The British press aren't actually a very good reflection of the feelings of the British public, though.
Take Porcupine Tree, for example. Big, popular band, highly regarded by the public, totally ignored by the music press. Most people who have a serious interest in music have a lot of time for Porcupine Tree and I think the same is true of Morrissey. Proper music fans respect him hugely because of his music and they aren't going to stop because of a "subspecies" comment that most of them haven't even registered anyway. Not everyone reads the tabloids or cares what their latest story is.
I'm sure I wouldn't even have heard about it if I hadn't been hanging about on this forum.
(I haven't spent any time on Morrissey forums, so I don't know how things are perceived from this angle, but from the angle of the general music forums that I have spent a lot of time on, Morrissey is held in high regard, especially for the Smiths but also for his solo work. Whenever there are threads about him or his lyrics there is huge praise and a few naysayers. I don't think he has anything to worry about in terms of lasting critical acclaim. I'm not trying to be sycophantic. I mean, it's fun to be sycophantic, but actually I've never been a "fanatic" type of fan, I'v never even seen him play live, so I think my point of view is pretty realistic.)