Kevin Nolan claims Ravel Morrison ‘has regrets’ as the ex-West Ham midfielder reveals he and club captain Mark Noble once thought they had ‘cracked it’… only for the star to fail to report to training

• Kevin Nolan attempted to persuade Ravel Morrison to stay focused at West Ham 
• Morrison excelled against Oxford in a friendly in 2013 but didn’t attend training 
• City-Liverpool is tough to referee… but our campaign is up and running – IAKO 

Kevin Nolan believes former West Ham star Ravel Morrison would admit to having regrets over failing to fulfil his ‘incredible’ potential.

Morrison, who was previously at Manchester United, was seen as a player with a very bright future and he made a major impact for West Ham in pre-season in 2013 as he impressed against Oxford.

Nolan revealed that he and Mark Noble told Morrison that he could have a key part to play for West Ham that season but he didn’t listen and ended up not turning up for training the next day.

Morrison scored a memorable goal for West Ham against Tottenham early in the 2013-14 campaign but Nolan stated that he could have done so much more. 

Speaking on talkSPORT, Nolan said: ‘In pre-season that year, and this just sums him up, we played at Oxford United and it was me, him and Nobes [Mark Noble] in the middle, and he was unbelievable.

Kevin Nolan has revealed that he tried to get Ravel Morrison to stay focused at West Ham

Mark Noble and Nolan felt Morrison could play in midfield alongside them for the Hammers

Your browser does not support iframes.

‘It was only Oxford, don’t get me wrong, because we were Premier League and they were League One, that’s no thing to Oxford. But he was just, I mean, head and shoulders above everyone.

‘We got on the bus after the game and we were like, ‘Rav, that was incredible mate, never seen anything like it for a long, long time. Mate, you’ve got to get your head down, this is going to be your year.’

‘He was like, “Yeah yeah yeah, no problem. I loved it, it’s been great.” [We said], “This could be our midfield three now for this season, you doing what you do, Nobes and me being around you.” He was just, “Yeah yeah yeah.”

‘We thought we had him, me and Nobes, all the time he was texting his mate, “Yeah pick me up we’re going back to Manchester.” He didn’t turn in the next day.’

Morrison played only 24 times for the Hammers after joining the club from Manchester United in 2012.

The midfielder broke into the West Ham team following a spell on loan at Birmingham and enjoyed a run in the starting eleven at the start of the 2013-14 season.

Morrison scored three goals in seven matches, including his memorable effort at Tottenham, before falling out of favour under Sam Allardyce.

He played only twice for the club in the Premier League after a 3-1 loss away at Man United in December 2013. 

Morrison scored a spectacular goal against Tottenham but a lack of discipline halted his progress

Now aged 30, Morrison is currently playing in the United States for DC United

Allardyce said his autobiography ‘Big Sam’: ‘The end came after we’d played at Manchester United.

‘Rav stayed up north to see his family and didn’t come back. He wasn’t injured, he just didn’t fancy getting involved in our festive relegation battle.

‘We couldn’t get hold of him until the lads saw a picture of him on Facebook enjoying Christmas lunch with his family while they were preparing for our Boxing Day game.

‘Rav was potentially a £50million player but he has blown his career and it’s unlikely to happen for him now’.

Asked if Morrison would now regret living up to his potential, Nolan said: ‘I think he does now. I think if you asked the man he’d put his hand on his heart and he is a truthful lad, I think he would.

‘I loved working with him, I thought all he done was just sort of wind me up because of the talent he had, and I think that’s what in the end, where Sir Alex [Ferguson] sort of got rid of him.

‘I think Rio [Ferdinand] spoke really highly of him, all those players at that time, [Wayne] Rooney, everyone. But he just couldn’t put all the things that he had on the field, he couldn’t sort it out off the field.

‘I think he was just a maverick, that’s probably the best word to describe him, sort of went by his own rules and no one could tell him otherwise. You’d think at some point, “Yeah we’ve cracked it, we’ve got him.”‘

Morrison had loan spells at QPR and Cardiff before leaving West Ham permanently for Lazio in 2015. 

He is currently at DC United having previously played for Sheffield United, ADO Den Haag and Derby. 

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify

Your browser does not support iframes.

Source: Read Full Article