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Ravel Morrison: No Money Back, No Guarantee

Ravel Morrison looks set to leave Manchester United today. I repeat ‘Ravel Morrison looks set to leave Manchester United today’.

10 years ago Ravel Morrison was scouted to join Manchester United, from that moment on he had an opportunity to develop as a player and more importantly the chance to develop as a person, unfortunately for the club, he only developed as a player.

But what a player this kid developed into. 19 on Thursday, Morrison’s talent and ability has and will rarely come through any Club or Academy. Ravel has everything a player could ever need to succeed on the pitch. He has pace, power, acceleration to burn, tricks, vision and the goalscoring attributes to match any other Englishman that ever played the game at his age.

West Ham United are taking a chance off the field, but on it their purchase will undoubtedly shine and make many onlookers utter the words ‘what were Manchester United thinking……why didn’t my club buy this kid!?’. Little will they know of what Manchester United know.

We Manchester United fans also know his name and his potential, we’ve all been waiting impatiently for his overdue arrival on the big stage. But a mere 3 Carling Cup appearances is scant reward for years of development and nurturing. HOLD ON, I don’t mean scant reward for the player, not a bit of it, I mean scant reward for the club that have seemingly failed in their many efforts to straighten out this complex, troublesome young man despite their numerous attempts.

Had Morrison shown or developed the attitude that’s required at Manchester United, he would in my opinion be spoken about in the same breath as Duncan Edwards, Norman Whiteside and Ryan Giggs who all made their United debut at just 16. Instead he would choose to exasperate those around him for the following years and ruin his own chances of this happening or even ever being handed a first team start. In years to come he will have no one but himself to blame for being unable to pronounce that fact.

Just like that girlfriend you know you shouldn’t be with, the one you know is bad news, the one you know will one day let you down. The same girlfriend you know you can’t let go because seeing her with someone else will fill you full of regret. In the end, that girlfriend chooses her own path. Over the years she’s grown tired of you, she’s learned to despise you and treat you with contempt no matter how hard you tried to please her. She’s said and done things you hoped she didn’t mean, you kept telling yourself she’d grow up, your patience wore thin but you hoped one day she’d be the perfect girl for you and she’d give you everything you ever wished for….it was just a matter of time and perseverance.

But it was too late, the girl opted for the greener grass on the other side before she even knew where the other side was. Your efforts have been spat at one last time and the potential love of your life is now sleeping with the enemy. It was inevitable.

At Academy level, Ravel produced many moments of magic including that scissors kick at Anfield and applying the finishing touch to a 22 pass move that saw United take the lead at Old Trafford against then reigning Youth Cup champions Chelsea in last years youth cup semi-final. At Carrington he ran too many games single handedly to even mention. For the Reserves his obvious quality provided a fleeting glimpse of what we already knew, but by now he was so far out of favour the club were treating him with the contempt he’d treated them with for so many years previous.

Off field incidents, periods of absence and training ground shenanigans have ultimately done for a kid that for so many was the future of Manchester United. Yes there will be some sad faces amongst the fans to see such a prodigious talent walk away from the club and into the arms of another, but sadly and perhaps more tellingly, there’s sure to be a few within the club privately glad to see the back of him.

A sad end to a United career that should only just be getting started.

Good Luck West Ham….the past was ours but the future’s yours.

PS: NO there isn’t a 30 day money back guarantee!

Ian.