Ravel Morrison was born in Wythenshawe (Manchester), on February 2, 1993. Wythenshawe was a "garden city" project from the 1920's onwards and became one of the largest housing estates in Britain. Marcus Rashford is also from this area of Greater Manchester.
At 16 he entered the Manchester United youth sector and was soon predicted to go on to great things. He was a rare talent and received praise from the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Sir Alex Ferguson.
In 2010 he signed his first professional contract and made his debut on October 26 in a League Cup game against Wolves. He played a few minutes and that would remain his only appearance as Manchester United won the title.
The following season he again only played in the League Cup with two appearances and in January was loaned to West Ham United in the Championship. He only played one league game under Sam Allardyce but the Hammers got promoted.
In 2012 he joined Birmingham City in the Championship. In the Midlands capital he played more often and, under manager Lee Clark, played 27 league games with 3 goals and 2 in the domestic cups with 1 goal. The Blues finished 12th.
In 2013 he returned to the Irons in East London in the Premiership. Still under manager Allardyce he played 16 league games with 3 goals (Everton, Tottenham, Norwich) and 5 in the domestic cups with 2 goals (Cheltenham Town, Cardiff City). In February however he was loaned to QPR in the Championship. Meanwhile the Claret and Blues finished 13th.
In Sheperd’s Bush Morrison found manager Harry Redknapp and played 15 league matches plus 2 in the playoffs and scored 6 goals. The Hoops were promoted to the Premier League.
Morrison however remained in the Championship and after playing one game for West Ham in September he crossed the Severn bridge to join Cardiff City. He only lasted four months in South-Wales under three different coaches (Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Danny Gabbidon and then Russell Slade). Morrison played 7 league games for the Bluebirds before returning to West Ham.
In 2015-6 he went for the foreign experience and joined Lazio. In Rome he was coached first by Stefano Pioli and then from April 10 by Simone Inzaghi. In his first year despite a promising pre-season he only played 4 league games, 1 in Champions League, 2 in the Europa League and the Italian Supercoppa.
In 2016-17 Inzaghi stayed on and Morrison again performed well in the summer friendlies only to disappear during the season. He did not play at all and in January returned to Loftus Road and QPR in the Championship. With the Royals, under manager David Oldfield, he played 5 league games and QPR finished 18th.
In 2017 he went for an even more exotic foreign adventure and joined Atlas in Mexico's top flight. He played 18 league games for "Zorro" plus 2 in the playoffs with 3 goals plus 5 in the Mexican Cup with 1 goal. At the end of the season he left Guadalajara and returned to Europe.
In 2018 he was back at Lazio but again under Inzaghi he remained on the margins and in January moved to Österlund in Sweden. He played 6 games in the Swedish top division plus 3 in the Swedish Cup with 1 goal. Österlund finished 12th.
In 2019 Morrison was back in England, in South Yorkshire to be precise. He joined Sheffield United in the Premier League. Under manager Chris Wilder he played just 1 league game and 3 in the domestic cups before going north to Middlesbrough in January. Meanwhile the Blades had a good season and finished 9th.
At Middlesbrough, in the Championship, he only played 3 league games under Jonathan Woodgate and the Smoggies finished 17th.
In 2020-21 he was abroad again this time in Holland. He joined ADO Den Haag in the Eredivisie but played 4 just league games for the "Ooievaar" (The Stork) and 1 in the Dutch Cup and in January was back in England. Meanwhile ADO Den Haag were relegated.
Back in the Championship he joined Derby County and after many years played regularly. The manager was Everton and Man. U. legend Wayne Rooney and Ravel played 36 league games with 4 goals (Coventry, Barnsley x2, Blackburn Rovers), plus 2 in the domestic cups with 1 goal (Salford City). The Rams had a difficult season with a 21-point deduction (for entering administration and financial irregularities) and were relegated to League 1.
He then signed for DC United but after the first year he was left out of the squad but allowed to train. In September 2024 he signed for Precision in the UAE third tier.
At International level he represented England at U16 (1 game, 1 goal), U17 (3 games), U18 (1 game), U21 (4 games, 2 goals).
In 2020 he used his Jamaican citizenship to make his debut for the "Reggae Boyz". So far, he has earned 18 caps and scored 2 goals (Honduras, Suriname).
Morrison is a midfielder. He is 1.75 and 71 kilos. He can play in various midfield roles. He is extremely talented, fast and strong. Despite his obvious talent and skills, he has not yet fulfilled his potential and has disappointed those who predicted a bright future for him. He has had a few flashes, performing well at Birmingham City, QPR (first spell) and Derby County but nowhere near what his potential at one point promised.
At Lazio we can say he was a failure. The fans were desperately hoping for a sort of mini Gascoigne but he never came remotely close, only showing some signs of hope in some pre-season friendlies but then never delivering when it mattered. It was a gamble that did not pay off. He appeared in 8 games for Lazio in total.
Lazio Career
Season | Appearances | Serie A | Champions League | Europa League | Super Coppa |
2015-16 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Sources
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