Clinton Hubert Morrison (né Chambers; born 14 May 1979) is a former professional footballer and sports pundit.
As a player, he was a forward. He played in the Premier League for both Crystal Palace and Birmingham City. He also played in the Football League for Coventry City, Sheffield Wednesday, Milton Keynes Dons, Brentford, Colchester United and Exeter City. He also played non-league football for Long Eaton United, Redditch United and Mickleover Sports.
Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland 36 times at full international level, scoring nine goals, and made their squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He is a regular reporter and occasional pundit on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday.
Born in Tooting, London, Morrison began his career as a trainee at Crystal Palace on 1 August 1997. Morrison was previously at Tottenham Hotspur before they let him go at sixteen. Before his time at Spurs, he had played junior football for Raynes Park Vale FC (which was formerly known as Malden Vale FC).
He began his career at Crystal Palace of the Premier League, making his debut on 10 May 1998 as an 82nd-minute substitute for Neil Shipperley, and scoring the injury-time winner over opponents Sheffield Wednesday.
At the start of the 1998–99 season, Morrison appeared in the second leg of the UEFA Intertoto Cup third round against Samsunspor, eventually losing 4–0 on aggregate. He then scored two goals against Bury in two separate matches on 23 September 1998 and 30 September 1998. Morrison quickly became a first team regular for the club, becoming Crystal Palace's first choice striker. He later scored three braces on three separate occasions as the 1998–99 season progressed. In his first full year-long tenure at the club he scored 13 goals, while Palace were struggling both on and off the pitch. Whilst they were in administration, Morrison agreed to play for the club for free.
In the 1999–2000 season, Morrison scored six goals in the first two months to the season before. suffering an injury that kept him for the rest of the year. His return included his only brace of the season at Swindon Town. Financial difficulties meant that Crystal Palace were unable to make new signings for the 1999–2000 season and relied on youngsters such as Morrison and Hayden Mullins and veterans such as Andy Linighan as they successfully battled against relegation from the First Division. At the end of the 1999–00 season, Morrison had scored 14 goals, making him the club's top scorer.
At the start of the 2000–01 season, Morrison was placed on a transfer list by new manager Alan Smith despite signing a four–year contract with Crystal Palace. Nevertheless, he formed a partnership with either Dougie Freedman and Mikael Forssell. Having only scored three goals by mid–October, Morrison scored in five appearances between 28 October 2000 and 18 November 2000, including two against Wolverhampton Wanderers. His scored six goals in December. His performance at the club attracted interests from Premiership clubs. Morrison scored in the first leg of the semi-final of the League Cup, winning 2–1 against Liverpool, but the club lost 5–0 in the return leg. Morrison scored only three more goals that season. as the club narrowly escaped relegation. At the end of the 2000–01, he had scored 19 goals, making him the club's top scorer for the third season in a row.
At the start of the 2001–02 season, Morrison scored eight goals in the first two months. His performance in a number of matches was praised by Manager Steve Bruce. Morrison remained Palace's first choice striker throughout the 2001–02 season. He then scored five goals, including a brace against Bradford City and Norwich City throughout October. Morrison later added three goals by the end of the year. In the first three months of 2002, he scored five times, including a brace against Gillingham on 16 January 2002. His performance was praised by new Manager Trevor Francis. The following month, Morrison scored a total of three goals in five appearances. Despite being sidelined with injuries during the 2001–02 season, Morrison finished the season, making forty–nine appearances and scoring twenty–four times, making him Crystal Palace's top scorer for the fourth time in a row. For his performance, he finished second place behind Freedman for the club's Player of the Year.
Over the summer transfer of 2002, Morrison was linked a move away from Crystal Palace, with Premier League clubs, including Birmingham City, were interested in signing him. But Manager Trevor Francis was willing to sell the player if the club signed a replacement, although Simon Jordan objected to this. With a tricky relationship becoming clear between Morrison and Trevor Francis, then Palace manager, it was Birmingham City who fought and won his signature, for £4.25 million, in exchange for Andrew Johnson.
However, his start to his Birmingham City's career suffered a setback when he sustained a groin injury during the club's pre–season that saw him miss two matches. Morrison made his debut for Birmingham City, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute, in a 1–1 draw against Everton on 28 August 2002. On 11 September 2002, he scored his first goals, in a 2–2 draw against Liverpool. This was followed up by scoring his third goal for the club against Aston Villa, their first win in 16 years following their return to the top flight, during a 3–0 victory at St. Andrews. His fourth goal for Birmingham City came on 23 November 2002, in a 1–0 win against Sunderland. During a 1–0 win against Fulham on 15 December 2002, in which Morrison set up the only goal of the game, he was involved in an argument with Rufus Brevett that his mother got involved following the match, though both clubs said the incident never happened. After missing one match due to injury, he scored on two weeks after his return from injury, in a 4–2 loss against Bolton Wanderers on 1 February 2003. Three weeks later, Morrison scored for the second time this season against Liverpool on 23 February 2003, in a 2–1 win. However, he dislocated his shoulder during a 1–0 win against West Bromwich Albion on 22 March 2003 and was sidelined for the rest of the 2002–03 season. In his first season at Birmingham City, Morrison became a first team regular, becoming the club's first choice striker but struggled somewhat in the top league, scoring only six goals in twenty–nine appearances.
Morrison made his first appearance of the 2003–04 season, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute, in a 0–0 draw against Southampton on 23 August 2003. Since returning to the first team, he found himself behind the pecking order and played as Birmingham City's second striker. On 13 December 2003, Morrison scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–0 win against Leicester City. He later scored four more goals, including scoring two goals in two consecutive matches against Charlton Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Despite not able to produce goals as done before, Morrison's commitment and hard work were praised by his teammates. At the end of the 2003–04 season, he made thirty–seven appearances and scoring five times in all competitions.
At the start of the 2004–05 season, Morrison was sidelined with a knee injury while on international duty and was sidelined for a month. On 28 August 2004, he returned to the first team, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute, in a 1–0 loss against Tottenham Hotspur. Since returning from injury, Morrison rotated in and out of the starting line–up, but around the same time, he began to form a decent strike partnership with Emile Heskey. On 21 September 2004, Morrison scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–1 win against Lincoln City in the third round of the League Cup. However, he suffered a knee injury while on international duty and was sidelined for a month. On 21 November 2004, Morrison returned to the starting line–up against Blackburn Rovers and played 65 minutes before being substituted, as Birmingham City drew 3–3. In a follow–up match against Norwich City, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 1–1 draw. He then scored three goals in three consecutive matches between 12 December 2004 and 26 December 2004. Following a 2–1 loss against Bolton Wanderers on 4 January 2005, Morrison was charged by the FA for his improper conduct and was expected to serve a one match suspension; instead, he was fined and warned of the conduct. On 14 January 2005, Morrison began talks with Birmingham City over a new contract. Following this, he continued to rotate in and out of the starting line–up as the 2004–05 season progressed. At the end of the 2004–05 season, Morrison made twenty–nine appearances and scoring five times in all competitions.