Adnan Januzaj

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Fergies Formula said:
He clearly is an unbelievable talent and has executed himself well into the managers thinking for a starting birth. The question I pose is - how many games do you think he will feature this season? He is already one of the best players in the team which says as much about his abilities as a player as much as it underlines the lack of star quality in our current team. Do we think he will be playing in our biggest games? I would like to think he would be one of the first names on the team sheet from now on, simply because he has showed so much maturity in his game that the lack of experience and composure most other young talented players usually have, is non existent with this kid. He is young fresh and has more legs than most players in the prem, he never seems to tire. From now on I would like to see him starting in all crucial games. I really feel his passing, his movement, penetrative weighted passes and just general sex on the football pitch is too great to be deprive the team of.

What do you think?
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Januzaj should start against Arsenal and then sees how he does in that game before deciding whether to use him against other top sides. Part of the reason he should start is that we created a half-chance for Welbeck against Chelsea, RVP's late miss against Liv and as well as Rooney's freekick, he wasted a good chance to score against City; we cannot afford to continue to create so few chances in the big matches.

I think one start a week is appropriate for Adnan at the moment. If his level drops so that he is producing less than the alternative options then he should be used as a sub.
 
Anyone got him in their fantasy team? Debating whether or not to pop him in for tomorrow.......
 
Jimy_Hills_Chin said:
I think that us British are painfully guilty of being obsessed with physical attributes in football when the evidence is all around us that such focus is holding us back.
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It's weird, because the vast majority of the time the Caf seems to have completely grown out of this ages ago, which is great. But then every single thread on a new player in our first team still gets a few 'he'll need to bulk up's and 'is he fast enough?'s.

Especially odd about Januzaj given that even though he's only eighteen, I can't remember a single appearance from him this season where he's looked like he needed to be bigger or faster. He's not getting pushed off the ball or shrugged off in the tackle, and he's going past multiple defenders like they're not there. So why do people make this automatic assumption that he'll have to bulk up 'at least a little bit.' A good proportion of the best players in this league are either short or slight.
 
Brightonian said:
It's weird, because the vast majority of the time the Caf seems to have completely grown out of this ages ago, which is great. But then every single thread on a new player in our first team still gets a few 'he'll need to bulk up's and 'is he fast enough?'s.

Especially odd about Januzaj given that even though he's only eighteen, I can't remember a single appearance from him this season where he's looked like he needed to be bigger or faster. He's not getting pushed off the ball or shrugged off in the tackle, and he's going past multiple defenders like they're not there. So why do people make this automatic assumption that he'll have to bulk up 'at least a little bit.' A good proportion of the best players in this league are either short or slight.
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I don't think Adnan has anything to worry about as regards strength and speed. But you can't downplay the physical aspect so much though. Barca's dominant years involved great skills, but allied to running very fast for 90 minutes every game, without seeming to pick up injuries despite the enormous numbers of games the key players played. This was pointed out by Fergie in his book. Of course there are various theories on how they were able to do this...
 
Thisistheone said:
Sorry. Was a bad joke and a bad choice of player considering the Bosnian link. Just plucked some random names to go along with what pace said. He's getting compared to every player under the sun.
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It's Serbians his dad hates, he never said anything about Bosnia. Pretty sure his grandpa or something was born in Bosnia but then moved.
 
charleysurf said:
I don't think Adnan has anything to worry about as regards strength and speed. But you can't downplay the physical aspect so much though. Barca's dominant years involved great skills, but allied to running very fast for 90 minutes every game, without seeming to pick up injuries despite the enormous numbers of games the key players played. This was pointed out by Fergie in his book. Of course there are various theories on how they were able to do this...
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But Januzaj's fitness and stamina are excellent. I'm not saying the game doesn't have a central physical aspect, just that players don't need to be at all bulked up to succeed in the EPL, and that if Januzaj stayed exactly the shape he is now he probably wouldn't suffer from it.
 
bosnian_red said:
It's Serbians his dad hates, and Croats, he never said anything about Bosnia. Pretty sure his grandpa or something was born in Bosnia but then moved.
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:eek: He never said that he hates anyone (his father), but of course he feels offended if someone says that Januzaj will play for Serbia or some other nonsense like that.

Kosovans have very good relations with Croats so it's a bit hard to find a Kosovan who hates Croats.
 
Revan said:
:eek: He never said that he hates anyone (his father), but of course he feels offended if someone says that Januzaj will play for Serbia or some other nonsense like that.

Kosovans have very good relations with Croats so it's a bit hard to find a Kosovan who hates Croats.
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Yeah I meant to say was offended at the suggestion, and since generally kosovans hate Serbs, I put that there probably a bit unfairly. Croats shouldn't be there though you're right, it's more to do with them not being part of the consideration.
 
Jimy_Hills_Chin said:
Those things are important but it is more to do with spacial awareness when you are looking at the modern Spanish player.

Xavi for example is a master of not just controlling a ball with his first touch but also directing the ball into the optimum space available with that same touch. You watch Welbeck and Cleverley for example and their first touch is often just about control, the second touch is about movement and getting going. Messi too is an absolute master at moving into the optimum space available to him and that coupled with his close control makes it so hard for defenders to dispossess him.

I see that in Januzaj, he has great spacial awareness and he also reads opposition players brilliantly, it enables him to go past players whilst not moving at great speed. We have only really Nani with similar abilities in the squad though I would rate Januzaj as quite a bit better than Nani in that department.

I think that us British are painfully guilty of being obsessed with physical attributes in football when the evidence is all around us that such focus is holding us back.
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Attack the Optimum Space.
 
Jimy_Hills_Chin said:
Those things are important but it is more to do with spacial awareness when you are looking at the modern Spanish player.

Xavi for example is a master of not just controlling a ball with his first touch but also directing the ball into the optimum space available with that same touch. You watch Welbeck and Cleverley for example and their first touch is often just about control, the second touch is about movement and getting going. Messi too is an absolute master at moving into the optimum space available to him and that coupled with his close control makes it so hard for defenders to dispossess him.

I see that in Januzaj, he has great spacial awareness and he also reads opposition players brilliantly, it enables him to go past players whilst not moving at great speed. We have only really Nani with similar abilities in the squad though I would rate Januzaj as quite a bit better than Nani in that department.

I think that us British are painfully guilty of being obsessed with physical attributes in football when the evidence is all around us that such focus is holding us back.
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Spatial awareness is important, yes, but that's not the point I was making. You need more than spatial awareness to go past players - ball control as well as a bit of agility/change of pace is crucial in that sense. CM's like Xavi, Scholes have spatial awareness but don't need to be particularly agile or have a change of pace because it's not their game. They need quick feet and an even quicker thought process to orchestrate the play. So for them the physical attributes are nowhere near as important.

But the further up the pitch you play, like the likes of Silva, Iniesta, Mata and Ozil do, you need that change in gear to have an effect on games. Spatial awareness will only get you so far if you're playing in of the AM positions. It's the one essential common trait of the AM ball players.
 
Needs to keep playing aggressively and keep running at defenders. I think opposition are now starting to impose roughhouse tactics on him. scotty parker with the elbow on his head etc.

Brilliant player though and has an eye for a pass.
 
Not his best game but still looks very accomplished at this level, just lacks a wee bit of upper body strength to deal with being barged into but the lad is great.
 
Much better first half, but the same can be said of most of the team. Three subs is always going to change the rhythm and shape of the team.
 
People have started kicking him because he's too good for them. Sound familiar?
 
The strength and speed of that run up most of the pitch, under huge pressure, to win the corner was fantastic.
 
Fulham players were forced to kick him in order to stop his actions and control over the ball and of course his accuracy of the through pass led to a quality team goal.

So glad he exploded with talent. We really need that kind of player especially when Young is trying to re-build something what it's called proper football level and overall form.

Another shiny performance from this teenager.
 
He got moved which was a shame. Love how brave he is, despite being fouled a lot. Still willing to take on people.

Much more pleasing is his decisions in key areas. Such a cool head on young shoulders when it matters.
 
I also think Januzaj is the key to the RVP/Rooney partnership, offers a directness between midfield and defence that we lack, his development so far has been very good.
 
THat ref must hate him. Fulham players could have freely get a gun and kill him and the ref was going to do nothing. Shame considering that the ref should at-least be correct when it come to young talented players (and probably a bit protective) but ref was atrocius today when it came to Adnan.
 
He's seamlessly slotted into the first XI. We've got a really special player here.
 
Relevated said:
Now is the real test, let's see how he reacts when he's kicked every week.
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I think Fergie would handle that situation with his influence. I hope Moyesy also will as he got experience in rasing talents like Wayne and Barkley.
 
That Fulham RB wreaked of jealousy with that stamp. Ffs, if the kid is more talented than you, accept it and try your best to stop him. Hurting him ain't gonna make you better.
 
Not his best match. I think needs to come off the bench after this performance. Give Nani and Valencia a chance for the big one against the gooners. Bringing Adnan off the bench will be more effective for us and take him out the firing line a bit.
 
Another great game from him. The lad is capable of those moments that make you jump up off your seat.
 
Loved his run from our own half when we were under pressure, he had the strength and pace to hold off two Fulham defenders.
 
Not his best game. He had some very good moments, but also lost the ball a bit too much. The referee certainly didn't help as he allowed Fulham to keep kicking him without being cautioned. I would probably put him on the bench against Sociedad and have him available as an impact sub. It's so exciting to see what he'll do whenever he gets the ball. You always expect he'll do something special with it.
 
100 said:
Loved his run from our own half when we were under pressure, he had the strength and pace to hold off two Fulham defenders.
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That was excellent. Particularly as we were struggling to get forward at the time. I feel he's going to be very important to us this season, and hopefully for many more years after that.
 
Stamp could have injured him for a long time. That Fulham player has to receive a 3 game ban.
 
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