[Getsme]

Well that sucks.

Not really, they wont get a game.

 

[Ozio]

Not really, they wont get a game.

I know, that's why it sucks. They just signed Falcao, and Costa and Remy will be ahead of them as well.

 

[simonhch]

I trust LVG to be a good judge of how good Wilson is. I have no qualms putting faith in youth. All the minutes we gave Falcao last season were a total waste, Wilson wouldn't have done any worse and would likely have scored more than 4 goals.

 

[RedStarUnited]

I trust LVG to be a good judge of how good Wilson is. I have no qualms putting faith in youth. All the minutes we gave Falcao last season were a total waste, Wilson wouldn't have done any worse and would likely have scored more than 4 goals.

I feel the same.

Wilson could be about to ge the boost his career needed, LVG might just go in the season with Rooney as the only striker and hope Wilson can be a good backup.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I trust LVG to be a good judge of how good Wilson is. I have no qualms putting faith in youth. All the minutes we gave Falcao last season were a total waste, Wilson wouldn't have done any worse and would likely have scored more than 4 goals.

Wilson's had a lot of problems with injuries. Not sure it would have been a good idea giving him so much football in his first season playing senior football.

 

[Brightonian]

Wilson's had a lot of problems with injuries. Not sure it would have been a good idea giving him so much football in his first season playing senior football.

That probably would have been the optimum amount, really. You don't want to give a potentially fragile youngster a full season as first choice, because that sort of workload can cause injuries and burn-out. But nor is it ideal to keep them on the bench all season. You want to aim somewhere in between the two so as to build up their conditioning and settle them into the rigours of first team football.

I can't seem to find solid stats, but I'm guessing Falcao got something like 30 appearances, a fairly even mixture of starts and half hours coming off the bench. That would have been optimal for Wilson.

EDIT: Compare to Kane who, according to Soccerbase, played 56 games. That would have been too many.

 

[SoCross]

I was watching a highlights reel of him and only just realised that he is genuinely two-footed. Hope to see more of him next season, be it out on loan or with us.

 

[Escobar]

Looks like it will be him, Rooney and another striker if RvP left

 

[pseudo_canadian]

I was watching a highlights reel of him and only just realised that he is genuinely two-footed. Hope to see more of him next season, be it out on loan or with us.

Yup. Genuinely two-footed and a good natural finisher as well. Always looks comfortable in and around the box.

 

[Jacob]

I trust LVG to be a good judge of how good Wilson is. I have no qualms putting faith in youth. All the minutes we gave Falcao last season were a total waste, Wilson wouldn't have done any worse and would likely have scored more than 4 goals.

That's all well and good in hindsight. You don't go and loan one of the world's best strikers (at the time), assume he will be shite and just let a youngster play instead.

 

[Brightonian]

That's all well and good in hindsight. You don't go and loan one of the world's best strikers (at the time), assume he will be shite and just let a youngster play instead.

No of course, but after half a season of consistent failure you might start to consider giving the kid a proper shot, instead of pointlessly persisting with Falcao right up until the very end of the season.

 

[SoCross]

Yup. Genuinely two-footed and a good natural finisher as well. Always looks comfortable in and around the box.

And deceptive pace to boot. If he develops accordingly, we've got a fairly good striker on our hands.

 

[Ozio]

I feel the same.

Wilson could be about to ge the boost his career needed, LVG might just go in the season with Rooney as the only striker and hope Wilson can be a good backup.

Can't tell if this is sarcasm.

 

[RedStarUnited]

Can't tell if this is sarcasm.

I was serious, you never know how good a player is until he is given the chance. Who thought Harry Kane was that good this time last year?

 

[Mister Ed]

I was serious, you never know how good a player is until he is given the chance. Who thought Harry Kane was that good this time last year?

I feel the same way but that is a very risky strategy ofcourse.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

No of course, but after half a season of consistent failure you might start to consider giving the kid a proper shot, instead of pointlessly persisting with Falcao right up until the very end of the season.

Would have been absolutely barmy to have an opportunity to permanently sign a 29 year old striker who was - until very recently - rated as one of the best in the world and is recovering from a long term injury, then give up on him completely halfway through his first season in a new league.

Giving up on him at the end of his first full season is risky enough and Jose Mourinho (who knows a thing or two about football) obviously thinks we called it quits too soon. So it would be completely absurd to suggest Van Gaal should have written off Falcao as early as you suggest.

 

[Insanity]

He didn't have any problems benching Di Maria, so I don't buy that logic. Probably more to do with the fact that VG doesn't believe that Wilson was ready to shoulder such a responsibility at that stage.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

He didn't have any problems benching Di Maria, so I don't buy that logic. Probably more to do with the fact that VG doesn't believe that Wilson was ready to shoulder such a responsibility at that stage.

Di Maria was signed on a long-term contract so different rules apply. Freezing out Falcao halfway through last season would have been the end of his United career. The same wasn't true of Di Maria. At least it doesn't look that way right now.

 

[Insanity]

Di Maria was signed on a long-term contract so different rules apply. Freezing out Falcao halfway through last season would have been the end of his United career. The same wasn't true of Di Maria. At least it doesn't look that way right now.

That doesn't matter. What you are suggesting is, that the only reason Falcao was played ahead of Wilson was because VG wanted to save his United career, which I don't think is the right way to look at

 

[m1y2]

Would have been absolutely barmy to have an opportunity to permanently sign a 29 year old striker who was - until very recently - rated as one of the best in the world and is recovering from a long term injury, then give up on him completely halfway through his first season in a new league.

Giving up on him at the end of his first full season is risky enough and Jose Mourinho (who knows a thing or two about football) obviously thinks we called it quits too soon. So it would be completely absurd to suggest Van Gaal should have written off Falcao as early as you suggest.

I wasn't happy when Falcao took minutes off our player when it was clear he won't make it with us but I get Van Gaal for giving him chance for so long time. He was his dream signing and wanted to prove it to be a right decision while still hoping he can have some great game or two to make Van Gaal think about another loan deal or permanent transfer for him..

he was waiting for the turn of things for him but I can't see it coming even next season, he will struggle and it will cost Mourinho the title.. once Costa starts picking up his hamstrings they're playing with 10 man. It will be an upgrade on Drogba though..

 

[Pogue Mahone]

That doesn't matter. What are you suggesting is that the only reason Falcao was played ahead of Wilson was because VG wanted to save his United career, which I don't think is the right way to look at it.

No, that's not what I'm suggesting. I'm saying he wanted to make absolutely sure Falcao was a busted flush before giving up on him. Not for the sake of Falcao's career but because he didn't want to lose a potentially brilliant striker without giving him enough time on the pitch to make a proper assessment. There are loads of examples of signings from abroad who have a poor first season but end up as the best players in the league. Writing someone off after their first half season would be a crazy risk to take.

 

[Insanity]

No, that's not what I'm suggesting. I'm saying he wanted to make absolutely sure Falcao was a busted flush before giving up on him. Not for the sake of Falcao's career but because he didn't want to lose a potentially brilliant striker without giving him enough time on the pitch to make a proper assessment. There are loads of examples of signings from abroad who have a poor first season but end up as the best players in the league. Writing someone off after their first half season would be a crazy risk to take.

There may be load of examples but Falcao won't be one as we didn't keep him after his first season with us.

Fair enough for the rest of the post. My point simply is that Falcao may have been persisted with because Wilson wasn't ready to step up and be our lone striker. Also, Falcao was benched for Rooney as soon as VG had confidence starting Herrera in the midfield. IMO, it didn't matter with Falcao, the writing on the wall was there after the first couple of months. Hence, came the line that we do not have a 20 goal striker or we would be doing much better.

 

[Decotron]

Really hoping we'll see Wilson take a big step forward next season. Hes been plagued with niggly injuries for 18 months now. A lot of which are common enough for players of his ilk.

Im sure he's continued the extra gym work he was doing which should help him avoid some of the muscle strains he was prone to.

His pace is such an asset, coupled with his finishing I think he can make a big impact given the extra matches next season.

 

[AngeloHenriquez]

No, that's not what I'm suggesting. I'm saying he wanted to make absolutely sure Falcao was a busted flush before giving up on him. Not for the sake of Falcao's career but because he didn't want to lose a potentially brilliant striker without giving him enough time on the pitch to make a proper assessment.

There's not giving up on someone and then there is prioritising his minutes over a younger player, which happened, the evidence was all there, should Wilson have got injured, Falcao would still have got minutes, but in the second half of the season he should have seen less minutes than Wilson I think.

There are loads of examples of signings from abroad who have a poor first season but end up as the best players in the league. Writing someone off after their first half season would be a crazy risk to take.

How many other 30 year old odd strikers who moved to the PL for the first time at that age with a WC reputation and performed abysmally the first half of the season after returning too quickly from a bad injury then managed to turn it around for the second? Can't imagine many.

 

[Brightonian]

Would have been absolutely barmy to have an opportunity to permanently sign a 29 year old striker who was - until very recently - rated as one of the best in the world and is recovering from a long term injury, then give up on him completely halfway through his first season in a new league.

So where is the line then? By half way through the season, it was pretty clear that it just wasn't going to happen for him. A lot of the time he was playing badly, but even in those games where his general play was ok, he just looked totally incapable of scoring goals. And his 'recovering from injury' quickly becomes irrelevant too, since he categorically declared himself 100% fit in January.

Yet, as I said, Van Gaal persisted with him, to our serious detriment, right up to the very end of the season. With an extremely gifted and highly rated young prospect sitting on the bench and very much ready to be given his chance (and the academy and reserves staff undoubtedly singing his praises to LVG at every opportunity), are you really saying that at no point did it become 'barmy' to be mindlessly chucking Falcao on again and again and again.

What's that saying they always attribute to Einstein? 'The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.'

 

[Ozio]

I was serious, you never know how good a player is until he is given the chance. Who thought Harry Kane was that good this time last year?

I wondered if you were serious because I can't see LvG going into the season with only Rooney and Wilson as strikers.

 

[darioterios]

I was serious, you never know how good a player is until he is given the chance. Who thought Harry Kane was that good this time last year?

sorry Kane had around 80 something matches in his pocket before that season, and he only caught fire from early winter. even then he got burned out end of season. far too dangerous a risk that it's so hilariously illogical to think of.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

So where is the line then? By half way through the season, it was pretty clear that it just wasn't going to happen for him. A lot of the time he was playing badly, but even in those games where his general play was ok, he just looked totally incapable of scoring goals. And his 'recovering from injury' quickly becomes irrelevant too, since he categorically declared himself 100% fit in January.

Yet, as I said, Van Gaal persisted with him, to our serious detriment, right up to the very end of the season. With an extremely gifted and highly rated young prospect sitting on the bench and very much ready to be given his chance (and the academy and reserves staff undoubtedly singing his praises to LVG at every opportunity), are you really saying that at no point did it become 'barmy' to be mindlessly chucking Falcao on again and again and again.

What's that saying they always attribute to Einstein? 'The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.'

At least one full season. Same as any other new signing from a different league.

Ideally more but the nature of the deal means the most we could give was that one full season, to decide whether or not he was good enough. So all the more reason to give him as many games as possible over that period of time.

 

[RedStarUnited]

sorry Kane had around 80 something matches in his pocket before that season, and he only caught fire from early winter. even then he got burned out end of season. far too dangerous a risk that it's so hilariously illogical to think of.

Kane was a starter, Wilson wont be, He wont burn out.

 

[Brightonian]

At least one full season. Same as any other new signing from a different league.

Ideally more but the nature of the deal means the most we could give was that one full season, to decide whether or not he was good enough. So all the more reason to give him as many games as possible over that period of time.

I suppose when you put it like that it makes sense. Just hard to stomach for someone who has such a high opinion of Wilson's potential and is so keen to see us give him his chance asap. And there was something so futile about Falcao's performances. If anything his most promising games were his first few, and after that he just looked more and more stagnant.

 

[jb8521]

Wilson had 3 or 4 injuries and an illness in the 2nd half of last season. A lot of the games which people thought he should have gotten a chance in he wasn't even available for given Van Gaals insistence on people playing for the u21s first after they've been injured

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I suppose when you put it like that it makes sense. Just hard to stomach for someone who has such a high opinion of Wilson's potential and is so keen to see us give him his chance asap. And there was something so futile about Falcao's performances. If anything his most promising games were his first few, and after that he just looked more and more stagnant.

The structure of the deal was a killer really. Puts so much pressure on the player and the manager. Reminded me a bit of the Tevez cluster feck. Brought factors into team selection that everyone could do without.

 

[Brightonian]

The structure of the deal was a killer really. Puts so much pressure on the player and the manager. Reminded me a bit of the Tevez cluster feck. Brought factors into team selection that everyone could do without.

True. Then again, we could have bought him outright for a huge fee, committed to paying him that massive salary, and he might very well have been just as hopeless, and we'd be fecked.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

True. Then again, we could have bought him outright for a huge fee, committed to paying him that massive salary, and he might very well have been just as hopeless, and we'd be fecked.

This is also true!