Ravel Morrison looks on from the team seats while Manchester
United play. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA Wire
The chances are you may never have seen him play but, at Manchester United, they are already
talking about him being the most naturally talented footballer to
come through their ranks since a young Paul Scholes skipped into
view. His name is Ravel Morrison: 18 years old, supremely talented
and tipped to be one of the pre-eminent English footballers of his
generation. Morrison scored a beautiful goal to help United reach
the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals last week and was in Sir Alex
Ferguson's mind for a place in the squad for the FA Cup tie against
Crawley, though he did not make the bench. In ordinary
circumstances, it should be a time for celebration, of toasting the
future in contemplation of a prodigious career and vast earning
power.
Yet the Morrison story is not that simple. What United hoped
would never become public knowledge is that, three weeks ago,
Morrison stood in the dock of Trafford youth court, alongside two
accomplices, waiting to find out if he was to be sent to a young
offenders' institution.
Morrison had admitted two charges of intimidating a witness. He
had subjected the victim of a knifepoint robbery to a two-day
ordeal in an attempt to stop him giving evidence at the trial of
his muggers. He had been warned he could face a spell in detention
and, with that, United would almost certainly have given up on him.
Instead, Morrison was given another chance: the judge decided on a
12-month referral order, warning him that if he did not comply he
would be sentenced to a year behind bars. He was told his behaviour
had been "appalling" and this was his last chance. What happens
next? It is difficult to predict.
Morrison, in terms of ability, is the real deal: balance, speed,
control, vision, flair, strong on either foot, an eye for a pass
and a prolific scorer for a wide, left-sided player. One clip on
YouTube encapsulates what he does best: a preposterous trick to
bamboozle an opponent from the Blackburn youth team, incorporating
a triple drag-back and a backheeled nutmeg. Let's not judge a
player on internet footage, but this was a moment that would have
brought Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to their feet. "Silks",
as Rio Ferdinand calls it.
He has played for England at under-16, under-17 and under-18
level and made his United debut, as a substitute, in the Carling
Cup tie against Wolves in October. One FA Youth Cup tie in 2008
prompted the Times to wonder "when [we] last saw such
balance and daring from an English 15-year-old". The Daily
Telegraph has tipped him as "a potential gem for 2014 [World
Cup]." The Independent identified Morrison in a feature
about 'Five Young Players to Watch in 2010.'
He is not the first young footballer to end up in court. The
club's view is that the good outweighs the bad and they are
determined to give Morrison the help he needs, in all parts of his
life. "The club does not in any way condone Ravel's actions, but he
is a very talented player with a bright future ahead of him," a
spokesman said. "The right thing to do now is to support him and
help him in the process of his rehabilitation."
Even so, there is a genuine concern at United that he has fallen
in with the wrong crowd and is in danger of frittering away what
could be a dazzling career. Two of his friends were locked up for
the robbery. The court was told Morrison subjected the victim of
the mugging to threatening phone calls ("you don't know what I'm
capable of") over the course of two days a year ago and was among
three teenagers who threatened the boy on the street. The three
later appeared in the victim's front garden in the early hours.
They were chased away but then came back in a mob of 15 to 20
people. A brick was thrown through the window. The victim was so
traumatised his family have put the house up for sale and want to
leave Manchester.
Since the verdict Ferguson and his coaching staff have spent
many hours debating how to handle the teenager, and are still
uncertain of what is best. There are already stories of Morrison
missing training, or turning up late for matches. "There's always
something going on with him," has become a popular refrain.
More seriously, his temperamental nature and apparent dislike of
authority have manifested themselves on the training ground. It is
said Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, then the reserve-team manager, had to
intervene in one incident. The teenager is described as someone who
acts impulsively and does not think of the consequences, a fragile
personality in need of a role model.
Morrison was born in Wythenshawe, a sprawling council estate on
the southern tip of Manchester. He lives with his grandparents,
Chris and Maureen Carlway, in Denton, five miles to the east of
Manchester, while his mother, Sharon Ryan, still takes an active
part in his life but lives in another part of the city with her two
younger boys, Rio and Zeon.
Morrison has contemplated moving out, complaining that he does
not like being under the watch of his grandmother, but the club
would rather he stayed in the company of adults, and it is said
that Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville have both offered to take him
in at different points.
His friends, like many lads of 17 and 18, tend to hang around on
bikes, wearing hooded tops and dark clothing. Morrison himself wore
a hoodie to one court appearance. For his sentencing, he looked
what he was: a teenager in Nike trainers and a tie knotted
Grange Hill-style, ie as short as possible. There was no
emotion when the judge told him he was being spared detention.
However, Morrison seemed appalled when he was informed he had to
pay costs, including £500 compensation to the victim. The court was
told United's No49, described on the club's website as a "supremely
gifted talent", had nothing in the bank despite receiving £3,400,
after tax, on the 25th of every month, as part of the professional
contract he signed when he was 17.
