morison led the Bluebirds away from the relegation zone before being appointed on a permanent basis in March 2022, but a poor run of results to finish the season, including a 4-0 home defeat to Swansea City put a dampener on what had initially been an excellent start to his reign.

Morison was tasked with bringing down the age profile and the wage bill in the summer of 2022, seeing a number of experienced players depart while 17 new players were brought in.

The former Millwall striker had Cardiff playing a possession-based style of play in the opening few weeks of the season, and while they were struggling for goals, they certainly weren't playing badly.

However, he was sacked in September 2022 after a defeat away to Huddersfield Town, a strange move considering he'd brought in 17 players in what was considered a year of transition for the club.

That ended Morison's association with the Bluebirds, and it's fair to say he remains a divisive figure over two years on.

While he never made it as a manager at Cardiff, you can't help but feel he'd have been better suited to the club as a player, and they may rue the fact they never signed him in his prime.