Why football needs to be wary of rushing to acclaim young stars Max Dowman and JJ Gabriel

[p]At just 16 years of age, the Chelmsford-born attacking midfielder has been talked up as the next big thing for some while now, and has even played some games for the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Gunners[/a]' senior side whilst studying for his exams.[/p][h2]Overhyping youngsters is irresponsible[/h2][p]In the games that he has played to date, he certainly hasn't looked out of place, and the North Londoners appear to be going about his development in the right way; however, there is a tendency to overhype any youngster coming through these days that appears to have a modicum of talent.[/p][p]That's not only irresponsible but dangerous.[/p][embed guid="4b7c7c67-f1a0-400b-9b28-d4488d5f5ba7" url="https://x.com/Arsenal/status/2067246132871188607?lang=en-GB" social-type="twitter" /][p]The game is littered with those players who broke through at a young age but couldn't continually justify the column inches that were devoted to them seemingly on a daily basis.[/p][h2]Ravel Morrison's situation should be a warning to JJ Gabriel[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/morrison-ravel/pnC7tOBr/"]Ravel Morrison[/a] would be one name that would spring to mind. A youngster who had often been termed as the most gifted player that England had ever produced, and yet, after breaking through at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-united/ppjDR086/"]Man Utd[/a] at 17 years of age, never fulfilled his promise.[/p][p]Now, aged 33, he plies his trade at United Arab Emirates second-division outfit, Arabian Falcons, his 16th club in 16 years as a professional player.[/p][embed guid="3565e7e8-6edc-4ed0-bbd6-69332a27652d" url="https://x.com/morrisonravel/status/1291170809445326850" social-type="twitter" /][p]Sticking with the Red Devils, they had recently considered giving 15-year-old JJ Gabriel his first-team debut, making him the youngest ever to make an appearance for the club.[/p][p]Joseph Junior Andreou O'Cearuill, to give him his full name, was born in Enfield, North London, and had already played at the academies of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chelsea/4fGZN2oK/"]Chelsea[/a], Arsenal and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/west-ham/Cxq57r8g/"]West Ham United[/a] before joining Man Utd as a 12-year-old.[/p][infobox id="c5ce5f5a-ccb6-468f-9fce-bb4a330c372a" /][h2]Clubs need to shield youngsters from pressure[/h2][p]That in itself should ring alarm bells, let alone the multiple reports which have now suggested his father, Joseph 'Joe' Delpesh O'Cearuill, wants his son's United contract ripped up.[/p][p]O'Cearuill Snr could best be described as a failed footballer himself, having played for 16 mainly non-league clubs in the space of 10 years.[/p][embed guid="8a445e8d-174b-4c7e-8bfe-fa81b90e65fb" url="https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/2099870650064097559" social-type="twitter" /][p]Pushy parents living their dreams through their sons or daughters are nothing new in football, or sport more generally, of course, but the question has to be asked: at what point does football, as a business, take some responsibility for the care of the individual?[/p][p]Not just paying lip service to a young player and his situation, but making genuine efforts to shield him from as much pressure as possible, and to help him develop both as a player and a person at a pace that is considered normal.[/p][h2]Lofty ambitions for Dowman and Gabriel[/h2][p]There are parallels with both [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/max-dowman/WzLvGkGO/"]Dowman's[/a] and Gabriel's situations, and, handled sensitively, the pair could well form part of a future England senior XI.[/p][p]Having lofty ambitions could even be seen as healthy, though not at any price, and particularly not when a player is still trying to find his place in the world, let alone in the first XI of some of the most storied football clubs on the planet.[/p][image alt="Max Dowman's recent career stats" id="531c69e6-373c-44ff-a29a-6f53aaae9da1" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="6c5288f3-7553-44cf-829e-d51552356230" original-width="2160" original-height="2702" /][p]Not everyone is going to be the 'new' [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ronaldo-cristiano/WGOY4FSt/"]Cristiano Ronaldo[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/messi-lionel/vgOOdZbd/"]Lionel Messi[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mbappe-kylian/Wn6E2SED/"]Kylian Mbappe[/a] or [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lamine-yamal/lAt3vEub/"]Lamine Yamal[/a], and trying to portray them as such does no one any favours whatsoever.[/p][p]With immediate success demanded by supporters of clubs nowadays, too, the tendency to fast-track talent has become more prevalent.[/p][h2]A word of warning from Ryan Giggs[/h2][p]Promises are made, and are sometimes kept, in order to keep players and their parents onside, and this reality is somewhat embarrassing.[/p][p]For example, reports in Spain have now suggested that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a] have guaranteed JJ Gabriel his favoured position, and that fast-track route into their first team. [/p][p]In an era before social media, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/giggs-ryan/EJMq0XR5/"]Ryan Giggs[/a] could be said to be the wonder kid of his day, but Sir Alex Ferguson ensured that his development was overseen properly.[/p][p]It's something Giggs himself recognised, and his words could be said to be prophetic for those coming through today.[/p][embed guid="ffb460d4-44fa-47fb-9ecb-da59e18606ab" url="https://x.com/henrywinter/status/2100003886509744177" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"Sometimes you have to be patient. Sometimes it gets to a point where you can't not pick a player and not have him train in the first team, but that might be in a month, might be six months, might be a year,"[/b] he said in a recent interview.[/p][p][b]"It's that in-between time where he thinks he should be in the first team, he thinks he should be in the squad every week, but the manager sees it a different way.[/b][/p][p][b]"It's not really going to do you any good travelling here, there and everywhere and you're getting five minutes here, 10 minutes there."[/b][/p][p]Dowman and Gabriel are the names on everyone's lips right now, but let's see if that's still the case in 12-18 months, or if one or the other has begun the tortuous journey to the top of football's scrapheap, cast aside because of being unable to cope with having been given too much too soon.[/p][infobox id="8a8311c3-81b3-440e-8b49-36091db073d1" /]