Unpopular opinion - Daniel James is not very good

Carl

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How can a 22 year old develop into a nice player, when he has so many shortcomings at 22?
Maybe human development isn't an exact science?

We moved Zaha on at 22/23. Would you say he hasn't developed since?

Before the predictable replies, I'm not comparing their ability. Just demonstrating development can happen post the age of 22.
 

rakesh289

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My opinion is the drop in form is more us burning him out playing every game than him fading away.
 

Freeney

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I am comparing him to Beckham, Kanchelskis, Sharpe, Giggs, Coppell and Ronaldo. Read it again. he was never "very good" or "excellent" over the long stretch.
What do you mean by the long stretch? He was excellent/pretty good for a couple of years ( from the second half of the 09/10 season to the end of the 2011/2012 season). He made some big contributions throughout his time here. And he has better numbers than sharpe and Kanchelskis i think.
 

AaronRedDevil

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Nani debates are amongst the worst things to exist on this board. Always exactly the same. Always utterly pointless. Always derail what is inevitably a thread that isn't even about Nani.
That is true.
 

Marcelinho87

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Comparing him to the likes of Sharpe, Kanchelskis and Giggs... It's a sad state of affairs.

It's staggering how quickly a United player will be overrated these days. It only takes 4-5 decent matches for fans to declare them as great footballers.

Utter, utter insanity.
Works both ways, only takes a couple of bad games to write them off completely.

He is a decent player with room to improve but the current state of the club means we are relying on him rather than easing him in.

Under SAF he would have been a squad player which is fine, no shame in that.
 

Andersons Dietician

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Generally he’s nit been good at passing or crossing creating space or taking people on since he got here so I’m not sure that’s on burn out. The things he was doing at the start of the season that he doesn’t seem to be doing now is changing the positions he takes up and not being as quick to get to people or pressing as hard. That I’ll give to burnout and that pressing people was probably his best attribute.
 

Robbie Boy

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I really just don't rate him whatsoever. Seems a great bloke tbf but I can't see him proving me wrong. I hope he does, mind.
 

ifightdragons

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Works both ways, only takes a couple of bad games to write them off completely.

He is a decent player with room to improve but the current state of the club means we are relying on him rather than easing him in.

Under SAF he would have been a squad player which is fine, no shame in that.
Absolutely, I agree one hundred percent.
 

hobbers

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Lovely guy, but a pretty crappy footballer.

I don't know if it's fatigue or shit coaching or low confidence or all three playing a role, but his contribution in recent games has literally been down at Lingard, Pereira and Martial levels of useless.
 

bonothom

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His final ball, like most of Uniteds forwards is terrible. Under this coaching setup he's only going to get worse unfortunately. They probably have him doing sprints all week. I bet he never sees a ball from one match day to the next. Certainly plays like it.
 

Nytram Shakes

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I think he has the potential to be good, considering its his first season in the premier league, but he needs alot better coaching and certainly isnt a top 4 level of player currently.
He also needs to stay on his feet a bit more and quit the over acting, I know its part of the modern game but he does go a bit over board.

I'm not writing him off by any means, but he needs to improve a massive about and he isn't a kid anymore he's 22, he at the age were he needs to becoming a fully rounded player and he isn't there yet.
 

JoeyJoJoJrShabadoo

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I can't help but like the chap, but it's obvious he is out of his depth. I would like to see him being used as an option off the bench, give us a spark when the team is failing.

I think he will improve and be a decent Premier League player, but a career trajectory of Lee Sharpe is probably a fair comparison.
 

Dr Fink

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Dan James has been overplayed (when it was anticipated he would be used sparingly) and played out of position mostly this season, hence an apparent "performance dip". In my humble, but informed opinion of course......

We'll see more of him with better performances next season.
 
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The Cat

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He's not looked out of his depth in the international games I've watched.

I just think he needs more time and to be less relied upon for a couple of seasons.

He'll be a decent squad option.
 

Schmeichel's Cartwheel

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He's just not a good footballer, at all. He can be effective when used correctly because of his unbelievable pace and fitness, but as a footballer he is lacking so much to his game. I'm not just talking about his technical ability either, his decision making is appalling and often breaks down our attacks. His movement off the ball when he's not just hugging the touchline is really poor too. I don't think he'd be anything more than a semi-pro if he didn't have that blistering pace.

We shit on Jones, Lingard and Pereira often (and rightfully so - they are shit) but in terms of footballing ability they are all levels ahead of James.
 

cyril C

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Comparing him to the likes of Sharpe, Kanchelskis and Giggs... It's a sad state of affairs.

It's staggering how quickly a United player will be overrated these days. It only takes 4-5 decent matches for fans to declare them as great footballers.

Utter, utter insanity.
Giggs, Kanchelskis etc played at the same position week in week out. They only have to study how their oppositions and internal competitor did when given the chance on the pitch. James, however, was asked to play on the left, play on the right, play as #10. Is he ready for such challenge yet? I think Greenword had a slightly better assignment coming on as impact sub
 

bosnian_red

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He wasn't brought in to be a long term automatic starter anyway. No problem with him at all as a squad player, but because of a lack of options hes used as a starter. That's the only problem with him tbh.
 

Robbie Boy

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He certainly shouldn't be a starter but the more I see him, the more I doubt his credentials to even to a squad player. He's just not a top level player.
 

Tony247

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He should be fine once he learns how to link up with other players. Currently he is trying too much too many solo.
 

Random Task

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He certainly shouldn't be a starter but the more I see him, the more I doubt his credentials to even to a squad player. He's just not a top level player.

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.
 

El Jefe

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So he's burned out after a midseason break? All sounds like excuses to me. The truth is as its said in the title, he's just not very good.

He's a handy player to have at times but right now he doesn't have the required quality to be anything more than a bit part player.
 

The Original

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Dan James has been overplayed (when it was anticipated he would be used sparingly) and played out of position mostly this season, hence an apprent "performance dip". In my humble, but informed opinion of course......

We'll see more of him with better performances next season.
He was a full-fledged professional footballer before joining Man Utd. The fitness requirements are exactly the same in the Championship so I don't get this overplayed-burnout story. He hasn't been used anywhere close to what Rashford was last season or even this one.
 

Random Task

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So he's burned out after a midseason break? All sounds like excuses to me. The truth is as its said in the title, he's just not very good.

He's a handy player to have at times but right now he doesn't have the required quality to be anything more than a bit part player.
Would that be so hard to believe?

He certainly wouldn't be the first young player to burnout after being overplayed - which he definitely has been.
 

Random Task

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He was a full-fledged professional footballer before joining Man Utd. The fitness requirements are exactly the same in the Championship so I don't get this overplayed-burnout story. He hasn't been used anywhere close to what Rashford was last season or even this one.
He's made 25 appearances this season, more than any other outfield player including Rashford.

*edit*

Apologies, he's second to Maguire who has 26 appearances.
 

El Jefe

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Would that be so hard to believe?

He certainly wouldn't be the first young player to burnout after being overplayed - which he definitely has been.
Yes it is hard to believe. We played Wolves on 1st Feb and our next games was on 17th Feb. The whole purpose of the warm weather training was to recharge the batteries and come back fresher. All of our players looked fresh so I don't buy that James is still burned out.
 

bondsname

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He has so much to improve on. James is actually a very good player when given space, as soon as the opposition figured that out and shut that space down, James is completely nullified.

If James tries to work on his general play (dribbling, passing, finding space) and change his style a bit so he doesn't rely on his pace, he can be very useful.
 

crossy1686

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He's often double marked to ensure he can't use his pace against teams, which is his greatest asset. Give him some time to settle in and he'll develop into a decent player, worst case we've got a good squad player to bring off the bench to stretch games at the end.
 

Offsideagain

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I like him. There's no substitute for pace and he has it. He has been kicked up hill and down dale all season which may affect him and his crossing isn't Steve Coppellesque , but he is young and an asset which we should stick with.
 

Dr Fink

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Nevermind the burned out comments, he’s been played as part of a front two more recently FFS. As usual people choosing to focus on parts to fit their narrative. Put both aspects together. The Prem is another level to the Championship.
 

Alabaster Codify7

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One thing I will say is if he was surrounded by more players who were actually a threat to defenders, double-marking him would be impossible or it would leave openings for others. Fact is, teams do not fear our attacking players much (except for Rashford) so they can afford to stick two players deep on James knowing he can't do much if he can't get behind with his pace - he's not a tricky or skilful winger, he's a bull-rush pace merchant.
 

reddevil80

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I never thought he was going to be an outstanding, amazingly brilliant footballer so my opinion has been somewhat redundant; however, the more I see of him the more I am convinced that he is more suited to the championship than the prem at the moment.

That doesn't mean he's crap; imo, it means that when he plays, for me, I am not expecting anything special and I think the slating this young fella gets is relatively harsh. First season in arguably the hardest league in the world, and he doesn't have the support of attack minded players like he had at Swansea.

We don't have a coach that is willing to teach him to cross behind the defender and run into the channel and expect a ball from the midfield. It isn't rocket science that to best utilise his speed, put the ball behind the defense and give him the confidence to attack. His pace will get him there. He also needs to know that another attacker is following him into the box, thus giving him and Utd extra options if the ball ricochets or gets passed across the front line.

When you look at the videos of his incredulous pace and especially the goal against Brentford, the ball was knocked ahead of him while defending a corner and he left the oppo standing. We need to create more of these opportunities and see how he fares. Playing him in unusual positions ( to him anyway ), in an incredibly tough league, with little support and he will fail. This young man needs more time but should be used sparingly, our biggest issue is that the only other players we have are Lingard, Pereira or Dalot and unfortunately, James is better than them at the moment.
 

Pexbo

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I’m not going to give up on him yet.

He‘s unlikely to be able to develop into one of the best forwards in the league but I see no reason why given a couple of seasons he can’t improve his game enough to be a credible backup player capable of contributing 15 goals/assists a season.
 

AFC NimbleThumb

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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.
 

Berbasbullet

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Nani was always significantly more consistent when he played on the right. It's not a coincidence that the only time he got a proper run on that side (when Valencia got that bad injury) he was probably the best player in the league and led us to the title that season. Otherwise he spent the majority of his career here playing on the left since Valencia was so extremely one-sided. In hindsight we probably should have moved Valencia back to fullback much earlier and allowed the two of them to run riot on that side of the field together.

Even on the left he wasn't poor. Inconsistent yes, but even on his off-days he generally created at least one very good goal scoring chance every match and worked his socks off. And his on-days on the left were just as devastating as what he showed on the right, he just didn't do it as often.
Agreed! He was so class on the right in 10/11 season, they would have absolutely smashed it if this happened earlier.
 

Snuffkin

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I like him. There's no substitute for pace and he has it. He has been kicked up hill and down dale all season which may affect him and his crossing isn't Steve Coppellesque , but he is young and an asset which we should stick with.
I agree, Ole has asked him to chase down every ball. He must cover more ground than anyone. He's been a trooper and deserves a cheeky goal.
 

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Although Nani was inconsistent before January, he always turned up for the second half of the season.

Daniel james doesn't compare to him at all, but he can be good for us