I didn’t abandon my exams — Morgan
TALENTED Boys’ Town midfielder Marvin ‘Mr Man’ Morgan is denying claims that he neglected doing his Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) exams and has abandoned school.
Morgan, who was instrumental in St George’s College winning the Manning Cup bid last year, has received flak from officials at the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) for his alleged misdeeds.
But the gifted young player, in a release to the media, has rubbished those claims and said he did not sit his exams because he was in Britain on trial with Birmingham City for three months and was therefore unprepared.
According to Morgan, he is concerned that his future in representing his country at the highest level would be severely affected if he did not clear the air.
“I left Jamaica at the end of January 2010 and returned in March 2010. I knew that this adventure would seriously conflict with my attendance at St George’s College and that my examination programme would be interrupted and that my chances of doing well would be compromised. This was a career decision and I was very aware of the risks,” Morgan said.
However, because of a lack of international caps, the player was refused a contract with the club and through his agent, former Reggae Boy Daryl Powell, he gained another offer from a Danish Club.
“By mid-March 2010, I was faced with another career decision. Do I stay in school and sit exams that I was not prepared for, or do I accept the trial offer in Denmark? I decided to accept the trial offer with the clear understanding that I will be placed in school and be allowed to further my education while playing professionally in Denmark. This was confirmed specifically by my agent,” he said.
Morgan has been accused by officials of not attending an Under-20 camp weeks ago, but coach Andrew Pryce of the player’s club, Boys’ Town, said Morgan was not in any physical condition to attend the camp and he had passed on that information to the JFF.
Pryce said Morgan was badly bruised following the Claro/KSAFA Champions Cup semi-final game in which Boys’ Town came up 4-1 winners over Cavalier at the Tony Spaulding Sports Complex on August 20.
“I wrote to Mr Roy Simpson, (team manager) and told him that Morgan got knocks on the weekend and could not bend his knee,” Pryce said.
Morgan was very inspirational during Jamaica’s top-four finish in the 2008 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) tournament in Trinidad and Tobago, where he finished with four goals and was a constant threat for opposing defenders.