The Two Sides of Ravel Morrison & Why He Is Off To QPR  By ExWHUemployee  16 Feb 2014 at 19:50  140 comments It was yesterday that I brought my version of the Ravel Morrison story in my Ironviews column. For those of you who havenât seen it, it may be a good start point before reading this article. Here is the link at Ironviews I wrote the article knowing that The Guardian were planning to release a story that evening. I was informed that their column would be very one sided and be backing the âmistreatmentâ of Morrison. I am led to believe that the information provided for the article had been passed on via someone very close to Ravel, so naturally it will be written to support their side to the story and not the clubâs. The agent story has been around for at least two months so you have to question how and why The Guardian has only just got hold of the story as Ravel is due to leave. Read The Guardian story HERE and make up your own mind. I intend to give a more balanced view to the debate. As I stated in yesterdayâs Ironviews article, Mark Curtis is the agent for Big Sam as well as Nolan, Jaaskelainen, OâBrien, Collison, Demel, Jarvis, Tomkins and Andy Carroll. As well as this, he is also credited with being the man who brought our new goalkeeping sensation Adrian to the club. You do not have to look far for articles on Samâs relationship with Mark Curtis. A simple search on Google brings up a list of allegations dating back way before Samâs spell at West Ham. So according to The Guardian, Ravelâs imminent departure to QPR has been blamed on the fact that Big Sam and Nolan (amongst others) have been putting constant pressure on Ravel to switch agents. As I have stated previously Ravel (and of course his agent) found this to be very offensive and unprofessional such is the close relationship of Nick Rubery and Ravel Morrison. The Guardian says West Ham have put this to the relevant people and they strenuously deny it. Mark Curtis says it is ânonsenseâ, and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing. As has been well documented Ravel had been through a lot previous to joining West Ham and during his time here and he feels Mr Rubery has helped him through this. The pressure was apparently constant with threats of not being picked for the team if he didnât change and promises of big contracts if he did. Of course if this is true, and I am merely speculating, then it is a very worrying position for us to be in as a club. In my opinion no signing should be dictated by who their agent is. The sheer amount of money spent on agents in the game in itself is wrong, let alone if it is dictating transfer policy. It has been well documented that Ravel has had some difficulties before he joined the club, which it was felt were behind him but almost immediately he joined there was an incident which the club understandably tried to âhush upâ. It occurred at a pre-season training camp in Germany where there was an altercation between Morrison and one of the coaches, in which there was a physical bust-up. Ravel was then sent home to get âhis teeth fixedâ and promptly moved on loan to Birmingham. He settled down and did well during this loan spell and his talent meant he was deservedly given a chance to impress this season and he did. After the 3-0 win at Spurs there were claims for him to be a surprise selection in the World Cup team and things seemed to be going really well at the club. Morrison and his agent have put his problems down to the agent situation but I believe there are other reasons. I was told that Ravel went to see the manager and demanded that he started in front of Nolan, due to his captainâs poor form. This naturally upset both the manager and the captain and they believed this had been prompted by his agent. Ravel was unhappy at never being played in Nolanâs position and having to settled for being on the wing or in a deeper role. I am also informed that he questioned the teamâs style of play and this is backed up by Nick Ruberyâs comments during the Chelsea game, where he tweeted that only one team was trying to play football and it wasnât us. Iâve just witnessed some serious anti-football tonight from one team. No need to guess which one it was. The tweet was promptly deleted. Naturally these sorts of demands have turned a number of players against Ravel. He has upset quite a few high profile players at the training ground, one of which is Mr. West Ham, Mark Noble. You can also see players getting frustrated during games. Matt Jarvis showing his frustration with during the Nottingham Forest cup game being the last that I can remember. One or two players voiced the view that they didnât want him in the team and that he was having a negative impact. Indeed, the straw which broke the camelâs back for the West Ham management was an alleged bustup in training last week between Winston Reid and Ravel Morrison. It was a few days after this, a week ago tonight, that West Ham Till I Die broke the exclusive that he would be sent out on loan. There has also been speculation that some of Ravelâs off-pitch antics have continued. It has been said that after the Manchester United away game that he didnât return to training like the other players and that he was impossible to get hold of over Christmas. It has also been suggested that he was recorded not being too complimentary about the manager in public and that the video surfaced on the internet before being quickly removed, although I didnât see it myself. This is not the only story that I have heard regarding incidents off the pitch, but due to the nature of them and not having concrete evidence I will not disclose them here. It is clear that there is no âgroinâ injury. This has been an excuse used by either the club or Ravel to hide the true goings on. The club may be using it to hide why he isnât being selected, Ravel may be saying it in order to prevent his selection. Either way of looking at it, it is hiding the real reasons for his absence. Ravel clearly has some attitude issues that I feel may always be with him, possibly even medically related, but if you look at some of the best players produced in Britain: George Best, Paul Gascoigne, John Terry and Tony Adams all have had difficulties in their personal lives but their clubs stuck by them and ultimately the benefits out-weighed the negatives. The timing of the article in The Guardian is really unfortunate as always seems to be the way with the club. There is a good positive mood at the club and the results are showing this. We do not need these stories coming out now. I had decided not to share these stories and a few others publicly because I donât like the negative publicity that inevitably ensues, but in light of The Guardianâs story I felt I had to write. It would be interesting to see what the club say in the coming days about the situation. One thing is for certain the story really does split opinion.
Never the less it's been interesting as this story unraveled! Yes I'm now heading to the cloakroom to fetch my coat.....
In all probability, it may may both player and club/Manager that have not handled as well as they would like. But the lad has talent, and yes, like a previous talent we had at the club, can produce brilliance and frustrations. But we need a spark, desperately !! Maybe Ravel is it !!
From what I have read - this excellent article - plus the Guardian write-up - Ravel Morrison will certainly have an influence on the team and his team mates. In the absence of any other strategy, I think his capture on loan is a shrewd move. It is almost the polar opposite of the situation we have with Adel Taarabt - and look at his immediate impact at AC Milan. As it has been evident with our Morrocan Magician, a change of context might be just what's needed for the boy; and if that can be of benefit to the club, then in the words of Duncan Bannatyne 'I'm in!'
Sorry Sku, but 'in the absence of any other strategy' this smacks of desperation and opportunism rather than shrewdness. I hope it works though. Another here today gone tomorrow short term bet. The only constant about this club is its name.
Bloody Hell Stan you need to stay off the Neuf-du-P mate. You're drifting into Flyer country. Yesterday I switched over from the W12 carnage to watch the 2 man bob at Sochi. It was therapeutic. I'm drawing a line under the season up to now. My therapist says this helps. We are currently third. We can do it. Like an Italian driving a small Fiat at the limit, what's behind us doesn't matter. Ravel M might be the creative spark we need. I know its not Yossi or Niko. Chin up. I'm at Weds v Derby tomorrow night. I think Weds can do us a favour.
I think you make a great point there sb_73 - and I agree, it is all about short-termism, then a review of strategy again in the close season. One could argue that the emergence of agents and the transfer window have only served to encourage this policy. By contrast, ask an Arsenal fan how they feel when they're reminded that they have won no silverware for 9 seasons. Their historic aversion to profligate, short term spending, and investment in the stadium and home grown talent (picked up largely from French academies) is heralded as the model to behold as Financial Fair Play rules come into view on the horizon. I guess what I'm saying is 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' is the predicament that the club finds itself in. The irony of the Reading fans singing 'you should have spent more money' yesterday was not lost of me, nor anyone else around me. I would have loved to have seen the club plunder €10m on Jordan Rhodes and watch him bag a hattrick yesterday, but Tony Fernandes chose, perhaps wisely, to add loanees, albeit that there's nothing to bind them to the club. So the boy Morrison, is another short-term gamble, yes - but with one eye on the long term prize.
Hope he does well. We have always had our creative no 10's - as I've said on other thread - Stanley was the same brand of crazy in his day - but the media pressure not so fierce - bring on another legend and enjoy the ride - on and up and up!!
I said I hope it works mate! There is still everything to play for, somehow we are still up there, severely weakened without Austin, Philips, Faurlin and Simpson but still with a squad most other teams in this league would envy. If we had a bit of stability -"this is the way we play, this is our formation and this is my first pick 11' from H would do it, I still think we have a great chance of automatic promotion. Either way we start again in the summer. I was watching the excellent snowboard racing with my 2 kids last night, we had a great time, as did the competitors it seems. Falls every race and at the end they just say 'well, that's the sport', even if they went from 2nd to last in a blink of an eye. Atmosphere slightly dented when my wife and daughter started a lengthy debate about the difference between figure skating and ice dancing. Not a subject to get the lads' pulses racing. I am finding my neutral space, never fear.
There is always two sides to everything & I'm in no doubt Morrison is a bit of a scum bag but agents are the scourge of the game, an evil cancer slowly eating away & destroying football.
