Unpopular opinion - Daniel James is not very good

OleBoiii

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I don't have much faith in him tbh, but anyone that young deserves at least 2 seasons. Judging by some of the posts in here you'd think he was 28.
 

Jackal981

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So weird watching him hit strides instantly and suddenly he looked like he never played a football game. It’s like reverse Evra or Vida
 

Borys

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If I was coaching him, I'd forbid him to use his pace just for a training game. His first, second and third thought is to run. Needs to learn how to play football. Time is on his side, I believe if he improves his decision making he can still be useful, but right now he probably shouldn't be anywhere near the team sheet, including subs.
 

Andycoleno9

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I don't have much faith in him tbh, but anyone that young deserves at least 2 seasons. Judging by some of the posts in here you'd think he was 28.
He is not that young. He is nearly 23. In that age you are more or less developed player. But even if he is 18; his basic skills are pretty average (at best) and that is something which time can't repair or upgrade.
 

Josep Dowling

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Sessegnon hasn't really impressed at Spurs, but he was the smarter punt. All we had to do was look at their respective ages and what they did at Championship level. I honestly found it strange that James was bought over Sessegnon.

Forget hindsight. It's about decision making based on evidence. It's clear which would provide more confidence in our transfer know how.
Hate to say it but Giggs had too much influence in this transfer.

A winger who cannot cross to save his life. How many times was he in space tonight only to fluff the cross. Needs to be told to cross to the 6 yard line rather than looking for players in the box. I called it in January. I can’t see him having a future at United. Simply isn’t good enough.
 

pacifictheme

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Hate to say it but Giggs had too much influence in this transfer.

A winger who cannot cross to save his life. How many times was he in space tonight only to fluff the cross. Needs to be told to cross to the 6 yard line rather than looking for players in the box. I called it in January. I can’t see him having a future at United. Simply isn’t good enough.
I don't think he'll ultimately be good enough but he is clearly lacking in confidence. His early season form was really promising but he has gone off a cliff.
 

Lee565

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Paid almost the same price for this guy as man city did for ferran torres and the difference in quality is miles apart, why did we not choose Bowen over this place merchant.

Hell I would rather see willian on our wings than james even if it meant giving him a contract till he's 35, james is up there with bebe and obertan with his technical ability
 

lemmiwink

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Paid almost the same price for this guy as man city did for ferran torres and the difference in quality is miles apart, why did we not choose Bowen over this place merchant.

Hell I would rather see willian on our wings than james even if it meant giving him a contract till he's 35, james is up there with bebe and obertan with his technical ability
I`m sure you meant «down there with Bebe and Obertan»

I like his effort though. Unfortunately he does not have the skill to match it.
 

Mickson

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He's up there with our legendary defensive forwards in Alexis Sanchez and Alan Smith regarding goal scoring.
 

dave1956

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If I was coaching him, I'd forbid him to use his pace just for a training game. His first, second and third thought is to run. Needs to learn how to play football. Time is on his side, I believe if he improves his decision making he can still be useful, but right now he probably shouldn't be anywhere near the team sheet, including subs.
Agree with your comments. He is very fast which is great for counter attacking football, but he is now playing against better players where speed alone is not enough.
He now needs to improve on the basic ball control and striking accurate cross balls, and looking up prior to delivery. As the basics improve he can then use his pace and ball delivery more effectively. At the moment he is using his pace but is ineffective. ( There is none or little end product to his game ) If he cannot improve these basics then he will not make the level he needs to be at to play for the club.
 

OleBoiii

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He is nearly 23. In that age you are more or less developed player.
Not always. Especially when you only have 1 year at the highest level.

But like I said: I don't have much faith in him. But giving up already seems a bit premature, imo. It's highly irregular to get rid of a player so quickly, and for good reason.
 

kirk buttercup

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He needs a Loan spell I wouldn't Write him off as he does have great pace and gets in good positions he just needs some end product . He is young plenty of time for him to work on his Weaknesses.
 

DeGea

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He lacks physicality and I am sure the management knows that. More time in the gym needed to bulk up. He is also trying too hard, not thinking enough. All huff and puff trying very hard to prove himself, you can see the “deer in headlights” look on his face everytime.

What he probably needs is to take one step back and read the game a little bit more, improve his crosses, decision making and shooting. His pace is already there, he just needs to learn to use it at the right time, not every time.
 

Fortitude

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Felt sorry for him today as there's no excuse for looking that bad against a side who are League 2 level at best.

He looks so desperate to impress that he doesn't think straight when he's out there. Chong showed more class and composure and it can't be far off the minutes James gets being better served developing the Dutchman from the pair of them. This is before we get in a starting level RWF this summer.

You have to think logically that it's a loan for him or he's really going to struggle for game time, Greenwood and Chong most likely to gobble up minutes that would have been reserved for James just 9 months ago.
 

dave1956

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The way he plays reminds me of John Aston Jr., 1965 - 1972, 155 games and 25 goals. He was a very fast winger but his crossing could be very on or off. He had what you might call a Man of the Match game and that was in the 1968 Champions Cup Final and that was on reflection the only outstanding game he had in those 155.
 

SAFMUTD

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We will not, of course. Because we need few season to realise that someone is not good enough.
Few seasons and an improved contract. Just as Rojo, Bailly, Mata, Jones and then people wonder why are we full of deadwood.
 

The Cat

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He lacks physicality and I am sure the management knows that. More time in the gym needed to bulk up. He is also trying too hard, not thinking enough. All huff and puff trying very hard to prove himself, you can see the “deer in headlights” look on his face everytime.

What he probably needs is to take one step back and read the game a little bit more, improve his crosses, decision making and shooting. His pace is already there, he just needs to learn to use it at the right time, not every time.
At the risk of another hammering I am going to suggest everyone leaves off him for another 12 months.

There is a player in there his head is just shot right now. He's not even been playing on his normal side for the most part. When he played his last few internationals he put in some decent crosses and hardly went into turbo mode.

He had his move after losing his father, maybe was running on adrenaline first couple of months and he seemed popular enough then.

If he turns out not good enough then fair enough but I'd at least give him another chance in a squad role which is what he should have been from the start.
 

Eire Red United

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He was poor tonight, absolutely no confidence in himself and looked totally out of his depth. That being said, there’s clearly a footballer there somewhere going off his early season performances. Hopefully gets a loan somewhere next season and gets his confidence back.
 

Fosu-Mens

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Pace merchant. Limited footballer. Obvious since his game against City for Swansea. I would go so far to argue that Chong is a better footballer than him.

Relatively low cost and risk so not really the biggest issue, but could have gotten much better footballers for 25% of his cost. OGS recruitment last summer with the prices paid will in hindsight be viewed as bad business overall. Not that this has not been said before.
 

Andycoleno9

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Pace merchant. Limited footballer. Obvious since his game against City for Swansea. I would go so far to argue that Chong is a better footballer than him.

Relatively low cost and risk so not really the biggest issue, but could have gotten much better footballers for 25% of his cost. OGS recruitment last summer with the prices paid will in hindsight be viewed as bad business overall. Not that this has not been said before.
When we bought him i said that. That player from championship with limited technique will stole minutes from Chong and Gomes. We lost Gomes for free and lost one year for Chong's development. For what? For limited championship player who except pace (which he barely use) and work rate is bellow average player.
 

rotherham_red

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When we bought him i said that. That player from championship with limited technique will stole minutes from Chong and Gomes. We lost Gomes for free and lost one year for Chong's development. For what? For limited championship player who except pace (which he barely use) and work rate is bellow average player.
I mean, that limited championship player had the most assists in the team before Bruno came. It's not as if he hadn't contributed at all...
 

GazTheLegend

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Relatively low cost and risk so not really the biggest issue, but could have gotten much better footballers for 25% of his cost. OGS recruitment last summer with the prices paid will in hindsight be viewed as bad business overall. Not that this has not been said before.
Oh for fecks sake.

With hindsight? 3rd place and CL football make our signings GREAT business already.

Maguire and AWB have been fantastic, yeah James tailed off but he finished the season with the same number of assists as Grealish and one less than Sadio Mane.
 

crossy1686

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I like Dan James but he doesn't appear to be much better than what we have in the reserves already, and his final ball/cross makes me want to physically vomit.

I'll give him 3 seasons before I feel comfortable writing him off though. He's still young and has never played at this level before. Much improvement needed, however.
 

Andycoleno9

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I mean, that limited championship player had the most assists in the team before Bruno came. It's not as if he hadn't contributed at all...
45 games. 4 goals and 7 assists. 35 times as starter.
Is that Man Utd standard for attacker (first 11 or rotation)?
 
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rotherham_red

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45 games. 4 goals and 7 assists. 35 times as starter.
Is that Man Utd standard for attacker (first 11 all rotation)?
For a squad player who only played 18 months professionally before coming in, I'd say that's pretty decent, yeah.

For comparison's sake, Adama Traore had 1 goal and 1 assist at the same age - and he came through at Barca.

He'll most likely never be a starter, but he's got enough about him to be a good squad player and his pace, whether you like it or not, is an X factor.
 

Phil

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I think he needs to go on loan somewhere he'll regularly play and try to recover his form/improve his game.
 

Fosu-Mens

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Oh for fecks sake.

With hindsight? 3rd place and CL football make our signings GREAT business already.

Maguire and AWB have been fantastic, yeah James tailed off but he finished the season with the same number of assists as Grealish and one less than Sadio Mane.
Hindsight as in based on more than one season maybe?
We paid £200m. So one could already argue the value point.
AWB is a great defender, but can a team aiming to fight for EPL and CL titles do so by having a player that is problematic when then the team is in possession? And he is unlikely to become anything other than a zero-sum player on the ball at best.
James has already been discussed.
Bruno, or another similar midfielder should have been prioritized during the summer window over all other signings. So not really about signing Bruno, but when.
Maguire: Brings stability and is always pushing the other players (Shaw) to focus. Still, the fee will always come up and I do wonder how his lack of mobility will impact our defensive structure and if it will be more aggressively targeted by the opposition next season.
 

Fussball13251

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This is why Giggs would never make a good United manager. His mentality is too old school.

A box to box player like Harvey Barnes would have been the better purchase... esp at that particular time.

I've seen people wanting Giggs or Kean to be manager. Honestly that would be a disaster they are too old school in their line of thinking.
 
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For a squad player who only played 18 months professionally before coming in, I'd say that's pretty decent, yeah.

For comparison's sake, Adama Traore had 1 goal and 1 assist at the same age - and he came through at Barca.

He'll most likely never be a starter, but he's got enough about him to be a good squad player and his pace, whether you like it or not, is an X factor.
Plus he was vastly inexperienced at first team level when we got him from Swansea. He will be oue version of an Adam's Traore project.
 

BULB

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Sell him while he is still worth something ffs.
 
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Dan James is hard to dislike because you can see he's giving absolutley everything he has when he's on the pitch. Always chasing lost causes, pressing, harrying, never cheats on the defensive side.

The technical side of his game has a loooong way to go to catch up with the effort side, but he's still a decent enough squad player for the right matches.

I have a feeling he'd be pretty good as a wing-back in a Back 3 formation.
 

mancan92

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Dan James is hard to dislike because you can see he's giving absolutley everything he has when he's on the pitch. Always chasing lost causes, pressing, harrying, never cheats on the defensive side.

The technical side of his game has a loooong way to go to catch up with the effort side, but he's still a decent enough squad player for the right matches.

I have a feeling he'd be pretty good as a wing-back in a Back 3 formation.
He doesn't have the strength to be good in that position
 

Mickson

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I'm getting more and more provoked each week when I see him in the starting lineup. He gets way too much playing time and I can count on one hand when he has been even decent in a game. I would play Amad, Elanga, Hannibal, Chong among others before him, yet he is there, week by week, doing literally nothing. I don't want to hate the guy. He seems like a good bloke, he gives his all, but Ole just needs to stop playing him. He did the same with Pereira. Face it, Ole, he isn't good enough.
 

BedStuyRed

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I'm getting more and more provoked each week when I see him in the starting lineup. He gets way too much playing time and I can count on one hand when he has been even decent in a game. I would play Amad, Elanga, Hannibal, Chong among others before him, yet he is there, week by week, doing literally nothing. I don't want to hate the guy. He seems like a good bloke, he gives his all, but Ole just needs to stop playing him. He did the same with Pereira. Face it, Ole, he isn't good enough.
Good enough for what? He's a fringe squad player at best when everyone is fit and available. Now we have Sancho we'll be seeing even less of him. He was signed for 15m on the off chance he could turn out to be a player, doesn't look like he will be. It's really not a big deal. He's a useful squad player who can do a job in certain games if needed. Hopefully he's not needed too often. My guess he'll become frustrated with lack of playing time and he'll either be loaned out or sold in the next 12 months.
 

Will Singh

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I think he needs to grow a pair, he has the speed and ability to terrorise defence but it feels like he bottles it incase he loses possession. I can’t see him getting much starts unless we have injuries or cup games. He’s another one that if we sell him we can free up some money towards a DM.