Morrison Mystery Finally Un-Ravels

Ravel- the skill of Giggs, the temperament of Gattuso

The worst kept secret in United’s history has finally been revealed as newspapers have reported Ravel Morrison’s recent court appearance.

Morrison who turned 18 two weeks ago, was sentenced to a 12-month referral order and ordered to pay over £1400 in compensation after pleading guilty to witness intimidation.

Morrison was recently suspended from the club for a fortnight, leading to many suggesting his United career may have been over.

Morrison’s performances for both the academy and more recently the reserves have won him many admirers and even led to a cameo for the first-team in the Carling Cup.

The Wythenshawe-born youngster is a fast-paced strong, skillful winger who doesn’t look too out of place playing just behind who ever’s leading the line.

I’ve met Morrison a couple of times in my part-time job at the Powerleague and while it’s obvious he is a little rough around the edges, he seems no different from any of the other lads we get in there who come from certain areas.

Admittedly, occasionally meeting him hardly qualifies me to make a judgement on his character and I like many other Reds would be hard pressed to tell you if he really is a troubled youngster or not.

The problem many United fans have is two-fold. Firstly : Morrison’s actions – apparently he threw a brick through someone’s window  after they’d accused his friend of a knife point robbery- are not those you’d want to see from a United player of any age. Secondly- Morrison seems to be one of the most naturally gifted players the club has produced in the past few years, anyone who seen him play will testify that he has bags of skill and could easily go all the way.

If we were talking about a player who was merely ‘good’ we wouldn’t be talking- if that makes sense to anyone. We want our players to be the very best on the pitch, but we don’t want them to be complete idiots off it.

Morrison is the type of player who stands out to you, even when you’re watching some of the brightest young stars in English football, and that for me speaks volumes.

Personally, despite the problems having a troubled player like Morrison at United could potentially cause, I’m glad   the club has given him a chance to try and salvage his career.

I’m hoping someone like Wes Brown, who grew up in Longsight and was once reported to be at loggerheads with Sir Alex over moving out of the area, can put his arm round Morrison – or get him a headlock- and talk a bit of sense to him.

It all may depend on Morrison himself, after all we’d all probably give our right arm to play for United but not every supremely talented teenager always feels the same, or has the real sort of foresight.

Ravel Morrison’s career is at a crossroads and although he may only be 18, if he’s not careful he could end up looking back on it with a mixture of regret and anger rather than contentment and pride. I for one certainly hope it’s the latter.

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