Ravel Morrison | UAE 2nd Division player

dinostar77 said:
Rio Ferdinand recalls one particular moment: “Sir Alex Ferguson, I remember, he called me and Wazza [Wayne Rooney] over one day and said: “look at this kid, he’s better than you, Rooney when you were a kid, he’s better than you, Rio, better than Ryan Giggs when you were kids. This is the best kid you will ever see.”

When legendary United defender Gary Neville was contemplating retirement, he had begun his first steps into commentary, beginning with MUTV.

He watched numerous youth team matches at Altrincham’s Moss Lane which would play host to the next generation of stars hoping to make the breakthrough. Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard also featured.

“Ravel Morrison’s ability was just a scandal,” proclaimed Neville after one such performance. “He was playing in a midfield three with Pogba and Ryan Tunnicliffe. All of them were outstanding, but Ravel was the principal game changer.

“He was an unbelievable talent, a Paul Gascoigne-type who could beat men and score some incredible goals. There are few players in central midfield who can beat people – Ravel could drift past them.”
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Just because a player was good at youth level, doesn't mean they go on to prove themselves at senior level.

All this 'Ravel wasted his talent' is rubbish. They guy has had plenty of opportunities in numerous different clubs at senior level and showed nothing of the level he did in the youth set up.

There's a good chance to say he just wasn't going to make it anyhow.

Admittedly his personal issues affected him at United and elsewhere, but he has had many opportunities after that without ever looking like a professional player.
 
Champ said:
Just because a player was good at youth level, doesn't mean they go on to prove themselves at senior level.

All this 'Ravel wasted his talent' is rubbish. They guy has had plenty of opportunities in numerous different clubs at senior level and showed nothing of the level he did in the youth set up.

There's a good chance to say he just wasn't going to make it anyhow.

Admittedly his personal issues affected him at United and elsewhere, but he has had many opportunities after that without ever looking like a professional player.
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I never said anything about senior level. I simply said he was one if not the best talents at youth level for Utd. There are plenty of players who are outstanding at youth level and dont make it.

Ravel did waste his talent, but he was a product of a terrible background. Just google fergie quotes for Ravel. The potential of a 18/19 yr old Ravel is very different to the actual Ravel we see now. Thats totally understandable, hes not the player he was at 18/19, nowhere near it. The decision of timing that he had as a youth is long gone. David Harrison i think said it was a quality that Ravel had at youth level that very few but the very best possess.

Ravel will forver be the cautionary tale of wasted potential. A potential home grown world beater, beaten down by his environment.
 
Maluco said:
Honestly, he has done exceptionally well to drag out his potential at youth level for this long.

Derby will be the 12th team to pay him money to play professional football despite him not being good enough to play for any of them.

Instead of looking at it as opportunity missed, he has possibly taken full advantage!

Travelled around the world playing and getting paid by top professional clubs, despite not being good enough to play at a men’s professional level.

Ten years on from youth level and still getting trials at big clubs!

Good work if you can get it! Parallels with Freddy Adu.
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I'm hoping he finally fulfills his potential and maybe we should give him one last chance
R_Cubed said:
He's still talented and very gifted. Plays well for Jamaica (was motm for us versus Saudia Arabia away) and had a good cameo for us against Serbia. Our first draw against European opposition since 2001. The country loves him. He plays the way we love the game to be played.. He is coming into a group that has a family feel to it and people love and accept him. He needs that. Ravel was exceptional in The Mexican League. He can go back there or even Argentina or Brazil but he is obsessed with making it in Europe. Especially England so that he can be close to family. The ability never left. He needs to feel loved and Jamaicans have certainly done that. For us Jamaicans we call him "Lord Ravel" because he produces the miraculous for us.
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you been watching the gold cup my dude? I swear Ravel only played a couple of games?

My pops was saying there had been a bit of politics in past teams in terms of not wanting to select too many UK born players which held us back a bit. I dunno how true that is.
TwoSheds said:
Cool to see he's loved in Jamaica. They have a really exciting team at the moment too.
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pffft it should be dewcent as we could get:
Michail Antonio, Andre Gray, Rolando Aarons, Mason Holgate, Isaac Hayden, Nathan Redmond, Max Aarons, Liam Moore
 
He is such an enigma and one that fascinates me as much as any player I’ve seen come through.

The thing that always intrigued me is that he seemed to do the hard part of getting through his troubled youth to establish himself as a professional player. After leaving United, when he had a period at Birmingham, West Ham and QPR he looked like he had made that step and from there I expected him to blossom really. He also looked a standout player in the England under 21s at that point.

From there it has all gone wrong. The Big Sam issue has been talked about but even so I would have expected him to establish himself at another club with a manager that would put their arm around him.

You could easily name plenty of other young talents that were regarded as the real deal and then faded into obscurity (Jeffers, McEachran etc) so you could say he just wasn’t as good as we all thought he was. But for me, Ravel’s career feels different.

When you look at his career since he left West Ham and the limited appearances he’s had for the various clubs that have taken a punt on him it seems to paint the picture of someone who does not have the talent to play first class football or someone that has not met the standards of professionalism you would expect from a player.

My guess would be that he’s someone who does not take instructions well and therefore does not earn the trust of the manager and then loses motivation and professionalism very quickly when out of the team.

Just browsing through his Wikipedia page, I think this sentence on his time at Cardiff kind of sums him up

“He was named Man of the Match by WalesOnline on his first and only start for the club”

I think his only shot at redemption is if a Championship club or lower with the right manager take him on and take an uncompromising approach of starting him in every game for a sustained period for him to find some rhythm on and off the pitch.

It’s unlikely that he will find such a club unless he drops down a few levels. Hopefully Rooney can get something out of him.
 
dinostar77 said:
I never said anything about senior level. I simply said he was one if not the best talents at youth level for Utd. There are plenty of players who are outstanding at youth level and dont make it.

Ravel did waste his talent, but he was a product of a terrible background. Just google fergie quotes for Ravel. The potential of a 18/19 yr old Ravel is very different to the actual Ravel we see now. Thats totally understandable, hes not the player he was at 18/19, nowhere near it. The decision of timing that he had as a youth is long gone. David Harrison i think said it was a quality that Ravel had at youth level that very few but the very best possess.

Ravel will forver be the cautionary tale of wasted potential. A potential home grown world beater, beaten down by his environment.
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Ravel had the potential to go to the very very top

Thats what you mentioned earlier.

He looked good at youth level - he had natural talent, that was said by Sir Alex, however he never showed it at senior level in any capacity, youth talent does not always transpire to talent at a senior capacity. We've seen it time and time again at United and elsewhere.

Multiple managers loaned him out, hes been at an extorniate amount of clubs, all with the same result - they don't want him!

If he truly had all this talent and potential then surely he would have shown it by now? He couldn't even get in a West Ham side under Big Sam despite apparently training well and showing a healthy attitude.

Honestly - I feel like too much romaticism has been placed on Ravel Morrisons time at United becuase of what Sir Alex said when Ravel was 14/15 years old. His attitude let him down at United, his talent let him down at nearly every other club he's been at - and there are quite a few!!
 
Sassy Colin said:
But see the video, above, which makes him out to be the best player on the pitch.
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That's actually a lot more good touches than I remember him having!

In fact I don't remember United as a whole looking decent for that much of the match...
 
It's weird why this guy gets so much respect and yet Lingard gets shat on by so many people.
 
I will never understand. I had failed trials at some decent teams. I know I was a little short of what was needed to make it.

Ravel had all of the ability. In abundance. How is it possible to fail when you’re that good? He should have been able to move to Croatia on his own, get a chef, a trainer, a psychologist, sign for a decent technical side. Put someone in Control of his money. Just 12-24 months of discipline should have been enough. To break the cycle of self sabotage.

I still believe had he lived like a monk with a mentor for a long enough period, he could have succeeded. This constant 6-12 month churn is damaging.
 
Varun1 said:
His downfall at West Ham was down to Sam Allardyce.
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Source? How come he hasnt signed for any other prem sides?
If he's good enough for West Ham, why aint Watford etc in for him?

English and free and all.

You're talking nonsense
 
Andersonson said:
Source? How come he hasnt signed for any other prem sides?
If he's good enough for West Ham, why aint Watford etc in for him?

English and free and all.

You're talking nonsense
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Allardyce - Like Pardew did with Nile Ranger and corruption within the game - said essentially:
Sign with my Agent or I won't play you.
 
It’s equally (if not more) weird how so many people simply refuse to accept that someone can have been destined for the top but wasted it. Instead getting some kind of satisfaction out of believing that he ‘probably wouldn’t have made it anyway’. When all the evidence from all the ex pros who played with him or managed him says different. No one has ever questioned his talent even at senior level.

Arguing against Dino star is one thing (sorry Dinostar). But arguing against every United pro worth their salt is another entirely.
 
Remember him from the youth team, at that time I watched a fair bit of their and reserve games as I still had plenty of free time back then.

He absolutely looked better than Pogba then and I was 100% sure he's gonna make it to the top, even being very demanding of our academy products.
 
noelyman said:
It’s equally (if not more) weird how so many people simply refuse to accept that someone can have been destined for the top but wasted it. Instead getting some kind of satisfaction out of believing that he ‘probably wouldn’t have made it anyway’. When all the evidence from all the ex pros who played with him or managed him says different. No one has ever questioned his talent even at senior level.

Arguing against Dino star is one thing (sorry Dinostar). But arguing against every United pro worth their salt is another entirely.
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What's the point of going on and on about it though? He has only himself to blame for not being a superstar yet has still recurved chance after chance after chance

I have far more sympathy for Adrian Doherty and Been Thornley who had similar plaudits said about them but their dreams were called with injuries and not them wanting to be gangster
 
Tapori said:
Allardyce - Like Pardew did with Nile Ranger and corruption within the game - said essentially:
Sign with my Agent or I won't play you.
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Sure, but that has nothing to do with why Morrison can't get a contract in a prem club.
 
noelyman said:
It’s equally (if not more) weird how so many people simply refuse to accept that someone can have been destined for the top but wasted it. Instead getting some kind of satisfaction out of believing that he ‘probably wouldn’t have made it anyway’. When all the evidence from all the ex pros who played with him or managed him says different. No one has ever questioned his talent even at senior level.

Arguing against Dino star is one thing (sorry Dinostar). But arguing against every United pro worth their salt is another entirely.
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Fine to disagree with me, its a forum after all but i agree with you mate. I highlighted what paddy crerand, Sir Alex, Rio, Gary Neville, Wayne Rooney etc thought of his talent. Utterly exceptional. As a 16/17 he was being talked about as having a ceiling with players like Best and Gascoinge.

But talent alone isn't enough. Ravel needed to knuckle down but his off the field antics, distractions and really bad company he kept, meant that he wasnt going to training. Was stealing from Man utd and making all the wrong moves. Fergie persisted with him longer than an young player i known fergie to deal with. Chance after chance, but in the end the footballer couldnt be seperated from the environment he grew up in.

Big Sam took a punt, in the belief of his own abilities to resurrect players careers and the number of older pros at West Ham, who would get Ravel to knuckle down. But he was already on a downward spiral. Missing the match minutes any aspiring player needs to become a pro at the top level.

Anyone comparing his potential to dan james or jesse lingaard etc, hasnt got a clue about Ravels abilities, with no disrepect intended. Go see the quotes from ex utd players and fergie. Gascoinge / Best level of potential. Epic, epic waste of talent. Probably one of the biggest wastes of natural talent this country has produced.

Anyone remember the Barcelona youth player Bojan krkic who scored more youth goals then Messi? Over 900 youth goals. Hyped to the heaven, made his Barcelona debut and then slowly disappeared and ended up at stoke at one point. Sometimes potential for whatever reasons isnt realised and its a shame.

Ravel will always be a what if?
 
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Stacks said:
I'm hoping he finally fulfills his potential and maybe we should give him one last chance

you been watching the gold cup my dude? I swear Ravel only played a couple of games?

My pops was saying there had been a bit of politics in past teams in terms of not wanting to select too many UK born players which held us back a bit. I dunno how true that is.

pffft it should be dewcent as we could get:
Michail Antonio, Andre Gray, Rolando Aarons, Mason Holgate, Isaac Hayden, Nathan Redmond, Max Aarons, Liam Moore
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Mate, I have been watching the Gold Cup. Same old story. When Ravel doesn't play alongside Daniel Johnson Jamaica has no midfield creativity at all. Leon Bailey is about to get 0 passes in the final third this tournament. Ravel is absent and Daniel is unfit. Your father is right. There was a YouTube live a couple weeks ago where one of the top officials in the Jamaican Football Federation said they had a quota system for players born outside of Jamaica. Your father is a wise man. Listen to him. I will point out that the quota system does not apply to The Reggae Girlz who I am sure will qualify for their second successive World Cup in 2 years time. The men should take a look at the female team and how little they receive financially but they do better than the men's side where there are quotas.
 
Alex99 said:
What is there to disagree with?

Dan James has proven far more than Morrison, which is the point. The people he associated with as a kid at United and whatever it is Big Sam is supposed to have done to him are all in the past. I don't disagree that he should seek help if it's something that's still affecting him, but the fact remains that he's had a very lacklustre professional career.

Morrison made his professional debut in the 2010/11 season and has only played in 140 senior football matches at club level, and just 3 at international level. Dan James made his professional debut in 2017/18, a full 7 seasons later, and has already played in 115 senior football matches at club level, and a further 24 at international level. James has also just played for Wales in the Euros.

I wish Morrison all the luck in the world, and it'd be great to see him represent Jamaica in the World Cup next year, but it's simply incorrect to say that he's come remotely close to James' career.
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Ravel's technical ability in his handful of games for Jamaica is more than Dan James has shown for Man United. Dan James has gotten far more from his meager talent than Ravel has gotten from his vast talent. That much is true. There is no comparisons in terms of ability. I will reiterate...Ravel has mental health issues. I am certain of that. I suffer with it and I know what I see. Until he deals with those issued he will never be disciplined enough to maximize his potential. The one thing he has going for him is a nation that loves and adores him. People who he feels acceptance from. I hope he gets the help he needs because life isn't just about football. I did after years of suffering and being misunderstood.
 
12 month contract and watch his motivation go through the roof. But he has too much stigma and baggage with him..
 
R_Cubed said:
Ravel's technical ability in his handful of games for Jamaica is more than Dan James has shown for Man United. Dan James has gotten far more from his meager talent than Ravel has gotten from his vast talent. That much is true. There is no comparisons in terms of ability. I will reiterate...Ravel has mental health issues. I am certain of that. I suffer with it and I know what I see. Until he deals with those issued he will never be disciplined enough to maximize his potential. The one thing he has going for him is a nation that loves and adores him. People who he feels acceptance from. I hope he gets the help he needs because life isn't just about football. I did after years of suffering and being misunderstood.
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I've not seen Ravel play for Jamaica, but I do know he's only featured 3 times, so I think there's a possible overhyping going on from you here.

I'm not denying that as a youth player, Morrison was extremely talented, and that talent won't have gone away even if it wasn't nurtured, but Dan James, an accomplished professional, is such a ridiculous comparison that it's not even worth discussing.

You're not even really disagreeing with me. You just keep repeating that you've enjoyed watching him play for Jamaica, and that he's got mental health issues (something you don't actually know for certain), when both are irrelevant to the actual things being discussed. The discussion has been about whether Morrison is a) good enough to player to play for Manchester United (hint: he isn't) and b) whether he's better than Dan James (hint: he isn't).
 
R_Cubed said:
Ravel's technical ability in his handful of games for Jamaica is more than Dan James has shown for Man United. Dan James has gotten far more from his meager talent than Ravel has gotten from his vast talent. That much is true. There is no comparisons in terms of ability. I will reiterate...Ravel has mental health issues. I am certain of that. I suffer with it and I know what I see. Until he deals with those issued he will never be disciplined enough to maximize his potential. The one thing he has going for him is a nation that loves and adores him. People who he feels acceptance from. I hope he gets the help he needs because life isn't just about football. I did after years of suffering and being misunderstood.
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He has played 3 times for Jamaica. This is a ridiculous statement.
 
I'm going to say something controversial but Dan James and Jesse Lingard are better players than Ravel Morrison.
 
horsechoker said:
I'm going to say something controversial but Dan James and Jesse Lingard are better players than Ravel Morrison.
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That isn't controversial....the truth rarely is.
 
Champ said:
That isn't controversial....the truth rarely is.
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Some people in this thread think we should sign Morrison despite him playing less than 150 games in an 11 year career.

The dream is over, some people on here would have wanted us to sign a 35 year old alcoholic George Best.
 
horsechoker said:
Some people in this thread think we should sign Morrison despite him playing less than 150 games in an 11 year career.

The dream is over, some people on here would have wanted us to sign a 35 year old alcoholic George Best.
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Now this I would have got behind....

I think the Ravel story has been romaticised by united fans due to some comments by Sir Alex when Ravel was 14/15 in the youth team. People have to accept that sometimes quality players in youth setups don't always become top senior players. Sometimes their 'talent' doesn't translate at a higher level, I think Ravel is a case of this.

He hasn't ever shown a level of talent in the senior game to warrant ever putting on a United shirt again, and that cannot all be down to mental aptitude and attitude.

But anyway...when we signing George Best then??
 
R_Cubed said:
Mate, I have been watching the Gold Cup. Same old story. When Ravel doesn't play alongside Daniel Johnson Jamaica has no midfield creativity at all. Leon Bailey is about to get 0 passes in the final third this tournament. Ravel is absent and Daniel is unfit. Your father is right. There was a YouTube live a couple weeks ago where one of the top officials in the Jamaican Football Federation said they had a quota system for players born outside of Jamaica. Your father is a wise man. Listen to him. I will point out that the quota system does not apply to The Reggae Girlz who I am sure will qualify for their second successive World Cup in 2 years time. The men should take a look at the female team and how little they receive financially but they do better than the men's side where there are quotas.
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Pride and ego causing our downfall. Tunisia whole team damn near born in France and particularly Paris. quota. What a laugh. So basically we wanna eternally trash?
 
dinostar77 said:
Thats not controversial at all. Ravel now is probably nowhere near PL standard.
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His time at Sheffield United would suggest that wouldn't it to be fair but reviewing the few brief run outs he did get for Sheffield United he didn't seem to do so bad which was met with confusion from the Sheffield United fans.

Maybe Wilder didn't believe he was fit enough to play, I certainly think that was the issue with Warnock at Boro. Warnock was pretty damning when asked if he'd have Ravel back after the lockdown period, he basically said he didn't want him around!

Then there was the spell in Holland, this was the period that suggests to me he's completely finished, if he couldn't make a first team for one of the Erdivision's worst teams he's struggling for me.
 
Champ said:
Now this I would have got behind....

I think the Ravel story has been romaticised by united fans due to some comments by Sir Alex when Ravel was 14/15 in the youth team. People have to accept that sometimes quality players in youth setups don't always become top senior players. Sometimes their 'talent' doesn't translate at a higher level, I think Ravel is a case of this.

He hasn't ever shown a level of talent in the senior game to warrant ever putting on a United shirt again, and that cannot all be down to mental aptitude and attitude.

But anyway...when we signing George Best then??
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Rubbish, his talent translated. He actually played for West Ham once upon a time and played very well then suddenly. That's not talent no translating, that's something else happening. I'll never understand with the Ravel situation but he always has a chance to get it together because of complete he was as a young player.
 
RooneyLegend said:
Rubbish, his talent translated. He actually played for West Ham once upon a time and played very well then suddenly. That's not talent no translating, that's something else happening. I'll never understand with the Ravel situation but he always has a chance to get it together because of complete he was as a young player.
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He played a handful of games for West Ham and scored, before Big Sam loaned him out because he couldn't get into the team....

real great translation of talent that :lol:
 
Ok for argument sake since I want to know how highly he is rated here at the CAF since you guys know more than me.


IF and only IF Ravel, promises to work super hard in trainings, give 200% every time he is on the field be it in training or games and also promises never ever ever to go back to his bad ways, will you guys still take him for one last swansong?

Just curious....
 
makcikkaulawa said:
Ok for argument sake since I want to know how highly he is rated here at the CAF since you guys know more than me.


IF and only IF Ravel, promises to work super hard in trainings, give 200% every time he is on the field be it in training or games and also promises never ever ever to go back to his bad ways, will you guys still take him for one last swansong?

Just curious....
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I'd start him alongside Pogba and have Bruno as back up.
 
Champ said:
He played a handful of games for West Ham and scored, before Big Sam loaned him out because he couldn't get into the team....

real great translation of talent that :lol:
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No one knows why he couldn't get games from then. If his talent didn't translate then he'd have never looked that talented on that stage but he did.
 
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