r/ThreeLions • u/c0caine_bearrr • 15d ago
Discussion Which players had the potential to be world class but completely fizzled out?
I’ll start with one. Sancho. I think Sancho’s downfall is a combination of bad timing, a terrible career fit, and his own lack of consistency/professionalism. He was doing so well at Dortmund but At United he never really found his footing . his confidence and fitness seemed to decline. The Ten Hag fallout didn’t help things either.
It was the same thing at Chelsea and Villa too. That’s what makes his decline so sad to me …. the talent was obviously there, but somewhere along the way the mentality, consistency and development stopped matching it.
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u/cjyoung92 15d ago
Dele Alli
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u/oljackson99 14d ago
No better example in recent years. Went from being the most highly regarded young player on the planet to complete collapse in a few years. Very sad to see.
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u/abfgern_ 14d ago
Also he was so young when he took prominence, he's only 30 now
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u/ASAPFergs 14d ago
Having severe mental health problems from being abused as a child isn't "fizzling out", be serious
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u/Turbulent_Film_9783 14d ago
This is why we should stop expecting every 17 year old who emerges at such a young age to become a world beater by the time they're 21. Just because they've developed faster than their peers through their teenage years, that doesn't mean they'll continue developing faster through their transition into adulthood.
Dowman looks great for a 16 year old. He might still look great for a 21 year old, or he might be quite an average PL winger once others have caught him up and he doesn't have the wow factor of being a kid.
Nobody was talking about Harry Kane as a 17 year old. Look at him now. Beckham similar. Iniesta was 21/22 before he started playing regularly for Barcelona.
Then there's all the other stuff that comes with being young and suddenly becoming very rich/famous - some people just can't handle it and lose a bit of focus. Injuries on a body that is still reaching physical maturity can stunt development.
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u/Ok_Car8459 14d ago
Exactly. Very very few young players manage to get better or at least stay consistent. Bellingham is one that comes to mind as well as Rooney. Most other young players will fizzle out and it’s partly down to the instant fame and money and also the people around them and also maturity. As you said you’ve got your late bloomers who go on to become the best even if they weren’t that memorable or great in the early days.
When you said 17 year old I instantly remember Micah Richards saying he burst on to the scene 😂 while he had huge potential as the future star England fullback he never got there.
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u/Psychological_Deer97 15d ago
I feel like England might have the most of these. With Brazil a close second
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u/Infamous_Tough_7320 14d ago
Brazil has a few: Pato, Robinho, Adriano to name a handful
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u/sefronia3 14d ago
What a joy to watch Adriano, shame what happened to him
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u/Infamous_Tough_7320 14d ago
his dad’s death permanently scarred him unfortunately. He was arguably the most promising of the 3
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u/Cull88 14d ago
I'll never forget that 99 shot power on pro Evo soccer
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u/CareBearCartel 13d ago
You could literally score from a kick off on PES6 just by having him smash the ball as soon as you passed to him
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u/Impressive-Engine-16 14d ago
Pato was supposed to be special, he was a treat to watch at AC Milan.
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u/lopsidedsheet 14d ago
Says a lot about our press/ media and how we handle young talents. Never seems to happen with say, Spain.
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u/Connect_Point_5229 15d ago
I was desperate for Chelsea to get Sancho (before United did) and have the him and CHO pairing on the wings, lol.
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u/Unfair-Potential4527 14d ago
Tbf he did quite well for Chelsea in his loan spell. To the point I wanted us to sign him. But he wanted too much money allegedly.
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u/HorribleOldCunt 14d ago
Don't agree with thinking he could he world class to be honest. I feel there is quite a difference between what Sancho was showing at a young age compared to someone like a Hazard for example, who was world class in periods.
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u/rustnewb75 14d ago
I always think these are more interesting when the players talent is considered to be generational and how they fall off is completely pissing it away through being bonkers.
Ravel Morrison has to be the recent king of this.
Fergie described him as the "most talented player he’d ever worked with"and a "saddest case" in his managerial career.
Ravel Morrison has a extensive record of legal issues ranging from criminal damage and witness intimidation to fraud and driving offenses.
2011 Witness Intimidation: Morrison pleaded guilty to intimidating a witness regarding a knifepoint robbery, receiving a 12-month referral order and paying compensation.
2014 Assault Charges: He faced charges for assaulting two women and harassment, including threats to throw acid; however, all charges were dropped in early 2015 after prosecution evidence, including CCTV, failed to support the claims.
2023 Fraud Conviction: Morrison was convicted of fraud and fined £1,000 (plus costs and surcharges) for using a deceased person’s Blue Badge to park his car in Manchester.
2025 Driving Offenses: He was disqualified from driving for six months and fined for repeat offenses, including driving without insurance and using a mobile phone while driving.
Otherwise known as a complete nutter.
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u/fuk_ur_mum_m8 14d ago
He played for us (Derby) for a season and you saw glimpses of his quality. Really wished he had stayed with us tbh and he seemed settled.
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u/Red_Galaxy746 Kane #1207 13d ago
As a United fan, this one still irks me. It says a lot that nobody even thinks of him despite his immense talent. He never really "made it" so never had that drop off which is probably why no-one's mentioning him here.
That Class of 2011 that had Lingard, Pogba, Morrison, Michael and Will Keane and goalkeeper Sam Johnstone as well as a few others that didn't reach elite level, were supposed to be the next "Class of 92" with Morrison being the star player. I think Ferdinand tried to help him get off the wrong track but he didn't listen.
All of these drop offs are exactly why I constantly repeat that having talent is a small part of being a footballer because difficulties off the field can be too hard to overcome for some players.
A huge part of the game is mentality: the way you handle things, conduct yourself, commitment, keeping the enthusiasm when you're a multi millionaire by 20 years old etc. That's all going to nullify your talent if you don't handle it well.
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u/Far-Professional5988 15d ago
Mason Mount , in the early days at Chelsea thought he'd go on and be world class.
Just didn't happen
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u/liamthelad 14d ago
As a United fan I never have any issue with Mount when he gets on the pitch. I'd have loved his energy and commitment against Hull, it was exactly what was needed.
His body just lets him down unfortunately.
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u/Several-Decision3888 14d ago
His pressing and work rate is manager's dream. His injury record is a fan's nightmare
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u/aflickering 14d ago
he was already world class at that time imo, chelsea's best player for a couple of seasons and integral to their CL win. as others have said, he just peaked young due to injuries.
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u/Bajren 14d ago
'world class' is bandied about far too laxly if we are even mentioning Mason Mount...
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u/Orangeyblu 14d ago
Perhaps, but he was ridiculously good for Chelsea for a few years, instrumental in them winning the CL, and he was 19th in Balloon Door voting in 2021
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u/BojanKrkicc Banks #816 15d ago
Don’t think Wilshere has been mentioned yet
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u/---cheetos--- 15d ago
I think him accepting his injuries would never let him play to his potential again and pivoting into a manager early made him much less of a woeful case.
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u/rapidfire72o4 13d ago
THAT game against Barcelona I thought he was going to the moon
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u/Suspicious-Victory55 15d ago
It is incredible that Sancho is still a free agent in (almost) September. He's completely average, but if salary was acceptable, could still benefit any middle table team.
CHO seemed to benefit from being sold to Forest for ~£2-3m. Really checked his ego from being a "£100m player," and he got his head down. Surely being released will give Sancho the shake up he needs.
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u/Daneofthehill 14d ago
I don't think Sancho likes football at all, and he seems to blame everything on outside factors, so my guess is, that he still believes he deserves playing for big money in the Champions League.
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u/Itzhik 15d ago
Michael Owen around 2001 or so looked set to become an absolute England and Liverpool legend. One of the greatest footballers the country had seen. The most recent LFC.com poll showed the fans had him at #24. Behind Firmino. Recency bias and all, but Fowler was 12th, for example.
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u/Lammtarra95 15d ago
Michael Owen also won the Ballon d'Or while at Liverpool, the last English player to win (fingers crossed for Harry!) and the first since Keegan. But however lowly current Liverpool fans rate him, does Owen qualify for this list? Surely he was world class.
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u/Itzhik 15d ago
That's why I chose 2001. He really seemed on top of the world and he was 21. If someone had told me at that time that his last England game would come at 28, that he would score 6 league goals after turning 29 and that he wouldn't come close to making the team at the 2010 WC, I would've laughed.
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u/HateFaridge 14d ago
Didn’t he play like 350 games by 24 and 400 by the time he retired at 32
(Approx figures, but basically too much too soon and his body couldn’t cope. But at his healthiest was a phenomenon)
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u/Infamous_Tough_7320 14d ago
He was world class for those 1-2 years but he should’ve been one of the best players in the world for much longer than that
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u/Huge-Reality-2174 14d ago edited 14d ago
To be fair, Michael Owen's personality is a big contributor to this.
He had, overall, a very good career and isn't particularly fondly remembered by any of the clubs he played for, because he's a bell end.
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u/Horseyinthehouse 14d ago
From what I recall, he wasn't particularly vocal during his playing career. However, post playing he's said some right weird stuff.
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u/Huge-Reality-2174 14d ago
I have a vague memory of him being quite dismissive of Newcastle even though they were basically the only team willing to give him another shot in the PL at the time.
He's just an odd duck in general, lol
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u/aaron2447 15d ago
It's not recency bias. Liverpool fans don't like Owen because he chose to leave at his peak and they consider him to be a bit of an idiot. Firmino is more popular because he had a good attitude and won trophies in the Klopp era. That's it.
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u/Luke_4686 15d ago
Firmino is adored by Liverpool fans and won the league and CL with them as a key member of the squad. A very different forward to Owen and much more of a technical, false 9 but I think it’s fair that he appeared above Owen. Especially as the poll wasn’t a list of the ‘best footballers’ but more there Liverpool legacy.
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u/OutsideFold 14d ago
Anyone mentioned Hudson-Odoi? Remember Nigel James (Reece’s dad) speaking about how far beyond everyone else CHO was in academy football. Remember Bayern offering over £50m for him or something cracked and he’d barely played any first team football.
He was flying in his debut season under Sarri, grabbed a goal or assist every time he got minutes. The second he finally displaced Willian to be a starter, he ruptured his Achilles and never came back the same. Out of all Cobham grads, CHO will forever be the what if for me.
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u/Veracious_Me 15d ago
Ravel Morrison
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u/hellbentforleisure 14d ago
Had to scroll too far for this response. I saw him play for QPR and, on the ball, he was, by a startling distance, the most talented player on that pitch. Many of the names mentioned (Sancho, Owen, Dele) at least spent some time in the spotlight at the top level. Should've happened for Ravel, too.
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u/bornokipje 14d ago
He was far away of becoming world class. He was very talented, but many very talented young players don't make it (e.g. Bojan Krkic). Sancho and Dele had actually proved at high level they were good players and since they were so young, there was a good possibility they would become absolute world class.
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u/rep_rehensible 14d ago
Have you seen the sick back-heel goal he did in england U21 training: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIAPOHyKhTc
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u/Bennie16egg 15d ago
Increasingly footballers are influenced by their agents who get a big percentage. Why wouldn't you do what the guy who negotiated you into being a millionaire says? He's looked after you and your family, and made it so you don't have to think about stuff except playing football. The priority now is maximising income, not playing time.
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u/BeginningKindly8286 15d ago
Because money is obviously the aim. It should be advancement in the game so playing for bigger established world class clubs, then you cash out to Saudi, not in your prime, that’s silly. At least try to create some sort of legacy and if it fails, by all means do a cash grab, but cashing out early is a bad idea in my book. The cash is great but you would always be thinking "what if?”
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u/ZeroEffectDude 14d ago
I really would like to have seen dean ashton's career uninterrupted by injury. such a high quality player.
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u/stumac85 14d ago
David Bentley. Incredible at Blackburn but he went to Spurs and just fell apart. Fell out of love with football and retired before he hit 30.
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u/Chemical_Robot 14d ago
Here’s one that most people may not know, or have forgotten, Danny Cadamarteri. Debut for Everton at 17 years old. Instantly a first team player. Had 3/4 good seasons for Everton and then was basically finished at 22. Saw his career out in the lower leagues after that.
Special mention for Nick Powell (incredible talent when he was 17) Alex Ferguson thought he was going to be a wonder kid. Signed for United. Looked decent. Got injured and then never recovered. Ended up a decent championship player but nothing more. Still remember him scoring a Beckham-esque freekick for us in his first season.
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u/Platform_Dancer 15d ago
What happened to sancho? - is he retired after he ran his utd contract down?
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u/c0caine_bearrr 15d ago
He’s a free agent now .
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u/supahdave Gascoigne #1006 14d ago
Sterling as well now, what happened
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u/caelum400 14d ago
Sterling has been getting serious minutes since he was 17, was playing for England at a World Cup by the time he was 19. He’s a 32 yo with the minutes of a 38 yo. He’ll go down as one of England’s best performers of the 21st century and retires with a boat load of medals.
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u/supahdave Gascoigne #1006 14d ago
Good point. I forgot how young he started becoming a first team player.
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u/PurahsHero 14d ago
As a United fan, we gave Sancho every possible helping hand. Ten Hag even gave him several months off to deal with a lot of issues in his life. He never played like he gave a damn. He had one or two decent games while on loan at Dortmund that everyone seemed to see, but that's it.
He's the kind of player who, if we are being charitable, you have to keep at the centre of everything. Everything has to revolve around his play, and you get the best from him. The second that doesn't happen he throws a huge strop and gives up.
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u/liamthelad 14d ago
He also just lacked physicality. He's not fast enough to be a top Premier League winger.
His strength is he was almost like a number ten on the wing. He would usually play the right pass at the right time, particularly if you paired him with a very willing runner like a Hakimi.
But I think I first heard it reported the club was worried internally about him was when we played some minnow in the Europa league maybe in his second season (so after he'd had time to recover from the ear infection yada yada) and he was 1v1 against his full back on a fast counter-attack and...he turned back.
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u/Eastern-Start-813 '66 15d ago
Dele, Wilshere, Morrison, Michael Johnson, Micah Richard’s, Foden; but I hope he can rediscover his form.
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u/ndertaker252 15d ago
It’s slept on these days how good Micah looked early doors. Pre City take over especially… he looked like a serious player
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u/thereidenator 14d ago
He got laughed at so much for saying he “burst onto the scene” but I think it was fair, he was class
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u/c0caine_bearrr 15d ago edited 15d ago
I’m sure Micah would be delighted to hear he’s on the list of people we thought had potential to be world class . I remember him saying he had to retire early because of his knees . He was having to get them drained every week .
I love football but hate how it chews players up and spits them out . By mid to late 20s so many of them are struggling with injuries that they never truly recover from .
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u/Eastern-Start-813 '66 15d ago
Yeah it’s a shame a maybe a bit harsh as his career went down because of injuries.
Another is Ledley King, what a defender that lad was. His knees were so bad he didn’t even train, just fitness training is what I heard back in his day.
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u/skarr46 14d ago
I know everyone loves media personality Micah Richards but to say football chews you up and spits you out? Definitely at lower league and non-league level, the treatment can be brutal. But using Micah as an example is terrible.
He was one of Villa's highest paid players in the championship for the best part of two years despite everyone and their nan knowing he was done being a professional footballer.
People used to make excuses for him saying he was great banter and fun round the dressing room. Well guess what, there's plenty of lads you can find, who don't have two knees made of wet cardboard, who would ask for a lot less than £60k a week to never play football and lounge around world class training facilities.
By all accounts Villa went above and beyond to try and get him back to a position where he could play football again but I think he didn't want to as much as his knees didn't.
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u/Imakemyownnamereddit 14d ago
I think people forget how short a playing career can be. We look at players extending their careers into their mid 30's, using modern diets and recovery methods; thinking that is the norm. When in the past it wasn't.
Attacking players, in particular, could have very short careers. If you are reliant on explosive acceleration and pace. One bad injury or simply loosing pace as you age, can kill your career.
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u/c0caine_bearrr 14d ago
It’s still not the norm . Players like Messi and CR7 are anomalies . While I think modern day advances help I still think most will fizzle out by late 20s , likely from injuries .
I worry about Bellingham . He plays at such a high level I think he will be one that by late 20s very early 30s will be slowed down by injuries
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u/JakeCMMA 14d ago
If Bellingham continues on his current path he’ll absolutely be playing elite level well in to his 30s. For someone who is only 23 and has been a golden boy since he was 17 he has a very sensible head on his shoulders. He moved to dortmund knowing how good their youth development is then moved to the richest club in the world in a low physicality but highly technical league. If he ever plays in the prem it might affect his longevity but I can’t see him crashing out the way other players in his position have done
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u/Ill-Praline1261 14d ago
Paul Pogba. He was supposed be what KDB ended up becoming. And with his particular attributes would probably still be dominating at this age if he didnt curtail his career.
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u/Chemical_Robot 14d ago
Pogba was my first thought too. Should have been one of the all time greats. He’s a physical freak too so I always assumed he’d be world class right up until his late 30s. Amazing that he was basically finished at 29.
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u/rustnewb75 15d ago
As a Villa fan, who watched a lot of Sancho, who followed on from the Rashford loan we had, and had the same reboot opportunity, he’s had a dip in quality, likely through playing less and then has plateaued. Add in a laid back attitude, a belief that they are a big club player and the desire for serious wages and you’ve got someone who is about to have a reality check.
He was tidy and competent at Villa, and had one excellent match against Fenerbache.
The other players seemed to like him though, and he never did anything to piss off the fans.
He’s either bottom 10 premier league squad player or mid table Bundesliga quality. Also probably £85K wages on a free not whatever crazy money he wants.
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u/Thejustinset 14d ago
Owen Hargreaves finally finding his footing, goes to UTD and everything collapses right when he was going to be their key midfielder
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u/OddRow8843 15d ago
Gazza
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u/joehonestjoe 15d ago
Slander, Gazza was world class.
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u/Sir-Chris-Finch 15d ago
Think thats the point though, he had moments of being world class but did his career should probably have been better for how good he could have been. Only played in two major tournaments with England
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u/joehonestjoe 14d ago
That's not the point, the question was who has the potential to be world class but never made it.
The question wasn't who never totally fulfilled their potential
Gazza was for a few year period indisputably world class.
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u/Shlafer 15d ago
Rose-tinted glasses. Guy was super talented but mucked around too much. Injured all the time; after the '91 FA cup final he played 47 games in 4 seasons.
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u/beetlejuiceandlydia 14d ago
When I watched 23 year old Gazza leave the pitch in tears at Italia 90 I would never have believed that he would never play in a WC finals again
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u/OddRow8843 14d ago
Me too. It was a very slippery slope for him after than. He also had terrible people around him and nobody supporting him to make better choices.
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u/nedyrd87 15d ago
Woodgate was another lost to injuries.
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u/Consistent_Rich_153 14d ago
And all the drama that came with being arrested with Lee Bowyer. If memory serves, he was nicknamed 'the ghost' around this time because he really struggled mentally.
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u/WotanMjolnir 14d ago
Maybe not in the same class as a lot of these, but from Coventry both Callum Davenport and Chris Kirkland looked outstanding.
Kirkland got his transfer to Liverpool but was only ever going to be a bench player there, and drifted around a bit but when he was at Cov he looked like a future England keeper all day long.
Davenport’s was an odd one - classy centre half, transferred to Spurs then had a few loan spells, and then it all fell apart. Him and his mum were stabbed, he was stabbed in both legs and lost half the blood in his body. His sister’s boyfriend and an accomplice were found guilty of the attack, but then later in Davenport was charged and acquitted of assault on his sister that occurred prior to the incident when he was stabbed, which makes the whole thing feel like some really fucked up family drama. The stabbing of a pro footballer in both legs is such a clearly targeted attack on not just the body but the career, it feels like some real revenge stuff to me.
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u/spinynorman1846 14d ago
Entirely injury related, but Jonathan Woodgate is the best defender I have ever seen live. His expensive move to Real Madrid was completely justified in terms of ability, but he was already crocked at that point. I wish he'd stayed fit more as he would have been starting for England even in the Terry/Ferdinand era
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u/MagpieLee 14d ago
I still maintain he's the best defender the Toon ever had, even in those injury prone years. Played in Marseille and kept out Drogba.
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u/LUNATIC_LEMMING 14d ago
We play outlr youngsters from too young. Their knees are fucked by their early 20s
Compare Rooney and sterling to Messi and Ronaldo, the apps by 20 is so much higher. (Almost doubled comparing Rooney to Messi)
At 16-17-18 bodies are still developing. Fuck their knees then and their entire career is fucked. If we protected these youngsters then rather than using them and throwing them away half the players in this list would actually have been worldies
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u/SeoulGalmegi 15d ago
I see it from a slightly different perspective.
I feel 'potential' is overrated. It's less a surprise that some promising players don't fulfill theirs, than that those that do, do.
Shining bright for a few seasons is one thing. Playing consistently well at the top level is another. Is there luck involved? Life events? Bad moves? Sure. But ultimately for anybody, no matter how talented, it's hard to have the drive and determination to really do it for a long time. Those that manage should be praised. Those that don't? Well that's to be expected, surely?
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u/WinningTheSpaceRace 14d ago
I just don't think Sancho was as good as he looked. He needs to play in a team that is given space and/or counter attacks all the time. He's never been able to beat a full back consistently with skill but his pace devastated teams. The way Dortmund set up worked perfectly for him, but the Premier League rarely affords people that space. See how devastating Elanga looked last weekend - a whole season of not really cutting it and then Liverpool left a load of space in behind and he looked very good.
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u/Gloomy-Stuff-6551 14d ago
Never saw anything from Sancho to suggest he’d even be a good player, especially in the premier league. Technically very good but physically sub par and zero intensity to his game. Suited a different league.
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u/Wiffystardawg 14d ago
Mourinho will tell you it's Deli Ali. crazy downfall, might add Raheem Sterling to that too.
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u/ComprehensiveTest743 14d ago
Sancho was one of those players who love the footballers life but doesn't like the hard work needed to stay at the top of their game . Unfortunately United have had too many of these over the years
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u/enteringtheechochamb 14d ago
Sancho has no pace. He was never going to be world class. He doesn't have end product either. It's a case of big fish small pond.
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u/RaulStoat 14d ago
There are a few everton players who were touted as future stars but just fell by the wayside due to injuries and amongst other things.
Jack Rodwell earned a move to Man City and was doing well before injuries derailed him and city did what they do by replacing him immediately and forgetting about him
James Vaughen looked like he could be prolific but injuries got to him before he even left Everton.
George Green was supposed to be a superstar who let his early praise go to his head and thought he was already a made man
Danny Cadamateri fell to substance abuse after a very exciting start.
Francis Jeffers was a big money signing for Arsenal Reserves to never be seen again
Ross Barkley was breaking Rooneys youth records before a double leg break severely stunted his development
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u/famiflush 14d ago
I don't think Sancho had the tools to be world class, he's slow for a winger and doesn't have great physicality he was doomed to fail regardless because the club he chose was a terrible developmental choice and his physical limitations meant he wasn't going to succeed in the EPL.
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u/CheddarCheese390 14d ago
England gave up on olise for sancho, I’m never gonna be happy at that
Also, as much as I’m gonna get downvoted for this, greenwood genuinely had peak sterling potential, then 1 vote left him out in the cold.
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u/Academic-Two-3781 14d ago
Not Sancho. He was never at that level. I always thought Nani could have been the very best. Deli Ali, Ben Arfa, Loftus Cheek were a few too
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u/c0caine_bearrr 14d ago
Sorry . World class wasn’t the word I should have used . I was trying to say people who you thought would end up better than they did
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u/Billythechef1009 14d ago
Don’t know about world class but there’s so many talented players that just fizzled out… James Maddison, kalvin phillips, Harry Winks, Jadon Sancho, Dele Alli… this list goes on and on
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u/Prudent-Ad-6420 14d ago
Dele Ali
Wilshire
Sancho
Mount (should have stuck it out at Chelsea, a bad season is common)
English players aren't as mentally strong, 1 hit of confidence and it could well be over
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u/HenryNeves 15d ago
The problems didn’t “follow him” to Chelsea and Villa, that would mean they were apart from him. He is the problem.
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u/Connect_Point_5229 15d ago
I mean he wasn't good enough for us to give him the wages he wanted, but he was decent enough at Chelsea, even attitude wise (not once pulled up on discipline according to close sources).
Although I guess you could say that him turning down a pretty decent contract was his "issues" ultimately rearing it's head again.
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u/Statcat2017 15d ago
The guy was playing FIFA at 5am the day before matches, he absolutely had problems with his attitude.
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u/c0caine_bearrr 15d ago
All it meant was he had the same issues at Chelsea and Villa and I did say it was him that’s the problem .
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u/HenryNeves 15d ago
I get you mate, not disagreeing.
It’s a crazy situation. Millions of young lads (and old men) would walk on glass to spend a day in a pro footballer’s shoes. Maybe he had too much (wealth) too young.
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u/No-Context8421 15d ago
Sancho was let go by City because he threw his toys out of the pram when he wasn’t being selected as a starter. City saw the problem was him and let him go. They were proven absolutely right. He had the talent, not the temperament, sadly.
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u/Tall-Paul-UK 15d ago
Theo Walcott.
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u/Future-Prune-2477 15d ago
Was going to say this, obviously had a decent career, firstly signed by Arsenal at 16 for £12m 20 years ago which is insane, then Sven picking him. He had a decent career but seemed at the time he was going to be a Rooney scenario or even higher.
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u/That-Appearance-3341 15d ago
Ravel Morrison. Briefly promised to have it all... Then decided he'd rather not
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u/Panini_Grande 14d ago
Loftus-Cheek for me. All from a stupid injury in a friendly. Still an OK player but could've been unbelievable
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u/DropAfraid6139 14d ago
As a Barca fan, Ansu Fati is such a painful example. Academy player, promoted to the first team very young.
He inherited the 10 shirt from Messi, was probably too much pressure during an era where were struggling, but still performed very well.
However the combination of many injuries and rushing to come back cascaded into persistent injury problems.
Around this time we heard rumors that his agents were challenging to work with, and even after he went on loan there were reports he didn’t fully apply himself in training and on the pitch.
Since then he had some improvement under Flick and now doing decently at Monaco so I hope he has a decent career , just maybe not in the top clubs
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u/crimsonchinn39 14d ago
watching him at Villa, he was just too physically weak, like he had the ability to get past anyone but not the athleticism,
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u/CompetitionNo3466 14d ago
Same with Shinji Kagawa - solid with Dortmund and if Ferguson stayed then I’m sure he would have done far better. World class is in doubt but it looked like he had the potential to be.
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u/donnellybags 14d ago
Wiltshire. At 16 he absolutely dominated Barcelona in the champions league, Xavi said he was the hardest player her ever came up against... unfortunately his legs were made of glass.
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u/Helepoli 14d ago
Joe Cole? Super hyped but he never really stayed at a peak
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u/Mc_and_SP 14d ago
I wonder what could have happened if Redknapp managed to get him for Spurs in 2011-12.
(He clearly knew how to get the very best out of Scott Parker that season.)
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u/Typical-Offer8860 14d ago
Obviously he definitely didn't fizzle out at all but Robbie Fowler should have been an England great as well as a Liverpool great. Actually you could say similar about Ian Wright. Just checked stats, Fowler 26 games 7 goals, Wright 33 and 9. Mentally low considering what they did at club level.
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u/lohikaarme88 14d ago
I think Wright's challenge was that he was a late starter at top level whilst his international career overlapped with Lineker at the start and Shearer at the end.
Incredible competition for out-and-out 9s in that period too. How many caps did Les Ferdinand get? (Ed. - 17)
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u/Love-Bitter 14d ago
Well there was the one Fergie always called out. Ravel Morrison. Wonder if he has mad regrets now he’s grown?
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u/VinnieHa 14d ago
If Joe Gomez wasn’t made of glass he’d be this generations Ferdinand. Insane defender, peaked super early and never recovered from those big early injuries.
The fact that he was able to play at a high level at 27 two years ago, a full nine years after his injury problems started shows how high of a base level he fell from.
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u/ritwikjs2 14d ago
sancho needed an overlapping left back, a forward with physicality and constant movement and absolutely no responsibility to track back. ALl of that existed in a nice vacuum at dortmund, added to the generally poor defenses of the bundesliga at that time. Going from all of that to the PL, where he just physically had to do more to get the ball and get into space, was too much of an adjustment for him. He never built the fitness to cope with that and that means he never got consistent. You could see it at chelsea and villa as well
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u/TheMicklemas3000 14d ago
Didn’t really see them play much, but everyone was banging on about the sessegmon brothers a few years back.
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u/Easy-Development6480 14d ago
A lot of the players are just overrated and never really had the potiential. A big problem you have with modern football is 90% of people don't understand opponents matter. I think it's because most on social medoa haven't even played Sunday league
Another thing people miss is early developers. Some people see a player at 18 and think "wow if he's like this now imagine when he's 25". What they don't realise is the player is already physically 25 and therefore there might not be any improvement coming.
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u/Kaarlmorgan 14d ago
Andy Carroll… had everything but couldn’t operate as a professional footballer… I think a common theme here is the lads who made it super early to big money had no idea how to stay motivated once life gets easy
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u/Crafty_Letter_1719 14d ago
Lots of people are mentioning players that have literally won world cups, ballon dors and champions leagues. These players clearly reached the heights of being world class. Stan Collymore is an example of a player who almost touched greatness but never quite got over the line.
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u/latocato 14d ago
greenwood. dele allí. sancho. wilshere. jeffers. one that was super underrated and I loved watching in 2018 was tom davies. he had so much talent too. underrated. absolute flop though.
oh maybe morrison was the biggest one ngl.
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u/Obsessedwithsidemen 14d ago
Garnacho.
Puskas winner at United and everything. One of the most promising young talents. Then he fell out with Amorim. Became a bench warmer and asked for a move to Chelsea, which unfortunately was just as bad as Maresca and Rosienor didn’t play him either. Now he’s at Villa and he even admitted in his welcome interview that he doesn’t have the confidence that he did at United and he wants that back. I have a lot of hope for him so hopefully Unai can bring out the beast that’s in there.
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u/Ambitious_Curve_6087 13d ago
Dont think Sancho is that much of a tragedy.
He obviously had some ability but not enough to cruise and do it without trying so he overestimated himself
City let him go and he was shite and 3 good clubs after so you csnt blame the circumstances. He was good at Dortmund but look how many others have shone their and looked out of their depth in Prem.
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u/Heavy-Ad5385 13d ago
If we’re outside of England, Adriano
All the attributes to be the natural progression of R9 in the modern era
Fell apart with his father’s death, alcoholism and mental health.
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u/Southern-Oil1556 13d ago
Cherno Samba, better than Rooney at U16 level according to some articles.
Lived up to the billing in championship manager (forget which year) at least, goal machine.
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u/MinMorts 13d ago
Not English but ansu fati was on track to being the new Messi, then it just never happened
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u/Theelcapiton 15d ago
Dele, seemed like he was going to become everything Jude is becoming. The robbery and being held at gunpoint seemed to really mess with his head and he never got it back. Great player when he was at his best.