If anything I see more Zidane in Januzaj than Ronaldo.
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Yes, followed by Adnan. Kagawa, like Mata will be far more effective in their best position, number 10.
That's what his game used to be about for the youth team. It wasn't until the first team and the start of last season's few reserve matches where he really started to go after defenders. He would still do some dribbles occasionally before then, but most of his impressive play came from his creativity, composure, and technique.
This is from the u21 final 2013
He did a very similar pass against the Spurs last season as well which ended up as an assist. It's a shame his entire performance in that final wasn't uploaded on youtube. He was really class that day.
You already saw a glimpse of what he could do behind the striker in the Cup match against Norwich. He was really good that day.
The point remains that coming inside from a wing position, he can do both things. In any given moment, he can come inside and do what a #10 would do, or bomb down the outside and do what a winger would do. Given that he is excellent at both things, that approach makes him a much more unpredictable and dangerous player.
That's what his game used to be about for the youth team. It wasn't until the first team and the start of last season's few reserve matches where he really started to go after defenders. He would still do some dribbles occasionally before then, but most of his impressive play came from his creativity, composure, and technique.
This is from the u21 final 2013
He did a very similar pass against the Spurs last season as well which ended up as an assist. It's a shame his entire performance in that final wasn't uploaded on youtube. He was really class that day.
You already saw a glimpse of what he could do behind the striker in the Cup match against Norwich. He was really good that day.
His assist to RvP in his first (I think?) game was another beautifully weighted/timed pass. His most obvious quality has always been his ability to pick a pass in and around the box. He's basically the complete opposite of a kick and run merchant with no end product.
any idea when he's joining up with the rest of the team? i imagine at the same time as fellaini, but i don't know when that is either, and frankly, nobody cares about fellaini.
januzaj and fellaini trained at carrington today.
neither will be joining the others on tour. hopefully this delayed holiday won't hurt adnan's chances to impress the new boss.
neither will be joining the others on tour. hopefully this delayed holiday won't hurt adnan's chances to impress the new boss.
I'm sure Januzaj will get at least 45 minutes of football on our last pre-season game against Valencia.
In this system, Adnan should be a backup forward along with Welbeck, he shouldn't get ahead of Shinji as a backup for Mata right.
Besides I'm sick of every talented young kid saying they are a number 10. It's the fashionable position to be good at, then it takes managers years to convince the player that they are actually a striker or a winger etc.
Besides I'm sick of every talented young kid saying they are a number 10. It's the fashionable position to be good at, then it takes managers years to convince the player that they are actually a striker or a winger etc.
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Agreed. He's a decent as a #10 but best as a wide AM/winger. Shame this system doesn't actually have wingers.
Januzaj will be a shoe in for the number 10, especially when counter attacking. He's more dynamic than Mata and he has a good eye for pass. For now though he can play the forward role if necessary, but I think Welbeck will be 3rd choice for that.
I guarantee that those who say Adnan isn't a good number ten haven't seen him play in that role for more than 45 minutes. Because for United, he hasn't.
He has a few times (and done excellently).
Alright if i think long hard about it... Most of the Capital One Cup match against Norwich, 45 minutes against Swansea... And a few minutes against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Maybe as a 10 against Sunderland in first leg of COC?
Those were actually mostly good performances too.
I don't think anyone in their right mind would say he's not a good #10. But personally I think he's twice as dangerous from a wide starting position. Because that way he can still choose to come inside with the ball and do anything a #10 would do, but he also has the option of dribbling past his man like a winger. Makes him so much harder to defend against.
And just to fend off the potential 'have you even watched him do X, Y and Z', I've watched every minute he's played for the club since we signed him.
Hasn't he played there against Norwich in the League Cup??
I think his best position is 100% as No.10
I pretty much agree with that too.
Yup, i redacted.
I thought he played as a 10 for longer against both Swansea and Chelsea. As I said whenever he has played as a 10 for us he has shone so I can't understand how people can't see that it's his best position and where he will end up playing for most of his career.
Even on the strength of three full games I'd be wary about saying its where he'll finish his career.
I think part of the problem for me was that he doesn't fit the mould of number 10s right now, so doesn't fit into the preconceived ideas I have for a number 10. I very much think of Mata/Ozil/Fabregas when I think of number 10s. However Pogue mentioned last season that Kaka was a good example of a a much more direct, upright number 10 whose strength was running with the ball, shooting and crossing rather than lots of dinky one-twos on the edge of the D. That kind of helped things click for me, albeit I still need to see him do it on a regular basis to make my mind up.
I think he'd be fine at #10, and even as a second striker upfront. He could play similar to how Robben did at the world cup when partnering RvP.
Ozil and Kaka are the two number 10's he reminds me most of. With Ozil it is probably a lot to do with both players being left footed and they also have a similar ability to pick a pass in tight situations. He reminds me of Kaka with his acceleration and ability to beat a player, something Ozil lacks.
I would agree with this only if he played on the right. I thought he was always better on the right wing for the reserves. The rw and the #10 make better use of his reliance on his left foot than the left wing unless you want crosses.
I like him on either side, I just think it depends on what you want from him in that particular match. He's so two-footed that he's almost as good at beating a man and getting to the byline on the right as he is on the left. The one thing he does better from the left is those wicked crosses, so if you're looking for him to provide real width, then he should be on the left. But he offers pretty much the whole package from the right, so for the majority of matches I agree that should be his wing.
This is his real strength though, which not enough people recognise. He's good at pretty much everything. Lovely passer, brilliant dribbler, pacy, good crosser, clever in tight spaces, can kick and run if you give him the space to do it in, can assist and finish. That's why I think #10 limits him too much - a wide starting position gives him more of a free role, to do whatever he wants with.
I'm not saying he's not good there, I'm saying it's not his best position.
I feel like in his absence on tour people have quietly forgotten just how good he was last season, and stopped factoring him into their expectations/hopes for this season a little. To remedy that:
Now this is at risk of becoming my tagline, but for me he's not simply a #10. It's indicative of how uniquely gifted he is that he's probably amongst the top three young #10s in the world. But he's also probably amongst the top three young wingers too.
And if a player can do both things that well, you start them from a wide position. That's a no-brainer, because it's the only way to give him the chance to use all aspects of his game in any given situation. If you receive the ball in a central position, you have to use it from a central position. But if you receive the ball out wide, you can choose to either take a run at your fullback, or to come inside and do what a #10 would do. When you have a young player who is one of the best in the world at both things, you want him to be able to do either, because that's what will make him not just world-class, but a world-beater. Which Januzaj definitely has the potential to be.
So for me, there's no place for him in the 3412, and that's a problem. As I say, you're wasting half of his ability if you just view him as a standard #10, and besides he's not going to get in there ahead of perhaps the league's best specialised #10, Mata. I've heard some people suggesting he could be one of the two strikers, playing a role a little like Welbeck has been so far. It's a decent suggestion, but again you risk limiting him badly. Yes, he could probably do that as well as most players, and his finishing is another very strong part of his game. But it's going to keep him away from the areas where he can do the most damage, those in-between spots where #10s and wide AMs play and are so hard to mark.
Call it an overreaction, but for me the fact that Januzaj doesn't have a place in the 3412 is enough reason on its own for us to try and change to something else as soon as possible. You could argue that Rooney was the outfield player who made the biggest contribution for us last season, but in terms of value added per minute on the pitch, Januzaj was leagues ahead of everyone else. And this was an 18-year-old on his debut season in a side in near-meltdown. I see no reason why getting him in his best position shouldn't be just as important as getting Mata, Rooney and RVP in theirs.
Anyway, feel free to ignore my rambling and just bask in the sheer awesomeness of those highlights.
Now this is at risk of becoming my tagline, but for me he's not simply a #10. It's indicative of how uniquely gifted he is that he's probably amongst the top three young #10s in the world. But he's also probably amongst the top three young wingers too.
And if a player can do both things that well, you start them from a wide position. That's a no-brainer, because it's the only way to give him the chance to use all aspects of his game in any given situation. If you receive the ball in a central position, you have to use it from a central position. But if you receive the ball out wide, you can choose to either take a run at your fullback, or to come inside and do what a #10 would do. When you have a young player who is one of the best in the world at both things, you want him to be able to do either, because that's what will make him not just world-class, but a world-beater. Which Januzaj definitely has the potential to be.
So for me, there's no place for him in the 3412, and that's a problem. As I say, you're wasting half of his ability if you just view him as a standard #10, and besides he's not going to get in there ahead of perhaps the league's best specialised #10, Mata. I've heard some people suggesting he could be one of the two strikers, playing a role a little like Welbeck has been so far. It's a decent suggestion, but again you risk limiting him badly. Yes, he could probably do that as well as most players, and his finishing is another very strong part of his game. But it's going to keep him away from the areas where he can do the most damage, those in-between spots where #10s and wide AMs play and are so hard to mark.
Call it an overreaction, but for me the fact that Januzaj doesn't have a place in the 3412 is enough reason on its own for us to try and change to something else as soon as possible. You could argue that Rooney was the outfield player who made the biggest contribution for us last season, but in terms of value added per minute on the pitch, Januzaj was leagues ahead of everyone else. And this was an 18-year-old on his debut season in a side in near-meltdown. I see no reason why getting him in his best position shouldn't be just as important as getting Mata, Rooney and RVP in theirs.
Anyway, feel free to ignore my rambling and just bask in the sheer awesomeness of those highlights.
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Van Gaal will probably play him as a 7 in a 4231 plenty this season.
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He's never once said we'll play that way though.
Someone asked him recently if we were going to play 352 all pre-season and he said we would because he wanted the team to get used to it. But iirc there was the implication that 352 wouldn't be the only formation we're using, otherwise he would have just said 'that's the formation and all we will play' rather than suggesting we'd only see that formation in pre-season for the sake of familiarity.
The top tree wingers in the whole world? Man United? Top 3 young wingers? Januzaj one of the best at both things? He was really good as a winger but I dont think he was one of the best with doing things from a central position. Agree with you for the rest.
he ideally wants to play 4-3-3 if he has the personnel, but he's never mentioned playing 4-2-3-1 i don't think.
Not advocating his claim, but who are generally considered the biggest wing-talents these days? (U21)
Sterling and Januzaj?
where would he play in a 352, i cant see him starting unless theres injuries. would he take a forward slot as a sub?
Sterling, Januzaj, Depay, Berardi (different type of wide player)
Sterling, Januzaj, Chamberlain, Draxler, Heung ming Son, Depay, Fischer, Deulofeu, Jese Rodriguez, Lucas, Bruma, Shaarawy, Iturbe.
Jese, Draxler.
@Brightonian It's not necessarily true that he wouldn't be able to use his full range of skills in the middle. There's this from a few years ago (none of the pictures seem to work now, unfortunately): http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/12/03/introducing-the-central-winger/
We are just a top CM and a CB away from being able to play van gaal's 4-3-3, probably.
Anyway i beleive adnan is going to benefit playing under van gaal,regardless of any role he is given.van gaal loves talented young players and adnan should join the illustrious names that progress under van gaal.
Anyway i beleive adnan is going to benefit playing under van gaal,regardless of any role he is given.van gaal loves talented young players and adnan should join the illustrious names that progress under van gaal.
We'd need a winger more IMO. Van Gaal specified when he talked about that in a recent interview that he'd need to buy a winger pretty much by saying that there, his specialist players are the wingers so he'd need to buy players. We only have Januzaj who is adept as an attacking winger these days, and he's only 19.
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