Just What Will Happen With Ravel Morrison?

One of the underlying sub-plot’s of Manchester United’s season is the fate of Ravel Morrison. The talented but troubled youngster will be leaving the club at the end of the season if he doesn't sign a new a new contract .

The best managers in the country and Harry Redknapp (who loves to speak about opposition players more than his own) have waxed lyrical about Morrison.

There are hundreds of clips over the internet showing just how skilful the midfielder is and it’s hard to deny the fact there is something based on those clips and reports that he is a genuine talent.

What cannot be ignored are the off-the-field problems that Morrison has and which threaten to not only curtail but derail his career before it’s even kicked off. The club has helped him out and it’s blindingly obvious that he has got off lightly with some crimes that most people on the street would have got punished severely for.

At 18 years of age, he obviously has still got a lot to learn in football. Any young Academy/Reserve player will know that first-team football whether in the Premier League or League 1 has a major difference between Youth Football and all players no matter how talented will take time to adjust to playing against fully-grown experienced players.

It can be hard for young players to adapt to that change and clearly if they have issues behind the scenes, it can only make things more difficult in the long-term if they are not sorted out. If a club does want to let go a player in those circumstances then they have to be sure that they can’t work round the issue.

After all if you do have a problematic player, the last thing you would want as a manager at any level of the game is for that player’s attitude and behaviour to rub onto other players and set them down the wrong lines. I am not suggesting that Ravel would do such a thing or whether he has or not, but it’s something to think about and maybe Sir Alex Ferguson has thought 'enough's enough.'

It would be a shame to lose a young player of Ravel’s talent but great players come and go. Clearly if the club let him go then they would have done so in the best interests of the club in the long-term. Perhaps he needs to go out on loan or get a fresh start elsewhere to fully realise how fortunate he is in life and to realise the opportunity football has given him.

Sadly perhaps due to the money and the rise of the celebrity-lifestyle football has today, there will always be young players are victims of the game, who for a variety of reasons are or will be unable to reach achievements in their careers due to making mistakes early on in their careers. I hope Ravel Morrison doesn’t turn out to be one of them.

By Adam Dennehey @ADennehey87