Unpopular opinion - Daniel James is not very good

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James was a different player at the start of the season; pacy, energetic, scoring goals, putting dangerous balls into the box that went unrewarded all too often. Then he gradually fell away into the completely ineffective player we have today.

I'm not sure if that's him returning to his rightful level after a blistering start or the manager overplaying him due to a lack of alternatives causing him to burnout, but he needs a spell on the sidelines regardless, and he has done for some time now. His most natural replacement being Greenwood, who could use an extended run in the starting 11.
The fact he has played like that means is he entirely capable of doing so on a regular basis
 

Grande

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It's not an unpopular opinion, neither do I think it is it a very relevant or interesting opinion.

He is, as most peopme know, a 21 year old with the top level experience and build of a 19 year old. If the likes of Nani, Ji Sung Park and Darren Fletcher were very good, and good enough to play useful roles in a United at maybe its historical best, James is not that level now, but he has attributes that, if he improves reasonably with experience, he might become that level.

As for this year's United I think he has proven quite ok for a secønd choice in his positions. That has impressed me, with his background. Additionally, he has played better than all the other in house candidates for the RW slot. Everyone knew we needed a right sided attacker, including Solskjær, yet we couldn"t get one last summer. That says little about James, nor about how useful he may becom. Suffice it to say that without him this season, we would have been even weaker, relying on Lingard, Mata, Pereira and Chong on the right.
 

Siorac

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It's not an unpopular opinion, neither do I think it is it a very relevant or interesting opinion.

He is, as most peopme know, a 21 year old with the top level experience and build of a 19 year old. If the likes of Nani, Ji Sung Park and Darren Fletcher were very good, and good enough to play useful roles in a United at maybe its historical best, James is not that level now, but he has attributes that, if he improves reasonably with experience, he might become that level.

As for this year's United I think he has proven quite ok for a secønd choice in his positions. That has impressed me, with his background. Additionally, he has played better than all the other in house candidates for the RW slot. Everyone knew we needed a right sided attacker, including Solskjær, yet we couldn"t get one last summer. That says little about James, nor about how useful he may becom. Suffice it to say that without him this season, we would have been even weaker, relying on Lingard, Mata, Pereira and Chong on the right.
Well, most people might "know" that but they would be wrong as he is 22.
 

Le Red

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He’s simply not the saviour that the fans that choose to look on the bright side we’re hoping he would be.

He’s a young lad who’d played his whole career for a team that didn’t even so much as threaten the play offs last season, mid table off the top of my head - my expectations were limited.

He’s had some very high highs though so he’s definitely got the right character to be an attacker at the club in some capacity but we should as a fanbase have expected better recruitment in the wings over the past 3 windows.
Who thought of him as a saviour though? I know you don't mean that, but that's just picking a stick to beat him with.
Most expected a good option off the bench, a player to add depth to our attacking options. Instead what we saw was a young player, who must be going through the toughest time in his life, be part of the first 11 for half a season, mostly to cover for the mediocrity of Lingard and co.
In the beginning he was delivering good performances and even got decent end product. Fast forward to where we are now and anyone who understands the slightest about player management knows he is burnt out. Runs like a horse, gets beaten down mercilessly by the opposition. He's under immense pressure to perform.
I hate all this bashing of him. It's disgusting. For those of you with some culture, that's what the pigs did to Boxer the horse.
 

Gandalf

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Who thought of him as a saviour though? I know you don't mean that, but that's just picking a stick to beat him with.
Most expected a good option off the bench, a player to add depth to our attacking options. Instead what we saw was a young player, who must be going through the toughest time in his life, be part of the first 11 for half a season, mostly to cover for the mediocrity of Lingard and co.
In the beginning he was delivering good performances and even got decent end product. Fast forward to where we are now and anyone who understands the slightest about player management knows he is burnt out. Runs like a horse, gets beaten down mercilessly by the opposition. He's under immense pressure to perform.
I hate all this bashing of him. It's disgusting. For those of you with some culture, that's what the pigs did to Boxer the horse.
Smashed the Orwell reference.
 

Gambit

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He played his best earlier in the season on the right.
 

Foxbatt

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I do not think it would be unpopular to say that right now he is not very good. He is not very good because he has not been coached properly. A good coach would make him a better player than his push and run tactics.
 

Nou_Camp99

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Think people need to cut the lad some slack ffs. Young lad, new to the PL and he lost his father only last summer.
 

Fosu-Mens

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Think people need to cut the lad some slack ffs. Young lad, new to the PL and he lost his father only last summer.
People had too high expectations of him, especially after his productive start of the season. And given that he is allowed less space on the pitch he is nowhere close to being effective enough. We should not expect this from him either, given that he is a pace merchant. Extremely effective in the right conditions. Not as productive in others.
 

AFC NimbleThumb

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Who thought of him as a saviour though? I know you don't mean that, but that's just picking a stick to beat him with.
Most expected a good option off the bench, a player to add depth to our attacking options. Instead what we saw was a young player, who must be going through the toughest time in his life, be part of the first 11 for half a season, mostly to cover for the mediocrity of Lingard and co.
In the beginning he was delivering good performances and even got decent end product. Fast forward to where we are now and anyone who understands the slightest about player management knows he is burnt out. Runs like a horse, gets beaten down mercilessly by the opposition. He's under immense pressure to perform.
I hate all this bashing of him. It's disgusting. For those of you with some culture, that's what the pigs did to Boxer the horse.
The original response to his transfer was generally reserved by most fans but after his start the overreaction [something I was also victim of] & sense to see him as more than what he is was resounding.

It’s not intended as a stick to beat him with; I rate the lad but he’s been placed in a role a well run club wouldn’t have found for him.

If he remains at the club in a role most believed he was intended then he’ll have a fine career here.
 

Champagne Football

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James looked solid on the left at the start of the season. He's not suited to the right but hopefully can adapt. I think Rashford would struggle for goals if played on the right wing and is expected to cut in and shoot with his left. Maybe James can get another run playing on the left with Rashford long term injury.
 

Grande

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Well, most people might "know" that but they would be wrong as he is 22.
To be fair, if you want to be really precise, I didn't write that most people know he's 21.

I wrote that most 'peopme' do, and do you know for a fact that peopme doesn't count years differently than people?

I do think the gist of my point still stands, though.
 

Maticmaker

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He wasn't bought as a complete player who could slip into a PL side instantly. James USP is his speed, everything else is 'under development'. Ole wanted pace up front, but James needs to know what to do when his speed has taken him into a threatening position, too often his heads down and it only comes up when he runs out of pitch or a defender bundles him over.
Daniel is not the best but certainly the fastest, he needs a lot of 'polishing up' before his speed wanes. If the 'polishing' can uncover and develop other skills he has a future at United, if not he'll be gone in a couple of seasons.
 

InfiniteBoredom

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He’s a kick and rush merchant playing in a team with no traditional goal hanging forward.

If we stick with Martial as our long term no.9 option, then he’ll just be a rotation player or an option when we need to change our approach.
 

Stacks

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James was a different player at the start of the season; pacy, energetic, scoring goals, putting dangerous balls into the box that went unrewarded all too often. Then he gradually fell away into the completely ineffective player we have today.

I'm not sure if that's him returning to his rightful level after a blistering start or the manager overplaying him due to a lack of alternatives causing him to burnout, but he needs a spell on the sidelines regardless, and he has done for some time now. His most natural replacement being Greenwood, who could use an extended run in the starting 11.
Why would he be burnt out by January/December?
 

Siorac

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Being played continually, week in week out, is bound to hurt a young player in his first season at the club, especially one who is far from the finished article.
A 22-year-old should be capable of handling 28 starts by the end of February. This 'overplaying' thing has been blown out of proportion.
 

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A 22-year-old should be capable of handling 28 starts by the end of February. This 'overplaying' thing has been blown out of proportion.
It depends on the circumstances as no two players are the same. I think James would have benefited more from being a rotational player rather than one asked to perform every single week. But that was not an option for him due to a lack of alternatives in his position. In my opinion anyway.

How would you explain his drop in performance as the season progressed?
 

Siorac

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It depends on the circumstances as no two players are the same. I think James would have benefited more from being a rotational player rather than one asked to perform every single week. But that was not an option for him due to a lack of alternatives in his position.

How would you explain his drop in performance as the season progressed?
That he's just not that good. When he's denied space, he's very ineffective and opponents figured that out quickly enough.
 

InfiniteBoredom

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It depends on the circumstances as no two players are the same. I think James would have benefited more from being a rotational player rather than one asked to perform every single week. But that was not an option for him due to a lack of alternatives in his position. In my opinion anyway.

How would you explain his drop in performance as the season progressed?
Motivation? Teams having footage available to study and prepare for him?

It’s not uncommon for unknown players like him to play out of his skins for a couple of months after such a big move and gradually become less effective as he gets more comfortable.
 

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That he's just not that good. When he's denied space, he's very ineffective and opponents figured that out quickly enough.
He's undoubtedly rough around the edges and somewhat of a headless chicken at times, but the talent is there for all to see. I think he'll benefit from an uninterrupted pre-season where he can work on his shortcomings without the added pressure of league matches getting in the way. I think he'll come good.

Motivation? Teams having footage available to study and prepare for him?

It’s not uncommon for unknown players like him to play out of his skins for a couple of months after such a big move and gradually become less effective as he gets more comfortable.
I don't think motivation is the problem with James. He's managed to sustain a high work rate throughout the season, only his end product has rapidly dropped off. He's completelty ineffective as of right now, as said above.
 

Jerome Holland

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This situation is not Dan James fault. Firstly he is not being coached right, he is not being taken out of the team for a rest. Solskjaer uses him for his pace and his ability to track back. The beginning of the season he was an unknown quantity, he now has been found out to be one dimensional. He should be playing as an impact substitute. That's when we will see the best of him. When the opposition is tired.
 

Garethw

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This situation is not Dan James fault. Firstly he is not being coached right, he is not being taken out of the team for a rest. Solskjaer uses him for his pace and his ability to track back. The beginning of the season he was an unknown quantity, he now has been found out to be one dimensional. He should be playing as an impact substitute. That's when we will see the best of him. When the opposition is tired.
As ridiculous as it sounds, he would have been better off going to Leeds for a season or two before coming here. He’d have been coached properly there.
 

Alabaster Codify7

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As ridiculous as it sounds, he would have been better off going to Leeds for a season or two before coming here. He’d have been coached properly there.

There's nothing ridiculous about that to me, mate. Leeds have a great coaching setup for attacking players, James needed more work doing on him before coming to the PL.
 

Jerome Holland

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As ridiculous as it sounds, he would have been better off going to Leeds for a season or two before coming here. He’d have been coached properly there.
That is the honest truth. Now we have a player trying too hard and eventually making the wrong choices
 

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He’s having a tough time of it. These things happen. He’s a good player, though, and will improve.

The reality is that he shouldn’t be starting as many games as he does. He is because we’ve neglected to buy a right winger for about five years, in spite of it being the biggest black hole in the team. Ideally, James would be serving as a hungry squad player that would keep the starters on their toes.
 

passing-wind

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If James maintained his form throughout the entirety of the season he not only would have been the best performer at the club but also one of the best in the league.

Notice that James performances early in the season were not contingent with the influence of the team, he was individually brilliant in moments of the games. I don't think we have a manager in Solskjaer to churn that type of consistency out of any young player nor do I see James having the natural talent to reinvent himself every week with such an inept level of coaching in the first team.
 

Renegade

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If James maintained his form throughout the entirety of the season he not only would have been the best performer at the club but also one of the best in the league.

Notice that James performances early in the season were not contingent with the influence of the team, he was individually brilliant in moments of the games. I don't think we have a manager in Solskjaer to churn that type of consistency out of any young player nor do I see James having the natural talent to reinvent himself every week with such an inept level of coaching in the first team.
That’s nonsense.
 

Stacks

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Being played continually, week in week out, is bound to hurt a young player in his first season at the club, especially one who is far from the finished article.
He is like 22 years old. He has been training as an athlete. I get that he hasn't played many seasons or games but surely they have access to the best fitness trainers so that 22 year old athletes can actually cope with playing a full season? Basketball players sometimes play back to back days
 

Eckers99

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If James maintained his form throughout the entirety of the season he not only would have been the best performer at the club but also one of the best in the league.

Notice that James performances early in the season were not contingent with the influence of the team, he was individually brilliant in moments of the games. I don't think we have a manager in Solskjaer to churn that type of consistency out of any young player nor do I see James having the natural talent to reinvent himself every week with such an inept level of coaching in the first team.
Why does he need to reinvent himself every week?
 

Andycoleno9

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I don't know why but main theme this year is that time will solve everything. That in time player or coach will raise their skill and become new Giggs, Fergie or at least Fletcher or Park.

Well, it is not working like that. Time can solve some problems but not everything. Player can learn to be more smarter on the pitch or more efficient but some things will stay like they are.
James has average technique( even bellow average if we look only his position) and he will not in one year or five suddenly be more creative or more clinical in front of goal. He is a winger who is fast and can't beat a player ffs. Because his skill is average. Dribble, cross, finishing...all attacking skills are average. At this moment he is useful in some games but when we reach that stage( with Ole or other manager) when we will stop playing counter football and start playing attacking dominant football, James will be more or less useless for us.
 

JoeyJoJoJrShabadoo

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I believe it's time to drop James to the bench in favour of Greenwood. Using Greenwood as an inside forward on the right cutting in gives us better options in final 3rd. James as an impact sub seems a no brainer.
 

WelshManc

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To be honest, I'm a big fan of Dan, not just because he's Welsh, but I do agree that he needs a bit of a rest.
 

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He is 22 years old. He has been training as an athlete. I get that he hasn't played many seasons or games but surely they have access to the best fitness trainers so that 22-year-old athletes can cope with playing a full season? Basketball players sometimes play back to back days
James has the second most appearances of any United player this season after Maguire. Given his lack of experience in the game (he was a late bloomer by all accounts) and playing his first full season in the PL, is it so far beyond the realms of possibility that he did indeed burn out? The guy has been crying out for a break for some time now.

I struggle to think of a more plausible explanation for his gradual drop in form as the season progressed after looking like our most valuable asset for the first few months.
 

Kappa123

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I don't know why but main theme this year is that time will solve everything. That in time player or coach will raise their skill and become new Giggs, Fergie or at least Fletcher or Park.
Yeah, unfortunately that's the snake oil that Ole has been selling, and a lot of our fans are eating it up without hesitation. But you're right, it absolutely won't work. This is supposed to be the highest level of football but even our management is making it up as they go along :lol:

James is limited as hell but he's a hard worker and passionate. Happy to have him here as a backup, but I don't expect any miracles.
 
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Tony247

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james played his best games for utd as LW. Then Ole shifted him to right. That is one manager induced problem. The other is that he fails to link up with other players, or may be other players don't trust him too much. Whatever it may be but he is worst when he tries solo run with the ball, doesn't pass the ball early enough. At least if he sorts out the latter issue he should be half okay.
 

passing-wind

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Why does he need to reinvent himself every week?
Because the team isn't coached well so he has to find something new to do from his own intuition to be effective. I can't think of one outfield player that Solskjaer has successfully developed that we can say this guy has benefited from having Ole as the manager. Every stand out player this season has done so because of individual brilliance, we have never performed well as a team collective throughout 90 mins consistently. So it's hard for young players especially to make an imprint within the first team.