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. It wasn't until on 11 September 2002 when 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. It wasn't until on 13 December 2003 when Morrison scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–0 win against Leicester City. He later scored four