{"id":16432,"date":"2023-03-01T14:16:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T14:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/01\/ravel-morrison-had-all-the-talent-and-left-sir-alex-gobsmacked-with-heartwarming-letter\/"},"modified":"2023-03-01T14:16:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T14:16:00","slug":"ravel-morrison-had-all-the-talent-and-left-sir-alex-gobsmacked-with-heartwarming-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/01\/ravel-morrison-had-all-the-talent-and-left-sir-alex-gobsmacked-with-heartwarming-letter\/","title":{"rendered":"Ravel Morrison had all the talent and left Sir Alex ‘gobsmacked’ with heartwarming letter"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Many have their opinions on Ravel Morrison. Few actually know what the troubled player is like.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But one thing everyone seems to agree on is that he had all the tools to become a top player in the game.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tMorrison has been left out of the DC\u2019s squad for the MLS season by manager Wayne Rooney\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He was a star as a Manchester United youngster and was a key to the side that won the FA Youth Cup in 2011, winning it alongside Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard.<\/p>\n

Morrison was not just thought to be better than World Cup winner Pogba, but he was compared to Paul Gascoigne, while legendary Old Trafford manager Sir Alex Ferguson reportedly said he was the best kid he\u2019d ever seen<\/a> on the ball.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not turned out the way Sir Alex hoped, with Morrison failing to make a real impact with the Red Devils at senior level or any of the other clubs he\u2019s represented during his journeyman career.<\/p>\n

Most recently at DC United, he was left out of the squad for the coming season by manager Wayne Rooney, whom he previously played for at Derby. His latest exit will mark his 13th club \u2013 and he\u2019s only just turned 30.<\/p>\n

All sorts has been said about Morrison\u2019s antics off the pitch, but Bernie White, who works as a teaching assistant at the school Morrison attended as a child and was a mentor for the aspiring footballer, knew him at a more innocent time in his life.<\/p>\n

Speaking to talkSPORT.com in 2021, she recalled: \u201cI talked to the boys to see if they\u2019d done their coursework which in Ravel\u2019s case was probably not\u2026 he got in trouble a few times but he wasn\u2019t as bad as people made out.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tMorrison won the FA Youth Cup alongside Pogba, but while he won the World Cup with France, Morrison has bounced around with spells in Sweden, Mexico, Italy, while his most recent English club was Derby\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHe sat in the car with me for about half an hour and I thought he was all right. He was a bit of a handful but a very talented footballer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mrs White adds that both Man United and the school (St Anthony\u2019s Roman Catholic School) gave Morrison \u2018every chance\u2019 to succeed. And while he dazzled at times, there were increasing concerns about his attitude.<\/p>\n

It led to a one-on-one meeting with the big boss, who spoke frankly at the youngster in an attempt to get through to the talented boy who was at serious risk of falling away.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a meeting with Sir Alex and I was in the meeting,\u201d White added.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tSir Alex held crunch talks with Morrison but they failed to have the desired effect\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAlex Ferguson quite openly said to him \u2018Ravel, I didn\u2019t get all of this for not working hard and making sacrifices.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cRavel just looked at him and took it all in. He was quite in awe of Alex Ferguson calling him in. <\/p>\n

\u201cI thought he\u2019d taken it on board, as we did every time but he was actually quite shocked Alex Ferguson was addressing him. It was a big thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The message from the Old Trafford legend didn\u2019t hit home enough as Morrison eventually left the club in 2012, having made just three appearances for their first team, none in the Premier League.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tMorrison\u2019s time at Old Trafford ended not long after\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Enough had been said about him by this stage to encourage other clubs to take a chance on him, however. West Ham were the first to do so.<\/p>\n

It looked like Sir Alex had dropped a clanger when Morrison scored a stunning solo goal at Tottenham in October 2013, the strike earning West Ham\u2019s goal of the season award.<\/p>\n

Mrs White managed to get a ticket for that match and looked on with pride as the boy she used to drive from St Anthony\u2019s to Man United\u2019s Carrington training ground was now doing his things at the highest level. There was a brief reunion between her and Morrison afterwards too.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was made Man of the Match that day and as I left the ground I waited at hospitality,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crowds were going \u2018Ravel, Ravel\u2019 and I went \u2018RAVEL!\u2019 and he was so pleased to see me.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe asked me to go down the town with him and have a drink with him but I didn\u2019t go. He really appreciated me being at the ground. He used to try to give me all these coats and jackets he got from his agents, although I couldn\u2019t take them off him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Exchanges like this shed light on the Morrison we seldom hear about and his former mentor is in no doubt that there are plenty of misconceptions about him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a good heart, he was nice, especially to his mum and brother,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n