Ravel Morrison

Ravel takes time off from importing Olive Oil to play football.

Regular readers of this site will know that we’ve long been admirers of Ravel Morrison’s football ability yet have never shied away from questioning his often deplorable actions off the field.

However the latest piece of ‘journalism’ from that bastion of excellence the Express surrounding Morrison is  just the kind of typically poor sensationalist drivel that the youngster has left himself open to and must now get used to.

The Express headline states: Ravel Morrison : Manchester United Starlet’s On Road To Ruin.  As soon as I saw this on newsnow my heart sank as I thought the teenager may be in trouble again for another misdemeanour. I was wrong to expect anything new or revelatory, as for reasons known only to the writer John Richardson and his editor the entire piece was merely a re-telling of old news regarding Morrison’s recent court appearance.

Why the Express would wait two weeks after the event to report on it is quite frankly beyond me, although that approach to news stories may give us all an indication of the publications dwindling readership.

The problem with the article isn’t the fact it’s going over old ground- in todays news even stories from last week are considered past their sell by date. Although to be fair one could argue that Richardson’s article is more of an opinion piece rather than a news story.

The reason I found the article disappointing is that it’s peppererd with half-truths, erroneous statements and unknown ‘sources’ to give a rather damning and not wholly fair assesment of Morrison and his United career.

The article states:
“The attacking midfielder has been likened to a young Scholes and seemed destined to step into the formidable shoes of the 36-year-old, who last week announced his retirement.”

Anyone who’s seen Morrison will know that he’s a different type of player altogether than Paul Scholes was as a youngster. Morrison’s a skilful player who can get past people and has been used on the wing in the past. Scholes was a different type of forward altogether when he was young and of all the many Reds I’ve spoken to about Morrison, few if any have ever likened him to Scholes. It seems Richardson is merely using a lazy football comparison to set himself up for the next line:
“While Scholes never gave the club a moment’s concern,  with his quiet,  almost reclusive home-loving lifestyle, Morrison has pushed United’s patience to the brink with his escapades, some of which would not look out of place in a gangster movie.”< 
There’s the real reason for the comparison so you can also contrast the quietest and most modest footballer in the history of the modern game, with Morrison. If you compared anyone’s lifestyle with that of Scholes’s they’re going to come off second best- even Michael Owen would seem like a bit of a lout in comparison to the Ginger One.

As  for “Morrison’s escapades not looking out of place in a gangster movie”

I sugggest Richardson renews his Blockbuster membership card or buys that subscription to Sky Movies he’s been promising himself, because if you think a teenager appearing in magistrates courts for making threatening phone calls and throwing bricks and mobile phones is akin to a gangster film, you need to get out more.
I’m not justifying Morrison’s previous actions which have at times left me feeling infuriated with his scally behaviour but come on, let’s have at least the pretence of a bit of rational perspective here please. Morrison’s made some mistakes but he is far from Henry Hill.
Then Richardson goes even further down the ghetto gangster route:
“He has become mixed up in the gun crime culture of south Manchester.”

Morrison lives not far from me in the Urmston area of Trafford, now while I’d love to pretend that I’m currently pouring a sip of Dr Pepper on the carpet for the homies who are no longer with us, while simultaneously cleaning my nine, ready for the next drive-by, it would be poppycock to say the least. Urmston’s the sort of place where a car being vandalised can be front page news in the local paper- literally.

Morrison may have some friends who are on the wrong side of the tracks of that there’s little doubt, but claiming he’s mixed up in gun crime culture is again stretching it a bit far and merely designed to paint an egregious picture of him that’s not true.

To be fair Richardson is accurate when he notes:

“At the age of 15 he was cautioned for assaulting his mother, then two years later he admitted two charges of intimidating a witness, which included attempting to prevent a mugging victim giving evidence.

“While two of his friends received custodial sentences, the rising United star, who has represented England at Under-16, Under-17 and Under-18 levels, was spared imprisonment despite being told by the judge his behaviour had been  “appalling”.

I have absolutely no defence for Morrison’s actions in this witness intimidation debacle- nor do I have the inclination to try and find one. It’s scally behaviour that’s got no place at Manchester United, although I will say this, it’s done, he’s been punished let’s try and move on.

12 responses to “Typically Poor Ravel Morrison Article Shows What He’s Up Against”

  1. devro says:

    The guy is a criminal and should be treated as such just becaus he pulls on the red shirt of man u does not give him any special dispensation. He has nobody to blam but himself. let the lad go not man u stock..