Future England football star continues to un-Ravel…

Just last week Ravel Morrison was released on bail after spending three days in custody for the alleged assault of his ex-girlfriend and her mother.

It is just another incident in a long line of troubles which have so far derailed the young Mancunian’s career. At just 21, he is already staring into the football abyss and yet there were such high hopes for this young England star.

For those not familiar with Ravel Morrison, he was one of the many talented juniors to make their way through the ranks of Manchester United under the watchful eye of Sir Alex Ferguson.

He began training with the first team squad at just 16 and not long after played a handful of games for the first team in various cup competitions. So highly regarded was he that former club captain Rio Ferdinand stated “I would pay to watch him train, let alone play in a match”.

Veteran midfielder Darren Fletcher described Morrison as looking like he ran with the ball stuck to his foot such was his guile and touch. But it was not just the players who saw his star potential, with Ferguson too suggesting he was the best 14-year-old to ever come through the Manchester Academy.

With the like of Giggs and Beckham among those names it is ridiculously high praise indeed.

But even with all the talent in the world and some of the best mentors around him, Morrison could not keep his off field life on track. Not a misdemeanour often associated with troubled youth, Morrison was lucky to avoid jail for ‘witness intimidation’ after threatening the victim of a knifepoint robbing against identifying his friends in the attack.

Prior to last week’s assault charges, Morrison also had further domestic abuse charges dropped after his then girlfriend refused to testify and was he was advised to undergo domestic violence counselling.

Sir Alex had seen enough and at seasons end decided that Manchester’s boy wonder had run out of chances. Ferguson said upon his departure “A brilliant footballer, brilliant ability, top-class ability, needs to get away from Manchester and start a new life”.

With that it was London Championship outfit West Ham who took a chance on the youngster, signing him on a three-year deal.

Almost immediately Morrison again found himself in hot water sending out homophobic threats over Twitter which saw him fined by the FA. After only one start for the Hammers, manager Sam Allardyce immediately loaned him out to Birmingham to ‘gain experience’ – though surely Big Sam was secretly rueing his purchase.

Following a season on loan which garnered three goals from 27 games, Morrison was recalled to the big time with the newly promoted Hammers back in the Premier League.

His 18 appearances for five goals including a stunning solo effort showed his potential.

Finally the footballing world was seeing his exploits. A new found maturity saw him compile 18 appearances in the first half of the season for five goals. He even managed a brace when representing England under-21s, which had pundits wondering could he be a chance for Brazil 2014?

But just as quickly as those questions were asked they soon evaporated.

While representing England Under 21s Morrison became involved with an on-field spat with team mates which soon escalated into a physical altercation. Soon after this Morrison began to return to his old training ways and a slight groin strain was questioned by his manager as not being a legitimate injury.

Allardyce claimed that he was feigning injury to avoid training and once again he was sent on loan this time to QPR where again he excelled in the Championship playing 15 matches for a six goal return.

Now following his most recent arrest, Morrison is caught in a tug of war between a manager who wants to sack him and a board who see his unlimited potential and want him to stay.

For the West Ham hierarchy Morrison is exactly what the fans want – he plays with a skill and touch that will put bums on seats.

As a fan of the Hammers I certainly hope he once again wears the claret and blue, but it cannot be at the expense of upsetting the rest of his teammates. For those of you unaware of the great talent Ravel Morrison possesses, let’s hope this isn’t the first and last time you hear about him.