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The other side of academy football

Discussion in 'Liverpool' started by James_8, Feb 20, 2011.

  1. James_8

    James_8 Member

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    **** me, this is breath-taking (see below). Whilst I admire the sentiment behind The Mancs' refusal to give up on him (that's the essence of the way I work with troubled kids myself), you have to question how long they can tell themselves they're helping him by pulling him out of the significant **** he gets himself into. At what point does he take responsibility for his own actions? He is 18 after all - an adult in law, if not mind.

    Cynical though it is, I also question how solid their support would have been were he not so prodigiously talented. And the most damning aspect of it all is, for me, the reported salary. An 18 year old thug earns significantly more after tax than I do as a top of the pay scale teacher. Surely that amount of money for a lad who is palpably damaged goods and emphatically still a child in terms of his self-discipline is nothing less than fuel to the flames. We rightly laud the young heroes of our current U18 squad, but there's something completely immoral about placing such a high value on children's talent, no matter its level.

    The one thing that seems positive in the article is the reported offers from Neville and Ferdinand to take him in; reading between the lines, it seems the club has already pushed him to live with his nan rather than his mum and that patently isn't working. When you read stuff like this, you can see the benefits of La Masia at Barca where the boys actually live at the club. This is a lad who, if he's to have any chance of redemption, needs to be completely removed from his current environment; friends, family and all.

    It's one unholy ****ing mess, this lad's life; I just hope The Mancs are able to sort him out. Putting football factors to one side, the social implications of not doing so demand it.

    Ravel Morrison, Manchester United's problem prodigy | Football | The Observer

    Ravel Morrison, Manchester United's problem prodigy
    Ravel Morrison is a supremely talented young player with an attitude that worries some of those trying to help him


    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.
     
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  2. Ze

    Ze Well-Known Member

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    Someone who always acts impulsively and does not think of consequences is in my mind - thick. There's no doubt in my mind this boy is stupid - he has a promising career but has seriously personality issues. There are many many people born into the same type of situation he's in but they manage to get themselves out without harm, why can't he?

    I'm sorry but if this academy cannot control their young players, how will they control him on the pitch? A rogue player is no good to anybody, especially not the team - and will do more damage than good to a team's ability to connect.

    If I was in Man United's position - then firstly I'd get SAF to have a chat with the boy, explain what will happen if he doesn't get his life in order. Talk to the family, explain to them what will happen if he doesn't get his life in order, and you're talking about millions of pounds here. If possible - give his family some money on the basis they spend it buying a house out of the area. Then - do not give him spare time to hang around with his friends, make him stay in the training ground - making him interact with his fellow players.
     
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  3. James_8

    James_8 Member

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    Sorry to come over all lefty and compassionate, lads, but it's not black and white. No doubt whatsoever that at 18 years of age, the lad is completely responsible for his own behaviour and absolutely must face the consequences of his actions. I too question the wisdom of not locking him up. How has that helped the victim, society or even Morrison himself?

    **** parenting is the root cause of boys (and girls - it's not just a male thing any more, if it ever was) like him, not the money culture of football. *That certainly exacerbates a bad situation, as I suggested in my opening post, but it is not the causal factor. *The answer is early intervention, in my view.

    Who knows what The Mancs tried to do to support him in the past (and I'm sure they will have done various things), but certainly the idea of Rio Ferdinand taking him in sounds like a really good idea to me. I'm obviously making some assumptions about his family here without knowing all the facts, but it seems obvious that the lad lacks a male role model and Ferdinand as arguably the biggest black male role model in this country for young lads and therefore fits the bill perfectly.

    If I had any say in what happened to this lad now he's dodged jail (and I think he should have gone down, to be honest), I'd move him in with Ferdinand and develop a complete eduction programme for him that involved voluntary and community work. The lad is clearly entirely lacking in both humility and empathy and it would do him no end of good to work with some disabled kids and go on charitable fund raisers, as well as have to deal with a disciplined routine at (Ferdinand's) home that kept him away from the little scrotes he was dragged up with. He should also be pushed into academic studies too. In fact, I'd work him so hard, both on and off the pitch that he'd have no opportunity to do anything so vile again.

    If the lad is as talented as the article suggest, the set up should be Fergie as the "head teacher" and Ferdinand as the "dad". Some hefty carrots and sticks are called for. However, at 18, if the lad isn't prepared to comply they can't force him to. In that scenario I would hope they have the balls to cut him loose regardless of his talent.
     
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  4. robin_van_ fiberglass

    robin_van_ fiberglass Active Member

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    James, thing is if they cut him loose you can probably guess where he will end up. If he is robbing people when he is probably getting paid a lot of money (for his age anyway) then I imagine he is in some sort of gang. You take away the possibility of being a footballer away from him and he doesn't have many roads to chose from. Seems like a very difficult situation all round.
     
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  5. KingPepeReina.

    KingPepeReina. Active Member

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    Two words spring to mind,George Best.Only he's acting the goat 7 years younger than Best did.Best started acting the goat at 24 and that was the start of his demise.
     
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