Cardiff City will be thankful for Sean Morrison, Nigel Adkins conversation a decade on: View | OneFootball

Sean Morrison became a modern-day club legend at Cardiff City

In moments of reflective nostalgia, Cardiff City may look back to one conversation between Sean Morrison and Nigel Adkins in the summer of 2014 with real gratitude.

The recent turmoil at the Cardiff City Stadium has been well-documented. Cardiff spent two separate seasons battling against relegation to League One, and although they were temporarily lifted to the secure surroundings of mid-table in the Championship during 2023/24, an abject introduction to the new term has left them fearing for their second-status yet again.

A trip down memory lane, then, could just provide some solace.

For now, the possibility of a third promotion to the dizzying heights of the Premier League is nothing more than a pipe dream. Cardiff are miles away from contention at the minute, despite supporters expecting a potential charge towards the play-offs during the array of off-season excitement, so they are left with memories of the last time they reached the highest echelon of the domestic game instead.

Of course, that came in 2018, when Neil Warnock's men romped to one of the most improbable promotions in Championship history, beating off the superior squads and financial muscles of Fulham and Aston Villa to go toe-to-toe with Nuno Espirito Santo's Wolves for much of the campaign and ultimately book their tickets back in the big time with a second-placed finish.

At the heart of that miracle was Morrison, who skippered the side to success and etched his name into club folklore - but it all started with a conversation with Adkins five years before.

Sean Morrison's move from Reading to Cardiff City

Put simply, Cardiff's historic 2017/18 campaign would never have happened without an honest and open conversation between Morrison and Adkins during the summer of 2014.

Cardiff had recently been relegated from the Premier League and were looking to make an immediate return under future Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was provided with ample resources to do so by Vincent Tan.

That led him to Berkshire, where he prized Morrison away from in a reported £3 million switch. After hearing of Cardiff's initial interest, though, the central defender informed then-Reading boss Nigel Adkins of his desire to head down the M4 and join Wales' capital club.

Reading were apprehensive about losing Morrison to a Championship rival. Then aged 23, Morrison had only signed a new contract less than a year ago and was an integral part of Adkins' plans.

However, Adkins and Reading eventually obliged by giving his move the green light and the rest, as they say, is history.

Sean Morrison became a modern-day Cardiff City legend

Morrison entered Cardiff at a rocky and unstable period in the club's history, with the Bluebirds still playing in their controversial red strip as part of Tan's rebrand. They were left with an overpaid and poorly assembled roster following relegation from the Premier League, which ensued a significant turnover of the playing squad.

Cardiff needed loyalty, consistency, and leadership at such an uncertain juncture, and Morrison personified all of those qualities in abundance. The defender became a loyal and iconic servant, going on to spend seven storied seasons at Cardiff before his departure in 2022.

Morrison, who left Cardiff with just under 300 appearances on his record, captained the side up until his departure and donned the armband as they gained promotion to the Premier League too.

Few would attest that he was right up there among the Championship's finest central defenders for a number of years, establishing himself as a formidable presence in both boxes.

Defensively imperious, Morrison compensated for his lack of pace with aerial dominance and a superb reading of the game, which enabled him to sniff out danger before being athletically exposed. His goalscoring threat for a defender was certainly something to marvel at.

He scored six times in his first season and made it seven when it mattered most in 17/18, including memorable goals against Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Sheffield United and, of course, that brace away at Hull City in April to all-but-secure Cardiff's top-flight return after a five-year absence.

A general and overwhelming bias towards recency means that the term 'legend status' is thrown around rather loosely in such a reactive day and age, but, make no mistake about it, Morrison encapsulates exactly that at Cardiff.

An inspirational leader on and off the pitch who inspired promotion, rallied teammates, threw his body on the line on countless occasions, provided the goalscoring goods in times of need and struck a tangible chord with supporters, legendary figures of Cardiff's recent times do not come much finer than Morrison.