Good vision and pass from Januzaj.
U21s: Newcastle vs. United
- Thread starter gooDevil
- Start date
Nah they would get beat because of the physical deficit but they would still keep the ball better.
I just think Joyce is a good coach in terms of what to do when the other team have the ball but poor at getting his teams to play possession football.
Paul Mcguniess is far more talented in building excellent short passing teams.
I'm fairly sure they wouldn't. Januzaj starting to find his feet at this level.
Oops. My bad.
Bebe and Macheda are extremely average for their age. Not sure how they are still at the club.
Cole looks a bit lonely out there without Lingard. Januzaj should be providing the silk too but he's having a bad game so far.
This is pretty poor. Cole isn't really relishing that central role, and Januzaj isn't really relishing that out wide role. Hrm.
Didn't our u18 finish bottom last season for that exact reason? Getting muscled out of games despite being technically better?
Is it me or the U21's were much better last year than this? This looks like a very disjointed team. Some very mediocre passing.
Yeah I'm talking this season's U18s. It's properly clicking now, and that doesn't seem to be happening so far (touch wood). Whereas our U21s are just such a Frankenstein's monster, dribs and drabs from all over the place who don't seem to know how to play together.
Not having a centreforward who could score regularly in the league or many defenders didn't help either
There are mitigating factors, like half the team from the last few weeks having just gone out on loan, and one or two important players are out with injury, but this is tumescent and IMO has been most of the season so far in this age bracket.
By far the best best team in the country last year. Missing from that team is Will Keane, Lingard, Petrucci, Pogba, Michael Keane. All are huge prospects. Replace them with shite like Bebe and Macheda and this is what you get I suppose.
Only Cole and Januzaj are showing the required technical ability to play for a club like United but they are both still quite weak and keep getting outmuscled and prevented from getting a grip on things.
A lot of these players lack footballing intelligence let alone technical ability.
A lot better, I thought. This team has similar faults to the first team at the moment in terms of problems with fluidity in attack. The continued absence of Petrucci/Keane obviously doesn't help, not to mention that Lingard (loan) and Powell aren't playing. I think a team with Lingard, Cole, Petrucci, Powell, Keane and Januzaj playing at the same time would be a different article.
Something like this:
Cole--Powell---Petrucci---Januzaj
-----------Lingard---------------
---------Keane-----------------
All of a sudden, that looks a million times better. Tunnicliffe, Thorpe, Bebe, Macheda, etc....not really the sort of players to produce fluid football.
Edit: King too, who's been in good form in the reserves. 442 with him and Keane upfront wiith Lingard on the left, or just stick him on the left instead where Januzaj is.
Doesn't that drive you mad though? It means we develop all these great technical passing players and then they go and stagnate in what is increasingly a hit-and-hope U21s team dominated by players who need to be moved on like Macheda, Bebe and, to be honest, Wootton.
If we ruin this current U18s crop it may kill me!
Well, this u21s side isn't going to win any prizes for playing entertaining football, but as has been said there are some mitigating factors with the players that are missing.
Macheda and Bebe have been insecure in possession. Januzaj and Cole haven't been very creative but then again our movement up front and support from midfield and fullbacks has been poor in terms of quality. Thorpe and Tunnicliffe are playing like you'd expect a Thorpe and Tunnicliffe midfield to play like. Fairly average in possession/not much creativity but good workrate and decent defensive play.
Macheda and Bebe have been insecure in possession. Januzaj and Cole haven't been very creative but then again our movement up front and support from midfield and fullbacks has been poor in terms of quality. Thorpe and Tunnicliffe are playing like you'd expect a Thorpe and Tunnicliffe midfield to play like. Fairly average in possession/not much creativity but good workrate and decent defensive play.
Yup. They seem too keen to put tackles in but not enough alacrity to go for simple pass. Thorpe and Tunnicliffe hardly provide any creativity or drive through the middle. Cole has had an off year so far. Januzaj's also hasn't taken players on and putting in a Young like performance.
I'm pleased with Januzaj so far. Showing for the ball a lot more than he has in his previous outings.
Play like shit and score. That's how we roll!
1-0 Thorpe header from a Januzaj corner
0-1 Thorpe. Great header.
Grrat header. Thorpe 1-0.
Wooton, Bebe, Macheda, Veseli and King need to go on loan or leave and free up space. The players that would come in would struggle physically but at least play better football. Players like Mculloch, Lawrence, Charni, Hendrie and Blackett seem to be in limbo at the moment.
This year has been frustrating but last year we were much better and the technical players developed well. What pisses me off the in the reserves this year is lack of ability to keep possession and the way the back five don't get the the ball into midfield quickly enough. Everything is long ball and rushed forward. Fornasier and Wooton lack the required skill and composure imo. Not to mention Bebe and Machedas poor all round game.
Wooton, Bebe, Macheda, Veseli and King need to go on loan or leave and free up space. The players that would come in would struggle physically but at least play better football. Players like Mculloch, Lawrence, Charni, Hendrie and Blackett seem to be in limbo at the moment.
I think Macheda is getting a really harsh rap here, his holding up of the ball and link up play have come on in leaps and bounds IMO, he just looks totally utterly unmotivated by this level of football and I don't blame him in the slightest.
Yup, agree with that. Honestly it was probably the inevitable consequence of taking what was, two years ago, a brilliant youth team, and then selling off the two players who might actually have made it into the first team. The rest have just hung about making little progress, but the club doesn't want to give up on them because they were part of that team.
Meanwhile we continue to refuse to sell off or at least loan out the obvious no-hopers like Macheda and Bebe. It's already meant that another generation has been left, as you say, in limbo. And if we don't sort it out soon, it will start to impact on the boys below, excelling in the U18s now. And that would be a crime, because they're honestly the best group I've ever seen at that level. A lot of them wouldn't look out of place at La Masia, and they shouldn't have to dig their way through the mess above them in order to get chances in the first team.
He's passable at this level but let's be honest, he's never going to make it in the first team. He's just taking up space at this point.
His all-round game certainly isn't poor or anywhere near it, no.
Macheda was too good for the reserves 2 and a half years ago, to suggest that he is not good enough at this level now is a nonsense.
The officials are gash at reserve level. How did that Newcastle player not get a yellow for pushing Macheda in front of the ref and how did we not get a free kick then?
Macheda's all round game is far from impressive. Maybe thats down to lack of motivation but if you cant motivate yourself to impress at this club then that says a lot.
Shit, that was a nightmare. Ahh...1-1.
He impressed 3 years ago....
The club have let him stagnate in the reserves ever since, and to be frank he should do a Pogba and I woud wish him well if he left.
That is the worst goalkeeping mistake that I have seen in a long time.
It has been 10 minutes since the goal but Lou ain't done complaining about the free kick.
He certainly seems uninspired but I find it strange that people doubt his class after all he has shown over the years.
As for the fear that Joyce will ruin our u18s - our best u18s have trained mainly under him for a long time.
Good stuff, cross from the left for Lawrence with a tap in.
Tom Lawrence tap in from a pass by Fornasier 2-1
Macheda never kicked on. Hes 21 now. He should be pissing all over this level but he isn't.
He will have a good career somewhere, all of these lads will, but I'd put my house that it wont be here, nor would we regret it if he left imo.
He will have a good career somewhere, all of these lads will, but I'd put my house that it wont be here, nor would we regret it if he left imo.
Two shots on goal and two goals. Why bother trying harder.
Not true. Macheda was given chances out on loan, but even the coaches in Italy said that he had an attitude problem. We might've not handled him in the best way possible, but he was the one who forced through a loan to Italy and made a mess out of an already bad situation.
No-one is saying that. He's good enough at this level, but he's never shown that he can be good enough for our first team. One great goal doesn't mean anything about your ability, and other than that he's never done anything really despite a host of chances to impress for the first team.
And we don't keep players just to fill out the reserves. If he's not got any prospect of progressing with us, he needs to be moved on for everyone's sakes.
No, he didn't really. He scored one great winner (and one average winner after it), but hundreds of poor players have done the same over the years.
What a cross from Januzaj