Doesn’t he have the most assists in the team?
Unpopular opinion - Daniel James is not very good
- Thread starter Josep Dowling
- Start date
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
What you're describing there isn't reinvention. You seem to be saying that he doesn't have the individual quality to produce moments of brilliance, which is nothing to do with coaching. It is true though.
Regression to the mean
What rubbish
Needs to be used less. He has played too many minutes for us. Also the thought he had his better games on the LW and as far as I can remember he’s not played there for some time.
Really happy for him today, good ball that won the penalty, and overall a much more positive display from him. Clearly better on the left, and I hope he gains confidence from it. I still think him coming off the bench and terrorising tired defences is the best use of him, but with some good coaching, some strength training, there's clearly a useful player in there.
Why wasn’t Greenwood used an option there for rotation?
If you rely on space to get through a line and players start man marking you or staying shoulder to shoulder the manager has to help you figure out ways to slip the marking or be more of a nuisance.
[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
[/QUOTE]
He played a lot less games last season though - no?
Him being so fast but unable to beat
so his role next season shall be rest for Rashford or a sub for Rashford. Makes sense
Yeah, he was good today. Having a player like Bruno who can pick up a runner will make him (and Rashford) a lot more effective going forward.
I don't like him. Seems like a nice guy but think he's not even a good enough bench player for where we want to be. Hopefully he can get a good move from his time here.
Think today outlined the need for Sancho as a replacement for James. I like him and his pace makes him dangerous but I just feel he doesn't have enough end product when he gets himself into good positions. Some of the chances he had today you could imagine Sancho scoring or assisting from.
This! Nice guy and I love the effort he's putting in, but you can't give what you don't have. He's sadly a level below what we need to be back at the top. Like you said, Sancho on that wing today (especially with a more natural striker than Martial) with the same plays and we'll be talking of a cricket score hiding.
Sancho passing the ball back to Fred would still lead to Fred smashing the ball over.
James was our most threatening attacker today, those saying he's not even good enough for our bench hasn't seen our bench lately.
In the correct set up he could be a Park Ji-sung level player.
Park had the likes of Carrick, Scholes, Ronaldo, Rooney, whoever, to create around him. We have Bruno. James saw the most ball today, but it was pretty poor defending to let him cut inside a few times.
Much better performance, but still don’t see him having anywhere near enough skill to play well regularly on the wing for us.
I like him and I'm thinking people are forgetting he only turned 22 in November and its his first season in the premier league.
He's definitely not good enough to be starting week in and week out for us at the moment and need to sign someone in the Summer to replace him in the starting line up.
Handy squad player to have though who is not getting a huge wage and will only get better over the next two or three years and could prove us all wrong.
He's not Park level even with quality around him. He's very basic when you take away his pace. Reminds me of Walcott.
Played well today though. Just feel like i'm watching a standard footballer.
He's 22 and not on a huge wage. Definitely worth waiting to see if he fulfills his potential.
Handy squad player to have but needs replacing in the starting line up in the Summer.
Definitely wouldn't get rid of him.
Yeah he's handy. But way down in the peaking order if we get (fingers crossed) Sancho and if Chong signs and develops.
I think he's a 6/10 player and needs quality competition for his place.i see him as the type to bring off the bench for the last 20 and used for league cup games or pl cannon fodder when(or if) we strengthen properly over the next 18 months.
Bit harsh on him on here i think. I think eventually our squad will be at a level where he is second choice left winger. Will improve i think. Has been used far too much this season and played out of position. He prefers to cut inside but has ended up played out on the right too often or even in the centre at times. Has also played too much considering age and the step up.
He needs a rest and also need to bulk up a bit - his shots are not powerful enough. He has had quite a few goal scoring opportunities and they were just tame shots. Otherwise he is in danger of becoming another Kagawa. I would not get rid of him just yet, he needs to be given time, there is a player in there and he is rapid.
Serious harsh judgments on this lad the last few weeks. Has had an excellent first season and I expect him to develop. He’s a winger, not suitable for any other role. Hasn’t been helped by our coach picking him out of position most of the time.
Chong is an absolutely useless player when compared to James. People keep talking about his "potential" but from what I have seen, he simply doesn't have it in him to ever become good enough for a decent PL side, let alone for us.
People writing him off,classic Caf.
I genuinely think he has an excellent first season so far, especially given his lack of experience and it's not mentioned enough here he has the most assists in your team in the premier league.
His drop in form is not unusual for a young player in his first major season, you've seen it from Rashford for example as well this season. Also he has struggled of late from double marking, see for example the Chelsea game, where as against Watford, they didn't do this and unsurprisingly he was much better. But the double marking brings a bonus as well as it means he takes up two players leaving more space for others.
The people writing him off should remember how Rashford was written off by many posters as well or McT last season, I think the boy has bags of potential, he terrifies defenders and as I said for his first ever PL season, playing almost every match in a team under as much pressure as Utd he has done brilliantly. James can be very proud of himself.
His drop in form is not unusual for a young player in his first major season, you've seen it from Rashford for example as well this season. Also he has struggled of late from double marking, see for example the Chelsea game, where as against Watford, they didn't do this and unsurprisingly he was much better. But the double marking brings a bonus as well as it means he takes up two players leaving more space for others.
The people writing him off should remember how Rashford was written off by many posters as well or McT last season, I think the boy has bags of potential, he terrifies defenders and as I said for his first ever PL season, playing almost every match in a team under as much pressure as Utd he has done brilliantly. James can be very proud of himself.
Can't we just enjoy watching his development? He may turn out to be world-class, he may turn out to be decent, or he may turn out to be completely average or worse. Who knows? He is fecking 22!
Thought he had a very good game versus Watford, the previous weeks however he has been pretty poor. You know why? He is fecking 22! We can see what he is capable of let's hope he can produce at that level consistently.
Thought he had a very good game versus Watford, the previous weeks however he has been pretty poor. You know why? He is fecking 22! We can see what he is capable of let's hope he can produce at that level consistently.
While some fan may claimed he had a very good game versus Watford, I lost a few hair just by watching him play. His decision making was awful all day except for 1-2 decent ones. Yes you can only learn on your game but his schooling could cost us dearly
Thought he is not too bad. Its obvious he is not better performer in our team, far beyond that, but he is not that bad, at least offer us something, far better than useless Lingard and Pereira
This season so far:
Key performer: Rashford, AWB
Good performer: Mctominay, Fred, Martial, Greenwood, Bruno?
Decent performer: Maguire, Williams, De Gea, Shaw, Pogba(injured)
Average performer: Lindelof, James, Matic, Mata
Poor performer: Pereira, Jones
Shit performer: Lingard
This season so far:
Key performer: Rashford, AWB
Good performer: Mctominay, Fred, Martial, Greenwood, Bruno?
Decent performer: Maguire, Williams, De Gea, Shaw, Pogba(injured)
Average performer: Lindelof, James, Matic, Mata
Poor performer: Pereira, Jones
Shit performer: Lingard
Writing off a kid in his first season at one of the biggest clubs in the world.
The state of this thread....fecking hell.
The state of this thread....fecking hell.
Caf being overly critical of a winger is classic Caf.
We once had a one trick pony on the right wing. Dan James not in that class, but he’s proven to be a very useful addition to the team. Great attitude and potential to improve. Some fans just crave ready made players, whilst harping on about youth...
I think hes done quite nicely considering the bear pit hes been thrown into. Should never have had the game time hes had and been eased in. Its all a question of how quick and eager he is to learn now..
Pogba + Jones should get a n/a tbf, hardly played haha Pereira fully deserves to alongside Lingard in shit. agree with he rest though
James looks devoid of confidence when it comes finishing a chance or producing a final ball.
Despite his overall lack of quality on the ball for a vast majority of the season, he is still top of assists for us in the league with 6...and only 4th highest scorer behind Rashford, Martial & Greenwood
Despite his overall lack of quality on the ball for a vast majority of the season, he is still top of assists for us in the league with 6...and only 4th highest scorer behind Rashford, Martial & Greenwood
To be fair I think most critics are just assuming James isn't and never will be top level, and therefore struggle to see him as a long term starter for us. However I think you're right; there is something inherently exciting about giving younger players a go and it is not practical to expect every signing to be nailed-on first XI quality.
Personally I'm happy with James's contribution this year. I think we were all pleasantly surprised that he grabbed his chance this year but ideally he'd never have started as many games as he has. His performance yesterday was his best in a while but I think he deserves praise for the hard work he's put in in recent weeks when things haven't gone his way.
Do people realise he was signed as a talent. He is a victim of his own success.
He has the mosts assists for us this season and is it is obvious he needs to improve but even Ole knew this.
Some people expect him to be coached into a world beater in 6 months?
The reason he plays alot is because there are players at the club that are consistently failing in Lingard and Perreira. this is why he is required to play alot, add to that Rashford injury.
Cut him some slack.
He has the mosts assists for us this season and is it is obvious he needs to improve but even Ole knew this.
Some people expect him to be coached into a world beater in 6 months?
The reason he plays alot is because there are players at the club that are consistently failing in Lingard and Perreira. this is why he is required to play alot, add to that Rashford injury.
Cut him some slack.
This guy is a great player to have as a squad option, the thing is we barely use him the way he was meant to be used:
We haven't used him as as sub to run against tired legs because we don't have anyone else to use who is better than him so he always starts. And we haven't used him as the occasional starter agains weaker opposition because he is to important for us to risk him in the easy games. As weird as that sounds he will be much better next season if we get a quality RW in, and use James as the player he is meant to be: a great sub against tired defences or as a starter against weaker teams when we can afford to rest our first teamers.
We haven't used him as as sub to run against tired legs because we don't have anyone else to use who is better than him so he always starts. And we haven't used him as the occasional starter agains weaker opposition because he is to important for us to risk him in the easy games. As weird as that sounds he will be much better next season if we get a quality RW in, and use James as the player he is meant to be: a great sub against tired defences or as a starter against weaker teams when we can afford to rest our first teamers.
Last edited:
Excellent post. We've badly mismanaged his situation and transfer, to be honest. Based mainly on us not having anyone decent to play there instead.
Saw him live against Watford.
3 things holding him back in my opinion:
1. Dribbling ability (both in space and against a parked bus)
2. Decision making
3. Stamina
If this off-season he just worked on his decision making on the break it would be a huge improvement over what he is now (which isn't bad to be honest). The elite wingers are able to dribble in space or from a stop so his ability to improve on that aspect will determine whether he can lock down a starting spot or be a reliable bench option against a tired offense (which still isn't bad)
3 things holding him back in my opinion:
1. Dribbling ability (both in space and against a parked bus)
2. Decision making
3. Stamina
If this off-season he just worked on his decision making on the break it would be a huge improvement over what he is now (which isn't bad to be honest). The elite wingers are able to dribble in space or from a stop so his ability to improve on that aspect will determine whether he can lock down a starting spot or be a reliable bench option against a tired offense (which still isn't bad)
Great post. It seems that there has never been a young United player that hasn't been written off by a lot of our fans. They dont all make it of course, but he is going through the same cycle as so many others do. Burst onto the scene, get figured out, adapt.
As you say here, he does terrify defences and is frequently doubled up on. Put him in an attack that has more threat coming from more areas than we presently do, and he'll flourish again.
Badly mismanaged? Thats a tad extreme