Am I alone in feeling rather bereft that Ravel Morrison seems to be leaving West Ham, possibly for pastures anew in Italy?
When he first broke into the first team he was an absolute revelation and it seemed he had put his troubled times behind him. For that one glorious month we thought we might have discovered an absolute gem, a player who could go on to be a legend for us, and who might even break into the 2014 World Cup squad. But it wasn’t to be, and that was no one’s fault but his own.
Ravel Morrison has no one to blame for his downfall but himself. I think the penny dropped for West Ham when even Harry Redknapp couldn’t change Morrison’s ways. Harry has become a bit of a specialist in rescuing troubled players and turning their careers around, but Ravel Morrison was one step too far. He threw it back in Harry’s face.
Someone I know at the club insists that Ravel is one of the kindest and gentle people they have ever met. But he is too easily influenced by the people around him, rather like Gazza. Ravel has no real family and is easily led by his friends. He lavishes money and gifts on them and in return all he gets is bad advice. According to my contact he is actually quite a deep individual and thinks about things very deeply, but lacks the role models and true friends, who only have his own interests at heart.
I wonder if in his quiter moments when he is on his own a little voice is telling Ravel Morrison that he has wasted his opportunity at West Ham. I wonder if even now that voice might be telling him to go and knock on Sam Allardyce’s door and plead with him to give him one last chance to prove himself.
If it were me, I’d put my arm around him and say yes. But I’d impose some rules on him and tell him that any breach would result in a very hasty exit.
If you were Sam Allardyce, what would your answer be?