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2014-15 Performances


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caisenma

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No, I don't think so. He's getting quite a bit of match time here, particularly recently, and he's starting to adapt to van Gaal's ways. Next season, I believe van Gaal will finally have his team set up properly, and this should give Januzaj a better platform to establish his place in.
Sorry, I was being ridiculous.you provided measured, reasonable feedback by comparison to what a few of the others were doing is all. I was being an idiot.
 

mazhar13

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Sorry, I was being ridiculous.you provided measured, reasonable feedback by comparison to what a few of the others were doing is all. I was being an idiot.
:confused:

I'm not sure what's going on here. Apologies if I seem a bit lost. :wenger:

EDIT: Never mind, I just got the hint from the "enlightened folk" part lol.
 

Lawman

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Well short of the standard we need right now but not far from the standard we have in Young. A loan would help Adnan and he has time on his side and he has potential to be a right player for us but we have a drop in standard right now when he plays imo.
 

FC Ronaldo

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Well short of the standard we need right now but not far from the standard we have in Young. A loan would help Adnan and he has time on his side and he has potential to be a right player for us but we have a drop in standard right now when he plays imo.
If we're to play a cautious first approach next season then I agree with this.

Just watched the clip posted above. Live, I thought it was a poor appearance from him, on second sighting I'm not quite as harsh but there's no doubt it was below average.

He offered 4 good moments - the pick of the lot was the inside through ball to Rooney, brilliant. There was also the first run he made where he drifted in field from deep, the run that Jonas got booked for and the throw for the goal. The rest of it was certainly no better than ADM's off night so the standard drop point made in the quote is spot on.

A young player of course so he can be forgiven slightly but we must also remember he has 40+ games in a Utd shirt too so should be improving more with time. Last night he was far too individualistic, especially when chasing a goal and his decision making wasn't good again. Choosing to dribble vs 3 men and giving the ball away on the edge of the box rather than recycling and moving isn't right and could easily have been to the detriment of the team who had pressed high and could have been caught on the counter through his sloppiness.

It's easier to say in light of a late win but you've got to commend his guts and effort for trying I suppose. In a better system across the next 2 seasons that way of thinking could work out to be what is needed. Right now, it's not.

That all said, there's clear promise in the lad and even with the critique above, he's showing signs of getting better in this style than his early season cameos and if we're honest, the last 12 months.
 

BennyBlanco

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He's really frustrating right now, I say that as one of his biggest fans who championed him as a future star before most fans knew him, he's getting some opportunities but he's just not taking advantage of them right now, its been this way through most of this season.
Watching him can be terribly frustrating, often playing the wrong ball, or dithering, allowing defenders to reposition themselves when he should be more direct.

It's his second year in the league, hes still only like 19, lets not be too harsh on him yet, I've seen him play well on the either wings in the youth, I think his best position will be a no.10 when he devolps fully but right now lets not kid ourselves he should be delivering better when played wide.
Hopefully next year he can progress but its ultimately up to him and grab his chances.
 

Raoul

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He's really frustrating right now, I say that as one of his biggest fans who championed him as a future star before most fans knew him, he's getting some opportunities but he's just not taking advantage of them right now, its been this way through most of this season.
Watching him can be terribly frustrating, often playing the wrong ball, or dithering, allowing defenders to reposition themselves when he should be more direct.

It's his second year in the league, hes still only like 19, lets not be too harsh on him yet, I've seen him play well on the either wings in the youth, I think his best position will be a no.10 when he devolps fully but right now lets not kid ourselves he should be delivering better when played wide.
Hopefully next year he can progress but its ultimately up to him and grab his chances.
The biggest problem is not the player, but those who consistently overhype him (not you) in threads as if he's an established star, which always leads to the inevitable disappointment. I recall getting into it with a couple of Januzaj muppets who insisted on comparing him to Ronaldo following his two goal performance last year.
 

BennyBlanco

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The biggest problem is not the player, but those who consistently overhype him (not you) in threads as if he's an established star, which always leads to the inevitable disappointment. I recall getting into it with a couple of Januzaj muppets who insisted on comparing him to Ronaldo following his two goal performance last year.
You sometimes heard Cleverley compared to Paul Scholes, when he initially broke into the side, a few years back when we beat City 3-2 in the Charity Shield, progressing to the 8-2 Arsenal win, over that time period, you would hear these type of claims before he got injured at Bolton, being out so long after his good form helped pepetuate the hype,, so I understand what you're saying in being a touch perplexed by some stuff you hear/read.

I still think Januzaj could and should be doing better this season, but for every Raheem Sterling going from strength to strength you have also have a 2nd year Ross Barkley who's also having a tough year, I guess we just have to remember hes still more untapped potential at this point than full blooded first teamer as you say.
 
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Raoul

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You sometimes heard Cleverley compared to Paul Scholes, when he initially broke into the side, a few years back when we beat City 3-2 in the Charity Shield, progressing to the 8-2 Arsenal win, over that time period, you would hear these type of claims before he got injured at Bolton, being out so long after his good form helped pepetuate the hype,, so I understand what you're saying in being a touch perplexed by some stuff you hear/read.

I still think Januzaj could and should be doing better this season, but for every Raheem Sterling going from strength to strength you have also have a 2nd year Ross Barkley who's also having a tough year, I guess we just have to remember hes still still more untapped potential at this point than full blooded first teamer as you say.
Its the natural youth player bias imo. People are so desperate to see one of our youngsters develop into a star that they immediately jump on the bandwagon, usually far too early, only to wind up disappointed.
 

Scarecrow

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Just checked all my players' season ratings and he turned out to have the lowest (5,5) :(. It's still relatively high compared to the caf's average (5,1), too.
 
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ravelston

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Just checked all my players' season ratings and he turned out to have the lowest (5,5) :(. It's still relatively high compared to the caf's average (5,1), too.
Shouldn't be - he's lowest on the "professional" ratings as well (even below McNair and Blackett). The reality is that he's delivered very little for his minutes on the field. On the positive side - thought he looked a little better last night.
 

Scarecrow

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Shouldn't be - he's lowest on the "professional" ratings as well (even below McNair and Blackett). The reality is that he's delivered very little for his minutes on the field. On the positive side - thought he looked a little better last night.
Yeah, it used to be a point or two lower actually, but he's improved a bit lately. Looking at his form chart, he was awful in November and December with a few consecutive games below 5.0, which are keeping his overall rating this low. Hopefully he continues to improve and gets a bit of confidence. He rarely has more than 15-20 minutes on the pitch though which definitely has an effect, as well. Much harder to impress coming off the bench.
 

Desert Eagle

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Does he have the intelligence of a top player? I have to say I don't think so. I know he's just a kid but football intelligence is largely instinctual especially for an attacking player. The amount of times he takes the wrong option is incredible. hopefully I'm proven wrong but I gotta say from what i've seen of him, he might have the pace and the tricks but not much else.
 

FromTheBench

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Shouldn't be - he's lowest on the "professional" ratings as well (even below McNair and Blackett). The reality is that he's delivered very little for his minutes on the field. On the positive side - thought he looked a little better last night.
I think it may partially be down to sort of 5/10 minute sub appearances where you really cannot give higher than a 6 unless something special is done. Defenders would have less than those.
 

FromTheBench

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Btw, his best position is starting wide but given license to roam inside freely. That way he becomes tough to mark or double on up also.


Last season he was kind of playing that lot more but this season he has been stuck to the Wing by LVG when he starts from the wide. Same with Di Maria to a lesser extent.

Should play them in a fluid 4-2-3-1 with 3 behind striker all interchanging all over.
 

Roman Bellic

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Does he have the intelligence of a top player? I have to say I don't think so. I know he's just a kid but football intelligence is largely instinctual especially for an attacking player. The amount of times he takes the wrong option is incredible. hopefully I'm proven wrong but I gotta say from what i've seen of him, he might have the pace and the tricks but not much else.
I agree, but he has plenty of time to learn
 

khoazany

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The biggest problem is not the player, but those who consistently overhype him (not you) in threads as if he's an established star, which always leads to the inevitable disappointment. I recall getting into it with a couple of Januzaj muppets who insisted on comparing him to Ronaldo following his two goal performance last year.
On the other hand,you have countless of idiots ready to jump in and write a youngster off overtime he has a poor performance.
 

Pexbo

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The last two games summed him up for me. One fantastic apperance where he looked like he could take on the world. Another where he had little space and looked a bit impotent and fraustrated.

That's the reason I shake my head at posts that suggest formations with him as a winger and Di Maria on the other wing usually (another inconsistent winger) and they say things like "I reckon if we played this team all season we would be challenging for the title".

Well no, we'd win one game 4-0 and lose the next 2-1
 

Sparky Rhiwabon

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Shouldn't be - he's lowest on the "professional" ratings as well (even below McNair and Blackett). The reality is that he's delivered very little for his minutes on the field. On the positive side - thought he looked a little better last night.
At the end of the day, attacking players are judged on goals and assists as that's what wins games. Sadly, I don't have those stats to hand but I'm sure someone will.
 

Raoul

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On the other hand,you have countless of idiots ready to jump in and write a youngster off overtime he has a poor performance.
Not really. Writing players off has nothing to do with youngsters, it's applied to all players.
 

Mali_Zeus

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Does he have the intelligence of a top player? I have to say I don't think so. I know he's just a kid but football intelligence is largely instinctual especially for an attacking player. The amount of times he takes the wrong option is incredible. hopefully I'm proven wrong but I gotta say from what i've seen of him, he might have the pace and the tricks but not much else.
Wasnt Ronaldo a bit like that when he was in his age.
Not saying Adnan is Ronaldo's calibre or anything like it but he's young and time is on his side. He'll learn how to play the right way.
 

Pogue Mahone

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Does he have the intelligence of a top player? I have to say I don't think so. I know he's just a kid but football intelligence is largely instinctual especially for an attacking player. The amount of times he takes the wrong option is incredible. hopefully I'm proven wrong but I gotta say from what i've seen of him, he might have the pace and the tricks but not much else.
You seem to be implying decision-making doesn't improve with age. It's probably the one quality that improves most of all as a player matures.

Ronaldo's decision-making was diabolical in his teens. It's why this thread was started.
 

Dante

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Seems to have quite a quick mind to me. Lack the application at times, but all the building blocks are there.
 

Invictus

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You seem to be implying decision-making doesn't improve with age. It's probably the one quality that improves most of all as a player matures.

Ronaldo's decision-making was diabolical in his teens. It's why this thread was started.
:lol:
 

united_99

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But Ronaldo could more than make up for it with pace, as far as I am concerned in order to be successful decision making is much more important for extremely skillful players who lack pace. That's why players like Iniesta/Silva or even Isco are/have been so successful, whereas good decision making might not always be required for the likes of Ronaldo, Neymar or even Bale in order to still shine.
 

Invictus

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But Ronaldo could more than make up for it with pace, as far as I am concerned in order to be successful decision making is much more important for extremely skillful players who lack pace. That's why players like Iniesta/Silva or even Isco are/have been so successful, whereas good decision making might not always be required for the likes of Ronaldo, Neymar or even Bale in order to still shine.
How good was Iniesta or Silva's decision making at 19 or 20 though ? It's unfair to compare Januzaj to players of that established class based on retrospective judgement. eg. At his age, Silva couldn't get games at Valencia and was loaned out to Celta Vigo after a similar loan spell at Eibar. Januzaj has plenty of time to improve upon that aspect of his game. :)
 

united_99

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How good was Iniesta or Silva's decision making at 19 or 20 though ? It's unfair to compare Januzaj to players of that established class based on retrospective judgement. eg. At his age, Silva couldn't get games at Valencia and was loaned out to Celta Vigo after a similar loan spell at Eibar. Januzaj has plenty of time to improve upon that aspect of his game. :)
Silva has been a regular for Valencia since he has been 20. Same with Iniesta at Barca. A more recent example is Isco though who has been a starter for Malaga with 19.

But I wasn't really comparing them anyway, just saying that comparing Januzaj's decision making with Ronaldo at the same age doesn't have much relevance as Januzaj is not and will never be a Ronaldo type player. I mean Ronaldo's decision making even now is not that great but that didn't stop him to win his 3rd Ballon D'or because he has a lot of other attributes which make him the player he is.

Whereas the likes of Iniesta/Silva/Isco would lose a lot without their decision making abilities because skill alone won't bring you anywhere.
 

Invictus

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Silva has been a regular for Valencia since he has been 20. Same with Iniesta at Barca. A more recent example is Isco though who has been a starter for Malaga with 19.

But I wasn't really comparing them anyway, just saying that comparing Januzaj's decision making with Ronaldo at the same age doesn't have much relevance as Januzaj is not and will never be a Ronaldo type player. I mean Ronaldo's decision making even now is not that great but that didn't stop him to win his 3rd Ballon D'or because he has a lot of other attributes which make him the player he is.

Whereas the likes of Iniesta/Silva/Isco would lose a lot without their decision making abilities because skill alone won't bring you anywhere.
Ah ok, gotcha mate. That's a fair assessment. :)
 

Desert Eagle

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Wasnt Ronaldo a bit like that when he was in his age.
Not saying Adnan is Ronaldo's calibre or anything like it but he's young and time is on his side. He'll learn how to play the right way.

You seem to be implying decision-making doesn't improve with age. It's probably the one quality that improves most of all as a player matures.

Ronaldo's decision-making was diabolical in his teens. It's why this thread was started.
That thread should be in the classics.

I have to say I'm not sure decision making improves that much past a certain age tbh. Aaron Lennon and a multitude of shit English wingers should attest to that. I think coaching is definitely a factor, a new coach could teach a player a few new tricks but footballing vision is not something you can practice and get better at imo.

Also with regards to Adnan, I do agree with united_99 when he says that Ronaldo also had the advantage of become a physical beast and he was also a much better finisher at that age. Scoring goals will mask a lot of deficiencies for a young player and unfortunately he hasn't been clinical enough.
 

amolbhatia50k

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The biggest problem is not the player, but those who consistently overhype him (not you) in threads as if he's an established star, which always leads to the inevitable disappointment. I recall getting into it with a couple of Januzaj muppets who insisted on comparing him to Ronaldo following his two goal performance last year.
Wrong. He had a terrific first year. The problem lies with the people who expect that sort of level consistently and won't accept nothing less from a 19/20 year old, and write him off for not doing so. Its compeltely logical and sensible to think that he had an excellent first season for us given his age, and not make ridiculous knee jerk statements criticising him and writing him off when he's not followed it up the next year.
 

Stack

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Does he have the intelligence of a top player? I have to say I don't think so. I know he's just a kid but football intelligence is largely instinctual especially for an attacking player. The amount of times he takes the wrong option is incredible. hopefully I'm proven wrong but I gotta say from what i've seen of him, he might have the pace and the tricks but not much else.
This really isnt true. Option taking, habits, vision and awareness are all attributes which can and are coached for. They require different layers of experience and understanding. These are things that can be improved with specific drills and training routines. They take time to accumulate and each player is different in the rates with which they develop these attributes. "Football intelligence" (which is an awful term) is something that can be learned. "Instinctive" reactions are an accumulation of experience and habit.

Option taking isnt an individuals decision making process, there is also an element of cooperative choice involved.
 

Desert Eagle

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This really isnt true. Option taking, habits, vision and awareness are all attributes which can and are coached for. They require different layers of experience and understanding. These are things that can be improved with specific drills and training routines. They take time to accumulate and each player is different in the rates with which they develop these attributes. "Football intelligence" (which is an awful term) is something that can be learned. "Instinctive" reactions are an accumulation of experience and habit.

Option taking isnt an individuals decision making process, there is also an element of cooperative choice involved.
Lets assume that's true. Like you go on to say it's still different for each individual player how much they learn and the rate at which they develop. In essence we're making predictions while playing a waiting game. Any criticism of a player so raw and young should obviously be tempered but my potential ceiling for him has decreased.
 

Stack

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Lets assume that's true. Like you go on to say it's still different for each individual player how much they learn and the rate at which they develop. In essence we're making predictions while playing a waiting game. Any criticism of a player so raw and young should obviously be tempered but my potential ceiling for him has decreased.
I think with respect to predictions on a young players possible final level of ability there are some things which can give us clearer opinions. For example Ronaldo. Despite so many talking about how physically developed he was when he first appeared the thing that stood out for me was how advanced he was with respect to his technique and skill levels. He was clearly head and shoulders above most other young players in those areas, Adnan is not as good as Ronaldo was in those areas at the same age but not too far off so I think with time he will continue to improve, I think he has the potential to be a regular 1st team starter within the next couple of years.
 

mu77

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On the other hand,you have countless of idiots ready to jump in and write a youngster off overtime he has a poor performance.
or idiots who say "he'll come good" see anderson/cleverly. it can go both ways. right now you can't write him off. but - he needs to get some consistent form and get consistent run of games to develop that form. wingers have it tough being so isolated.
 
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