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. 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. 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. Birmingham City 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