How is Pearson doing now, doing great?
I really thought James Wilson and Nick Powell would make it at a high level
- Thread starter bazalini
- Start date
I've always wondered how Januzaj, Zaha and Powell would've done here had Sir Alex continued.
Sir Alex promoted Adnan to the bench in his last game so, like under Moyes, Fergie probably would've used him a fair bit himself, and Zaha and Powell were two of his last signings who never got a look in under Moyes and van Gaal.
Sir Alex promoted Adnan to the bench in his last game so, like under Moyes, Fergie probably would've used him a fair bit himself, and Zaha and Powell were two of his last signings who never got a look in under Moyes and van Gaal.
I think Matty James was a very good talent, terrible luck with injuries.. Him, Josh King and Magnus Eikrem were players I imagined would make it to the 1st team. Maybe even Sam Johnstone
Ro'shaun Williams was probably the one I tried bigging up to my mates the most and he amounted to absolutely nothing so far, granted a lot of that was due to injuries, but I expected him to be pushing the first team
God, there's a blast from the past! I remember him having fantastic stats in the youth team, but he just never really managed those kind of numbers in club football (bloody great for NI though)
He’s carved out a perfectly decent career at Sociedad in fairness to him
What's weird is that I actually thought Paddy McNair and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson were quite decent players for us. Obviously our managers haven't agreed and both are playing below the Premier League now. CBJ in League 2! I must be shit at judging talent
Injuries ruined that one. 2 acl injuries at Villarreal and then that cnut did him in when he was at Fiorentina. His career was much better than the likes of Powell or Wilson though, he was really good at Villarreal and had been doing really well at Fiorentina pre injury
Wilson at 16/18 was right up there with Ravel Morrison and Mads Timm as lads i'd have said at the time if they don't make it at United i'll eat my head!
Wasn't so sure on Powell because of his overall game but had him down as somebody that would smash 7 or 8 screamers from 25+ yards every season(left and right footed) whatever the level he played and just give a Cantona are you really surprised shrug.
Wasn't so sure on Powell because of his overall game but had him down as somebody that would smash 7 or 8 screamers from 25+ yards every season(left and right footed) whatever the level he played and just give a Cantona are you really surprised shrug.
Fletcher doesn’t belong on that list. He was a genuinely good player that got completely derailed by his medical condition. I’m surprised he was able to play at all at an elite level with what he had; it’s a very debilitating illness.
#0.0001%
They all had potential, in fairness and a lot of others did too. Its extremely hard to play at Premier league level and even harder for United.
So many things can cause a slight drop in performance or motivation.
They all had potential, in fairness and a lot of others did too. Its extremely hard to play at Premier league level and even harder for United.
So many things can cause a slight drop in performance or motivation.
Watching Tunnicliffe turn out for Luton the other day got me thinking about that 2011 Youth cup winning team. So many of that team were so highly rated. Ravel, Pogba, Will Keane, Thorpe and Tunnicliffe were all considered nailed on to have careers at the very highest level. I remember the talk around that time used to be we have a ready made home grown midfield in Pogba, Tunni and Ravel. I remember Tunnicliffe was very highly rated by SAF, being the highest paid youth team player or something like that. Sad to think only Lingard, Micheal Keane and Pogba really made it from that team. I often wonder how Will Keane would have turned out had it not been for those injuries.
Edit- Well I suppose gotta add Johnstone too amongst the ones who made it at a decent level.
Edit- Well I suppose gotta add Johnstone too amongst the ones who made it at a decent level.
Last edited:
Shit, had completely forgot about those two. Goes to show how many youngsters who get into the first team and are predicted to have a bright future only to fade away to obscurity.
Zaha is an exception though, hes a bloody good player and us letting him go to Palace for peanuts was some shite business by us
Zaha is an exception though, hes a bloody good player and us letting him go to Palace for peanuts was some shite business by us
No arguments on your writeup, it was just my own exitment and expectations, based on watching them in senior matches. And I’m happy with some of them, especially Fletcher who was one of my favourites. It’s just the return after expecting bigger things from most of them has left a bit more pessimisim regarding future prospects. It would be wrong to leave the good ones out to prove a point. Can’t be tinkering the evidence.
Could also include Jonny Evans to the list who I loved as a player up until the point when he started with those horrible backpasses.
He was amazing. It’s just the total pool of players I expected things from. He stands out as one who delivered, so there is still hope.
Wilson could've made it. But luck and timing didn't work out for him.
People underestimate the amount luck and timing plays into it.
People underestimate the amount luck and timing plays into it.
Yep, he was the one for me too, based entirely on 60 minutes of League Cup football!
He was so good against Middlesbrough that I thought he was going to be a star. I am pretty sure he later said in an interview that he has never stopped feeling pain in his knee after the Pogatetz tackle, so that even though he returned to training pretty quickly after, he never really recovered
There have been so many over the years. I was excited the most about Will Keane. I remember him in a youth game against Chelsea scoring a hatrick and completely outshining Lukaku. Even for England youth, he was bossing it. Then he got that injury for England youth summer 2011. Never quite recovered his confidence. Without injuries, I'm certain he would have had a much better career.
I never rate them and don’t understand hype around then at all, if there is any. They are average at best.
I remember being convinced Erik Nevland was going to be the next big thing, and be a first teamer banging in goals week in and week out................... Whoops!
Scored twice on his debut didn't he?
McNair is a good player and doing very well for his club and country.
We was very good until his knees went to pieces.
Only Januzaj and Rossi for me.
Also Sharpe I guess
Also Sharpe I guess
To think PSG wanted Januzaj for £40M and not long after Giggs was recommending Mbappe to us.
Unsure whether Mbappe would have become the Mbappe he is today if he came to us as a youth player but one can only wonder.
Rashford Martial Mbappe.
Unsure whether Mbappe would have become the Mbappe he is today if he came to us as a youth player but one can only wonder.
Rashford Martial Mbappe.
I had MUTV for years and watched loads of the youth games.
The stand out players for me over those years were Mads Timm, Ravel Morrison, Will Keane an James Wilson.
Timm just had this ability to glide past players. Made his debut in a meaningless European tie in Greece I think and i was hooked. But he just did not have the drive to be a footballer.
Ravel was the best youth player i have seen. I did not really see the Class of 92 (no MUTV back then!). Ravel was just insane. His movement, balance and ability to control a game at 16 were crazy. The rest is history!
Will Keane looked great in the youth teams. Great scoring record, but then got a bad knee injury that at the point of breaking through. When he came back he had lost a yard of pace (not that he had great pace) and was never the same again.
James Wilson has been talked about above. Was brilliant in the youth team. Great goalscoring and got two goals on his first team debut. However, reality was he scored certain types of goals - generally using his great pace to run beyond defences. Just never worked out for his with his loans. Rest is history.
The stand out players for me over those years were Mads Timm, Ravel Morrison, Will Keane an James Wilson.
Timm just had this ability to glide past players. Made his debut in a meaningless European tie in Greece I think and i was hooked. But he just did not have the drive to be a footballer.
Ravel was the best youth player i have seen. I did not really see the Class of 92 (no MUTV back then!). Ravel was just insane. His movement, balance and ability to control a game at 16 were crazy. The rest is history!
Will Keane looked great in the youth teams. Great scoring record, but then got a bad knee injury that at the point of breaking through. When he came back he had lost a yard of pace (not that he had great pace) and was never the same again.
James Wilson has been talked about above. Was brilliant in the youth team. Great goalscoring and got two goals on his first team debut. However, reality was he scored certain types of goals - generally using his great pace to run beyond defences. Just never worked out for his with his loans. Rest is history.
Never watched Wilson, but for Powell i think it's obvious this type of player is benefited by playing constantly and given a chance to lead on a weaker side, rather than being a prospect on a big club.
He would peak at around 26-27 years old if he followed that path, and he would become a player similar to Scott Parker, Michael Carrick, Gareth Barry, I estimate.
He would peak at around 26-27 years old if he followed that path, and he would become a player similar to Scott Parker, Michael Carrick, Gareth Barry, I estimate.
I remember Marcus Neumayr being talked about as Beckham’s replacement on the right wing. Could hit a decent free kick too from memory.
Januzaj is the only player that I'd put some serious money on in the past. Remember watching him in the youth team even before he had that purple patch under Moyes. I was impressed with his decision making, weight of the pass, and how he saw options around him. Natural dribbler too. He wasn't fast in the long run but he had great first few steps, could easily make space for himself to put in a cross or a shot. His right foot was his biggest weakness, but overall I thought at the very least he'll be a regular player in our attack.
Don't know what happened to him, his form dropped but I think under different circumstances, he could turn into some player.
Morisson, Wilson, Keane and Possebon were second tier for me, good potential but small chance of making it.
Powell, Macheda and even Depay I never rated highly.
Don't know what happened to him, his form dropped but I think under different circumstances, he could turn into some player.
Morisson, Wilson, Keane and Possebon were second tier for me, good potential but small chance of making it.
Powell, Macheda and even Depay I never rated highly.
David Jones being sold was hard to take. I found it rediculus. He had so much talent.
After a while it tought me that the coaching staff see things that we cannot see that follow the games and they are professionals, we are not.
They were right and I not. I thought he would be a superstar.
After a while it tought me that the coaching staff see things that we cannot see that follow the games and they are professionals, we are not.
They were right and I not. I thought he would be a superstar.
In the Peter Crouch pod, Ben Foster talks about being discovered by a scout while playing in some random lower league game.
The scout's car broke down close to the stadium, a match he didn't intend to watch. He keeps talking about the luck most players won't have, it's a great conversation.
He had chances in our first team and didn't do much with them. I have a feeling it was injury proneness combined with a poor attitude that stopped Wilson, so not really just luck and certainly not timing.
I was a big fan of Lee Martin, Danny Drinkwater, and also Rodrigo Possebon. An unfortunate injury he had.
It's easy and understandable to get excited by young players.
But as we know, playing against kids your own age isn't really a great benchmark so it's important to enjoy watching them without too many unrealistic expectations.
In my experience the following is true:
1. In the last 40 years I have only seen 4-5 certs to make it to the first team - Whiteside, Giggs, Butt, Brown, Fletcher.
2. There have been another 4-5 who have been really close but needed to handle some aspect of their situation like Doherty and Thornley (injury), Scholes (size/asthma), Pique (physicality), Morrison (outside influence), Pogba (consistency/application), Januzaj and O'Kane (attitude), Greenwood (physicality). You hope and think that will overcome these issues....some do and some don't.
3. Then there are a handful where it's clear that they are close but the timing is wrong like Platt, Walsh, Rossi,
4. Then there is a large % where you just don't know. Duxbury, Hughes, Beckham, Neville and others went on to fabulous careers...but as youth players you were never sure. It could be a hit or a miss.
5. Then there are a few that just really surprise you and you think...they were really average as youth players...but mature brilliantly like Martin, O'Shea, M. Keane, Cleverley, McTominay...
6. Then there is another % where you look and go..."I have no idea what the club sees in them because I don't get it...". And you're right. They fade out of the game.
The point is, with over 500 players coming through the system in the last 40-50 years there were really only 15-20 in all that time that were really obviously going to make it. With most of them, as soon as it becomes obvious, they are in the first team immediately and tend to stay there. Everyone else is a maybe.
Personally, I always thought Tom Thorpe had a great chance as a fullback rather than centre-half...but it didn't work out that way.
So enjoy watching them develop...we are pretty good at it.
But as we know, playing against kids your own age isn't really a great benchmark so it's important to enjoy watching them without too many unrealistic expectations.
In my experience the following is true:
1. In the last 40 years I have only seen 4-5 certs to make it to the first team - Whiteside, Giggs, Butt, Brown, Fletcher.
2. There have been another 4-5 who have been really close but needed to handle some aspect of their situation like Doherty and Thornley (injury), Scholes (size/asthma), Pique (physicality), Morrison (outside influence), Pogba (consistency/application), Januzaj and O'Kane (attitude), Greenwood (physicality). You hope and think that will overcome these issues....some do and some don't.
3. Then there are a handful where it's clear that they are close but the timing is wrong like Platt, Walsh, Rossi,
4. Then there is a large % where you just don't know. Duxbury, Hughes, Beckham, Neville and others went on to fabulous careers...but as youth players you were never sure. It could be a hit or a miss.
5. Then there are a few that just really surprise you and you think...they were really average as youth players...but mature brilliantly like Martin, O'Shea, M. Keane, Cleverley, McTominay...
6. Then there is another % where you look and go..."I have no idea what the club sees in them because I don't get it...". And you're right. They fade out of the game.
The point is, with over 500 players coming through the system in the last 40-50 years there were really only 15-20 in all that time that were really obviously going to make it. With most of them, as soon as it becomes obvious, they are in the first team immediately and tend to stay there. Everyone else is a maybe.
Personally, I always thought Tom Thorpe had a great chance as a fullback rather than centre-half...but it didn't work out that way.
So enjoy watching them develop...we are pretty good at it.
I haven't read all the comments yet, but I thought Powell was going to be brilliant. I remember a highlight vid of his time in League 1 as an 18 year old (I think that is all correct) and he was incredible! His goal in the playoff where he flicks it up to himself and then smashed in a volley?!
I thought Fergie found a gem.
I thought Fergie found a gem.
He scored two goals on his PL debut, didn't he?
At times it looked like he almost made it...
Looking at history I remember some young players (not mentioned here yet) that I thought would be good players in our shirt. Jonathan Spector, Sylvian Ebanks Blake, Danny Webber, Michael Stewart. There are lot of others where the path to greatness took wrong turn and they ended up somewhere else.
Of the defenders that had cameos under Vangle, Mcnair was the only one that ever really looked decent. Blackett was a disaster, CBJ never showed much and I was quite surprised at the big fuss when Spurs tried to get him in. And then there was that other guy he brought on against Arsenal....Donald Love or something like that? Whatever became of him?
Most of the time it's either injury (Wilson, Rossi, Thornley) or attitude (Januzaj, Djordic, Ravel). These are two things no manager can predict.
How did you come out with that? Paddy was a train wreck in almost every game he played. He made Jones look like Baresi which does says something. I've never seen such a Shit CB wearing the red shirt since Prunier.