The West Ham View: Ravel Morrison

The lads over at West Ham United Blog wrote us a little something on Ravel Morrison, who played a key role in Manchester United’s FA Youth Cup triumph in 2010.

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Nobody can forget when Ravel Morrison landed at the Boleyn Ground from Manchester United after just scraping through in a last day deadline deal. The lad had a reputation for strong potential along with lashings of natural talent.

Very soon though, it appeared that young Morrison found himself in the precarious situation of nearly pouring that natural talent down the drain with a string of off-the-field incidents coupled with an ensuing rage of Twitter storms.

A lot of the fans at West ham were curious to see what the ex Red Devil could do down at Upton Park. The Hammers fans were missing the skills of talented players like Di Canio, Joe Cole and Benayoun, when he was on song.

However, Ravel Morrison was rarely seen the season West Ham United finally got back up to top flight football, except for a solitary “guest appearance” when he came on a sub. It’s strange though; because West Ham really needed the talented midfielder to unlock some stubborn defenses that year.

So without really getting a whiff of the ex Man Utd youngster, he was loaned out to Birmingham City in what appeared to be a move to get him back playing regular football along with getting him focused.

It may have worked and got Morrison back on track as he made 30 appearances slotting home 3 goals, too. Now back at the Hammers, Morrison looks keen on fighting for a first team place while looking focused ahead of the new season.

The Kevin Nolan Factor

Hammers’ Captain Kevin Nolan has been busily pouring praise on Morrison recently, speaking highly of his ability while also suggesting he himself, has an important role to play in the young player’s future.

Nolan has been a great leader for the Hammers since joining from Newcastle. He has brought the squad together and the team spirit he has mustered up is extraordinary. Nolan has played an important part in reaching out to fellow teammates, providing a much closer knit of players than under previous regimes.

Speaking to WHUFC.com, Kevin Nolan said:

“The lad has got ability.

“It was all the off-field stuff and his mental attitude to the game and I think he has come back with a renewed approach.

“Hopefully now this will be the start of what is going to be a fantastic career for him, because as you can see he has great ability and can score goals too.

“I’m going to help him as much as I can this season, talking to him on the pitch and off the pitch.

“If he can get it all right, he’ll be a top player for years to come.”

One of the players that Nolan has guided is none other than Andy Carroll. The big forward was having a tough time at Newcastle until Nolan took charge and brought him in under his wing, as it were.

This had a positive effect on Carroll and hopefully the captain can work his magic again on Ravel Morrison as we are sure the ex Man Utd player has got what it takes to cement his place in the Premier League at West Ham.