Dons & Whites

Last updated : 16 April 2016 By @pnemad

Footballers who have played league football for both PNE & MK Dons

K-Z

982) Craig MORGAN

PNE 58 apps; 3 goals

MK Dons 43 apps; 0 goals

PNE Debut 07/08/2010 v Doncaster (H) – Lost 0-2

 

807) Allan SMART

PNE 21 apps; 6 goals

MK Dons 18 apps; 4 goals

PNE Debut 26/11/1994 v Chesterfield (A) – Lost 0-1

 

Player Profile – Craig Morgan

Craig Morgan was born on 16 June 1985 in Flint. He began his career as a youth player at Wrexham, making his professional debut at the end of the 2001/02 as a substitute during a 5–0 win over Cambridge at the age of 16, a game which confirmed Wrexham's relegation to Division Three and was handed a second substitute appearance the following week in a 1–0 defeat to Stoke.

Morgan made his debut for the Wales under-17 side on 24 September 2001 in a 2–0 friendly win over Scotland going on to win 6 caps for the side before moving up to under-19 and under-21 levels.

Morgan remained a bit part player the following season, although he did score his first professional goal during his first appearance of the season on 5 October 2002 in a 2–2 draw with Cambridge  making seven appearances in all competitions as Wrexham gained promotion back into Division Two at the first attempt.

The 2003/04 season saw Morgan begin to establish himself in the Wrexham first team, making 21 appearances in all competitions as the club mostly stayed clear of a relegation battle with a 13th placed finish. During the latter part of the season, Morgan was sent off for the first time in his professional career, in a 0–0 draw with Plymouth on 27 March 2004. The following season saw him make his most amount of appearances in a single season for Wrexham, including playing in all six of the team's matches as they won the Football League Trophy, beating Southend 2–0 in the final at the Millennium Stadium.  However the season ended in disappointment for the team as they were relegated back into Division Three after being docked ten points due to entering administration.

Following relegation, Morgan, who was out of contract with the club, entered into talks over a new contract but rejected the first offer made by Wrexham. He signed a two-year contract with League One Milton Keynes Dons for an undisclosed five-figure transfer fee.

He made his debut for his new club on 6 August 2005, the opening day of the 2005/06 season, in a 2–2 draw with Bournemouth and appeared in 47  matches in all competitions during the season which ended in relegation from Division Two. After starting the next season in the first-team, Morgan fell out of favour and was allowed to return to his first club Wrexham on a one-month loan deal, one week after making his debut for Wales, becoming the first Milton Keynes Dons player to win an international cap since the team's relocation. His debut for the Wales senior side on 11 October 2006 was in a 3–1 win over Cyprus at the Millennium Stadium during the qualifying match for Euro 2008. He made two appearances during his loan spell before returning to the Dons where he did not make another appearance before being sent out on loan again on 23 November 2006, this time to Peterborough, until January 2007.

He made his debut for Peterborough on 2 December 2006 in a 2–1 FA Cup win over Tranmere. After impressing during his initial loan spell, having made seven appearances, his move was made permanent on 2 January on a free transfer. His last match for MK Dons was a 1-0 win at Boston on 25 August 2006 and had made 43 league appearances in total. He quickly established himself in the first team and scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 victory over Notts County on 3 March 2007.

In the 2007/08 season he made 41 league appearances, as well as signing a new three-year contract in February 2008, as the club won promotion to League One by finishing as runners-up to Milton Keynes Dons. Ahead of the clubs League One campaign in the 2008/09 season, Morgan was handed the captaincy of the team at the age of just 23. However on 29 September he was replaced as captain, less than two months later. Peterborough Manager Darren Ferguson put the decision down to Morgan's involvement with the Welsh national team, which often saw him miss while on international duty. Peterborough finished as runners-up to Leicester in League One. During the summer break after the 2008/09 season, Morgan became Peterborough's all-time record international appearance maker by winning his 14th cap for Wales in a friendly against Estonia

On 6 July 2010, Morgan joined Preston for a fee in the region of £400,000 by Darren Ferguson for the second time. His debut for PNE was a 2-0 defeat at home to Doncaster on 7 August 2010. He scored on consecutive home matches with defeats to Scunthorpe (2-3) and Barnsley (1-2). Morgan made 31 appearances during the season as North End suffered relegation to Division One. Morgan made 19 appearances in 2011/12. His fiftieth and final match was a 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth on 5 May 2012, He had scored 3 goals.

As the majority of the first team was disposed of by Graham Westley his contract was terminated by mutual consent on 31 August 2012.

Morgan joined League Two side Rotherham and made his debut in the 6-2 defeat at Port Vale on 8 September 2012. His only league goal for Rotherham is a 4-1 home win over Exeter on 9 April 2013.That season, Rotherham went on to be promoted from League Two.

 

The following season, Morgan become Rotherham captain following the departure of Johnny Mullins at the start of the season and continued to be a first team regular, playing as a centre-back until he suffered injuries during the middle of the season. Morgan then returned his return to the first team on 1 March 2014, playing 90 minutes in a 6-0 win over Notts County and continued to remain in the first team throughout the season. Morgan captained Rotherham to a win at Wembley Stadium over Leyton Orient that saw them promoted to the Championship.

In the 2014/15 season, Morgan continued to captain the side in the Championship as they secured their safety for another season. On 22 May 2015, Morgan, along with fellow player Ben Pringle, rejected new contracts at the club and would be released when their contracts expired on 1 July 2015. He had made 83 league appearances for the Millers.

On 12 June 2015, Craig Morgan joined League One side Wigan on a free transfer on a two-year contract. Upon joining the club, Morgan was given number twenty shirt. and was appointed as the new captain of Wigan.

Morgan made his Wigan  debut in the opening game of the season, in a 2-0 loss against Coventry . He scored his first goal for Wigan in a 2-2 draw with Bury on 10 October 2015 On 7 January 2016, Morgan scored the winner in the 96th minute, capping off a remarkable 3-2 win for Wigan over Gillingham.