fecking Wan-Bissaka
16
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I never said that a wingers have to play on the other side of their foot by default, but the bolded statement is very much what I fundamentally disagree with.
I don't want to derail the Amad discussion too much... but whether James is good enough for this level or not aside, his best attributes for me are running with the ball or running on the back of defences, before picking someone in the box most often with a short pass. No putting crosses into the box as such. His crossing ability ain't the best, I think both Greenwood and Pogba pick a cross better than him when playing wide. I wouldn't even consider him a 4-4-2 type winger personally.
That was his last season for Swansea before we signed him. He had found a niche playing mostly off the left and supporting the attack. Way more assists per game from the left.
Obviously he's not a good enough player to pick his preferred position at Man Utd and LW is highly contested here. He'll have to play wherever there's an opening that he could potentially operate in, whenever that is. But I firmly believe that LW is where his skill set is better suited and, with RW getting tied down, that's where I think he'll get most appearances from going forward.
EDIT: Also his stats for us this season indicate a higher productivity from the left too.
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Footballing wise I don't think he's too far off. A few tools could be sharpened but some fantastic glimmers too.
I think it's just speed of thought, adjusting to the league and a little bit of physicality. Some of that will come with experience and some with time.
I'm not sure what the best course is. My gut feeling is he should stay, progress in training, get some outings next year. On loan he could be wasted, we'd have to be 100% convinced to let such an asset go somewhere.
I think it's just speed of thought, adjusting to the league and a little bit of physicality. Some of that will come with experience and some with time.
I'm not sure what the best course is. My gut feeling is he should stay, progress in training, get some outings next year. On loan he could be wasted, we'd have to be 100% convinced to let such an asset go somewhere.
I wonder if we will use him as a false 9 more often, he played it pretty well. I'd like to see him and Rashford on the left, he'd be picking out his runs constantly.
He could do the same from Bruno's position to be fair. I'm not too fond of false 9s you usually lose too much of a goal threat in exchange for mildly better ball circulation. Only an option if your strikers are injured for me.
I think false 9 is okay but the entire team needs to be geared towards it. It will work better for City or Barcelona than it will for Sam Allardyce. United simply don’t have enough midfielders who are careful enough with the ball for that system. It’s a system that draws all the forward players together and relies upon passing and moving. The team we played against Wolves is more of the profile for this type of game than one with Bruno, Scott, Fred, Pogba, Rashford etc.
I think there is almost no chance that we will loan a player like him, we will be overseeing his development very closely.
As long as your wide men are making runs in behind where the space is, and a 3rd man run from CM it's usually OK, just a different style.
I know what you mean though it's nice to have a proper target man in the box, especially if you do cross regularly like we seem to.
He could probably play as a 10 happily though on days Fernandes needs a rest.
So Pep teams in other words, but still Pep's best Barca team had Samuel Eto'o or David Villa up front and his City team had Sergio Aguero up top. You can make false #9 work with the right set up as you say, but it's still sub-optimal to having a good striker.
Don't have to be a target man as such, but a player who's switched on in the box and has the movement and eye for a goal will always help the team score more in total. I was always more fond of quick, nimble and agile strikers like Henry, Aguero, Eto'o, Rooney, Raul etc. as opposed to big target men like Zlatan, Drogba or Lukaku personally.
I didn’t say it was his preferred system, I’m saying for it to work, a team needs to be good in possession. And he has Aguero, yet has started all big games without a striker. And had no striker for months and Gundogan stepped up and scored about 10 goals as a false 9. It works due to the team being able to pass. Spain was not managed by Pep but have also won major international tournaments without a striker.
If you are a team that needs ‘someone to hit’, you will struggle with no 9. Chelsea have had some joy with Havertz, but the likes of Mount and Pulisic are probably more suited than Bruno and Rashford IMO.
Dan James can't be a LW because he's lacking massively on creativity and dribbling.
That’s my take. He’s a straight line player. Similar to Valencia. He has a vertical game, but not a horizontal one.
Both "vertical" or "horizontal" mean different things depending on your view of the orientation of the pitch.
I think ‘down the line’ and a ‘cross field’ ball would mean the same thing to all. Not to mention that it would be ridiculous to consider running from one side of the half way line to the other as getting ‘up and down’ the pitch. I think we can all agree which one is vertical and which is horizontal. Otherwise we can start asking whether a diagonal pass is even a diagonal pass at all, depending on orientation and all that.
I'd say he looks twice as impressive on the left than the right. When was the last time he crossed a ball like that from the right wing? it was absolutely perfect for Elangas goal. He made a nice run for the pass from Amad too, shame he spooned the chance.
I'm by no means a huge fan of James, but he's definitely better from the left than the right.
The lad clearly has a football brain, he can see a pass and has good control of the ball. My concern at this stage of his career is his build. Boly looked like he could eat him the other day. I’m sure he’d get kicked about the park by the likes of Fernandinho and Kanye. He will be an asset in a couple of seasons when he fills out.
@Rozay I reckon he and Hannibal are the best prospects we’ve brought in since Rooney Ronaldo DDG and Martial. It’s most likely going to take a few years until they become consistent though. This approach in the transfer market is the most fun but it can be hit and miss. Waiting until 18/19 when they’ve had minutes and paying the big money down is obviously more of a guarantee than just picking up random talented youth out of other academies but most of the same risks apply. We also need to keep an eye out for the right older players who can lead the young lads by example.
Indeed, although I wouldn’t put Amad and Hannibal in the same category of signing. Amad was on the fringes at Atalanta and already had a senior goal. He’s somewhere in between Hannibal and the likes of Ronaldo, Martial etc as signings.
I agree with you too, I don’t think we should avoid buying more established players by any means. As you said, they need players to lead by example. This was Arsene Wenger’s problem. He had a bunch of 20 year olds all trying to lead each other.
I do think that sometimes we need to adjust our approach of we feel we have a potential ‘generational’ talent. They have to be put on a clear 2,3,4 year programme to harvest a 100m player - just like Ronaldo was, just like Rashford was and Greenwood has been. Similarly the likes of Bellingham and Sancho at Dortmund, or Fati at Barca. I’d like us to have a good look at Amad before we sign another young right winger, as I feel the potential reward there could be huge. As you said, it will likely take a few years before they become consistent, but what mustn’t be forgotten is that it won’t simply take a few years. It will take a few years of playing football fairly regularly, as it did with all the other top players who were at big clubs in their teens. I think we should give him that football.
Ive seen you chatting about not getting Sancho but I think he’d still be a solid buy for a few reasons. The fact he’s English and would settle instantly is the most basic one. He’s going to be an important international player who should become a leader. His price has gone down to something resembling a no brainier. It might push the worst of Rashford Amad or Greenwood up or out over the next few seasons but there is space for the 4. We clearly need proper competition. Our forwards keep letting us down when the pressure is on. We’ve been way too flimsy when it comes to quality in depth and we are picking teams based on reputation instead of match winning actions and hard work.
I’m a fan of Sancho. But I don’t realistically see him being competition for Rashford, not while Ole is manager. All I’m saying is, having bought one potential world beating young right winger, I’d hold off from buying another one until we’ve had a good look at the one we’ve bought.
If Sancho was being bought to fight on the left I’d be more for it. But if he’s bought for huge money to be a right winger at 21, I doubt we will ever really get to see what Amad could become. He will play majority of games on the right, and when he doesn’t, Greenwood will play there. Some may say that’s great, but it does then beg the question of why Amad was bought in the first place that’s all. I just want him to play football over the next couple of years so we can see if we are right and he can realise the potential that we claimed he has.
Ultimately, I’m about planning, not just buying all the players I think are good. I want us to buy Haaland, but I wouldn’t want us to buy him if we bought another 9 for 70m and we hadn’t had a proper look at him yet. I wanted Sancho last summer. We didn’t get him, but we did get someone. I don’t believe going back and buying a 21 year old for the same role for big money because the 19 year old is a year away makes sense. If we are adamant that Greenwood will be our 9 going forward, then it wouldn’t make sense to me to buy Haaland for big money either, as much as I like him. It smacks of no plan. Make a choice.
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Amad looks like he can play comfortably across a the front. He played pretty well as a false 9, he is very two footed, he will get games on either wing. Rashford will most likely miss a big chunk of the beginning of next season as well as he recovers from surgery. If we bring in Sancho he can play on the left while Rashford recovers and that means we won’t rush him back from injury.
Also yes probably under Ole Rashford will be favoured in the left BUT, whilst I hope Ole succeeds here, I can’t really see him being here beyond the end of next season. Sancho and Amad will outlast him and possibly the next manager too.
That sounds reasonable.
That said, with the removal of Woodward and the appointment of Murtough and Fletcher, I can’t see either of those two chopping Ole. He will really need to shit the bed.
Just scored a beautiful free kick at the last minute for his country. I suppose that's his first appearance for Ivory Coast national team
What a moment for the kid! Fantastic free kick.
Different angle of the goal.
Really think we’ve got one here.
It’s incredibly impressive they’re even trusting an 18 year old kid on his second international appearance to take a last minute freekick. Must be very highly regarded - and he showed why. Top freekick.
He's got a very special left foot.
He reminds me of David Silva with the way he plays more than Messi.
He just has 'it'. Something that is so blindingly obvious the moment he stepped out on to the pitch at first team level.
Sancho potentially coming in and Amad showing how versatile he is augurs well for us. I don't think we're building towards a front line with players having set positions, but one where all four players can pop up anywhere in the final third. Proper rotational play. We're all thinking that Sancho is coming for that RW spot, the reality could be the opposite.
Sancho potentially coming in and Amad showing how versatile he is augurs well for us. I don't think we're building towards a front line with players having set positions, but one where all four players can pop up anywhere in the final third. Proper rotational play. We're all thinking that Sancho is coming for that RW spot, the reality could be the opposite.
Really hoping that our African youngsters get lots of senior football with their national teams and use the opportunity to gain some traction in their development
that’s the ideal scenario. If they can stay fit they should both be confident and ready to hit the ground running for preseason and then who knows.
Great goal. He won’t get too many free kicks at United mind!
Nice to see the player on the left so a
Dummy that actually had an effect on the defending team.
Nice to see the player on the left so a
Dummy that actually had an effect on the defending team.
Scored a cracker for his national team today.
Amadinho 
I think he’s going to be an absolute superstar to be honest. He has “it”.
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