[Kag]

He demonstrated it last year, but has struggled to this year. In fact, we have scarcely even seen glimpses of last year's glimpses, which is quite troubling in the football brain department. No one is questioning his talent, it's all about his desire and aptitude to improve at this point.

But it's fair to say that this season has hardly been ideal for a young player breaking through. No consistent formation, the pandering to three largely pointless centre forwards for half a season, horrible luck with injuries throughout the squad.

I don't think Van Gaal has found a position for Januzaj yet. And by the time the squad started to settle into some kind of consistent rhythm, it was Mata and Young who were given the nod out wide, with Fellaini through the middle for balance.

If anything, what has happened to Januzaj this season may be the making of him. If he doesn't have that desire right now then I doubt he ever will have. I'm positive, however.

 

[Amar__]

He is our 19th most featured player in the premierleague which is far from deserved. I am not that big fan of him, but IMO he should have at least got one decent run of games when the team improved. I mean, he has just 7 starts, someone like Falcao who was injured(and poor) for lot of time has 14.

Saying that, he is not the only one, Wilson has a case too.

 

[Raoul]

But it's fair to say that this season has hardly been ideal for a young player breaking through. No consistent formation, the pandering to three largely pointless centre forwards for half a season, horrible luck with injuries throughout the squad.

I don't think Van Gaal has found a position for Januzaj yet. And by the time the squad started to settle into some kind of consistent rhythm, it was Mata and Young who were given the nod out wide, with Fellaini through the middle for balance.

If anything, what has happened to Januzaj this season may be the making of him. If he doesn't have that desire right now then I doubt he ever will have. I'm positive, however.

All true, although I suspect it won't get any easier for young players to come through since the pressure is on LvG to win, mainly with high priced incoming transfers. If anything, this year's injury crisis should've afforded young Adnan more, not less, opportunities to get minutes, when in fact the likes of McNair got a bulk of the youth attention this year. Its quite clear LvG doesn't believe Januzaj is ready, which is why the discussed loan spell makes good sense.

 

[11101]

He is our 19th most featured player in the premierleague which is far from deserved. I am not that big fan of him, but IMO he should have at least got one decent run of games when the team improved. I mean, he has just 7 starts, someone like Falcao who was injured(and poor) for lot of time has 14.

Saying that, he is not the only one, Wilson has a case too.

To be fair to LVG Januzaj really made a mess of his early chances. Hes improved a bit in latter games but theres no shock hes not featured more and that hes up for loan.

 

[Nighteyes]

To be fair to LVG Januzaj really made a mess of his early chances. Hes improved a bit in latter games but theres no shock hes not featured more and that hes up for loan.

How did he mess it up at the start?

His first start of the season was West Brom away where he was understandably rusty. Before that he had already played in multiple positions as a sub including a game at right wing back. He followed that up by being our best attacking player at home to Chelsea. Look sharp against City in the game following that until he had to be withdrawn due to Smalling's brain fart. Wasn't great against Palace but no worse than any of our other players. After this "run" of games he wasn't seen for 2 months at which point he returned to play as a Left Back against Stoke.

 

[In Rainbows]

The key will be whether he has a football brain and an aptitude towards continuous self improvement. Personally I'm not yet sold on either.

He has a great football brain, but he's regressed in that area the more he's gotten to play as a winger. It started to happen last year under Moyes. I've said this countless times, but in the youth team whether he was a #10 or on the right wing, he always came towards the ball and had a bit of freedom. He shined. At this point everyone was pointing out how intelligent he was compared to everyone else on the pitch and he had the touch, technique, and passing to always stand out. This is why I wish there were more of his games from 2012-2013 on youtube to show how drastic his play style changed.

I don't know if he started to receive instructions from Moyes or Giggs, but he started to really emphasize dribbling under them. He always had the ability and he showed it in the youth teams, but he chose to do so a lot less. This was despite playing against smaller, weaker, and slower players in the youth teams. In the first team, he started to dribble a lot more despite playing against men. Why the sudden change? I don't know.

As the season went on, he started to come towards the ball a lot less and frequently found himself waiting for the ball to come to him on the wing. This is a completely different playing style than what he showed in the youth teams. I'm sure he was instructed to do this, because that isn't his natural playing style. That is why there were a lot of games where he was invisible towards the 2nd half of the season.

His game became all about dribbling and waiting for the ball. You can see how that's a problem this season. If his dribbling is on point, he becomes really dangerous. If his dribbling isn't working, then he becomes a one trick pony who frustrates the fans with his bad decision making. This on top of receiving the ball a lot less. This trend has continued and it's obvious that LVG likes his wingers to keep the width.

I think it's important for the coaching staff to realize what kind of player he is. As a young player he isn't going to refuse to play a position. Pereira and Januzaj have both stated that they will play whatever position the manager asks of them like all young players would say. They'll take any playing time they can get. I also understand that he has better players in front of him that can play the #10 or at least have freedom to be on the ball, so he'll have to deal with playing on the wing like a lot of young players start out. It obviously sounds silly that my post makes it sound like I know more than the coaching staff (I don't intend to come off that way), as they obviously know more from watching the players in training, but it's just frustrating seeing him play so differently than what made him originally stand out in the youth teams.

 

[JR10]

He has a great football brain, but he's regressed in that area the more he's gotten to play as a winger. It started to happen last year under Moyes. I've said this countless times, but in the youth team whether he was a #10 or on the right wing, he always came towards the ball and had a bit of freedom. He shined. At this point everyone was pointing out how intelligent he was compared to everyone else on the pitch and he had the touch, technique, and passing to always stand out. This is why I wish there were more of his games from 2012-2013 on youtube to show how drastic his play style changed.

I don't know if he started to receive instructions from Moyes or Giggs, but he started to really emphasize dribbling under them. He always had the ability and he showed it in the youth teams, but he chose to do so a lot less. This was despite playing against smaller, weaker, and slower players in the youth teams. In the first team, he started to dribble a lot more despite playing against men. Why the sudden change? I don't know.

As the season went on, he started to come towards the ball a lot less and frequently found himself waiting for the ball to come to him on the wing. This is a completely different playing style than what he showed in the youth teams. I'm sure he was instructed to do this, because that isn't his natural playing style. That is why there were a lot of games where he was invisible towards the 2nd half of the season.

His game became all about dribbling and waiting for the ball. You can see how that's a problem this season. If his dribbling is on point, he becomes really dangerous. If his dribbling isn't working, then he becomes a one trick pony who frustrates the fans. This on top of receiving the ball a lot less. This trend has continued and it's obvious that LVG likes his wingers to keep the width.

I think it's important for the coaching staff to realize what kind of player he is. As a young player he isn't going to refuse to play a position. Pereira and Januzaj have both stated that they will play whatever position the manager asks of them like all young players would say. They'll take any playing time they can get. I also understand that he has better players in front of him that can play the #10 or at least have freedom to be on the ball, so he'll have to deal with playing on the wing like a lot of young players start out. It's just frustrating seeing him play so differently than what made him originally stand out in the youth teams.

Good post.

 

[11101]

How did he mess it up at the start?

His first start of the season was West Brom away where he was understandably rusty. Before that he had already played in multiple positions as a sub including a game at right wing back. He followed that up by being our best attacking player at home to Chelsea. Look sharp against City in the game following that until he had to be withdrawn due to Smalling's brain fart. Wasn't great against Palace but no worse than any of our other players. After this "run" of games he wasn't seen for 2 months at which point he returned to play as a Left Back against Stoke.

He looked like a kid again at the start of the season who was trying too hard and making the wrong decisions. Taking people on when he shouldnt have been and picking the wrong passes.

With LVG concentrating on getting everyone well drilled that was never going to fly.

 

[Kill 'em all]

Glad to see his positive attitude after a difficult season, I still think he will be a success here.

 

[Scorpy]

“Of course I want to play in the first team and get more games,” Januzaj said. “I’ve not had a lot of games this season.

“It’s been quite a difficult season but I still have many years to come. I’m still only 20 and that’s what people forget. I’m always working hard to try to prove myself.

“Sometimes you need to be patient but when you’ve got the chance you need to try and take it.

“I’m working hard first in training and it’s also important outside of training to work hard in the gym, which I’m doing at the minute to build myself and make myself stronger. I’m getting there.

“You’re not going to be strong in one month. You need a long time before you gain that natural strength.”

Can't see where he says he's not interested in a loan though.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

Thought he was decent vs Hull, gonna post individual highlights below. Didn't make any mistakes really apart from once when he slipped. He's direct and looks to do something with the ball so it looks like he's making more mistakes than others, when in reality he is at the times the only one trying something. Was even more of a breath of fresh air last season but still love the lad

 

[Oo0AahCantona]

Ew... highlights of the hull game.

 

[bpet15]

Thought he was decent vs Hull, gonna post individual highlights below. Didn't make any mistakes really apart from once when he slipped. He's direct and looks to do something with the ball so it looks like he's making more mistakes than others, when in reality he is at the times the only one trying something. Was even more of a breath of fresh air last season but still love the lad

One of the very few that actually drive at opponents and look to create.

 

[Wade3]

Can't see where he says he's not interested in a loan though.

By the sound out of it he seems to believe he can develop the best while staying with us.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

Both him and Wilson deserve plenty of game time next season to develop consistency if we focused on strengthening midfield and defense in the transfer market.

 

[limerickcitykid]

He has a great football brain, but he's regressed in that area the more he's gotten to play as a winger. It started to happen last year under Moyes. I've said this countless times, but in the youth team whether he was a #10 or on the right wing, he always came towards the ball and had a bit of freedom. He shined. At this point everyone was pointing out how intelligent he was compared to everyone else on the pitch and he had the touch, technique, and passing to always stand out. This is why I wish there were more of his games from 2012-2013 on youtube to show how drastic his play style changed.

I don't know if he started to receive instructions from Moyes or Giggs, but he started to really emphasize dribbling under them. He always had the ability and he showed it in the youth teams, but he chose to do so a lot less. This was despite playing against smaller, weaker, and slower players in the youth teams. In the first team, he started to dribble a lot more despite playing against men. Why the sudden change? I don't know.

As the season went on, he started to come towards the ball a lot less and frequently found himself waiting for the ball to come to him on the wing. This is a completely different playing style than what he showed in the youth teams. I'm sure he was instructed to do this, because that isn't his natural playing style. That is why there were a lot of games where he was invisible towards the 2nd half of the season.

His game became all about dribbling and waiting for the ball. You can see how that's a problem this season. If his dribbling is on point, he becomes really dangerous. If his dribbling isn't working, then he becomes a one trick pony who frustrates the fans with his bad decision making. This on top of receiving the ball a lot less. This trend has continued and it's obvious that LVG likes his wingers to keep the width.

I think it's important for the coaching staff to realize what kind of player he is. As a young player he isn't going to refuse to play a position. Pereira and Januzaj have both stated that they will play whatever position the manager asks of them like all young players would say. They'll take any playing time they can get. I also understand that he has better players in front of him that can play the #10 or at least have freedom to be on the ball, so he'll have to deal with playing on the wing like a lot of young players start out. It obviously sounds silly that my post makes it sound like I know more than the coaching staff (I don't intend to come off that way), as they obviously know more from watching the players in training, but it's just frustrating seeing him play so differently than what made him originally stand out in the youth teams.

Good post. The way he plays at times is just ridiculous and you have to think he is being instructed to do it as he never used to play like this before. He spends half his time just standing on the sideline. He doesn't suit that and imo no one is going to be effective playing like this. Especially with our slow possession style we are taking him out of the game ourselves. He stands on the sideline and gets the ball played to feet and the defenders just stand off and jockey. You can only go one way when you are on the sideline and you aren't going to do much that causes danger and it usually leads him and all our wingers to just pass it back. He is even looking invisible at times for u21s with this retarded playing style.

He doesn't even need to play as a #10, we have Mata on the RW playing a role that Adnan would thrive in. Why is he not being told to play the same way when he gets in? One of my favourite things about him in the 12-13 season was his ability to beat his man with his first touch and sometimes with no touch. His feints and fakes fooled every defender and he turned them with ease. You can't do that on the sideline as the defender just stands off and lets you turn. If we don't sort this out then he isn't going to get better, world class players would struggle with the way he is being expected to play. There has been times where we have the ball on the left and he'll be on the right sideline, its idiotic.

 

[RooneyLegend]

We need to start playing him as the furthest forward in a midfield 3. That's the only position he'll ever develop into a world class player in. All this other stuff we seem to be doing just isn't helping us at all. Stop trying to turn the poor lad into Giggs for gods sake. Once he develops fully from a physical standpoint he should be star, sadly that doesn't look like its going to be the case with how he's being utilised.

 

[RedRonaldo]

The hype surrounding Januzaj was and is justified, and comparisons with Luke Chadwick are inherently silly.

Injuring permitting, Januzaj will develop into one of the best forwards in the game over the coming years. Whether that is at United remains to be seen, but he's still as sure a thing you will see. He needs regular game time to do this, though. A good loan next season is of paramount importance.

His skill set is brilliantly unique, and I don't think there's a young player (20 and under) that is as well rounded, with as many strings to the bow, in the game today. Big calls, but I'm somewhat unshakeable in my belief on this one.

No it's not, he has potential but just not as good as those who hyped him up as one of the finest young player in Europe out there, who is comparable to young Ronaldo.
I remembered it's also the case when people used to hyped Jones up as next John Terry or even new Duncan Edwards back then. It just needed to be stopped.

 

[In Rainbows]

This is one of a very few videos from 2012-2013 season. I think it does a good job of explaining what I was talking about. Where in that performance does it scream "januzaj is a winger?"

 

[Insanity]

He has a great football brain, but he's regressed in that area the more he's gotten to play as a winger. It started to happen last year under Moyes. I've said this countless times, but in the youth team whether he was a #10 or on the right wing, he always came towards the ball and had a bit of freedom. He shined. At this point everyone was pointing out how intelligent he was compared to everyone else on the pitch and he had the touch, technique, and passing to always stand out. This is why I wish there were more of his games from 2012-2013 on youtube to show how drastic his play style changed.

I don't know if he started to receive instructions from Moyes or Giggs, but he started to really emphasize dribbling under them. He always had the ability and he showed it in the youth teams, but he chose to do so a lot less. This was despite playing against smaller, weaker, and slower players in the youth teams. In the first team, he started to dribble a lot more despite playing against men. Why the sudden change? I don't know.

As the season went on, he started to come towards the ball a lot less and frequently found himself waiting for the ball to come to him on the wing. This is a completely different playing style than what he showed in the youth teams. I'm sure he was instructed to do this, because that isn't his natural playing style. That is why there were a lot of games where he was invisible towards the 2nd half of the season.

His game became all about dribbling and waiting for the ball. You can see how that's a problem this season. If his dribbling is on point, he becomes really dangerous. If his dribbling isn't working, then he becomes a one trick pony who frustrates the fans with his bad decision making. This on top of receiving the ball a lot less. This trend has continued and it's obvious that LVG likes his wingers to keep the width.

I think it's important for the coaching staff to realize what kind of player he is. As a young player he isn't going to refuse to play a position. Pereira and Januzaj have both stated that they will play whatever position the manager asks of them like all young players would say. They'll take any playing time they can get. I also understand that he has better players in front of him that can play the #10 or at least have freedom to be on the ball, so he'll have to deal with playing on the wing like a lot of young players start out. It obviously sounds silly that my post makes it sound like I know more than the coaching staff (I don't intend to come off that way), as they obviously know more from watching the players in training, but it's just frustrating seeing him play so differently than what made him originally stand out in the youth teams.

Good post. Boggles my mind when people question his intelligence as that was exactly what stood out when he first burst into the scene. You are spot on in your observation that he started to suffer when he was asked to stay out wide and maintain width. Players like him need that little bit of freedom to excel; he is neither a traditional winger nor he has the pace to shine strictly as a winger. In order for him to show his talent he needs to be play with freedom as one of the three forwards or as a number #10.

His stagnation has been one of the major disappointments of the season along with us settling for 4th.

 

[Kag]

No it's not, he has potential but just not as good as those who hyped him up as one of the finest young player in Europe out there, who is comparable to young Ronaldo.
I remembered it's also the case when people used to hyped Jones up as next John Terry or even new Duncan Edwards back then. It just needed to be stopped.

He is one of the finest young players (20 and under) in Europe. That's not hype, it's the reality of playing for Manchester United regularly at the age of 18, being one of the best performers at the seventh best team in England (no easy feat). Then going to the World Cup with one of the strongest European squad's represented not that long after his nineteenth birthday. That's his CV. Alongside his unique skillset and countless pieces of very interesting play in two short seasons, he was awarded hype and praise because very few young forwards were doing what he did. If you can name some then press ahead, but after Raheem Sterling the list starts to dry up.

 

[RedRonaldo]

He is one of the finest young players (20 and under) in Europe. That's not hype, it's the reality of playing for Manchester United regularly at the age of 18, being one of the best performers at the seventh best team in England (no easy feat). Then going to the World Cup with one of the strongest European squad's represented not that long after his nineteenth birthday. That's his CV. Alongside his unique skillset and countless pieces of very interesting play in two short seasons, he was awarded hype and praise because very few young forwards were doing what he did. If you can name some then press ahead, but after Raheem Sterling the list starts to dry up.

There are tons of fine 20 and under players who failed in their career over the years.

Point being he is not as good as he is being hyped (some even suggest he is better than young Ronaldo) and this season already proves that. But not saying he will fail in future, he has his strength and shorting comings even in his first year, but people tend to ignore all his shortcomings because of his young age and then hyped him up assuming he will improve and develop his game accordingly as he grew.

Fair enough though but every young player develop their game in different pace and we never know (Rooney was supposed to be better player than Ronaldo when they were in their teenages)

 

[Kag]

There are tons of fine 20 and under players who failed in their career over the years.

Point being he is not as good as he is being hyped (some even suggest he is better than young Ronaldo) and this season already proves that. But not saying he will fail in future, he has his strength and shorting comings even in his first year, but people tend to ignore all his shortcomings because of his young age and then hyped him up assuming he will improve and develop his game accordingly as he grew.

Fair enough though but every young player develop their game in different pace and we never know (Rooney was supposed to be better player than Ronaldo when they were in their teenages)

Just because a player doesn't develop as expected doesn't mean to say that the initial hype was unjustified. You make a point about Rooney which doesn't make a great deal of sense. He was better than Ronaldo during his teenage years. Just because Ronaldo developed into the better footballer doesn't negate that fact.

Define the hype, anyway. What is it, exactly, that you so vehemently disagree with? If people are calling Januzaj one of the best young talents in the game today then they'd be correct, because that's exactly what he is given the reasoning I've outlined further above. Comparisons with a young Ronaldo were also fairly sensible in context, given the way they both burst on to the scene during periods of uncertainty within the team. Nobody is really suggesting that he will be as good as what Ronaldo became. I've never seen claims that like anywhere, and rightly so.

 

[RedRonaldo]

Just because a player doesn't develop as expected doesn't mean to say that the initial hype was unjustified. You make a point about Rooney which doesn't make a great deal of sense. He was better than Ronaldo during his teenage years. Just because Ronaldo developed into the better footballer doesn't negate that fact.

Define the hype, anyway. What is it, exactly, that you so vehemently disagree with? If people are calling Januzaj one of the best young talents in the game today then they'd be correct, because that's exactly what he is given the reasoning I've outlined further above. Comparisons with a young Ronaldo were also fairly sensible in context, given the way they both burst on to the scene during periods of uncertainty within the team. Nobody is really suggesting that he will be as good as what Ronaldo became. I've never seen claims that like anywhere, and rightly so.

i think you have confused "early promised" with "hype". No one doubt Januzaj has shown early promise with his natural talent, but that doesn't equal to high chance of future success. When a player being hyped as next best thing, there will be huge expectation generated from the hype which goes unrealistically high. Anderson was once regarded as best young talent and next best thing too, but look at him now.

For Januzaj case, I have raised questions before on his shorting comings during his first "promising season" (too selfish, poor decision making, tendency to dive, always held the ball too long and slowing down attack play etc) which I regarded as flaw, but people would tend to ignore all these and only focus on his hype instead.

 

[m1y2]

As I said before, he was unlucky this season, he struggled a bit with confidence but the biggest blow was the change of system, we haven't played wingers for more than half of the season so he didn't settle well, as b2b he's done quite well at one point and the other game he was quite poor but it wasn't only him who was poor, but he was easy target for some people here..

We got used to some terrific performances from season one. When we finally picked form and started to play something, since Spurs game, Mata and Young both picked fantastic form so it was difficult for him to get gametime, Van Gaal didn't want to rotate much as he's seen that the team worked well, so it's understandable and off course there is always 65 mil. player ahead of you in the pecking order, by his performances he should never be head of Januzaj IMO. We should have definitely tried dimaria back in midfield when fellaini started to pick up poor games, if start dimaria at all and Januzaj could get some gametime.

However I guess it's just unfortunate season for him, he'll come stronger next when we finally start to play wingers from the day one, it will be a big competition for him so I hope he will do his best to improve over summer. With full preseason it will be also better than coming back form WC.

 

[Kag]

i think you have confused "early promised" with "hype". No one doubt Januzaj has shown early promise with his natural talent, but that doesn't equal to high chance of future success. When a player being hyped as next best thing, there will be huge expectation generated from the hype which goes unrealistically high. Anderson was once regarded as best young talent and next best thing too, but look at him now.

For Januzaj case, I have raised questions before on his shorting comings during his first "promising season" (too selfish, poor decision making, tendency to dive, always held the ball too long and slowing down attack play etc) which I regarded as flaw, but people would tend to ignore all these and only focus on his hype instead.

Where is the confusion? You disputed that the hype surrounding him was justified. I think it was justified, primarily because he has one of the most unique skillsets I've seen. I think what he's demonstrated so far does raise expectations and I think that's only right. Nobody knows for certain what he will or won't become, we're only here to offer opinion. Personally, I'm absolutely convinced he'll be one of the better attackers in the game one day, albeit I'm not sure where that will be. You probably don't rate him as highly, which is fine.

 

[Stadjer]

Still some rumors in Dutch media about Januzaj joining PSV for a loan. What do you guys think of that?

Our Eredivisie is shit but Januzaj will play a full season and 6 games i the CL.

 

[GloryHunter07]

Frustrating season for the lad, but we often see "second season syndrome ".

I definitely think he has the quality to make it as a first team regular but im a bit worried by the way he often dribbles into dead ends. Maybe he is just trying too hard to impress.

 

[GloryHunter07]

Still some rumors in Dutch media about Januzaj joining PSV for a loan. What do you guys think of that?

Our Eredivisie is shit but Januzaj will play a full season and 6 games i the CL.

Would rather he was loaned in the Prem.

 

[JPRouve]

Still some rumors in Dutch media about Januzaj joining PSV for a loan. What do you guys think of that?

Our Eredivisie is shit but Januzaj will play a full season and 6 games i the CL.

That would be great he doesn't need to play in the Prem because he is already physically suited to the league, what he needs, is a league where he will have to make decisions and sharpen his technique, the Eredivisie is great for that.

 

[Raoul]

Frustrating season for the lad, but we often see "second season syndrome ".

I definitely think he has the quality to make it as a first team regular but im a bit worried by the way he often dribbles into dead ends. Maybe he is just trying too hard to impress.

A symptom of his lack of playing time, which he isn't likely to get any more of next year with all the new players we're bringing in.

 

[GloryHunter07]

A symptom of his lack of playing time, which he isn't likely to get any more of next year with all the new players we're bringing in.

True, although there will be more games. Other than Memphis i cant see us bringing in another attacking mid.

 

[RedRonaldo]

Where is the confusion? You disputed that the hype surrounding him was justified. I think it was justified, primarily because he has one of the most unique skillsets I've seen. I think what he's demonstrated so far does raise expectations and I think that's only right. Nobody knows for certain what he will or won't become, we're only here to offer opinion. Personally, I'm absolutely convinced he'll be one of the better attackers in the game one day, albeit I'm not sure where that will be. You probably don't rate him as highly, which is fine.

I rate him as promising young player with wonderful raw talents, just as he has displayed so far, as we've seen a lot of those over years. Not the next best thing or at young Ronaldo level to me though, not yet I mean.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

He has a great football brain, but he's regressed in that area the more he's gotten to play as a winger. It started to happen last year under Moyes. I've said this countless times, but in the youth team whether he was a #10 or on the right wing, he always came towards the ball and had a bit of freedom. He shined. At this point everyone was pointing out how intelligent he was compared to everyone else on the pitch and he had the touch, technique, and passing to always stand out. This is why I wish there were more of his games from 2012-2013 on youtube to show how drastic his play style changed.

I don't know if he started to receive instructions from Moyes or Giggs, but he started to really emphasize dribbling under them. He always had the ability and he showed it in the youth teams, but he chose to do so a lot less. This was despite playing against smaller, weaker, and slower players in the youth teams. In the first team, he started to dribble a lot more despite playing against men. Why the sudden change? I don't know.

As the season went on, he started to come towards the ball a lot less and frequently found himself waiting for the ball to come to him on the wing. This is a completely different playing style than what he showed in the youth teams. I'm sure he was instructed to do this, because that isn't his natural playing style. That is why there were a lot of games where he was invisible towards the 2nd half of the season.

His game became all about dribbling and waiting for the ball. You can see how that's a problem this season. If his dribbling is on point, he becomes really dangerous. If his dribbling isn't working, then he becomes a one trick pony who frustrates the fans with his bad decision making. This on top of receiving the ball a lot less. This trend has continued and it's obvious that LVG likes his wingers to keep the width.

I think it's important for the coaching staff to realize what kind of player he is. As a young player he isn't going to refuse to play a position. Pereira and Januzaj have both stated that they will play whatever position the manager asks of them like all young players would say. They'll take any playing time they can get. I also understand that he has better players in front of him that can play the #10 or at least have freedom to be on the ball, so he'll have to deal with playing on the wing like a lot of young players start out. It obviously sounds silly that my post makes it sound like I know more than the coaching staff (I don't intend to come off that way), as they obviously know more from watching the players in training, but it's just frustrating seeing him play so differently than what made him originally stand out in the youth teams.

Never thought of this but it makes a hell of a lot of sense. He's playing completely like a touch line hugging dribbling wide man whereas he should be playing more like what mata has been, a playmaking wide player.

Lvg does have these stubborn ideas about the system though so it's a little worrying. For example, Rooney was told that he doesn't have to go searching for the ball but needs to do great work/get goals/make an impact in a few touches. That's fine for a centre forward but for a wide man who isn't electric and is really a number 10, it could hamper him.

 

[RooneyLegend]

Where is the confusion? You disputed that the hype surrounding him was justified. I think it was justified, primarily because he has one of the most unique skillsets I've seen. I think what he's demonstrated so far does raise expectations and I think that's only right. Nobody knows for certain what he will or won't become, we're only here to offer opinion. Personally, I'm absolutely convinced he'll be one of the better attackers in the game one day, albeit I'm not sure where that will be. You probably don't rate him as highly, which is fine.

Don't disagree with your overall viewpoint, but I'd like to know what's so unique about his skillset?

 

[Kag]

Don't disagree with your overall viewpoint, but I'd like to know what's so unique about his skillset?

I think the way he can beat opposition players from a standing start without being an out and out winger is incredibly impressive. He isn't particularly fast but his dribbling ensures he can drift through player to player. He has definite traits of a wide man, but I think he has great vision, clever passing and bears all the hallmarks of a future #10. I'm hopeful he can learn to dictate games from the centre of the park, in the way we've seen Silva do so brilliantly over the past few seasons. That's no given, in fact it's very unlikely, but it's something to aim for. That he's a lefty makes all of it so elegant.

In theory I could be describing a player like Ozil above. He's one of few players I feel make a reasonable comparison in terms of playing style. Take Ozil's best traits and add in the effortless ability to breeze by opponents and you could, and I stress could, be looking at what Januzaj can offer to a team in the long run.

 

[XdanielredX]

I think he needs a run of games in a free role.

A role where he can come and collect the ball and drop and move into positions without fear of being caught out of position as he will be covered by other players.

Then I think we would see him really start to thrive.

Unfortunately this principle goes entirely against Van Gaals philosophy.

 

[Americano]

Still some rumors in Dutch media about Januzaj joining PSV for a loan. What do you guys think of that?

Our Eredivisie is shit but Januzaj will play a full season and 6 games i the CL.

It all depends on how they use him and how often he will play. If we can structure the loan in a way that gives the player every chance to benefit, it could be worth doing.

 

[Stadjer]

It all depends on how they use him and how often he will play. If we can structure the loan in a way that gives the player every chance to benefit, it could be worth doing.

PSV lost their left winger to us so that position will freed up since they dont have any replacement at the club. Their right winger (Narsingh) is shit and his main quality is his speed but other than that he's nothing special.

PSV plays with 3 midfielders. 2 central midfielders and 1 defensive midfielder. Wijnaldum is one of those central midfielders and will most likely leave PSV but i dont think Adnan could take over his position.

At the moment i think he would play just about every match at the left winger position. He would be allowed cut inside since Willems (very attacking left back from PSV) plays as a left winger most of the time. With his crossing, Willems provides a lot of assists from that left side. However Willems could also leave PSV.

 

[Kakeru]

Unfortunately this principle goes entirely against Van Gaals philosophy.

What is the problem? Van Gaal doesn't trust a fellow Dutchman (Phillip Cocu) to teach Januzaj how to play the game in the best Dutch traditions and allow Januzaj to gain confidence?