A Crack in the American QPR Connection?

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First Matt Pickens released. Now Steve Morrow axed. That just leaves Padula, Spencer and Dichio still active. Along with Gordon Jago

FC Dallas Official Site - FCD relieves Morrow of coaching duties
Marco Ferruzzi takes over as Hoops head coach immediately
FC Dallas Media Relations

Steve Morrow complied a 15-15-8 MLS record during his time as FC Dallas head coach.

FRISCO, Texas -- FC Dallas General Manager Michael Hitchcock has announced that Steve Morrow has been relieved of his duties as head coach, effective immediately. Marco Ferruzzi, in his fourth season as an assistant coach, will coach the team on an interim basis. Ferruzzi will make his debut against Real Salt Lake on Saturday, May 24 at Pizza Hut Park (7:30 p.m. CT).

"We have set high standards, expectations, and goals for this team and organization," said Hitchcock. "I feel that the team was not heading in the direction we had planned, and believe it is in the best interest of the club to make a coaching change at this time."

FC Dallas is currently in fourth place in the Western Conference with a record of 2-3-3 (9 points). The team is riding a four game winless streak, and is 1-2-1 at Pizza Hut Park this year.

"This is obviously a difficult decision for me to make, since it was my choice to give Steve this opportunity," added Hitchcock. "Having said that, Pizza Hut Park is an incredible venue, and our great fans deserve much more from our team for their continued support. We appreciate Steve's contribution to our organization and wish him success in his future endeavors."

Morrow was introduced as the club's fourth head coach on December 11, 2006. In his first season as head coach, FC Dallas posted a 13-12-5 record (44 points) and finished in third place in the Western Conference. The team advanced to the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship game for the third time in team history, falling 3-2 to the New England Revolution at Pizza Hut Park. FC Dallas advanced to the MLS Cup Playoffs for a league-record tying 10th time in history, though was eliminated in the Conference Semifinals by eventual MLS Cup Champions Houston Dynamo.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my six year association with this organization and was proud to be Head Coach of FC Dallas," said Steve Morrow. "I feel I leave the team in a very strong position with a wonderful group of players that are capable of achieving great things. Due to a recent run of poor results, I fully accept responsibility, and, if the team needs to go in a different direction then I wish the players nothing but great success for the remainder of the season and beyond. I'd like to thank my staff, the players, the Hunt family and all the fans for their support."

A Northern Ireland native, Morrow played the final two years of his professional career with Dallas. During the 2002 and 2003 seasons, he scored three goals in 41 career regular season games and once in three playoff matches, playing primarily as a center back.

He was hired as one of the team's assistant coaches on Feb. 3, 2004, and was the first assistant coach during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. FC Dallas

Earlier FC Dallas Profile of Morrow

Steve Morrow enters his second season as FC Dallas head coach. Morrow was appointed as the fourth head coach in team history on December 11, 2006 and led the team to a 13-12-5 record and a third-place finish in the Western Conference in 2007. Under Morrow's direction, the team earned a trip to the MLS Cup Playoffs for the third straight year.

Morrow began his professional playing career at the age of 17, when he was signed by Arsenal of the English Premiership. After being loaned to various clubs, he made his Gunners' debut at the end of the 1991-92 season. The following year, he became a mainstay on the team that won the 1993 FA Cup and '93 League Cup, in which he scored the game-winning goal in the 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday. He also played in the '94 European Cup Winner's Cup 1-0 win over Italian-side Parma, as well as the '95 Cup Winner's Cup final, which Arsenal lost 2-1 to Spain's Real Zaragosa.

After playing one season under current Arsenal head coach Arsène Wenger, he joined Queen's Park Rangers in 1997. Morrow played in 92 games in his four years at Rangers before coming to play for Dallas in 2002. In his two years as a defender with Dallas, he scored three goals in 41 regular season games and once in three playoff games. All four of his goals in MLS were against the Colorado Rapids.

Morrow, who earned 40 caps with the Northern Ireland National Team, was originally hired by Dallas as an assistant coach on Feb. 3, 2004, though he was forced to resign in late May of that year due to personal reasons. He returned to the club on Jan. 27, 2005 and had been the first assistant coach in both 2005 and 2006. He acquired his UEFA "A" coaching license and also received a degree in Sports and Fitness Science from Luton University in England in 2002.

At the time of his hire, Morrow became the 51st coach in MLS history and the 11th that has previously played in Major League Soccer.

He is married to Fiona and has three children, Jonathan, Sophie, and Scarlett.
YEAR TEAM GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E
2002 Dallas 24 24 2199 3 0 12 6 26 14 0 0 3 0
2003 Dallas 17 17 1484 0 0 6 2 22 5 0 0 0 0
Totals 41 41 3683 3 0 18 8 48 19 0 0 3 0


YEAR POSTSEASON GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E
2002 Dallas 3 3 271 1 0 1 1 4 1 0 0 0 0