LONG live Johnny Football. Gone before his time. The Cleveland Browns quarterback had the world at his feet after making headlines at Texas A&M University.

Johnny Football will be missed. Especially his money sign celebration. It was a breath of fresh air to see something different in the National Football League (NFL).But from his ashes emerged Johnny Manziel, a 22-year-old passer of the ball who is hoping to see the field more than his predecessor Johnny Football.

In case you were wondering, Football and Manziel are the same person. Manziel was given the Football nickname to describe his personality.His cockiness and arrogance made him what he was. His “I am better than everyone else” attitude allowed him to be picked in the first round of the 2014 draft and be touted as one of the best quart-erbacks of his class.However, after a year of partying and not taking the sport seriously, Manziel checked himself into rehab and came out a new man.

Gone was the personality, the attitude and the arrogance. The media was delighted. Manziel became like everyone else in the NFL.

But for some, it was seen as a sad day. Another character gone from the game. A lot of university players change once they turn professional. They are made to grow up and, personally, it is a shame to see.

I am glad Manziel got his life in check but did the personality have to go? There are not enough individuals left in the game and it was refreshing to see someone in the sport who didn’t come out with the usual cliché comments after matches.

Johnny Football made headlines, even when he wasn’t doing anything. He was always reliable in that sense and was a sports editor’s dream.

It also added a bit of excitement to Browns’s matches. It made you want to sit down and watch them to see what Johnny Football was going to do next.

He was thrilling to watch. Even when he was on the bench cameras would pan to him when the team were doing badly to see how he would react.

It may have taken the spotlight away from the whole team but the team were boring. The franchise needed some energy and the Texas A&M graduate brought that.

I do hope that Manziel has a successful career in Cleveland but it won’t be as fun to watch the young star. Without his personality, he becomes just another cog in the NFL machine.

It is the same in football (or soccer as it is called in the United States).

Any footballer who shows an ounce of personality is immediately stamped out. Take Jack Wilshere’s recent run-in with the FA. It was ridiculous.

His speech during Arsenal’s FA Cup parade brought something fun to the proceedings.Wilshere sung: “What do we think of Tottenham? Shit. What do we think of shit? Tottenham.”

It is a common chant from Arsenal fans who enjoy a chance to belittle and mock their north London rivals. Out of the many songs aimed at Spurs, this is one of the least offensive.

However, the FA fined the England midfielder £40,000 for his expletive chant. To put that in context, Luis Suarez was fined the same amount for racially abusing Patrice Evra, but that’s beside the point.

Wilshere was fined for swearing in his attempt to engage with Arsenal supporters. It was an absolute joke. Arsenal fans loved the fact that Wilshere was goading their rivals and Spurs supporters didn’t care.

If anything, Spurs fans enjoyed the “banter.” Some of them wish their own players would take digs at Arsenal.The two clubs don’t like each other and in their eyes, the players should reflect the passion of the fans.

Let’s be honest, Spurs fans throw so much abuse at Wilshere whenever the two clubs meet that he has a right to to be cheeky back.

He maybe could have used his time on the mic to greater effect but there was no need for him to be met with such a heavy fine.

Wilshere, as an Arsenal fan, doesn’t like Tottenham. There is nothing wrong with that.But to fine him for a light-hearted joke is killing any chance players have of expressing their personalities.

Fans want to see players that understand the club. That really get what it is to wear the shirt. The badge. Wilshere understands what it is to be a Gooner. But that is too much for the FA.They want to control what their players say.

Anything that comes out of the mouths of the players must not beam a negative light down on their precious product.

That is why players are being media trained at a younger age now. So that by the time they are in front of the cameras they will not embarrass anyone.But Wilshere didn’t embarrass anyone. Neither did Manziel. They are two young athletes who showed a bit of personality and were told to get rid of it.Manziel made the change. I really hope Wilshere doesn’t.