Thank christ he came off, that game was giving me the hump.
Adnan Januzaj | 2013/14 Performances
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I thought he had a poor game. Every second pass he failed through-out the game, terrible passing this game with 60% passing accuracy only, and one failed cross was his best attempt offensively. Hopefully he gets right back on the horse and tries again in the next game.
Everybody can have a poor game though so nothing to care much about.
Everybody can have a poor game though so nothing to care much about.
He was very quiet but Mirallas and especially Mertens seemed determined to ignore Januzaj at every possible moment. Mertens had 6 or 7 really poor attempts on goal.
Disappointing tonight, we did not see the best of him at all. Hope he gets some game time at some other stage of the World Cup despite his less than impressive showing. Tbf though, Belgium have yet to really look impressive as a while, despite winning the last 2 matches and currently winning this one too.
If he was as peripheral as it sounds from this thread he won't be getting minutes for Belgium any time soon. Probably best if they crash out and Van Gaal takes him under his wing.
He just didn't seem to be in any of the other attacker's plans - the only time they passed to him was when they'd run out of all other options, by which time he was boxed in on the wing with his back to goal and nowhere to go. Was actually just starting to grow into the game in the 2nd half when he got the hook.
Wasn't an awful performance at all, just very peripheral. But if you expect an 18 year-old making his competitive debut to be the one grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck then you have problems!
Wasn't an awful performance at all, just very peripheral. But if you expect an 18 year-old making his competitive debut to be the one grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck then you have problems!
Spoilsport :/ .
Of course, I had high hopes for him, not like he hasn't shown any match winning performance before. Well I only have watched parts of this game for him, obviously not for the beautiful belgian game.
It did seem like the other players had made some kind of agreement not to give him the ball. One time Dembele had the ball in the middle with a clear pass to Januzaj in acres of space on the right and instead he did about six 180 degree turns, dithered with it some more and then got tackled. Shame for Januzaj not to be able to make a big impression on his debut but he'll get many chances to show his class in the next few years I'm sure, if not in this WC.
If team-mates are ignoring him, I suspect he isn't pulling up any trees in training. A tournament too soon for him methinks.
I heard Mirallas was against him going to the WC so it maybe has something with it, other players thinking he wasnt meant to be there so they're ignoring him..
It's not an unreachable thought for some Belgium players to be slightly resentful towatds Adnan. Especially after he didn't contribute in the WC qualifying campaign. Just get yer head down at United and the rest will happen, in time.
He was playing like a man paranoid that Januzaj would eventually take his place tbf.
Childish as anything. They should accept who the manager has picked and get on with it. England players weren't resentful towards sterling - they treated him like a bright new star and something positive to the team. Belgium should do the same with Adnan.
Barely a chance to show what he's made of tonight. I don't agree that anyone was deliberately ignoring him - I don't think footballers are actually that childish, and even if they are when it comes to a game the drive to win will always completely overwhelm everything else.
But Mertens and Mirallas were effectively playing one side of the pitch and Januzaj was left with Fellaini for company. Add to that the total lack of vision or passing range in that Belgian midfield and they just couldn't get him on the ball, and certainly not in any sort of useful position or space. Dembele, Defour and Witsel might be good midfielders in terms of their defensive work, their physical presence and their competency in possession of the ball, but not one of them has the wherewithal to look up and pull off a nice diagonal, or really any pass other than the ten-yarder to a teammate who's barely in a better position than the passer is.
Over the last couple of years I've not been able to fathom why such a talented group of players can't ever produce at a tournament, but it's really coming clear at this world cup: it's that lack of a brain in midfield - a Pirlo, a Scholes, a Xavi, even a Xabi Alonso or Carrick. Someone who can move the ball around the pitch with pace and purpose, who can pick out a man in space on the wing before his defender can get tight to him. All the talented wide AMs in the world are useless if it takes two minutes of Dembele and Defour faffing around in midfield before they actually get the ball.
But Mertens and Mirallas were effectively playing one side of the pitch and Januzaj was left with Fellaini for company. Add to that the total lack of vision or passing range in that Belgian midfield and they just couldn't get him on the ball, and certainly not in any sort of useful position or space. Dembele, Defour and Witsel might be good midfielders in terms of their defensive work, their physical presence and their competency in possession of the ball, but not one of them has the wherewithal to look up and pull off a nice diagonal, or really any pass other than the ten-yarder to a teammate who's barely in a better position than the passer is.
Over the last couple of years I've not been able to fathom why such a talented group of players can't ever produce at a tournament, but it's really coming clear at this world cup: it's that lack of a brain in midfield - a Pirlo, a Scholes, a Xavi, even a Xabi Alonso or Carrick. Someone who can move the ball around the pitch with pace and purpose, who can pick out a man in space on the wing before his defender can get tight to him. All the talented wide AMs in the world are useless if it takes two minutes of Dembele and Defour faffing around in midfield before they actually get the ball.
Did you just seriously put Carrick next to Gladiatore Pirlo, Sir Scholes and Matador Xavi?
Why do people do this? Read what he said: "...even a Xabi Alonso or Carrick." He clearly doesn't rate them as highly.
Was strangely passive for most of the first half, very different to what he's usually like for United, even in his early games. Began running at them a bit more as the game wore on and looked more like his usual self, shame he wasn't still there when the game got more stretched at the end really. And yeah, it was hard not to notice some seemingly only passing to him as a last resort (bar Fellaini, good lad).
He didn't. There's an "even" before.
Well at least, he will feel more appreciated at United.
Well at least, he will feel more appreciated at United.
Team mates weren't ignoring him...such bullshit
Did you seriously just do... that? Whatever that was.
Also, did you seriously not read my post carefully before finding fault with it?
Or senior players feeling threatened perhaps? Not saying this is so but it does happen.
No-one was ignoring him. But he was horribly isolated because Mirallas and Mertens stuck close to one another on the left, because Defour and Dembele take an age to move the ball from side to side or back to front, and because Belgium were generally playing with a serious lack of tempo. Also, credit where it's due, because South Korea's clever energetic pressing was making that pitch look very cramped for Belgium. Couldn't get any space.
He barely got on the ball, but it's hard to blame him for that given that the same thing has happened to both Hazard and Mertens for big chunks of the tournament too. Their system isn't really working.
Come on guys. I know that he is in your team and hyped up(for what by the way?) to be the next big United thing.
But he just was poor today and is overall not as good as he is made in the English press.
He could become all that he is promised but I dont see it yet.
But he just was poor today and is overall not as good as he is made in the English press.
He could become all that he is promised but I dont see it yet.
He is one of the more talented youngsters in the world, but he was poor today no excuses about it really. He is still young and very inconsistent, at his best he dominates matches for us and at worst he can be anonymous with his dribbling especially.
He is better in a more central role as his dribbling isn't world-class yet and it often turns him quiet when he isn't having a good day. His passing, vision and crossing/cross field passes are brilliant and mature already.
Januzaj is hyped up - rightfully so - because he has all the right attributes to become a world class playmaker. Watch his appearances last season - there were so many occasions where he was our main man. It was embarrassing to rely on a young talent in the manner we did. You're being very harsh. His performance against South Korea (in his first competitive game for Belgium) was poor, but it was only his third appearance for Belgium. It's a nugatory appearance because it doesn't really tell us anything different to what we know.
What 6 months would these be?
The midfield made the pace of the game very slow, and this left Januzaj isolated and easily closed down. Defour and Dembélé were playing it slow, safe, and short. Mertens and Mirallas reacted accordingly and tried to make themselves available and come close, but Januzaj had barely any movement. I'm sure the wingers are instructed to stay out wide, but without de Bruyne playing, the ball wasn't going out wide, so Mertens and Mirallas started to look for the ball themselves whilst Januzaj didn't until the second half.
It's obvious that Januzaj is still immature and inexperienced based on this match. He took a whole half to change his approach (for better or worse) and struggled to handle the Korean pressure. He still has some learning to do by the looks of things.
It's obvious that Januzaj is still immature and inexperienced based on this match. He took a whole half to change his approach (for better or worse) and struggled to handle the Korean pressure. He still has some learning to do by the looks of things.
I think I read somewhere that Wilmots hadn't previously been enamoured by Adnan's efforts in training.
Watching Belgium it seems that every single individual attacker is pretty much out for themselves, they all seem to be inherently selfish players without someone like Lukaku or Benteke (the former in poor form and the latter not valid for this WC I know) to receive the ball and share the play with others. They're all individuals who like a dribble and an attempt on goal. Adnan was quite poor for the most part but it wasn't exactly made easy by static movement around him and little showing for the ball.
Watching Belgium it seems that every single individual attacker is pretty much out for themselves, they all seem to be inherently selfish players without someone like Lukaku or Benteke (the former in poor form and the latter not valid for this WC I know) to receive the ball and share the play with others. They're all individuals who like a dribble and an attempt on goal. Adnan was quite poor for the most part but it wasn't exactly made easy by static movement around him and little showing for the ball.
I agree, they weren't ignoring him because they disagree with him being there, however, they didn't pass to him much but I think that was more to do with selfishness than anything
We were asked (made) not to criticize the poster but his/her posts so I'll just state that you're post was full of shit. We have exactly 19 times more reasons to hype him (he played 38 games for us while 2 for you) than you have to downgrade his ability. In each of those 38 games he lighten up the pitch at least once. Your team are playing like a bag of shit at the moment (attacking-wise) mate and it's a bit difficult to express yourself when you're wicked into that crap of a football. You should thank God for drawing the easiest WC group ever and pray for better performances and, first of all, better formation.
He wasn't poor or good. He wasn't anything, really, because he barely saw the ball. Belgium's midfield soundly failed to provide any kind of good possession or service for the forwards to work with all game. Even Mirallas and Mertens, who benefited from sticking close to one another all game, didn't really have much to work with. We've seen similar problems for long tracts of earlier games for Hazard and Mertens. At the moment Belgium's system is not working, and they're lucky to have progressed from the group stages.
I wouldn't look too much into today's performance. For all the stars on Belgium's side, they've been quite uninspiring so far. However, after Adnan's bright start last year, he did seem to tail off. Whether Moyes simply wanted to rest him or he lost his form, not too bothered either way. In fact, his handling of Janujaz is probably one of the few things that Moyes got right. Janujaz, as talented as he is, is still only 19. I recall Sterling also suffered a similar dip in form during the latter part of his first season with Liverpool. Very excited to see what plans Van Gaal has in store for him.
Needs to get on his holidays. He seems to be quite fatigued mentally.
....ok. Im German btw and I saw him in a United shirt also. He was fine overall for his season but nothing incredible. And you are harsh on Belgium. They had all the pressure, dark horse and so on. Thats not easy. They are young.
But in the end they made it and now they face a good USA team. They did the job. Great itself. Ask England.
But ok, lets see how much he plays the rest of Belgiums way.
He only started 3 games since the end of January. Given that his World Cup call him wasn't expected at all it would have effectively meant going from 1st January to mid/late August having played where he's started just 3 games. It's only the surprise intervention of Belgium that has prevented this. If not he'd have started the new season having had no real game time for about 6 months aside from 3 sporadic starts and, I believe, one sub appearance.
I don't know. There were definitely a few situations where spraying it wide to him was clearly the best option, and then went for a useless sideways/backwards pass. Mertens had a couple of chances to play him into great positions and took rubbish shots instead.
Mertens is a big part of the problem for me. Too greedy, without the extra bit of quality needed to justify taking things on himself.
It was as if they'd been reading Frank Lampard's book. The amount of wild, speculative shots from way outside the area must have got into double figures.
In this case he was just unlucky to play alongside two dickheads of Mirallas and Mertens who were selfish enough to try shooting from idiotic angles and positions rather than trying to pick a pass.
Only players who tried to link up with Adnan were Fellaini and Vanden Borre.
....ok. Im German btw and I saw him in a United shirt also. He was fine overall for his season but nothing incredible. And you are harsh on Belgium. They had all the pressure, dark horse and so on. Thats not easy. They are young.
But in the end they made it and now they face a good USA team. They did the job. Great itself. Ask England.
But ok, lets see how much he plays the rest of Belgiums way.
The only reason why no other club's fans (including you) think Adnan was incredible is because Adnan wasn't playing much at all since February. This was the opposite with Sterling. Sterling didn't play before December really and kicked on from then on with amazing performances. It's a "what have you done for me lately" mentality. People forget that Januzaj was our player of the month in January, but rarely played in the following months after playing so well. It wasn't due to him under performing, but rather due to Moyes thinking he had to rest. After the semi finals in the cup, he didn't play 30 minutes in a single game until a month later. In March, he only played 3 matches in total, one of which was a sub appearance. In April he played a grand total of 81 minutes (all from the bench). It's no wonder everyone thinks he had a bad 2nd half of the season. He didn't get to play!
Adnan had a terrific season when he was playing consistently. From October to January he was really impressive. He showed a bit of everything apart from physicality.
As for the WC match, he was indeed invisible as he didn't see much of the ball. I don't even think Mirallas was particularly active. The ball seemed to gravitate towards Mertens, Vertonghen, Fellaini, and Dembele. If you fail to involve two of the three attackers on the pitch, the team will naturally look toothless. I'm honestly surprised they didn't let Adnan take the set pieces. He's quality in that department. It's not surprising that he looked subdued though. Belgium haven't really looked like scoring much in their past 4 matches. Extremely disappointing.
I get your point but United was poor and if he would be on the levels you and others see him already Moyes had played him more often. He is a good young player but one of some at this age around the world.
Leave it there.
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