James Morrison (footballer)

For other people named James Morrison, see James Morrison (disambiguation).
James Morrison

Morrison playing for West Bromwich Albion in 2014
Personal information
Full name James Clark Morrison[1]
Date of birth (1986-05-25) 25 May 1986[1]
Place of birth Darlington, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 West Bromwich Albion
Number 7
Youth career
1998–2004 Middlesbrough
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2007 Middlesbrough 66 (3)
2007– West Bromwich Albion 264 (30)
National team‡
2002–2003 England U17 6 (0)
2004 England U18 2 (0)
2004–2005 England U19 8 (0)
2005 England U20 1 (0)
2008– Scotland 42 (3)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 03:03, 01 December 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 September 2015 (UTC)

James Clark Morrison (born 25 May 1986) is a professional footballer who plays for West Bromwich Albion. After representing various England junior sides, Morrison chose to play for Scotland at full international level.

Club career

Early career

Born in Darlington, County Durham,[1] Morrison is a product of Middlesbrough's youth academy. He starred in Middlesbrough's FA Youth Cup winning side in 2003–04, putting in several eye-catching performances throughout the cup run, notably scoring in the final first leg 3–0 win against Aston Villa.

Middlesbrough

His initial outings in the first team displayed some promise as well. He made his first-team debut on 3 January 2004, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 FA Cup victory against Notts County.[2] His Premiership debut came four months later, when he replaced Stewart Downing in a 5–1 defeat away at Portsmouth on the final day of the 2003–04 season.[3] Morrison's first European action for Boro was on 30 September 2004 in a UEFA Cup tie away at Banik Ostrava. He marked the occasion by scoring his first goal for the club, a last-minute equaliser that secured a 1–1 draw in the second leg and a 4–1 aggregate victory.[4] Morrison started for Middlesbrough in the 2006 UEFA Cup Final against Sevilla. On 19 March 2007, he was sent off in an FA Cup quarter-final replay against Manchester United for a kick out at Cristiano Ronaldo.

West Bromwich Albion

On 7 August 2007, Morrison signed a four-year contract with West Bromwich Albion, for an initial £1.5 million fee. This fee could rise by a further £700,000, depending on Morrison's appearances for the Baggies. Middlesbrough will also receive 15% of any sell-on fee.[5] Morrison made his Albion debut as a 2nd-half substitute in a 2–1 defeat away at Burnley on the opening day of the 2007–08 season.[6] His first goal for the club was a second half winner in a 2–1 home victory over Blackpool on 23 October 2007,[7] a strike that won him the West Bromwich Albion Supporters Club's Goal of the Season award.[8] Morrison described it at the time as "the best goal I've scored in my career".[9] Morrison impressed in the first team throughout the 2008–09 season. He scored three goals in total over the course of the season, including his goals home and away against Aston Villa. On New Years Day 2011, he scored a 20-yard volley in a 2–1 defeat against Manchester United. After numerous impressive displays, On 14 September 2012 he signed a new four-year deal until 2016.[10] For his performances in the 2014/2015 season, Morrison won the official supporters player of the year award for the first time.[11]

On 23 August 2015, Morrison scored both of West Bromwich Albion's goals in a 2–3 home defeat to Chelsea, the first two-goal haul of his career and an equalling of his goal tally for the previous season. Earlier in the game, he had a penalty saved by Thibaut Courtois.[12] On 30 June 2016, Morrison signed a new two-year deal with West Brom keeping him at the club till at least the summer of 2018 with a one-year option.[13]

International career

Morrison playing for Scotland in 2011

Morrison played at a number of youth levels for England. Along with Leicester City's Steve Howard and Aston Villa's Gabriel Agbonlahor, Morrison was one of a number of English Premier League players identified in June 2007 as being eligible to play for Scotland.[14] He qualifies to play for the team through his grandparents.[15] Morrison later chose to represent Scotland, claiming that he felt his "opportunities with England will be limited".[16]

After receiving international clearance from FIFA, Morrison joined up with the Scotland squad for training in August 2007.[17] He was unable to make his debut in the friendly against South Africa however, due to injury.[18] Morrison was named in the Scotland B squad to face the Republic of Ireland B team in November,[18] but injury forced him to withdraw from the squad again.[19] He finally made his debut in the friendly against the Czech Republic in Prague, on 30 May 2008.[20]

He scored his first goal for Scotland in the 3–1 win against Wales on 25 May 2011 in the Celtic Nations Cup tournament in Dublin.[21] He also scored for Scotland against England in the friendly game at Wembley Stadium on 14 August 2013.

International goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 25 May 2011 Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland  Wales 1–1 3–1 2011 Nations Cup
2. 12 October 2012 Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales  Wales 1–0 1–2 2014 World Cup qualifier
3. 14 August 2013 Wembley Stadium, London, England  England 1–0 2–3 Friendly

Career statistics

Club

As of 13 January 2016[22]
Club Season Division League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Middlesbrough 2003–04 Premier League 101000000020
2004–05 14020215200233
2005–06 24131109000372
2006–07 28270100000362
West Bromwich Albion 2007–08 Championship 3546220––436
2008–09 Premier League 3030000––303
2009–10 Championship 1111000––121
2010–11 Premier League 3141000––324
2011–12 3052010––335
2012–13 3552000––375
2013–14 3211020––351
2014–15 3323210––374
2015–16 1831100––194
Career Total 321313061011430036741

    Honours

    Middlesbrough

    West Bromwich Albion

    Individual

    References

    1. 1 2 3 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 296. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
    2. ↑ "Middlesbro 2–0 Notts County". BBC Sport. 3 January 2004. Retrieved 7 August 2007.
    3. ↑ "Portsmouth 5–1 Middlesbro". BBC Sport. 15 May 2004. Retrieved 7 August 2007.
    4. ↑ "B Ostrava 1–1 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 30 September 2004. Retrieved 7 August 2007.
    5. ↑ "Morrison secures move to Baggies". BBC Sport. 7 August 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2007.
    6. ↑ "Burnley vs WBA". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 11 August 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
    7. ↑ "WBA vs Blackpool". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 23 October 2007. Retrieved 23 October 2007.
    8. ↑ Lepkowski, Chris (25 April 2008). "Kevin Phillips named West Bromwich Albion Player of the Year". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
    9. ↑ "Morrison: Let's push on". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 25 October 2007. Retrieved 25 October 2007.
    10. ↑ "West Brom's James Morrison signs new 4-year contract « Express & Star". expressandstar.com.
    11. ↑ Bill Howell (28 May 2015). "James Morrison wins West Brom Supporters' Player of the Season Award". birminghammail.
    12. ↑ Magowan, Alistair (23 August 2015). "West Brom 2-3 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
    13. ↑ "Morrison signs new contract". West Bromwich Albion. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
    14. ↑ "Scots consider Agbonlahor call-up". BBC Sport. 10 June 2007.
    15. ↑ Murray, Ewan (14 August 2007). "Morrison delay frustrates McLeish". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
    16. ↑ "Morrison chooses Scotland". Football.co.uk. 31 July 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
    17. ↑ "Morrison steps into Scots unknown". BBC Sport. 20 August 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
    18. 1 2 "Scots B call-up for English trio". BBC Sport. 9 November 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
    19. ↑ "Scotland jinx hits Morrison again". BBC Sport. 13 November 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
    20. ↑ Lindsay, Clive (30 May 2008). "Czech Republic 3–1 Scotland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 May 2008.
    21. ↑ "James Morrison sent home". scotsman.com.
    22. ↑ "James Morrison". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
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