What is Dan James good at?

[Son]

He's like one of those younger, more feminine guys in prison. The alphas like to keep them around, as they can always find a use for them or jobs for them to perform.

I suspect James plays a similar role within the United dressing room.

Apart from this isn’t prison and I doubt Pogba is stealing his pudding.

Some of the agendas of our fans against Pogba though I’m sure some would accuse that...

At least for the next few weeks they can be safe in knowing his influence is away from the dressing room because he’s a big virus risk.

It’s a shame James duties don’t include putting in a decent cross or shot. He’d be a useful ‘feminine guy’ then.

 

[lilcurt]

Running.

The end.

 

[MDFC Manager]

He's like one of those younger, more feminine guys in prison. The alphas like to keep them around, as they can always find a use for them or jobs for them to perform.

I suspect James plays a similar role within the United dressing room.

What the actual feck is this?

 

[Bobade]

What the actual feck is this?

It's an utterly ridiculous post mate. Labelling a guy as basically being the big butch fellas bitch just because he is smaller and quite good looking. Completely bizarre.

 

[Mainoldo]

I watched his games, he was terrible.

Middlesbrough in the Championship? Or you talking about Villa? What games you actually watch?

 

[dove]

It really shows that we didn't sign a RW for 10 years or so that some people actually think James is good enough and deserves to stay longer. People forgot how being able to attack from 2 sides of the pitch makes things easier. We desperately need a new RW and I think Greenwood should be a backup RW, not James. He should be ideally be sold with us recouping most of the fee we paid or at least loaned out somewhere he will start games. But of course it's not gonna happen, we don't sell players without giving them testimonial.

 

[Nou_Camp99]

I find our fans obsession with slagging off James so stupid.

Do I think he's good enough? On the evidence so far I'd say no... I don't either. But he cost just £15m from the championship which is nothing these days. My expectations of him coming in were very very low. Some of you seem to think we'd signed Ronaldo or even Nani again it seems. We hadn't.

There's far bigger problems in this squad than a 15m punt on a young Welsh winger. Far bigger.

 

[yumtum]

This is his 2nd full season in professional football, he's clearly a late bloomer and will never become world class, but he'll come good, in 17/18 he wasn't even deemed good enough for Shrewsbury so they sent him back to Swansea, then 18/19 he had his first season as a regular, moving here a year later (a move too soon for him, then having his father pass...).

People's expectations of him are a little harsh, if he's not improved at the end of next season then I'll understand the criticism, but this place has been brutal for the lad, when there are players like Lingard and Pereira having multiple seasons here/out on loan before their name is tarnished James has had 6 months before he's been deemed "not a footballer" by the caf.

 

[Irrational.]

Why don't we play him where he excelled for Swansea on the left?

Playing in a new team in an alien position is hardly the way to get the best out of him. And it's hardly like Rashford has been any better there since lockdown.

 

[Dan_F]

I find our fans obsession with slagging off James so stupid.

Do I think he's good enough? On the evidence so far I'd say no... I don't either. But he cost just £15m from the championship which is nothing these days. My expectations of him coming in were very very low. Some of you seem to think we'd signed Ronaldo or even Nani again it seems. We hadn't.

There's far bigger problems in this squad than a 15m punt on a young Welsh winger. Far bigger.

If it’s nothing, then why are we haggling over similar amounts to Dortmund, for one of the best young players in the world?

You’d have hoped that he was scouted for quite some time, given his age. So they must believe they are able to get him at a level that is expected for a top club. He’s just nowhere near it at the moment.

 

[cyril C]

Ronaldo needed to work on just his decision making. James needs to worn on much more than that.

Let's be fair on the boy. Counting on pace, and shooting, he is good, may be shooting not as good as Greenwood. Counting on crossing, I think he is good, definitely better than AWB, possibly better than Greenwood. Problem just on timing to pass / cross, or whether it was wise to run into 3 defenders.

 

[wolvored]

Running pace everything else is average

 

[AaronRedDevil]

Ok lads, stop talking shite about one of our own players. It’s his first season here and his dad died just before his first bloody game, where he scored. Give him a freaking break. He’s done well, he’s still young. he just needs to polish up his play a bit but fecking hell, you lot are a joke throwing him out straight away. An absolute joke of a fan.

 

[United58]

Let's be fair on the boy. Counting on pace, and shooting, he is good, may be shooting not as good as Greenwood. Counting on crossing, I think he is good, definitely better than AWB, possibly better than Greenwood. Problem just on timing to pass / cross, or whether it was wise to run into 3 defenders.

Yeah, maybe

There's a decent squad player there, he's been poor for months though. Hope he can kick on

 

[Mr. Ant]

It really shows that we didn't sign a RW for 10 years or so that some people actually think James is good enough and deserves to stay longer. People forgot how being able to attack from 2 sides of the pitch makes things easier. We desperately need a new RW and I think Greenwood should be a backup RW, not James. He should be ideally be sold with us recouping most of the fee we paid or at least loaned out somewhere he will start games. But of course it's not gonna happen, we don't sell players without giving them testimonial.

Well he isn't a RW. He is best on the left wing.

We need to give him time or maybe loan him out because in the first few games he was quite good.
Maybe that was actually a bad thing because after that the expectations and pressure on him were higher for a player who was bought as a cheap backup and maybe a player for the future.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Middlesbrough in the Championship? Or you talking about Villa? What games you actually watch?

His first boro season in the PL, why would i compare his championship season with James' PL... I followed him alot because he was highly rated in the barca academy. Yes he has good technique which sets him apart from most pace merchants, but his first PL season was very underwhelming and imo worse than James. Doesn't necessarily mean James will be the better player but like i said, there's hope.

 

[Lee565]

Had a good start to his career at united and in the premier league but these things happen a lot in football, pukki looked good at the start of the season and then flopped similarly to james, lingard has had like 1 good spell at united and been a complete flop, look at ighalo for Watford, had such a good start with in the prem with them that even nutty van Gaal was eyeing him up for united! Then the goals dried up and left for china, same with guys like mellor at liverpool etc...

Problem is at united of late is we cling onto average players for too long in hope they can re-discover some one off, small temporary flash of form (not class) they once showed at the club.

 

[Reapersoul20]

Lost his father, and signed by the biggest club in the world in the same year.

Writing him off now is incredibly stupid and gowlish.

 

[Maticmaker]

James's amazing turn of speed has (forgive the pun) 'accelerated' him into a position beyond where the rest of his ability lies , it simply doesn't (as yet) match up.
For the moment at least, Dan is what he looks to be, a kid with a good turn of speed and willing heart, but still lacking the other skills, techniques and understanding needed for the level he is playing at.

What Dan has to start showing soon is that the 'game time' he is getting is /will accelerate his overall development, e.g. for the moment showing awareness of his final position (carrying the ball) and that he can keep some composure when making his final decisions would indicate he is making progress. When he first came in the team his speed got him into shooting positions and defenders didn't have time to close him down; now they 'head him off at the pass', or they are quicker to block any attempts on goal, opposing coaches know how to handle him, they currently 'have his measure'; Dan and the United coaches need to change that.

 

[Mainoldo]

His first boro season in the PL, why would i compare his championship season with James' PL... I followed him alot because he was highly rated in the barca academy. Yes he has good technique which sets him apart from most pace merchants, but his first PL season was very underwhelming and imo worse than James. Doesn't necessarily mean James will be the better player but like i said, there's hope.

You do realise his first premier league season was for Aston Villa. He only started making noise in the Championship at Boro. Which is why I asked what player was you watching.

 

[mu4c_20le]

You do realise his first premier league season was for Aston Villa. He only started making noise in the Championship at Boro. Which is why I asked what player was you watching.

His time at Villa wasn't even worth mentioning. I just see it as a settling period in a new country, new lifestyle.

 

[lsd]

James is a good player and I expect him to come on and improve in his second season at United

 

[Idxomer]

Based on what we've seen there's very little chance he'll ever be good enough for the squad of a top 4 club. His ceiling if he absolutely maximizes his talents is a good player for a bottom PL club.

 

[LisburnWhite]

James is a good player and I expect him to come on and improve in his second season at United

I agree, too many ready to bash him on his first season which was a big step up.
Got to let him find his feet and learn from the better players around him.
Don't think he will first choice anytime soon but will be a decent squad player which we need.

 

[The Cat]

Gonna put this thread on ignore now. He had a terrible thing to cope with and he was pretty much lauded at the start of his move - give him a bloody chance he's not even been played in his usual position.

 

[arthurka]

Running.

The end.

Well of the line running.. His top speed isn't all that great.

 

[Relevated]

Well of the line running.. His top speed isn't all that great.

Yeah his acceleration isn't great either. I've seen Usain bolt and tigers run faster. So is he even good at that?

 

[Mr PG]

Speed has its place. He was absolutely critical in all our big game wins. Those low crosses for Rashford from the right kept us in contention.

 

[Litch]

Lost his father, and signed by the biggest club in the world in the same year.

Writing him off now is incredibly stupid and gowlish.

Absolutely right.

 

[Anybody's Guess]

Objectively, he should not be anywhere close to the starting eleven for a team that has ambitions to win.

The moment we stop being sentimental and treating the footballing operations like a make a wish foundation, the better our chances become at returning to the top.

He's not even an academy player, so really dont understand why we should wait for a miracle in this case.

 

[WR10]

Pretending to be a footballer

 

[Will Singh]

The same thing JlingZ has had for the past 10 years... Potential

 

[sunama]

The same thing JlingZ has had for the past 10 years... Potential

That about sums him up.
As for the "his died dad" line: I realise this, but that does not mean he gets to play for MUFC.
My mate is pretty good at football. His died dad a few years back, but I would never suggest that he be given a chance to play for MUFC.
Ask yourselves this question: would he get into MCFC or LFC's match day squad?

 

[Class of 63]

That about sums him up.
As for the "his died dad" line: I realise this, but that does not mean he gets to play for MUFC.
My mate is pretty good at football. His died dad a few years back, but I would never suggest that he be given a chance to play for MUFC.
Ask yourselves this question: would he get into MCFC or LFC's match day squad?

He probably would and most of a Red persuasion on these boards would be moaning that we never find cheap rough diamonds like him #SackOleKillEd

 

[dave1956]

His debut and the following weeks were quite good, a new player to the P.L., other managers and players as with most new comers had not been able to analyse his strengths and weaknesses, 2nd part of the season managers and defenders learnt how to nullify his movements.
Now we will see if he can change his approach to the game in order to counter opposition defenders efforts to nullify his attacking play, if he can do this he will improve and become a first choice on the team sheet. If he cannot then he will be a squad player at least or he will be moved on. It well may be that he has reached his level of development and will go no further, and if this is the case then the club must move him on.

 

[Eyepopper]

Ask yourselves this question: would he get into MCFC or LFC's match day squad?

As a matter of interest, how many 21/22 year olds are in their match day squads?

 

[Bebestation]

As a matter of interest, how many 21/22 year olds are in their match day squads?

This is something that's very understated.

Premier league winning teams dont play teams of young players & only 1/6th of their first 11 are young players.

We have alot & I enjoy watching it due to all the heritage and all but we do shoot ourselves in the foot by playing a young attack against a prime defence just for an example.

Who exactly is in their prime age of 27,28,29 in our first team?

 

[Florida Man]

The same thing JlingZ has had for the past 10 years... Potential

Lingard actually showed up in some big games and produced some magic at times. Of course, he had the benefit of having time here to do that. I'm not confident Daniel James will produce that for us, though. He lacks the intricate ball handling that's required at a high level, especially for a winger/forward.

 

[CG1010]

This is something that's very understated.

Premier league winning teams dont play teams of young players & only 1/6th of their first 11 are young players.

We have alot & I enjoy watching it due to all the heritage and all but we do shoot ourselves in the foot by playing a young attack against a prime defence just for an example.

Who exactly is in their prime age of 27,28,29 in our first team?

The way I see it, we should aim to be winning PL in the next (2021-22) or the next season thereafter (2022-23). At that time many of our key players would be in around our peak - Rashford and Martial at (24-26) and Bruno and Pogba at (27-30). And most importantly, Greenwood would be ready to take the world by the storm at 19/20 (which is what I expect of him). So we have a couple of windows to fill all our squad holes and enough time for the team to gel.

Back to James - He will probably never be part of the above list of players. But with experience and settling down, and with a bit of polishing, he could certainly become a key part of our squad.

 

[Eli Zee]

He did that funny dance in the locker room that one time that had everyone laughing. Besides that, not sure.

hope for the best. I like him but he probably doesn't have what it takes to stay at MUFC. If we weren't such a weak side compared to the past, he probably wouldn't even see the bench.