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2019-20 Performances

View full 2019-20 profile

5.6 Season Average Rating
Appearances
46
Goals
4
Assists
6
Yellow cards
4
Status
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luke511 said:
Bad game but playing out of position up front in a 3-5-2 away at Chelsea is a tricky job.
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What’s his excuse for every other game since September?

The definition of a headless chicken player. Fans like him because he has passion & works hard, truth be told though he’d struggle to make it as a professional without his pace.
 
Hasn’t he set up about 6 goals since September whilst being unlucky to have not set up more?
A young kid coming from the championship, playing on his weaker sides and putting up the stats he has should be applauded not criticised.
It’s a shame that some people think he’s only got pace, there’s a lot more to him than that.
He showed his talent in the Championship and he’s shown it here too, just inconsistently.
 
Looked like a competition winner with a bit of pace tonight. Almost everything he did went wrong.

Not an easy role to perform.
 
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Dec9003 said:
Hasn’t he set up about 6 goals since September whilst being unlucky to have not set up more?
A young kid coming from the championship, playing on his weaker sides and putting up the stats he has should be applauded not criticised.
It’s a shame that some people think he’s only got pace, there’s a lot more to him than that.
He showed his talent in the Championship and he’s shown it here too, just inconsistently.
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Pretty much. I think his instructions today was to chase dead balls and run the channel and wait for our players to arrive. He's been played LW, RW, ST and what not this season . Considering that its his first season, he has done decently.
 
It's madness that he has 33 appearances for the club this season when we are in early February. On course for 50 appearances, and that too mostly as a starter!

He's been handled very poor this season, been tasked with different roles in different formations. Should be given a break, give Greenwood few starts on the right.
 
James needs to not start a game for a few weeks. Let him come on as an impact sub, get his confidence back up. He is really lacking as a starter right now - the desire is there but, so much is just not working for him.

Think he will be a quality player for us long term but, really needs managing or his confidence is going to be shot and may be no coming back from it.
 
Dec9003 said:
Hasn’t he set up about 6 goals since September whilst being unlucky to have not set up more?
A young kid coming from the championship, playing on his weaker sides and putting up the stats he has should be applauded not criticised.
It’s a shame that some people think he’s only got pace, there’s a lot more to him than that.
He showed his talent in the Championship and he’s shown it here too, just inconsistently.
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At last, someone with sense in this thread.

6 PL assists and should’ve had at least 2/3 more to his name. 3 PL goals and he’ll reach double figures in goal contributions which is amazing for his first season of top level football in a pressure cooker of a football club.

He was practically carrying us through the patch where Martial was injured and Rashford was out of form (like what James is now). You don’t deliver the balls he has like against Liverpool, Burnley and Norwich or finish the way he did against Palace and Southampton without talent.

Some of the threads on Rashford while he was out of form for months were verging on ridiculous and some of the comments in here wouldn’t look out of place.

Yes he’s been poor for a while now but this is his still only his second full season professional football. Some of you need to get a grip.
 
I like James and I think he is a useful squad member. But, whenever he was in good position to do something, he fell and that did my head every single time. Like many said, he should be coming as a sub.
 
He should stay away far far away from the starting XI, offer nothing besides speed.
 
Even when he was scoring early in the season, just didnt really see a player there and not just because of age and inexperience. I like the fact he works hard and never stops running. But he just reminds me of (dare I see it a poorer verion)...of Walcott. His passing, decision making, dribbling, shooting....there is just nothing special there at all. Watching him the last couple of months is just frustrating, he gives the ball away vitually everytime he gets it unless he is passing the ball sideways or backwards.
He has been overplayed I feel this season both in terms of his age and inexperience, but more so in terms of poor performances. Should not be in the first eleven, and I dont think he ever will be good enough that he should be, like Walcott, just best used as an impact player. A gamble we made cheaply, but a gamble that hasnt and wont pay off
 
I feel bad for him, he is being asked to do too much far from soon. No way was he bought last summer to start every week
 
He was a constant thread on the right hand side, he chased every ball, he won some and sometimes we only won time. I guess this was exactly the task he has been told to do.
 
He looks like a kid playing against men. He has pace but doesn't know how use it probably.

Not sure how much he can improve from here. Age is on his age but he lacks a lot of things you need from players at top clubs.
 
Time to drop him for Greenwood. James needs to learn to use his acceleration and pace better, and not be bullied /nullified so easily by defenders. Greenwood also has lots to learn but his technical quality and finishing is transcendant. Despite his weaknesses (given his age) his qualities stand out.
 
None of this is James fault and he isn't a poor player, he is just going through a poor period where he has been mis-managed. This year and possibly next should have been integration for him while he learns from world class players around him.

Had you put James into a functioning SAF team he would have been a brilliant option from the bench and in various cup games with an eye on been a started down the line.
 
I don't know why he's so reluctant to do some good old fashioned kick and run?

There was a moment in the first half where he was one on one with someone on the half way life on the right touch line... was begging for him to just smash the ball down the line and put the after burners on.
 
Way out of his depth at the moment. Think he’ll be decent in 18 months perhaps.
 
Should be no more than a sub and that's a stretch.

The only thing he offers is pace and he is not even using that to his advantage anymore.

Playing him constantly when he is offering next to nothing is not benefiting him, just poor management.

I don't why Ole refuses to rotate him with Greenwood or even Chong (I don't rate him but is he really going to be any worse than James, I doubt it), so much for playing the youngsters.

He has made 23 starts in the league, Greenwood started just 2 games and made 18 sub appearances, Chong has started 0 games and made just 2 sub appearances, what a joke.
 
Done some good things last night, but also some poor things. Of course the criticism on here is way over the top as it often times is. He's obviously been playing a lot of football in difficult circumstances while getting used to the step up in quality from the Championship. He's a squad player who, due to injuries and not having enough backup, is being used as a starter.

There were times yesterday where he just found himself isolated, with two to three players on him. In those situations there's not a great deal you can do. He could drift in more to move closer to his teammates, but there were times where we were sitting so deep that he was all on his own. He got one or two corners for us later on and a i think a free kick or two, and the guy never stops working. Certainly lacks quality at times, but some people need to relax.
 
He’s been over played and needs time out of the starting 11. I think he’s a decent squad player but isn’t ready to be starting 30+ games a season for United.
 
ash_86 said:
Pretty much. I think his instructions today was to chase dead balls and run the channel and wait for our players to arrive. He's been played LW, RW, ST and what not this season . Considering that its his first season, he has done decently.
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I agree he was asked to play a thankless role yesterday and he did ok at it, working his balls off for the cause. That said I thought he produced far too little on the ball, which isn't all his fault given the dysfunction of our attack, but I'm unsure why he wasn't at least given license/willing to use his pace more often to go on the outside. A willing runner and a grafter yesterday but no threat of a goal or assist whatsoever, which I think you need as a front man in a 3-5-2.
 
Didn't play well at all last night. Lost the ball nearly every time he had it and whilst his effort is undeniable, nothing came off for him.
Agree with the posters saying he could use a few weeks on the bench and we put Greenwood in instead.
There is promise there for sure, but I'm sure he wasn't expecting to start nearly every game this year, it should have been a year of learning and coming off the bench. He'll be useful in future years I think, but its been a tough few months for him.
 
Shimo said:
James needs to not start a game for a few weeks. Let him come on as an impact sub, get his confidence back up. He is really lacking as a starter right now - the desire is there but, so much is just not working for him.

Think he will be a quality player for us long term but, really needs managing or his confidence is going to be shot and may be no coming back from it.
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We have no choice though. We will most likely buy a RW in the summer and James will be a squad player with less responsibility and more time to grow while out of the spotlight. We've asked to much of him but it was the only way.
 
12OunceEpilogue said:
I agree he was asked to play a thankless role yesterday and he did ok at it, working his balls off for the cause. That said I thought he produced far too little on the ball, which isn't all his fault given the dysfunction of our attack, but I'm unsure why he wasn't at least given license/willing to use his pace more often to go on the outside. A willing runner and a grafter yesterday but no threat of a goal or assist whatsoever, which I think you need as a front man in a 3-5-2.
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Personally i think he combines well with Rashford and not much with Martial. We deployed a similar setup against Liverpool at Home and he gave a beautiful assist that Rashford put in.
 
ash_86 said:
Personally i think he combines well with Rashford and not much with Martial. We deployed a similar setup against Liverpool at Home and he gave a beautiful assist that Rashford put in.
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I think Martial rather than Rashford is a factor, as is James having been overused this year and maybe losing a bit of the surprise element. I also thought he was following instructions last night that didn't enable him to produce the kind of threat he carried earlier in the season.
 
Out of our start-of-season front 3 (Martial, Rashford and him) he is by far the least technical and physical player. And when we play 3-5-2 like yesterday, having Martial and Rashford upfront is a whole different proposition to having James +1, regardless of who that +1 is.

He's on his first season here and he's still a young lad with good work rate, so I'm sure he'll improve some. But he's just not of the level yet where he can be a reliable starter. I think Ighalo's addition is as much of a threat to him as it is to Martial. Because, again, taking last nights formation and player availability I would rather have Ighalo spearheading the attack with Martial playing off him and drifting to the wings, rather than James.
 
Dec9003 said:
Hasn’t he set up about 6 goals since September whilst being unlucky to have not set up more?
A young kid coming from the championship, playing on his weaker sides and putting up the stats he has should be applauded not criticised.
It’s a shame that some people think he’s only got pace, there’s a lot more to him than that.
He showed his talent in the Championship and he’s shown it here too, just inconsistently.
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He has I agree with all of your points. Criticism is harsh on DJ. Course he's not world class but for £15m his return has been really good. I mean, he'll either improve and become a mainstay on the right or we'll buy a proper right sided winger / forward and he'll be used as a sub or sold. We'd easily recoup the money paid out though.

There's no doubt he's improved the balance of our team though simply by being direct and fast down the right. Something we'd been missing.
 
He's not going to be a striker lets face it.

He's only really playing as we don't have anybody else, Greenwood is playing against Brugge and Ighalo wasn't match fit.

In the 3-5-2 he's used more like a defensive forward, but his movement isn't great when attacking.

He's a squad player like we expected, but his blinding start got people a bit confused.
 
Aaron Lennon’s level at the moment. You could quite clearly see his IQ on the pitch is not quite right yet. There is still room and time for him to improve at 22 years of age though
 
Our 3-5-2 formation is never going to get the best out of our attackers especially James. If we don't transition fast enough they are virtually isolated with no space to attack.
 
The eternal problem we have of having too many left sided attackers, but I really think he’d be better playing on the left and cutting in.
 
SAFMUTD said:
He should stay away far far away from the starting XI, offer nothing besides speed.
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Nothing besides speed. But he has the most assists of anyone in the squad, has won more free kicks in the final third than anyone else in the squad and puts in a few decent crosses every game which sadly don't get converted because our forwards seem to think it is against the rules to go into the penalty box.
 
Gandalf said:
Nothing besides speed. But he has the most assists of anyone in the squad, has won more free kicks in the final third than anyone else in the squad and puts in a few decent crosses every game which sadly don't get converted because our forwards seem to think it is against the rules to go into the penalty box.
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I did has to google the assists and its true Daniel James has the most with 6, still he’s been awful in the last games. He isn’t up to the level required, he started off good but he’s fading fast.
 
amolbhatia50k said:
Time to drop him for Greenwood. James needs to learn to use his acceleration and pace better, and not be bullied /nullified so easily by defenders. Greenwood also has lots to learn but his technical quality and finishing is transcendant. Despite his weaknesses (given his age) his qualities stand out.
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I agree it would help both James and Greenwood if they were alternated. They have different qualities so it would depend who we are playing I suppose but they can each help take some of the heat off each other.

James hasn’t been playing well but I think the criticism he gets from some is ludicrous. He has enough talent to be a great squad player for us. By “squad player“ I mean a guy who will get 20 plus games and may or may not be first choice when everyone is fit. That said, his current form doesn’t justify the game time he’s getting but the squad is a bit thin so hey.
 
I'm not sure how he's getting picked over Greenwood, he's nowhere near the goal threat and we were using a 2 striker system last night so Martial was supposed to have a strike partner, however James was not that and in fairness it's not his game, but he's been poor for ages now and keeps getting picked, I guess Ole judges him on the Lingardometer where running around a lot and chasing the ball equals good.
 
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