People need to temper their expectations.
Daniel James - Manchester United player
- Thread starter roonster09
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Yeah I'm thinking new Andrei Kanchelskis rather than new Jairzinho.
What are our expectations? Makes the rightwing his own? 10 goals + assists? Is a useful option from the bench?
I never thought I would read Valencia and the phrase "pin-point crosses" in the same sentence. Just because some of his crosses hit the mark doesn't mean he was a good crosser of the ball. His trademark cross, after all, is a low, hard cross and hope for the best.
Yeah, I gave the benefit of doubt after some big game performances, but last season’s form should really result in a sale. He is a local lad though, so as backup he’s alright. No wonder we’re excited about a potential danger from our right hand side!
You need to go back and watch 09/10 season. Valencia was actually a very good crosser that year, but after his ankle break he just never had the same finesse.
It takes a rival fan to speak some sense which is normal as we will hype up any player linked with us. I always think "if Spurs Arsenal or Chelsea signed him, would I be concerned" answer is nope.
Delli Alli did ok mind......
Wonder how many ManUtd fans were concerned when Liverpool signed Robertson, Mane, Salah, Firmino and few more players. It's not as simple as that.
Lot of fans also worried when Chelsea signed Higuain and he was dud.
Odd thing to say, 11/12 was easily his best season.
True not immediately after when he came back, but the form soon dropped off and he never really recovered.
Perhaps it was more a muscular injury than the bone effecting him, not sure.
Hmm
All those players were very good in various top leagues. Perhaps you couldn't expect them to make the step up as strongly as they did (robertson especially) but they had proven class in top divisions. Signing from the lower leagues is a significantly bigger gamble. Doesn't mean that gamble won't pay off (like it did with Alli) but it's very much flipping a coin, because no scout can really know for sure whether a player will make that step up or shrink away from it. There have been many hugely talented youngsters impressing at championship level (Zaha was amazing, then needed years to get his career back on track when he stepped up) who then struggled. But equally, plenty of examples of players who are a roaring success, James Maddison for Norwich being a great example. My biggest concern about James is that he's already not super productive as a player, especially compared to others who have made the step up from championship level. Seems a bit on the hopeful side to think he's suddenly going to be more prolific at a higher level.
I never understood why people were worried about Higuain and was very vocal about it at the time. He was dogshit at A.C Milan and was clearly past his best as a player, coming to a more physical/energetic league was the last thing he needed, guaranteed flop from day one.
Well yeah, no one expected them to step up like they did and there were sure and safe transfers who ended up like worst transfers. I just don't agree with "whether I would have worried had some other club signed him" logic. There are so many players who caf thought were not good enough but ended up as very good players.
I don't have any problem with his productivity either. It was his first proper season.
Yeah I find it worrying how many of our fans seem to think we have bought a ready made established player who will fit right in. IMO we have bought a young lad with all the attributes needed to nurture and develop, pace, skill, attitude, work ethic, good cross, has a goal in him.
I can see him being back up to Marital, play in the Europa, cup games maybe a few easier teams at OT and be an impact player from the bench, there will be no pressure on him this season don't think he was bought to be a starter this season but to develop his game.
Shaw and Depay had more chemistry than Shaw and Martial.
At his best, Valencia was really good at varying his crosses.
Oh yeah, it shouldn't matter if other clubs are worried. It's whether or not you trust the scouts at United/have seen enough of him to make a judgement. Plenty of players get misjudged by rival fans.
It's not an issue, it's just going to be a big ask for him to go for average winger productivity in the championship to really stepping up to the plate in the PL. The likelihood is he will need a settling in season as he develops and your fans shouldn't have weighty expectations of a 21 year old coming in from a lower league. I think the whole 'he's gunna come in immediately and replace Lingard' expectation from some is just a little naive.
I agree. Sometimes he would but the left shin of the full back, and then he would hit the right shin of the full back.
Rossa's right. Valencia at his best got a dipping one, curling outside the full-back and a low piledriver into the small box. It just went to shit completely.
And even the third leg, if he was feeling lucky
Well, if he makes the team play better, and subsequently other players become more productive, ai wouldn't worry too much about his productivity. You mentioned Firmino, but he isn't even that productive. However, he does make the team play better and brings other players into good positions. His work rate is a reason for that. James doesn't seem to lack workrate, unlike some of the other primadonnas.
I give Valencia a lot of credit. I think he was a true professional and always made the most of his talents. He definitely had phases of great play and the last I remember was our last PL title. I think RVP (most of the campaign), Nani (start of the campaign) and Valencia (last 2 months or so of campaign) were the most important players during phases of the season. So to say his ankle injury was the turning point is just not true. Anyway, he just has never been a consistent good crosser of the ball. To put this in perspective, compare his overall work of crosses with Beckham's.
09/10 it was like his right foot had a telepathic connection with Rooney. He used to do some lovely little dinked crosses if I remember correctly.
Prefers playing on the left side he said, but willing to be versatile.
He’ll at least be a good tactical player with that pace against high line sides.
I really like him, I think he'll play a lot more than some people think.
He certainly puts pressure on Martial to perform on the left wing.
He certainly puts pressure on Martial to perform on the left wing.
I'm prepared to give him time. Would expect more out of him next season than this season.
He showed more than Martial today.
I think so too.
I'm a bit worried Martial will stick out like a sore thumb with all the pressing and running we're meant to be doing.
If he could up his movement and be a bit more direct we'd be laughing, but it's not happened so far.
Martial was playing out of position as a striker today, hardly a fair comparison
Everybody has been shouting for him to be played through the middle though.
I haven't. He's always terrible as a striker. He's clearly a left winger. Rashford is our striker
Fair enough then. So what you would say is don't play him down the middle.
Absolutely. People think because Martial is our best finisher (not counting Lukaku) that makes him an ideal striker but that's nonsense. The striker needs to do far more than simply shoot. They need to hold the ball up, play in others but most importantly they need to have excellent attacking movement and make great runs which is Martial's biggest weakness (and Rashford's biggest strength). Combine Rashford's movement with Martial's finishing and you'd have a perfect 25-30 goal a season centre forward. Martial is a fantastic dribbler and can create chances and goals when given time on the ball. Putting him in a position where he is crowded and given no time to do this is just dumb.
James has a much higher work rate than Martial and better suits our ‘new’ pressing style. Thought he did ok today, made some great runs in behind and also tracked back and got some tackles in. Unfortunately, in the first half nearly all our play was through the left side with, surprisingly, Young playing some good balls into space for him. When he was switched to the right he got a little bit lost as nobody on that side had the vision to spot his runs.
Would like to see him in a team with Pogba who, I think, would really get him more involved.
Would like to see him in a team with Pogba who, I think, would really get him more involved.
He's also nowhere near as talented as Martial which is pretty important
Personally, I thought Martial was pretty crap today.
So did I, that doesn't mean he's a pretty crap player
Higher workrate doesn’t quite cut it or Lingard would be world class. He might have more workrate but isnt half as good as martial. I’d like for us to focus more on his actual technical qualities which I’m still not sure of but it’s early days.
No, neither do I, we just need to work out how best to use him. He’s not best suited to a high work rate system, but I agree we have to find a way to unlock his talent.
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