Clinton’s City sickener
He sits before us at a press conference in Lansdowne Road on the eve of the big friendly against Italy and, before too long, he has the room rocking and rolling.
But behind the laughs, Morrison is a man at the end of his tether at Birmingham City, where he finds himself down the pecking order behind fellow strikers Emile Heskey, Mikael Forssell and Walter Pandiani.
Coming on in the 87th minute against Fulham last Saturday was a sour taste of things to come.
And like Peter Finch in ‘Network’, he’s not going to take it any more.
“I think I will be out the door in the next two weeks,” he states bluntly.
“Not by me asking to go, because I’ve always said I was happy to be at Birmingham. You want to keep going and wait for your chance but obviously it’s not going to come now. And I’m not prepared to be sitting on the bench feeling frustrated.
“And also it’s a massive World Cup year for Ireland. It’s great to play for your country, do well, score goals and hopefully help your team qualify for the finals.
“But then the World Cup comes around and you don’t play because you haven’t been playing at club level. I would have loved to stay at Birmigham and I don’t really know if the club will let me go because I have two years left on my contract. But I just want to play football.”
Back in January, your correspondent met up with Morrison at Birmingham City’s training ground. All was well with his world then: he was ‘The Man of the Moment’ according to the club magazine, he was sharing goals with Emile Heskey, and manager Steve Bruce was regularly singing his praises.
Morrison, whose sunny disposition disguises an insecurity which means he thrives on encouraging words and the sense of being wanted, couldn’t have been feeling more optimistic.
But now the player insists he hasn’t been given a fair chance to show his worth at St. Andrews.
“Not really. Last season I came in and played up front with Heskey, had a good partnership, scored goals and then, after two or three games when we didn’t score goals, I was out of the team again. So it’s disappointing. When I’m confident, I know I’ll play well and score goals but I don’t think I’ve been given a great chance there. But I ain’t gonna start slagging anyone off.”
Morrison says that Bruce has refused to sanction a loan move, with the result that his imminent departure from the club will be permanent.
Neil Warnock at Sheffield United has already been linked with the player and earlier this year there was the prospect of a move to Mick McCarthy’s Sunderland but, according to Morrison, a number of Premiership and Championship clubs have since expressed an interest.
“I’m not going to say what clubs but something is happening soon. I wouldn’t be happy to drop down (to the Championship) because I still feel I can do a job in the Premiership but I want to play football. And if it means I have to step down to step back up I’ll do it because I enjoy football and I want to play. At the moment I’m not really enjoying my football - it’s hard to come off the bench for two minutes and make an impact.
“And I’m a lad who likes to make noise.”
So presumably he reckons he’s in the shop window this evening against Italy?
“Definitely. Every time I pull on a green jersey for Ireland, when I go back to Birmingham they give me stick and say you should wear a green jersey for Birmingham because you always play well and score goals for Ireland.” Clinton pauses before bringing the house down with the punchline.
“And I say, well, I’m playing with better players there.”
They may not be laughing in Birmingham, however, although Morrison is anxious his wisecracks don’t offend.
“The manager said he would like to keep me but at the same time he won’t stand in my way. He wants me to play football and be happy. So we’re not going to part on bad terms. But he said he can’t guarantee me that I’ll play every game this year and that’s what I want to do.”
Perhaps Mick McCarthy could provide him with more reassurance?
“Mick brought me into the Ireland squad and I always said it would have been brilliant to go to Sunderland. I think my wages were a stumbling block at the time but I’ve always said I would like to go back and play for Mick.
“But at the moment I’m still a Birmingham player so I just have to do my job for Birmingham.”
Would he take a pay cut to play? Clinton muses a while before answering.
“I wear a lot of diamonds. And I don’t want any cubic zirconia.” You can barely hear the rest of his answer over the laughter. “Well, it depends, I don’t know. I’ve always said that the money is not the big issue, I just want to be back playing football. But I need to live, as well.”
As Clinton rises from his seat to leave, he calls back over his shoulder: “That’s the comedy show over.”
But you can’t help feeling that, just now, the laughter is bittersweet.
Meanwhile there are a limited number of tickets available for sale for tonight’s friendly. These tickets include some terrace schoolboy/girl tickets at €3 each. Tickets are limited to four per person. All tickets can be purchased from the FAI Ticket Office only, 80 Merrion Square, Dublin 2 between 10am-5pm.
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