Manchester United has a fine history of producing young talent, from the Busby Babes of the mid 1950s to Fergie’s Fledglings from the early 90s, a steady stream of gifted players have risen through the ranks.
Last season saw the emergence of Danny Welbeck and Kiko Macheda with Welbeck scoring a wonder strike on his debut against Stoke then Macheda’s all too memorable last minute match winning goal against Aston Villa which many considered to be the turning point of Manchester United’s season (he would then score against Sunderland in the following game to again grab 3 points for United).
Yet United have another player on their books possibly more talented than both and is being touted as the next big thing. It’s easy for such claims to be thrown about but when you actually see Ravel Morrison play, you will know why.
The young midfield is being touted by United insiders as one for the future and Daily Telegraph football correspondent Henry Winter already rates him above Jack Rodwell and Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere. But what is it that they have seen in him?
Playing as either a central midfielder or a winger, Morrison has pace to burn often leaving opposing players for dead with his quick feet and silky skills. He has good passing both long and short range and this is aided by his vision to pick out team mates in promising positions. Another thing that is appealing about him is that he has an aggression when attacking that is quite awesome thus he has a knack for getting goals, which is never a bad thing for a midfielder. At just 16 he is obviously still growing but his size is not a problem as his other attributes help him evade his opposition.
He has already represented England at u16 level capping a memorable appearance with goal against Northern Ireland in last year’s Victory Shield and has now moved on to the u18 squad.
But as they say every genius has their flaw and Morrison is no exception. When 17 year old Rob Brady was interviewed by ManUtd.Com he was asked ‘who is the worst trainer?’ To which Brady replied, “I’ll say Ravel Morrison. When he’s on his game he’s quality. But I reckon it’s just when he fancies it!”
Slightly more worrying than this is that he was reportedly in a car pulled over by the police that was said to have held a gun as well as drugs. Under Ferguson’s watchful gaze things like motivation and laziness in training can be taken care of but an issue such as that can only be solved by Morrison himself.
He is a precocious talent and under Sir Alex Ferguson he can only get better, its seems it’s just a matter of if he applies himself.
