Watching West Ham’s top five goals against the Spudz, to try and cheer myself up a bit, last up was Ravel Morrison’s superb solo effort at WHL in 2013. From Mo Diame’s lovely touch to bring it under deep in our half, followed by the lovely lay off to Ravel with the outside of his boot which was the start of one of the more memorable goals in our history, what resulted typified Morrison’s great potential.
With only one game from nine so far this season, in a struggling Atlas team in Liga MX, Mexico’s top division, on loan from Lazio, Ravel is yet to break through. Should he get his chance I hope he goes on to do well and realise his potential. The Atlas fans were excited about his arrival despite vice-president Alberto de la Torres revealing that there is a ‘good behaviour’ clause in the loan deal. The fact that he’s only featured once for the team might suggest it’s not going well however the aforementioned clause doesn’t mince words stating that he’ll be sent straight home should Ravel digress in any way so perhaps he’s still in their plans.
Very much like Paul Gascoine it appears that Ravel has been unable to shake off bad influences from ‘hangers on’. Ravel’s formative years put him in with a crowd who Sir Alex Ferguson was keen to distance him from – so much so that he decided to do what he considered in the best interests of Ravel by selling him to West Ham to be looked after by Sam Allardyce. A compliment from the Manchester United manager to Mr Allardyce’s abilities to get the best out of players.
Sadly it didn’t work out for Ravel at West Ham as his Salford ‘friends’ continued to influence him. He is a grown man and, therefore, can’t blame others for his own failings however it can’t be easy for the fella with ‘outside influences’ taking effect.
After loan spells at Birmingham, QPR & Cardiff West Ham released Ravel and he signed for Lazio in 2015. He returned to QPR on loan. Signing for an Italian club may not have been far away enough from Manchester. If not then his current loan to Mexico should do the trick. If not then how far away does he have to go? Will he end his career in New Zealand perhaps?
On the subject of flawed geniuses Paulo Di Canio, for me, was on that level. Blessed with incredible skill, although much of it developed with hard graft and dedication, and as much as I worship him as a player, there’s no doubting that he’s hit the self destruct on more than one occasion during his career. You wonder whether he would have featured for Italy and become an international legend as well as a West Ham one if he’d have been more able to manage interpersonal relationships with those in authority within his national team’s hierarchy. Whatever your opinion he definitely possesses eccentricities in similar ways to Gazza and Ravel.
There are elements of this with our record signing, Marko Aranoutovic, but there’s definitely a line between ‘Flawed Genius’ and ‘Moody and sulky players
To a degree it must be difficult growing up in the, bubble like, world of a top level footballer. Some handle the strains well. Others struggle with it for varying reasons. Be they alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling problems, infidelity, anger or mental issues with so much time and money at their disposal it can certainly be a case of ‘too much too young’ for many. Whilst there is certainly far more resource put in to managing these issues by clubs, associations and academies nowadays the number of players who fall foul are still significant. There are elements of this with our record signing, Marko Aranoutovic, but there’s definitely a line between ‘Flawed Genius’ and ‘Moody and sulky players with a bit of a screw loose with very few falling in to the former classification. Which group Marko falls in to remains to be seen. Others who have been close to that line might include the likes of Stuart Slater and, going back to players from the ‘50’s, Malcolm Allsion. I’m sure that you could name plenty more and I’d be interested to hear your thoughts and debates on the matter.
the great tribute that our club put on in honour of the legendary irishman, warmly recognised and appreciated by Sir Bobby Charlton
Differing subtly from your common badges of honour history bestows a great deal of Kudos on the flawed genius. They’re written and spoken about extensively by those who knew them and those who didn’t. For me it’s one of the most interesting conversations in sport. I remember speaking with a Manchester United fan about George Best. Part of the conversation was due to the fact that Manchester United visited Upton Park the game after his sad passing and the great tribute that our club put on in honour of the legendary Irishman, warmly recognised and appreciated by Sir Bobby Charlton, but much of that conversation centered around whether George would have been the same player without his imperfections. Nobody can say for sure but one thing is for certain. The spectacle of our great game is enriched hugely by these flawed geniuses who become giants of the game.