Fan favourite Andy Morrison on his new role managing a national team almost 6,000 miles away from Manchester…

Former City skipper Andy Morrison - author of the monthly City Mag predictions column – couldn’t have imagined what lay in store as the Premier League season drew towards its dramatic climax.

The popular Morrison, who has now become a firm favourite on the Club’s Matchday Live show, both as an expert studio guest and co-commentator to Ally Mann, was planning to continue his media work to the end of the season when an offer he couldn’t refuse dropped on his doormat.

Morrison gained an excellent reputation as manager of Welsh Premier League side Connah’s Quay, with whom he had some notable victories in Europe during his six years with the club, including wins over Kilmarnock and Helsinki as well as reaching the Scottish Challenge Cup final.

But feeling he had taken Nomads as far as he could, he resigned from his post in September 2021 and focused instead on media work and family life.

All that, however, was about to change when he was offered the chance to take on the head coach role of a national team

“I’d reached a point with Connah’s Quay where I needed a change of direction,” said Morrison.

“I wasn’t exactly going around in circles, but I’d won back-to-back titles and the Manager of the Season award twice in succession and felt it was time for a change.

“I wasn’t getting the fulfilment I was looking for, so I needed to move on and look at something else.

“Over the next eight months, I visited eight different clubs from Premier League down to Conference and worked with some good people, as well as doing media work for City.

“It was on the back of one of those visits when I was doing a presentation for the Welsh FA for my UEFA A-licence that I met former Everton player Tim Cahill who asked me to send him my CV.

“Tim is doing some work in Doha for the Qatar FA who have a relationship with Sri Lankan football and the opportunity to become Sri Lanka’s head coach came from that.

“I was offered the position, so I looked at where they were in world football and did as much research as I could and understood what a big job it was going forward, and it just excited me.

“I’d really been enjoying my work with City, so I was in no rush to find a new job, but this really interested me, and I needed that because it ticked all the right boxes for me in terms of what I was looking for at this stage of my life.

“It’s a massive challenge, but I have been over there already to help oversee a tournament and help the guy who was taking the team and it was also a fact-finding mission to discover how they do things, what the quality of the players is like and how they operate.

“Then it was back to England for a few weeks for reflection ahead of returning to actually start the job.

“I’ve done so much research I could apply to be a Sri Lankan tourist official! I know about the history and culture of the island, and Sri Lanka is going through some tough times, economically, just now – probably as tough as their people have ever known.

“That is probably reflected in the football, which hasn’t progressed much in the last 10 to 15 years and has had no direction – it’s been more a case of fulfilling their international requirements without a clear vision of improvement.

“But after being over there for four or five weeks, things are being put in place and that vision is starting to become clearer in terms of where we want to go and how we’re going to get there.

“Presently, we are 205 in the FIFA world rankings and there are only six clubs beneath us with San Marino placed bottom on 211.

“I think the football is a reflection of how the country is at this time, but there are big changes happening and Sri Lankan football just needed somebody with a vision that could drive it forward and I honestly can’t think of anything that could have excited me more and I’ve never been more ready for a challenge like this.

“We play at a racecourse ground and share with cricket, which is something we obviously would like to look at in years to come that better reflects a country of 22million.

“It’s a beautiful island, but as I say, things are challenging for Sri Lankans at this moment in time.”

The Sri Lanka head coach will return to the island in July to begin his work in earnest.

That involves a worldwide trawl of eligible players and a complete change in almost everything that Sri Lankan footballers have been used to over the past decade or so.

“There’s a FIFA window in September and another in March, so we have some time to get things in place and we’ll utilise those to get players together,” he said.

“We’re looking at anyone players with a Sri Lankan passport of possible connections to the country because there are players out there who are playing at a decent level and we’re working hard to contact them because they could immediately improve the group.

“I’m based in Colombo, the capital and will be watching the league games around the country which should begin in September, but our vision is to get academies going at grass roots level in the different regions around Sri Lanka.

“We need to work with schools, which is a longer term vision, but that’s something I’ve been tasked with to get things going and there’s more interest but that will take time.

“We need youngsters playing football

“We are in competition with cricket and rugby – football is the passenger in many ways, culturally, and that’s what we have to change.

“The language barrier is difficult and there are players who play in one part of the island who speak a different language to those around Colombo – and that’s another challenge because I’m trying to get information and ideas across, but that’s something we’ll be looking to improve.”

Of course, being a former City captain, Morrison is keeping his eye on out for fellow Blues in Sri Lanka.

“I met a few at the final game of the season,” he said. ‘Several came to the training ground to say hello and have a few pictures taken and against Villa, I watched it in a local bar where there were maybe 15 or so City fans and 30 Liverpool fans.

“I believe there is a supporter branch here so I’m sure I’ll be meeting them all in the months ahead.”

'Pøbel' is a Norwegian street artist of international repute. The in-demand creative, born and raised in Erling Haaland's hometown of Bryne, has created stunning paintings, photographs, sculptures, placemaking and site-specific projects around Norway and the world.

Self-taught, he keeps his identity secret and is often compared to UK artist Banksy. His works are powerful, thought-provoking and inspirational - and in a rare interview, Pøbel tells City Magazine why he decided to create a huge mural of Erling in Bryne - and explains how he did it.

Thanks to Pøbel and also his assistant Jonas Hovland for helping facilitate this fascinating interview...

City Mag: How and why did you decide to do a Haaland mural?
Pøbel: Haaland and myself come from the same very small area in Norway, so it just felt natural. Although its slightly different from the work I usually I just felt inspired by Haaland’s story of dedication and hard work. Hopefully the mural can inspire and empower the process of anyone who is working towards a dream. This time it was someone who had a football dream, but it could have been a musical talent, a profession, or someone who is able to cope with a disease and overcome hard challenges that life presents every day. Whatever it is, it is always motivating and beautiful to see someone embrace their journey and progress.

How long did it take from start to finish?
First day of painting it was snowing, and the last day of painting all the trees were in bloom, so it was a work that was on and off, I don’t count the hours but in total from inspiration to sketch and to the completed mural I would guess a few hundred hours.

Was it expensive to create and how do you get permission for a project like this?
In this region getting a permission is quite easy since there is not too much bureaucracy with municipalities and so on. There are obviously a lot of costs with a mural like this, but luckily one of the biggest costs was sponsored by a company called Nordic Steel who produced and installed the 2-tonne metal fist.

Where is it in Norway?
The wall is in Bryne, in the Jæren region, southwest of Norway. The hometown of both me and Haaland.

What has the reaction been?
It has been a very positive reaction from both locals, and visitors. A few people would prefer him to wear blue instead of yellow, but for me as a storyteller, it was while playing for Dortmund he had his big international breakthrough, so it is kind of a capture of that part of his history.

Has Erling seen it/commented on it?
It is hard to not see it if you are in our small town, but yes Erling has seen it and he commented on his Instagram that it was insane, and he also wrote to never forget where you are from. I take that as a positive sign.

I actually used this quote for a second mural, I thought that he himself needed to hear his own quote, never forget where you are from. I tracked down his old family farm and painted him walking a pig inside the physical pig barn, with this very quote as a halo around the head of the pig. This was also a play with the quote around Erling’s head on the first and big mural, which was a quote Erling had remembered his grand uncle telling him; “Speak with your feet and most other things in life will be fine”.

The first mural was to build him up and celebrate his hard-work, passion and almost glorifying his achievements, and the second mural in the pig barn was to bring him down again to his roots, as an average guy from Jæren, to show that he is also just like the rest of us…(but with an extraordinary talent).

What does Erling mean to you and Norway?
I do not know Haaland himself, but from what I hear and see, I experience him as a hard-working person who has achieved a lot, but who at the same time has a good sense of humour, and has his feet planted on the ground and keeps in touch with his local roots, which is something that means a lot. For Norway he is obviously a superstar that we are all proud of.

Can we expect something similar in Manchester and what are your thoughts on the Phil Foden and Sergio Aguero?
Well the story of Haaland will certainly continue in Manchester now, so it would only be natural for the next part of the story to be shared in Manchester.

Will City be one of your teams going forward?
For sure, and I can also say that the first football game I ever watched was actually at Etihad Stadium last May. I will return there again soon to watch Erling score yet another hat-trick, streak the pitch and make people snow-blind.

The Mural: Need to know stuff...

All background colours of mural were painted with 15 fire extinguishers filled with paint.

The mural is 25 meters wide and 14 meters tall.

Fist of steel is 3.5 x 4 meters and has with its total assembly the weight of 2 tonnes.

Text around Erling’s head says “Snakk med fødne så går helste alt aent godt» which means «Speak with your feet and everything else will be fine”.
This was a piece of advice that was originally told to Erling by Gabriel Høyland, Erling’s great uncle. Gabriel is a farmer but was also a football striker that did very well during the 80s. Erling used this very quote on his Twitter the day after he had scored two goals in Norway’s 9-0 victory against Armenia.

Location: Across train station in Bryne

Finished May 16, 2022

Erling in the pig barn facts

Painting is same height as Erling, 1.95 m.

Shows Erling wearing everyday clothes walking a pig.

In this painting the pig is in focus instead of Erling. The pig has a halo with a text around his head saying “Husk: Alre gløm kor du kjæme ifrå” which means “Remember: Never forget where you are from”. This quote was posted by Erling to Pøbel as a comment on the big mural.

It was painted by Pøbel as a response to Erling’s comments about the big mural “Remember: Never forget where you are from”.

Location: Pøbel tracked down Erling’s old family farm, now owned by Gabriel Høyland (Erling’s great uncle) and made the painting inside the pig barn. The first mural has a Gabriel Høyland quote around Erling’s head, this second painting has an Erling Haaland quote around Gabriel’s pig’s head, making the storytelling go back and forth in a joking way.

City’s preparations for the 2022/23 season begin in earnest with a short US tour in July.

The States have proved to be a popular destination for the Blues over the past decade or so, and though this trip will only take in a couple of games, both promise to be colourful occasions.

Previous US tours have seen City visit cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Kansas

New arrivals Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez are likely to make their debuts, with the possibility of other new signings also involved.

Travel restrictions meant summer tours and high profile international friendlies were put on hold for a couple of years due to the global pandemic.

With a growing North American fanbase, games in Houston and Green Bay will offer Stateside City fans the chance to see the team in the flesh.

The first game will be against Club América of the Mexican Liga BBVA MX and will be played at the NRG Stadium on July 21 at 01:30 (UK time) – five years to the day since our last visit to the home of the Houston Texans.

On that occasion, Ederson and Phil Foden made their City debuts in a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United.

“Facing a rival like Manchester City is always an exciting opportunity and we’re very thankful for the invitation,” said Santiago Baños, President of Club América. “The upcoming game is an incredible chance for fans in the United Kingdom, United States and abroad to better get to know Mexican football, and of course this represents an amazing opportunity for the Americanistas to watch their favourite team play against an elite international opponent.”

Founded in 1916, Club América plays its home matches at the famous Estadio Azteca in Mexico City and they have won a record 13 league titles, six Copa MX titles and six Campeón de Campeones cups. Club América’s 10 FIFA recognized club trophies are the most of any club in the Concacaf region, with a record seven Concacaf Champions Cup/Champions League titles, two Copa Interamericana titles and one Cocacaf Giants Cup.

The NRG Stadium has also hosted numerous major sporting events, including two Super Bowls, Copa America, Gold Cup and various international soccer matches the United States Women’s and Men’s National Teams, the Mexican Men’s National Team and top soccer clubs from around the world.

Houston mayor Sylvester Turner said: “Houston is the nation’s most diverse and inclusive city. We love sports and welcome fans worldwide to come and enjoy the electrifying atmosphere of great competition and sportsmanship.

“We are honoured to be the host city for the match between these two outstanding teams. The event is guaranteed to be huge for soccer fans and a big win for the City of Houston.”

That will be followed with a game against Bayern Munich at 81,441-capacity Lambeau Field, Green Bay in Wisconsin.

It will be the first time a soccer match has been played at this iconic venue, home to NFL giants and the match will take place on 24 July at midnight (UK time).

Leroy Sane could be in line to face City for the first time since leaving in 2020, while former Liverpool striker Sadio Mane could also feature.

Season ticket holders, Cityzens Members and Official Supporters Clubs members will be emailed their own exclusive pre-sale links to buy tickets before they go on public sale.

CITY+ will broadcast both games live, though some regional restrictions may apply.

For more information on City's games in the USA this summer, visit www.mancity.com/usatour2022