Facing up to life without football Marriage and coaching are new goals for retired Morgan as Thistle launch testimonial
Jim Reynolds, The Herald
3rd February 2000
Partick Thistle yesterday launched a benefit that deserves the utmost support. Testimonials and benefits are very much part of the modern game, but most of the beneficiaries have earned a decent living from the game. Some could even claim a lavish living. Thistle, however, are lending their full support to 24-year-old Alan Morgan, whose career is over almost before it began. Yesterday, the youngster looked back on his shattered career and said: ''I still have not come to terms with the fact that I will never be able to play football again.'' However, as Scottish football rallied round to help the former Thistle player, who had to give up the game following a knee injury, Morgan, sitting in the lounge at Firhill, added: ''I am rebuilding my life and I am getting married in May. I want to stay in the game and last June I passed my B coaching licence. At the moment, I am waiting for the results of a youth coaching certificate I took over the New Year period.'' Morgan was forced to hang up his boots earlier this season as the damage to his knee was so severe, and a dinner will be held later this month in a Glasgow hotel as the first event in his benefit season . Benefit committee chairman Douglas McCrae said: ''In addition to the dinner, there will be a football match between Partick Thistle and a top club before the start of next season, a celebrity golf day, and various other events. British football has rallied round, because we already have signed shirts to auction from such personalities as Gianluca Vialli, Michael Owen, Kenny Dalglish, and Paul Gascoigne.'' Morgan faces a difficult battle and said: ''So far, I have had two operations. I ruptured both the cruciate and lateral ligaments, but the worst part was that I also damaged a nerve which runs down my leg and that left me with what is called a dropped foot. ''At the moment, I am wearing a caliper which allows me to walk, but in June I will be going in for two more operations in the hope that this will help hold up my foot. At one stage, the specialists considered a nerve graft, but decided this would not be the answer. I have already been warned that I will face problems later in life, even if these operations are a success. ''But I still cannot come to terms with it all. The accident seemed so simple. I was playing against East Fife and the other lad and myself were going for the ball. There was no contact. We were running at pace and the guy slid in and I jumped over him and landed awkwardly. I just could not believe the damage I did to my knee. ''During the 10 months of rehabilitation I put in, I still hoped to get back, even though the advice was that it was very unlikely, but the day that I was told there was no hope of playing again was the lowest point – it came like a bombshell. ''Deep down, I knew it was a bad injury, but I just hoped. After that, it knocked all the motivation out of me and I could hardly get out of bed. I did not want to go back to the gym and continue the hard work, but I had to. ''When I see accidents to other players like Michael Mols at Rangers and Henrik Larsson at Celtic, it brings it all back – but they are lucky in a way, for they will play again and are talking about how they hope they can get back to the same level they were at before. It is so different for me.''