[Amir]

By the time Ronaldo was about to finish his second season with us and during parts of his third, there were plenty of doubts about him and people wondering if he'll develop end product. People forget that now. There are clear similarities to Januzaj.

He's got great ability to beat men, like we saw in that move against Arsenal. It's what he does afterwards that's the problem, like we saw in that move against Arsenal. It could improve, it could improve immensely, or he might end up being stuck.

 

[RedFish]

By the time Ronaldo was about to finish his second season with us and during parts of his third, there were plenty of doubts about him and people wondering if he'll develop end product. People forget that know. There are clear similarities to Januzaj.

I really hope Januzaj doesn't develop in the same way to become a world class prick though.

 

[Cantona'sCollar]

I really hope Januzaj doesn't develop in the same way to become a world class prick though.

 

[RedFish]

What?

 

[matt23]

He frustrates me but I have a lot of sympathy for the kid, sometimes I think if he hadn't scored twice on his debut his development would have been psychologically easier. Harry Kane at Spurs might be a decent example of a player allowed to develop at his own pace. fair enough there's plenty of hype around Kane now, but it did take a good level of consistently, for quite a long time before people starting to think he might actually have what it takes. Even now there's still an undertone of surprise every time Kane does something genuinely classy, whereas Adnan had the burden of being our next (insert world class player) pretty much since his full debut. That said, Januzaj hasn't progressed much in over a year for one reason or an other, and my main concern with him is whether he has the mentality to turn his talent into the career expected of him. One thing going for him is we all want him to, unlike some players at our club, he has the full support of millions of supporters and backroom team that want nothing but the best for him.

The hype from an early age thing is one of the reasons I have a lot of respect for Rooney. He's been under the microscope of this country's press and public from the age of 16 boy to man, and yeh he's had his ups and downs, but there are too many examples of human beings being hyped too early and it reflecting negatively on the rest of their life, showbiz and sport.

 

[Raoul]

By the time Ronaldo was about to finish his second season with us and during parts of his third, there were plenty of doubts about him and people wondering if he'll develop end product. People forget that know. There are clear similarities to Januzaj.

He's got great ability to beat men, like we saw in that move against Arsenal. It's what he does afterwards that's the problem, like we saw in that move against Arsenal. It could improve, it could improve immensely, or he might end up being stuck.

Mechanically, Ronaldo was well ahead of Januzaj though. He did get his share of stick about being a step over specialist, but his technical ability was far beyond Januzaj's.

 

[shamans]

I really hope Januzaj doesn't develop in the same way to become a world class prick though.

Ronaldo has the perfect attitude for an attacking footballer. A proper winner.

 

[Cantona'sCollar]

What?

I hope Januzaj becomes ten times the prick our Ronnie ever was, if it means he even became half the player.

Unbelievable comment. Ronaldo is the model pro.

 

[RedFish]

Maybe he'll build a museum 10 times the size of Ronaldo's in his own honour too. ;-)

 

[Raoul]

Maybe he'll build a museum 10 times the size of Ronaldo's in his own honour too. ;-)

If you're going to compare Januzaj with Ronaldo then do so. Otherwise take the Ronaldo is a prick stuff elsewhere.

 

[RedFish]

I hope Januzaj becomes ten times the prick our Ronnie ever was, if it means he even became half the player.

Unbelievable comment. Ronaldo is the model pro.

I'd rather have Januzaj than Ronaldo in our squad. Never liked his me me me antics. He may be the ultimate professional, but not the ultimate team player in my humble opinion.

 

[XdanielredX]

When you're as good as Ronaldo you are allowed to be a bit arrogant.

Plus, people mistake confidence for arrogance way too often.

There plenty of examples off the pitch that shows he's not some me me me me all about me person.

That confidence on the pitch is one of the reasons he became who he is.

 

[RedDevilCanuck]

If I remember correctly he was at his best last season on the left.

Seemed to drift past players so easily. I'm not losing hope. He will come good.

 

[Bape]

I'd rather have Januzaj than Ronaldo in our squad. Never liked his me me me antics. He may be the ultimate professional, but not the ultimate team player in my humble opinion.

Ridiculous statement, in my humble opinion.

We're talking about one of the best players in the history of the game here, he can be a serial killer for all I care.

 

[limerickcitykid]

he can be a serial killer for all I care.

You might be going a bit far there.

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

He frustrates me but I have a lot of sympathy for the kid, sometimes I think if he hadn't scored twice on his debut his development would have been psychologically easier. Harry Kane at Spurs might be a decent example of a player allowed to develop at his own pace. fair enough there's plenty of hype around Kane now, but it did take a good level of consistently, for quite a long time before people starting to think he might actually have what it takes. Even now there's still an undertone of surprise every time Kane does something genuinely classy, whereas Adnan had the burden of being our next (insert world class player) pretty much since his full debut. That said, Januzaj hasn't progressed much in over a year for one reason or an other, and my main concern with him is whether he has the mentality to turn his talent into the career expected of him. One thing going for him is we all want him to, unlike some players at our club, he has the full support of millions of supporters and backroom team that want nothing but the best for him.

The hype from an early age thing is one of the reasons I have a lot of respect for Rooney. He's been under the microscope of this country's press and public from the age of 16 boy to man, and yeh he's had his ups and downs, but there are too many examples of human beings being hyped too early and it reflecting negatively on the rest of their life, showbiz and sport.

Great post.

 

[Pexbo]

By the time Ronaldo was about to finish his second season with us and during parts of his third, there were plenty of doubts about him and people wondering if he'll develop end product. People forget that know. There are clear similarities to Januzaj.

He's got great ability to beat men, like we saw in that move against Arsenal. It's what he does afterwards that's the problem, like we saw in that move against Arsenal. It could improve, it could improve immensely, or he might end up being stuck.

I really don't understand why Ronaldo's name is brought up in relation to Januzaj. Ronaldo was a freak. Januzaj doesn't have anything like his pace, physique or trickery. Ronaldo's deveopment arc is absolutely irrelevant to Januzaj. Don't expect 10 goals next season, 20 the next and 40 after that. He'll probably take a good 5 years to build up to 15 or 20 goals and 10 or 15 assists.

 

[Freak]

We need to be patient with him. He's frustrating now but he will learn and be devastating in a couple of seasons.

 

[.Rossi]

He has his chance on Sunday. Big game, make or break.....Let's see how he does now when the pressure is really on

 

[.Rossi]

We need to be patient with him. He's frustrating now but he will learn and be devastating in a couple of seasons.

As I was saying, he has his chance on Sunday with Di Maria out.....I'm very interested to see how he does when the pressure is really on and how he handles it

 

[Lawman]

You say that now, but in his first season there was a pretty even-sided debate about who had more to their game at 18, Ronaldo or Januzaj. Nobody was claiming he was as good as Ronaldo or will be as good, but at that time he genuinely seemed to be overall a more complete package

Ronald's first game versus Bolton was a real eye opener. Yes he frustrated at times after that but he was a game changer when he would come on. Adnan has bags of ability but is not at the standard of what a United player should be at currently imo. (He could become a great player for us but is a mile away just now). The same goes for Blackett McNair these guys shouldn't be anywhere near our first team. Imagine these guys playing for Chelsea or City? No way! I love youth coming through but we shouldn't have to be asking them to dig us out in situations until they are ready and able, and these guys are a million miles of being ready and able. A loan is far the best option imo.

 

[Lawman]

I really hope Januzaj doesn't develop in the same way to become a world class prick though.

Get over yourself I see nothing much wrong with Ronaldo. You see all the bad things what about the way he has conducted himself of the pitch or the standards he has set on it? A true pro who can have his faults (we all do) but some of the stories you here regarding gestures he has made to people less fortunate than himself is heart warming (a they are no publicity stunts either). I have nothing but respect for this guy and wish he was back at United.

 

[Amir]

I really don't understand why Ronaldo's name is brought up in relation to Januzaj.

They are mentioned because both have shown similar problems with turning a good position into a good decision and result. They are not the same, but Ronaldo is evidence to how a player can develop his final product. If Januzaj can do that he'll be a terrific player. Not a Ronaldo, that is bloody rare, but a terrofic player.

 

[RedFish]

Get over yourself I see nothing much wrong with Ronaldo. You see all the bad things what about the way he has conducted himself of the pitch or the standards he has set on it? A true pro who can have his faults (we all do) but some of the stories you here regarding gestures he has made to people less fortunate than himself is heart warming (a they are no publicity stunts either). I have nothing but respect for this guy and wish he was back at United.

Fair enough

 

[Invictus]

Come on now. People need to stop with the history revision. No one knew that Ronaldo would turn out to be the player he is today at age 19 or 20. He was behind the likes of Van der Vaart, Torres, Robben, Podolski, Rooney when it came to top players in and around his age group. He was fast and tricky yes and had good potential, but so did Quaresma. It's as if it was abundantly clear that Ronaldo was going to be one of the greatest ever or even of the last decade, it's simply untrue and smacks of retrospective adjustment of opinions.

Ronaldo was excruciatingly inconsistent, had ridiculously bad decision making, was a bit of a selfish prat, was labelled a big game bottler, dove on every occasion, hadn't developed his rocket free kick technique, didn't even score a European goal till age 21, did nothing when we got steamrolled by the likes of Chelsea and Milan and crashed out of the group stages in 2005/ 2006 - finishing 4th behind Benfica, Villarreal and Lille. It wasn't until the 2006/ 2007 season that he really started to assert himself as one of the top players in the game.

Different players have different growth curves. Some of the players who were considered better than Ronaldo at that age stagnated or didn't progress beyond a certain level. Others who weren't rated as highly as the absolute top young talents - the likes of Ribery, Van Persie, Suarez have developed into better players than Podolski or Torres or Reyes or Van der Vaart. Januzaj has a great chance to be that caliber of a player. Someone like Kaka was going to be loaned out by Milan at age 21 in 2003. It was only because of Rui Costa's weak form that Ancelotti kept him in on and he developed into a Ballon D'Or caliber player in the space of a few seasons which shows that footballers can develop rapidly and that growth isn't linear.

Young footballers are dismissed very easily these days just because of a few poor games and because they are compared to X, Y and Z players who are all finished products and we have the benefit of hindsight. Was Zidane Zidane really Zinedine Zidane at Januzaj's age ? Was David Villa the finished article for Gijon's B team ? Was Van Nistelrooy when he was playing as a central midfielder for Den Bosch ? Was Vieira when he couldn't even break into Milan's senior team at age 20 ? Januzaj needs time to develop both physically and mentally. He is still very young and needs the right environment to thrive.

 

[Mark_GrumpyLion]

Come on now. People need to stop with the history revision. No one knew that Ronaldo would turn out to be the player he is today at age 19 or 20. He was behind the likes of Van der Vaart, Torres, Robben, Podolski, Rooney when it came to top players in and around his age group. He was fast and tricky yes and had good potential, but so did Quaresma. It's as if it was abundantly clear that Ronaldo was going to be one of the greatest ever or even of the last decade, it's simply untrue and smacks of retrospective adjustment of opinions.

Ronaldo was excruciatingly inconsistent, had ridiculously bad decision making, was a bit of a selfish prat, was labelled a big game bottler, dove on every occasion, hadn't developed his rocket free kick technique, didn't even score a European goal till age 21, did nothing when we got steamrolled by the likes of Chelsea and Milan and crashed out of the group stages in 2005/ 2006 - finishing 4th behind Benfica, Villarreal and Lille. It wasn't until the 2006/ 2007 season that he really started to assert himself as one of the top players in the game.

Different players have different growth curves. Some of the players who were considered better than Ronaldo at that age stagnated or didn't progress beyond a certain level. Others who weren't rated as highly as the absolute top young talents - the likes of Ribery, Van Persie, Suarez have developed into better players than Podolski or Torres or Reyes or Van der Vaart. Januzaj has a great chance to be that caliber of a player. Someone like Kaka was going to be loaned out by Milan at age 21 in 2003. It was only because of Rui Costa's weak form that Ancelotti kept him in on and he developed into a Ballon D'Or caliber player in the space of a few seasons which shows that footballers can develop rapidly and that growth isn't linear.

Young footballers are dismissed very easily these days just because of a few poor games and because they are compared to X, Y and Z players who are all finished products and we have the benefit of hindsight. Was Zidane Zidane really Zinedine Zidane at Januzaj's age ? Was David Villa the finished article for Gijon's B team ? Was Van Nistelrooy when he was playing as a central midfielder for Den Bosch ? Was Vieira when he couldn't even break into Milan's senior team at age 20 ? Januzaj needs time to develop both physically and mentally. He is still very young and needs the right environment to thrive.

Absolutely right. Great post!

 

[NoLogo]

Come on now. People need to stop with the history revision. No one knew that Ronaldo would turn out to be the player he is today at age 19 or 20. He was behind the likes of Van der Vaart, Torres, Robben, Podolski, Rooney when it came to top players in and around his age group. He was fast and tricky yes and had good potential, but so did Quaresma. It's as if it was abundantly clear that Ronaldo was going to be one of the greatest ever or even of the last decade, it's simply untrue and smacks of retrospective adjustment of opinions.

Ronaldo was excruciatingly inconsistent, had ridiculously bad decision making, was a bit of a selfish prat, was labelled a big game bottler, dove on every occasion, hadn't developed his rocket free kick technique, didn't even score a European goal till age 21, did nothing when we got steamrolled by the likes of Chelsea and Milan and crashed out of the group stages in 2005/ 2006 - finishing 4th behind Benfica, Villarreal and Lille. It wasn't until the 2006/ 2007 season that he really started to assert himself as one of the top players in the game.

Different players have different growth curves. Some of the players who were considered better than Ronaldo at that age stagnated or didn't progress beyond a certain level. Others who weren't rated as highly as the absolute top young talents - the likes of Ribery, Van Persie, Suarez have developed into better players than Podolski or Torres or Reyes or Van der Vaart. Januzaj has a great chance to be that caliber of a player. Someone like Kaka was going to be loaned out by Milan at age 21 in 2003. It was only because of Rui Costa's weak form that Ancelotti kept him in on and he developed into a Ballon D'Or caliber player in the space of a few seasons which shows that footballers can develop rapidly and that growth isn't linear.

Young footballers are dismissed very easily these days just because of a few poor games and because they are compared to X, Y and Z players who are all finished products and we have the benefit of hindsight. Was Zidane Zidane really Zinedine Zidane at Januzaj's age ? Was David Villa the finished article for Gijon's B team ? Was Van Nistelrooy when he was playing as a central midfielder for Den Bosch ? Was Vieira when he couldn't even break into Milan's senior team at age 20 ? Januzaj needs time to develop both physically and mentally. He is still very young and needs the right environment to thrive.

This always annoy's me to no end. If a player isn't as good as Messi was at age 18/19 people will already start calling them "not good enough". Young players almost all have bad phases it's just natural for 99% of them and most of them won't even get to their best before they reach their mid twenties. Players who are already world class in their early twenties are an absolute rarity yet people seem to expect from ever player who breaks into the first team to be that kind of player.

 

[Joemo]

Come on now. People need to stop with the history revision. No one knew that Ronaldo would turn out to be the player he is today at age 19 or 20. He was behind the likes of Van der Vaart, Torres, Robben, Podolski, Rooney when it came to top players in and around his age group. He was fast and tricky yes and had good potential, but so did Quaresma. It's as if it was abundantly clear that Ronaldo was going to be one of the greatest ever or even of the last decade, it's simply untrue and smacks of retrospective adjustment of opinions.

Ronaldo was excruciatingly inconsistent, had ridiculously bad decision making, was a bit of a selfish prat, was labelled a big game bottler, dove on every occasion, hadn't developed his rocket free kick technique, didn't even score a European goal till age 21, did nothing when we got steamrolled by the likes of Chelsea and Milan and crashed out of the group stages in 2005/ 2006 - finishing 4th behind Benfica, Villarreal and Lille. It wasn't until the 2006/ 2007 season that he really started to assert himself as one of the top players in the game.

Different players have different growth curves. Some of the players who were considered better than Ronaldo at that age stagnated or didn't progress beyond a certain level. Others who weren't rated as highly as the absolute top young talents - the likes of Ribery, Van Persie, Suarez have developed into better players than Podolski or Torres or Reyes or Van der Vaart. Januzaj has a great chance to be that caliber of a player. Someone like Kaka was going to be loaned out by Milan at age 21 in 2003. It was only because of Rui Costa's weak form that Ancelotti kept him in on and he developed into a Ballon D'Or caliber player in the space of a few seasons which shows that footballers can develop rapidly and that growth isn't linear.

Young footballers are dismissed very easily these days just because of a few poor games and because they are compared to X, Y and Z players who are all finished products and we have the benefit of hindsight. Was Zidane Zidane really Zinedine Zidane at Januzaj's age ? Was David Villa the finished article for Gijon's B team ? Was Van Nistelrooy when he was playing as a central midfielder for Den Bosch ? Was Vieira when he couldn't even break into Milan's senior team at age 20 ? Januzaj needs time to develop both physically and mentally. He is still very young and needs the right environment to thrive.

Great post as always, Invictus.

 

[bugmat]

Come on now. People need to stop with the history revision. No one knew that Ronaldo would turn out to be the player he is today at age 19 or 20. He was behind the likes of Van der Vaart, Torres, Robben, Podolski, Rooney when it came to top players in and around his age group. He was fast and tricky yes and had good potential, but so did Quaresma. It's as if it was abundantly clear that Ronaldo was going to be one of the greatest ever or even of the last decade, it's simply untrue and smacks of retrospective adjustment of opinions.

Ronaldo was excruciatingly inconsistent, had ridiculously bad decision making, was a bit of a selfish prat, was labelled a big game bottler, dove on every occasion, hadn't developed his rocket free kick technique, didn't even score a European goal till age 21, did nothing when we got steamrolled by the likes of Chelsea and Milan and crashed out of the group stages in 2005/ 2006 - finishing 4th behind Benfica, Villarreal and Lille. It wasn't until the 2006/ 2007 season that he really started to assert himself as one of the top players in the game.

Different players have different growth curves. Some of the players who were considered better than Ronaldo at that age stagnated or didn't progress beyond a certain level. Others who weren't rated as highly as the absolute top young talents - the likes of Ribery, Van Persie, Suarez have developed into better players than Podolski or Torres or Reyes or Van der Vaart. Januzaj has a great chance to be that caliber of a player. Someone like Kaka was going to be loaned out by Milan at age 21 in 2003. It was only because of Rui Costa's weak form that Ancelotti kept him in on and he developed into a Ballon D'Or caliber player in the space of a few seasons which shows that footballers can develop rapidly and that growth isn't linear.

Young footballers are dismissed very easily these days just because of a few poor games and because they are compared to X, Y and Z players who are all finished products and we have the benefit of hindsight. Was Zidane Zidane really Zinedine Zidane at Januzaj's age ? Was David Villa the finished article for Gijon's B team ? Was Van Nistelrooy when he was playing as a central midfielder for Den Bosch ? Was Vieira when he couldn't even break into Milan's senior team at age 20 ? Januzaj needs time to develop both physically and mentally. He is still very young and needs the right environment to thrive.

Best post in here

 

[Nighteyes]

He has his chance on Sunday. Big game, make or break.....Let's see how he does now when the pressure is really on

Make or break game at 20? wtf?

 

[dirkey]

Make or break game at 20? wtf?

Maybe he meant the game is make or break for United's season with regard to the top 4, and that we'll see how Adnan does with the pressure on? It could be read that way too I guess.

Adnan has really frustrated me over the last year with regard to his growth, but lately has shown glimpses of a bit of form coming back. I didn't think he was good in his cameo against Arsenal (unlike a lot of others on here) but other than that he has looked good lately in my opinion. I'll be interested to see how he does this weekend if given the start.

I also kind of wonder ... will he start? We might well randomly see Mata come back in. Or if RVP is fit (is he?) I wouldn't be surprised to see him come straight back into the lineup either.

 

[caisenma]

i might be in the minority here, but i would far rather have adnan playing than an out of form, out of shape RVP.

anyway, all the pages in this thread should be deleted up until this, as the best posts have clearly been on this page. refreshing to see.

 

[Raoul]

i might be in the minority here, but i would far rather have adnan playing than an out of form, out of shape RVP.

anyway, all the pages in this thread should be deleted up until this, as the best posts have clearly been on this page. refreshing to see.

That might work if Januzaj scores goals, otherwise it would be a very bad idea, as RvP still manages to pull a few goals here and there.

 

[dirkey]

That might work if Januzaj scores goals, otherwise it would be a very bad idea, as RvP still manages to pull a few goals here and there.

I wouldn't mind it, so long as we keep playing the formation we're doing, but put someone other than Fellaini in at number 10, be it Mata, Herrera ... even Januzaj or Di Maria if need be.
I think the issue is the 2 up top. It doesn't work for us.

 

[Raoul]

I wouldn't mind it, so long as we keep playing the formation we're doing, but put someone other than Fellaini in at number 10, be it Mata, Herrera ... even Januzaj or Di Maria if need be.
I think the issue is the 2 up top. It doesn't work for us.

Mata is a far superior player, who actually contributes goals and assists. He should be playing regularly imo.

 

[devil in me]

He has his chance on Sunday. Big game, make or break.....Let's see how he does now when the pressure is really on

Not in any way is Sunday Make or Break for a 20 year old. It is a big chance for him tho. He's played well recently, and apart from his pathetic dive, he was good against Arsenal when he came on.
I'd like to think that Adnan can somewhat mirror what Sterling has done for Liverpool. Excellent breakthrough season, a bit of a nothing second season and then really kicked on in his third.

 

[dirkey]

Mata is a far superior player, who actually contributes goals and assists. He should be playing regularly imo.

He, like pretty much everyone in the team, was a bit frustrating earlier in the season, as I felt he was being way less adventurous than normal. But yeah, I'd have him back in now if I were in charge, behind Rooney. Young and Januzaj (for this game anyway) on the flanks. I have a feeling we'll see Fellaini though.

 

[dirkey]

Not in any way is Sunday Make or Break for a 20 year old. It is a big chance for him tho. He's played well recently, and apart from his pathetic dive, he was good against Arsenal when he came on.
I'd like to think that Adnan can somewhat mirror what Sterling has done for Liverpool. Excellent breakthrough season, a bit of a nothing second season and then really kicked on in his third.

He really wasn't. His two good moments he followed up with standard Januzaj bad decisions - a dive, and an extra touch which put the ball out of play. Other than that he pretty much messed everything up.

 

[Devil may care]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...a-gym-sessions-tougher-Manchester-United.html

Manchester United starlet Adnan Januzaj has revealed he has been undergoing extra work in the gym to aid his development.

Although Januzaj has built up his slight frame since making his debut at 18, he revealed he has been putting in extra hours at the gym to become 'stronger' during games.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, he said: ''I do a lot of work in the gym,' Januzaj said.

'I am trying to be faster and stronger so I can be tougher when I go out on the pitch.

'I am doing a lot of short, sharp stuff so, when I turn a defender or go past a player, I can just get a few metres away from them with my acceleration.'

He's shown a very good attitude and understanding of where he needs to improve in recent interviews.

 

[.Rossi]

Make or break game at 20? wtf?

Ehhhh I clearly mean't United and the season so far