Has Garnacho surpassed Januzaj already?

[MancunianAngels]

Januzaj has played almost 300 club games and been to two World Cups. Whilst he didn't make it at OT, he's still had a decent career so far.

Garnacho still has a way to go before he can say he's even at that level.

 

[pocco]

Januzaj was technically a level above Garnacho, but it seems he had other issues which stopped him hitting the heights he possibly could have done. Whilst I like Garnacho, I do have some reservations on exactly how good he is or will be. I think he's a bit one dimensional at the moment, and needs to add some variety to his game, if he wants to become more effective and eventually be good enough to be considered a first team starter for us. Especially if we keep spending money and improving the team. What he does have is pace and tenacity. I like how he keeps on trying to go at players - it just feels like teams have got his card marked more recently and are managing him much better in games. Even just recently against Arsenal in pre season, he had no impact and probably touched the ball 2 times in 45 minutes.

 

[Drainy]

Garnacho has a long way to go. He's a fun player to watch and can be influential from the bench but undercooked to be hyping him up too much.

 

[Denis79]

I never did feel that Januzaj was anything special, he felt sluggish and slow but Garnacho is electric. He has the potential to be something really special.

 

[BorisManUtd]

That Sunderland game was good but overall after the hype settled I thought he was too slow to make it at the elite level.

Think Januzaj was one of bright spots that whole season (also Rooney and De Gea) and had number of games where he showed his talent. Don't remember most of those games as it was such a long time ago but for example in 3-1 loss at Chelsea he was maybe the only one that played well. Of course it all doesn't mean much as he ultimately failed but it was more than the Sunderland game. Wonder how would it have gone for Adnan if we hired a different manager to van Gaal for next season.

 

[Marwood]

I still think Januzaj was the better footballer overall, he just didn't follow through with application or whatever.

I wouldn't say at this point Garnacho is nailed on to make it at the top level. That everybody seems to say "as long as he keeps his feet on the ground" is a bit of a warning. Plenty to do yet.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

I think Garnacho is talented, but I do think a lot of people overrate his talent/potential.

But I also never bought Januzaj as someone with a lot of talent/potential. MG has way more talent than both of them.

 

[ElDiabloRojo]

Federico Macheda made a bigger impact

 

[Castia]

Garnacho has a much bigger potential

Adnan’s career is currently in complete limbo at the age of 28

 

[GreenFieldsGoldenBarley]

The hindsight "I always thought" slating that Januzaj gets to push up Garnacho is quite unbelievable. He was a special talent who unfortunately started his career in the worst possible era at United & lost his way in the head due to poor mentorship & a ill suited manager in LVG. This will be the case for 9/10 special talents that emerge through since it requires the right manager setting the right environment in the right era & a tremendous amount of luck to make it to Giggs levels.

This. Exactly this. The same people who are saying 'Garnacho is already a star and Januzaj never had it' will be telling us they always knew Garnacho was crap as soon as he has a bad season.

 

[united_99]

The hindsight "I always thought" slating that Januzaj gets to push up Garnacho is quite unbelievable. He was a special talent who unfortunately started his career in the worst possible era at United & lost his way in the head due to poor mentorship & a ill suited manager in LVG. This will be the case for 9/10 special talents that emerge through since it requires the right manager setting the right environment in the right era & a tremendous amount of luck to make it to Giggs levels.

Well I am one of those who never rated Januzaj highly. But why is LvG being blamed here? For all his faults giving young players opportunities wasn’t among them. He was very invested in “youth education” (that’s how he called it). Maybe Januzaj already thought he had made it and LvG wasn’t convinced by his attitude and application.

 

[iammemphis]

Januzaj looked silky but lightweight, it became evident quite quickly that he had alot to do to bed into the first team. Garnacho looks explosive, strong and on a huge upwards trajectory. I would rather him start games but he's so god dam effective off the bench too, he's a real luxury option. Januzaj looked to suffer from a lack of confidence/belief when he made the first team, Garnacho seems to thrive.

 

[Blood Mage]

Garnacho has way more potential but Januzaj's breakthrough season was a joy to watch. The only reason I didn't check out of the Moyes era and skip every game.

 

[Remember the geese]

Januzaj was a terrific talent. He had huge potential and it is being seriously underplayed because of how his career has panned out. Some are fooled by the type of player he was. He was much more of a David Silva wannabe, as opposed to Garnacho's best Ronaldo impression.

 

[Mr Pigeon]

Based purely on their respective times here; Januzaj was more talented. But Garnacho, based on the media reports, managed to grow up and not turn into as much of an arrogant cnut as Januzaj became after he "made it". Time will tell but at the moment it looks like Garnacho is on the path to become the bigger player... I think.

I look back at this article from time to time... https://theathletic.com/2389042/202...-future-of-manchester-united-what-went-wrong/

Especially the quote from Vangle about why Januzaj was locked out of the team by him after his breakout season with Moyes;

The Athletic emailed Van Gaal to see if he was willing to be interviewed. His response came back within 24 hours.

I have absolutely no need to defend myself against so much injustice!
The self-image of players leaves the wishes!
And my career as a coach/manager shows just how many young players could take their chances under my leadership!
With a kind box,
LvG

 

[GreenFieldsGoldenBarley]

Based purely on their respective times here; Januzaj was more talented. But Garnacho, based on the media reports, managed to grow up and not turn into as much of an arrogant cnut as Januzaj became after he "made it". Time will tell but at the moment it looks like Garnacho is on the path to become the bigger player... I think.

I look back at this article from time to time... https://theathletic.com/2389042/202...-future-of-manchester-united-what-went-wrong/

Especially the quote from Vangle about why Januzaj was locked out of the team by him after his breakout season with Moyes;

Back when Garnacho was starting out he had Bruno and ten Hag reminding him to keep his head and telling him he hadn't made it yet - there was a suggestion of discipline issues back then. There was even a thing between Garnacho and McTominay. It gives a sense of strong leadership in the dressing room (something that people on here complained about!)

It seems like Garnacho's attitude has improved since the beginning of the season based on some of this discipline and tough love. If Januzaj had that, instead of an old, disinterested team and Moyes, I think we'd have seen a totally different player.

 

[city-puma]

He has long long way to go in order to establish himself in this club. Hope he stays grounded and fulfill his potential. Now, it’s too early.

 

[In Rainbows]

I never did feel that Januzaj was anything special, he felt sluggish and slow but Garnacho is electric. He has the potential to be something really special.

That's because he was that kind of player in the youth ranks. Moyes and the coaching set up tried to turn him into a Giggs type player. His decision making from that point on suffered. He became a 1 trick pony which was to dribble, and he didn't have the pace for that.

Anyone that watched him in the youth ranks, would liken him to a Zidane type playstyle (No not as skilled or as much potential or anything resembling the greatness of Zidane. Just the playstyle). Players of that ilk that although slow, made great decisions, and used their great skills to tip the scale towards their side's favor. I remember him playing as a striker, and all he did was use his great first touch and ability to bring others into play that allowed United to beat Spurs in the u21 finals.

It's a shame that United tried to change his natural play style, and along with giving him the pressure of being a young star, allowed his attitude to change from what used to be praised as a hardworking quite boy. It's partly his fault of course, but I don't think he was done any favors.

Another early performance from him in the League cup.


Great through ball from januzaj against Spurs. Kind of passes he was capable of at youth level.

 

[bringbackbebe]

Well I am one of those who never rated Januzaj highly. But why is LvG being blamed here? For all his faults giving young players opportunities wasn’t among them. He was very invested in “youth education” (that’s how he called it). Maybe Januzaj already thought he had made it and LvG wasn’t convinced by his attitude and application.

LVG basically got rid of everyone who reminded him of Fergie era, senior and youth players alike. McNair got his chance in the first season because of injury to others (which quickly disappeared in the second season) and Rashford & Lingard had a small breakout in the second but that's about it. I'd actually say the damage done by LVG was on par with Moyes in that he destroyed the foundations of this club.

 

[Rossa]

Januzaj was technically a level above Garnacho, but it seems he had other issues which stopped him hitting the heights he possibly could have done. Whilst I like Garnacho, I do have some reservations on exactly how good he is or will be. I think he's a bit one dimensional at the moment, and needs to add some variety to his game, if he wants to become more effective and eventually be good enough to be considered a first team starter for us. Especially if we keep spending money and improving the team. What he does have is pace and tenacity. I like how he keeps on trying to go at players - it just feels like teams have got his card marked more recently and are managing him much better in games. Even just recently against Arsenal in pre season, he had no impact and probably touched the ball 2 times in 45 minutes.

Do you really think Garnacho is one dimensional? He's acceleration is electric, and he uses it to great effect to go past on the outside or dribble on the inside - that means that he is by default two dimensional at the very least - unlike Robben who did his 99% of the time cut inside but to great effect. Garnacho is also quite clever in that when he's running at speed, he's rarely going full pelt, so he has that extra gear which makes it very difficult for defenders to react. If the ball seems a little far from his feet and the defender commits, Garnacho has the ability to get there by accelerating further, which causes the defender to think again or foul him. That is a dimension that Rashford unfortunately is lacking but Ronaldo was a master of.

I also think Garnacho has pretty decent playmaking abilities - much more so than most teenage wingers.

He's very efficient inside the box because of his close control dribbling.

He's decent on the counter because of his speed, but I think his top speed will improve significantly when he develops more physically - he's already very fast.

To me, he's certainly not one dimensional.

As for comparing him to Januzaj - most footballers would dream of having Januzaj's career - he's a very good footballer. Ultimately, he probably lacks that little bit of explosiveness to be a great winger, but his technique and dribbling are class. I think Garnacho may surpass him, and probably has more in his locker, but it's a long way yet. Their United careers thus far are pretty similar I guess - promising first seasons for both.

 

[united_99]

LVG basically got rid of everyone who reminded him of Fergie era, senior and youth players alike. McNair got his chance in the first season because of injury to others (which quickly disappeared in the second season) and Rashford & Lingard had a small breakout in the second but that's about it. I'd actually say the damage done by LVG was on par with Moyes in that he destroyed the foundations of this club.

I wasn’t happy with a lot of his decisions including selling Welbeck, openly giving Rooney special status “my captain shall always play” etc. The less said about his football and his disdain for attacking football the better.
But he gave a lot of youth players opportunities including young players he/we bought (Shaw, Martial). Also I can’t think of any youth/academy player who he got rid or didn’t give enough opportunities to, who went on to have a good career (Welbeck already broke through a few years ago under Fergie so not counting him). Januzaj’s post United career also shows that he was not a top player. And unless you have goat level talent, you will never succeed without the required work ethic.

 

[BarstoolProphet]

Lot of things went wrong for Januzaj:

- We relied way too much on him too soon. He was basically the only bright light in the Moyes season. Trying to make him out to be a star player without him having much to show for it (giving him Giggs' number, expecting him to be the creative outlet etc.)
- Noone really bothered to keep him in check
- We tried to force him into becoming a winger when he was a playmaker. Kinda similar to what was done with Mata

Luckily it looks like Garnacho is in a way better environment to break through.

 

[pocco]

I never did feel that Januzaj was anything special, he felt sluggish and slow but Garnacho is electric. He has the potential to be something really special.

Januzaj wasn't as quick as Garnacho, but he could beat a man and had more strings to his bow in terms of his playmaking ability and his technical qualities. Not to say that Garnacho has no technique, but I don't think he can pass and create as well as Januzaj and he doesn't have the same finesse to his play. So whilst Garnacho is electric, Januzaj was better in other areas. Januzaj just never honed his talents to make himself as effective as he could be - probably due to attitude reasons as it now looks like was an issue.

If you compare Garnacho to a young Giggs, who really was something special, then I don't think he quite measures up just yet. But he could make some steps and get better yet, there's plenty of time.

 

[Denis79]

That's because he was that kind of player in the youth ranks. Moyes and the coaching set up tried to turn him into a Giggs type player. His decision making from that point on suffered. He became a 1 trick pony which was to dribble, and he didn't have the pace for that.

Anyone that watched him in the youth ranks, would liken him to a Zidane type playstyle (No not as skilled or as much potential or anything resembling the greatness of Zidane. Just the playstyle). Players of that ilk that although slow, made great decisions, and used their great skills to tip the scale towards their side's favor. I remember him playing as a striker, and all he did was use his great first touch and ability to bring others into play that allowed United to beat Spurs in the u21 finals.

It's a shame that United tried to change his natural play style, and along with giving him the pressure of being a young star, allowed his attitude to change from what used to be praised as a hardworking quite boy. It's partly his fault of course, but I don't think he was done any favors.

Another early performance from him in the League cup.


Great through ball from januzaj against Spurs. Kind of passes he was capable of at youth level.

Thanks for the in-depth explanation. I never looked at him that way, I only judged him as a winger.

 

[In Rainbows]

Thanks for the in-depth explanation. I never looked at him that way, I only judged him as a winger.

There's nothing wrong with judging him as a winger, as that's what he was at first team level. It's just that the people who thought highly of his talent are those that saw him prior to him becoming a standard winger, where he was more of a 10.

BTW, if we were to look at dribbling statistics from his first season with United, he was actually the better dribbler than Garnacho. Both completed 1.9 dribbles per 90 minutes, but Januzaj only attempted 3.5 (54% success), while Garnacho attempted 6.98 (27.3% success). The problem came from an adjustment on the defenders' part in his 2nd season, and his decision making worsened with him thinking that dribbling was his go to weapon.

 

[lex talionis]

LVG basically got rid of everyone who reminded him of Fergie era, senior and youth players alike. McNair got his chance in the first season because of injury to others (which quickly disappeared in the second season) and Rashford & Lingard had a small breakout in the second but that's about it. I'd actually say the damage done by LVG was on par with Moyes in that he destroyed the foundations of this club.

This. LVG never made any sense and proved all his doubters right. How this one got past the security checkpoint boggles the mind.

 

[OverratedOpinion]

I thought Adnan looked brilliant but he had this habit of going on runs of games when he looked really flat and a bit of a ghost.

To this point Garnacho has shown that he's nearly always a threat even when things aren't working out. I'd say he's a more exciting prospect after the first season.

 

[Minor Threat]

That’s tough. Was such a shame Januzaj never really made anything out of that huge potential he had. Had all the talent in the world but never it never really turned into anything. Hoping over the next few years Garnacho can really blossom into something truly special.

 

[madzo2007]

Januzaj came throught at the wrong time. Moyes relied on him too much way too early and perhaps he thought he had made it and the attitude problems came in. LvG's style and rigidness really didn't help him at all and those loan moves were the end of him at Old Trafford.

 

[honirelandboy]

Can’t even believe this is a thread. Januzai looked good because we were absolutely dog shit during that season with Moyes and was never good enough for United. Van Gaal rightfully got rid of him. Garnacho will be a superstar.

 

[Shakesy]

Based purely on their respective times here; Januzaj was more talented. But Garnacho, based on the media reports, managed to grow up and not turn into as much of an arrogant cnut as Januzaj became after he "made it". Time will tell but at the moment it looks like Garnacho is on the path to become the bigger player... I think.

I look back at this article from time to time... https://theathletic.com/2389042/202...-future-of-manchester-united-what-went-wrong/

Especially the quote from Vangle about why Januzaj was locked out of the team by him after his breakout season with Moyes;

With a kind box,
LVG

 

[city-puma]

I remember Januzaj looked promising when LVG tried him playing central position, then he asked a loan move away to Dortmond. He wasted the golden opportunity to develop himself with us. Since then, he doesn’t have any chance to establish himself here anymore. But eventually his career has been all right so far.

 

[el3mel]

I always thought Januzai was overrated. Good but not the degree were making him out to be. Some were treating him as the new Giggs, like calm down a little bit.

Garnacho has the kind of mentality you expect from a top player: huge self confidence. He doesn't care if he fecked things up in one play, he'll still go at it again next time he gets the ball as if nothing happened instead of crumbling under pressure and trying to hide so that this mistake didn't get repeated. That's the kind of mentality I want in a young player.

 

[Mr PG]

Let me explain what makes Garnacho special. He has this incredible balance and speed where he can go left or right and still complete moves at high speed . Also he has no problem beating defenders. I watched him a lot in the academy and knew we had a star on our hands. Rashie is quick for instance but he struggles to complete moves at high speed and would often lose the ball. Sancho has that natural balance but he struggles to beat defenders when they’re in front of him. Garnacho is still very scrawny for what he’s able to do and will go several levels up as he gets stronger. And did I say he’s an incredible athlete ?

 

[mu4c_20le]

Based purely on their respective times here; Januzaj was more talented. But Garnacho, based on the media reports, managed to grow up and not turn into as much of an arrogant cnut as Januzaj became after he "made it". Time will tell but at the moment it looks like Garnacho is on the path to become the bigger player... I think.

I look back at this article from time to time... https://theathletic.com/2389042/202...-future-of-manchester-united-what-went-wrong/

Especially the quote from Vangle about why Januzaj was locked out of the team by him after his breakout season with Moyes;

Januzaj has been described to The Athletic as the classic example of a player who was given too much too young. Internally, the story goes that Januzaj’s advisers had provisionally agreed the financial terms of a contract before returning to United to cite the money on offer from PSG and ask for some new, mind-boggling sums. Ed Woodward, who had just started in his new role as executive vice-chairman, is said to have signed it off, regardless.

Spoiler

 

[criticalanalysis]

Another early performance from him in the League cup.

The music on this is fecking amazing

Emo vocals dubstep and edm. Ahhhh the 2010s.

 

[tenpoless]

I remember Januzaj started becoming shit after he was spotted wearing backwards cap. He looked like a pretty nice person but had a douchebag phase that ruined his career. Garnacho on the other hand was always a little bit of a douchebag so his personality never changed. He doesn't have any phases. That surely will help him as you know how annoying teenagers are when they are having phases.

 

[Sassy Colin]

Yes. Januzaj was a nothing, overhyped youngster in a desperate period.

Is the correct answer.

 

[b20times]

I don't think Garnacho will be winning BBC Young Player of the year after only 6 months of playing in the first team.

 

[Mwooyo]

I think this comparison is hard because they are 2 completely different players. Januzaj was misprofiled in his career. He was never a winger, he is more of a 10 or false 9 or any midfield role that emphasizes the mental side over the physical. Januzaj can see and make passes garnacho may never make in his whole career. He can play make better than garnacho. On the flip side, he lacked that blazing pace or tricks needed to beat a fb game in and game out. Januzaj is that player who needs a coach to set up a system around him...kind of like Jao felix. They are super talented but only with the right coach in the right system.

Garnacho is an old school out and out winger who likes beating his man and can go either side. He looks great because he is playing in the right position in the right system for his game.

Comparing them is not fair. It's like comparing nani and Anderson but playing Anderson as a winger. Even Paul scholes suffered when they brought Veron in and started pushing him to the wings. A misprofiled player will always struggle in the wrong system