He was once a highly rated young footballer who could play in defence and midfield. He started his career with Manchester United and went on to play enough matches for the Red Devils in a season to pick up a league winners medal back in 2000/01.  Who am I writing about? If you weren't a Manchester United or West Bromwich Albion fan you'd be hard pressed to name him. He is Ronnie Wallwork.
 
Just this morning, 35-year-old Ronnie Wallwork was sentenced to 15 monhts in jail for selling on parts of high-performance cars. Wallwork was caught selling on parts from stolen vehicles worth around £43,000 whilst working out of a scrapyard in Newton Heath. How does one go from a professional footballer to a professional thief?
 
Let's first take a look at Wallwork's football achievements. He may not have quite been the superstar at Manchester United but he certainly made enough money in his 14-year pro career. Here was a player that was part of United's 1995 Youth Cup winning team who went on the represent the England U-20 team at the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championships in Malaysia. Some of his team-mates then? Michael Owen, Jaime Carragher, Danny Murphy and Jody Morris to just name a few.
 
His United was in jeopardy when he was banned for life while playing on loan in Belgium for Royal Antwerp. Wallwork was guilty of grabbing a referee by the throat after a league match. He was given a life line when a Belgian court reduced his sentence to a three year suspension, of which two years were probational.

The remaining 12 months of Wallwork's ban applied only in Belgium, rather than the worldwide ban given under the initial ruling. Wallwork recovered to make 28 senior appearances for United and left the club after the 2000/01 season due to the arrivals of Juan Sebastian Veron and Laurent Blanc. At that time, Sir Alex called Wallwork "The best Bosman transfer of the summer" when he moved to West Bromwich Albion. That was the best spell of his career and he would later move to Bradford, Barnsley, Huddersfield and finally Sheffield Wednesday.
 
Wallwork was never far from controversy and he was stabbed seven times in the hand, back and stomach by the ex-boyfriend of his girlfriend at that time. He would go on to recover from his injuries but that would ultimately end his football career at the age of 32.
 
So how did someone who enjoyed all the trappings of being a professional footballer end up living a life of crime? It's really a fine line between success and failure when it comes to football and it is no different in life. Wallwork was reportedly to have lost huge amounts of money and was desperate for cash. It must be hard adjusting from earning good wages and having everything done for you to being on the dole. The future was so bright for Ronnie Wallwork but now he has 15 months in jail to reflect on what went wrong. This is trully the flipside of football.