Clinton Morrison

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 notably 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 Tooting, London, Morrison joined Crystal Palace as a trainee on 1 August 1997.

Morrison was previously at Tottenham Hotspur before they let him go at sixteen.

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 1999–00 season, Morrison's goal scoring form continued, totalling six goals in the first two months to the season.

However, he suffered an injury that kept him for the rest of the year.

Following his return, Morrison's goal scoring form continued for the rest of the 1999–2000 season, including 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, he played more than 30 games, and scored 14 goals, making him the club's top scorer once again.

At the start of the 2000–01 season, Morrison, however, was placed on a transfer list by new Manager Alan Smith despite signing a four–year contract with Crystal Palace.

Nevertheless, he continued to establish himself in the striker position, forming a partnership with either Dougie Freedman and Mikael Forssell.

Having only scored three goals by mid–October, Morrison began to score six goals in five appearances between 28 October 2000 and 18 November 2000, including a brace against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

His goal scoring form continued throughout December, scoring a total of six.

His performance at the club attracted interests from Premiership clubs.

Amid the transfer speculation, he scored in the first leg of the semi-final of the League Cup, winning 2–1 against Liverpool, but the club eventually lost 5–0 in the return leg, eliminating Crystal Palace from the tournament.

Following this, however, Morrison's goal scoring form soon dipped, only scoring three more goals.

Nevertheless, his involvement in the first team helped the club narrowly escaped relegation.

At the end of the 2000–01, he went on to score 19 goals, making him Crystal Palace's top scorer for the third season in a row.

At the start of the 2001–02 season, Morrison's goal scoring form continued to go well when he scored eight goals in the first two months to the season.

His performance in a number of matches was praised by Manager Steve Bruce.

Morrison continued to regain his first team place as Crystal 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.

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.

Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland 36 times at full international level, scoring 9 goals, and made their squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

He is now a regular reporter and occasional pundit on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday.

In the first three months of 2002, he added more goals to his tally by scoring 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.