THE two items of news broke within a couple of hours of each other.

Kevin Ellison was among the players being released by Morecambe - and Tyrell Robinson had pleaded guilty.

One former Bantam had squeezed out every last drop of his ability to prolong a remarkable stay in the Football League.

The other had just ripped up his future in football before it had barely begun.

Ellison can certainly look himself in the mirror.

Robinson’s outlook is very different after his self-inflicted downfall was confirmed in Bradford Crown Court on Tuesday.

He was a young player who seemingly had it all before him when he joined City three years ago.

Winning goals against Rochdale and, most memorably, Wigan quickly marked him out as a potential million-pound asset .

It seemed that here was an exciting winger destined to go far in his career.

A bumped-up contract followed at the earliest opportunity as City locked him down from the growing outside interest.

Then it all came crashing down in the opening week of the next season.

The players had just come back in the dressing room before the Carabao Cup first-round tie at Macclesfield in August 2018.

It was 10 minutes to kick-off and Michael Collins was dishing out his final orders. But Robinson was not there to listen.

He had been hastily removed by a club official at the request of the police who were waiting to question him. Around 10 officers were there at the ground.

After being taken in for questioning, Robinson was suspended by City early the following morning as the investigation began.

He was unable to train or be involved in any way, although dialogue remained open with his employers.

City had considered similar incidents at other clubs and the fall-outs from them in their decision-making. They had several meetings with him and talks with his agent.

Robinson remained on full pay, obviously minus any bonuses or pay rises, as the police probe went on.

Charges were eventually brought in February when he was sacked by the club and served with two weeks’ notice to cancel the contract that would have finished this summer.

Robinson had earned in the region of £100,000 without kicking a ball in the 18 months since the police turned up at the Moss Rose.

Admitting in court to engaging in sexual activity with a child, making an indecent image of a child and distributing it on Snapchat will leave him paying a far heavier price.

He may well have gone on to be a far better player than Ellison but now we will never know. He can barely scratch the surface in comparison.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the ultimate Marmite character of the lower divisions – and not just because we use the same barbers.

In a modern game where characters are often frowned upon and players encouraged to conform to the coaching manual, Ellison offered a wonderfully spiky alternative.

He relished the role of pantomime villain, winding up opposing fans as much as other teams. A smile was never far from his face.

He remains the only player to start an interview with the words, ‘c’mon then, baldy’, while grabbing me in a headlock!

Typically, that was on an afternoon when he had silenced Valley Parade by coming off the bench to score a last-minute equaliser in Morecambe colours.

Ellison had been playing on loan for City the season before – but did not hold back with the celebrations in front of the Kop.

“Half of them must get bullied at home so they come to the game and have a shout at the big, bald, ugly one – and it’s backfired,” he laughed afterwards. “They were mouthing off at me from the first minute but I love all that.”

Beneath the baddy mask, there was a striker well respected by friend and foe. Ellison could back up the histrionics with a record that stood up with the very best at that level.

That goal in January 2012 was one of only four he scored against the Bantams in regular skirmishes playing for Tranmere, Chester, Rotherham and Morecambe. But he always seemed to have an impact.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out in his brief spell with City after being recruited by Peter Taylor from Rotherham in a deal that saw Omar Daley go the other way.

A debut goal against Wycombe proved his only one for the club. An early spat with Peter Jackson was followed by a nagging thigh injury and his time was up.

Instead, Ellison returned to the role of antagonistic adversary – not just against the Bantams but every team he would come up against up to the ripe age of 41.

Valley Parade may well have witnessed the full stop on his 650-plus league appearances when Morecambe were beaten 1-0 on New Year’s Day.

Barring one Championship year at Hull, those games were all played in the bottom two divisions but Ellison should look back on what he has done with pride.

The same cannot be said for Robinson.

After pleading guilty, he must wait for his punishment. The judge warned him that prison is "very much" a possibility.

But as far as football is concerned, he has already thrown away the key.