I've gotta be honest I don't like him, for the simple reason that he's absolutely worthless.
Wilfried Zaha - Sold to Crystal Palace
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One reason is that few people actually watched him play at Cardiff.
He wasn't too bad, had some good moments and some poor ones. Unfortunately he never really looked like he was a player ready to challenge in our first team but of course that doesn't mean someone is a bad player. I personally feel it might be best for him to move to a club with slightly lower standards, probably out on loan again but if the right offer came in from the likes of Everton thats fine too.
What I will say is that if we do sell him, I think the only thing we'd significantly regret might be the price. We might sell him for low and in a couple of years as he matures he could end up a valuable player. I don't think that he's ever going to become a player that stands out as someone all the top clubs would like to have. Maybe the best English right winger, but other than that. There's always a foreign alternative thats better now and better than him at his prime.
Can't stand him either, he's been given an opportunity that very few players his age get but he cares more about cars, rap, his hair and his gangsta brothers than his career.
Too much too young can destroy people.
I can't believe people want to sell him before he's even had a chance. We'd be far better to offload Young and Nani and keep Zaha, even on potential alone.
He had a decent pre-season tour last year and I though he might get a few games at the start of the season as Young and Nani were injured. It wasn't meant to be as Januzaj took his chance well and for some reason, Zaha didn't get a sniff. Perhaps Van Gaal will give him a shot and inject some confidence into him. He's clearly talented and still has time to develop a better end product to go with his pace and dribbling.
He had a decent pre-season tour last year and I though he might get a few games at the start of the season as Young and Nani were injured. It wasn't meant to be as Januzaj took his chance well and for some reason, Zaha didn't get a sniff. Perhaps Van Gaal will give him a shot and inject some confidence into him. He's clearly talented and still has time to develop a better end product to go with his pace and dribbling.
Any proof of this or is this just made up?
He's black, what more proof do you need ?
His attitude doesn't help for sure but I just think he's a poor footballer. Just not sure what he's good at, loves a few step overs but no end product, technical side of his game is average at best a few tricks doesn't hide that at the top level, work rate is zero. His spell at Palace has been blown out of all proportion, 12 goals in 112 games is proof of that. He's not even on a level with bloody Tom Ince nevermind any other top young wingers around. In 12 months time we'll all be wondering what were we thinking spunking all that money on a dud with a bad attitude.
I'd rather focus on Powell and some of our academy lads than Zaha.
I should have put white text in there. Sarcasm doesn't translate well.
I'm old enough to remember quite a few people saying this about Cristiano Ronaldo.
Me too, although in fairness Ronaldo was younger when described as a "show pony"
Obviously the coaches saw something in Ronaldo that justified the time and effort being spent on him.
True but Zaha could still turn a few heads next season. I see no reason why we can't give him a chance. Whatever Moyes did is in the past. It's a new era now, a transition period and everyone deserves a chance to show their worth and prove themselves.
Zaha could very easily become a regular starter for us. If people are tipping Januzaj to become a regular starter, why not him? Zaha has impressed me more with Palace than Januzaj has with United and I say that as a Januzaj fan. I think Zaha has got that something about him.
Exactly! Whereas you just compared his position to Powell's and completely ignored the academy lads.
I want to keep Zaha too. I hope the lad gets a chance.
I think thats completely over the top. Januzaj was one of our better players in the premier league, not the championship and playoffs. There are some extreme differences between Januzaj and Zaha. Zaha is a specialist, he's a dribbler. Everything else comes from that. If you took his ability to take players on away, he wouldnt stand out. Januzaj has an impressive all round game. Dribbling is just one of several things he's very good at.
Januzaj is also a lot younger.
In fact I think mentioning the two players does Zaha a great disservice and will never, ever help him because Januzaj is in a completely different stratosphere, and that shouldn't be something held against Zaha who can have a perfectly good career without coming close to matching him. Compare him with people he has a chance of measuring up to like Oxlade Chamberlain, not Januzaj
Januzaj is also a lot younger.
In fact I think mentioning the two players does Zaha a great disservice and will never, ever help him because Januzaj is in a completely different stratosphere, and that shouldn't be something held against Zaha who can have a perfectly good career without coming close to matching him. Compare him with people he has a chance of measuring up to like Oxlade Chamberlain, not Januzaj
I agree, there were lots of people who said Ronaldo would never make it at United he had no end product his decision making was below par and he was to selfish. Players don´t develop in a straight line and they will have bad matches and periods of bad form and the only way they can reach there potential is if they get to play games
Ronaldo didn't have a technique that looked like an amalgamation of Bebe and Obertan though.
Meh. They said similar things about Nani and he might be on his way out this summer.
Jury's still out on Zaha for me. He's been a huge disappointment, if we're honest but probably too soon to write him off completely. It might click for him at some point. He has a lot of good qualities as a footballer.
Jury's still out on Zaha for me. He's been a huge disappointment, if we're honest but probably too soon to write him off completely. It might click for him at some point. He has a lot of good qualities as a footballer.
Oh so that's the part I got wrong. So please which academy wingers should we be focusing on?
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I still don't get people saying this. He barely kicked a ball for us!
He didn't set the world on fire at Cardiff, but he might have had his confidence knocked by being snubbed by us and it's unfair to expect a young player with no Premiership experience to go into a newly promoted team's relegation dogfight and turn in dazzling displays.
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I read his comment as sarcastic, especially when you read the post he was referring to.
I'd like to see him hang around for a bit to see if Van Gaal can work with him. He's still young enough that, even if it doesn't 'click' for him, he's got good resale value so I really don't see the rush with him.
The fact he ended up going out on loan at all was disappointing, especially when all our wingers were coming off such poor individual seasons. I was expecting him to get a lot of games at United. The fact he didn't do that, then went on to look so poor at Cardiff was a real let down. Worst of all was that MOTD analyis where you could see he wasn't even trying. That reveals a problem with his attitude, as well as everything else. Not good to see.
Bebe is actually good now.
I'd rathe Lingard and Wilson get games there (as they won't get many games as a No 10 or striker in the next few years as we already have top players for these positions).
Plus (and why I also mentioned Powell despite him playing a different Position; I could als have said the Keane brothers), we obviously need to remain competetive and therefore can't have too many academy players around the first team squad, so I would rather focus on those with more potential (3-4 per season) than Zaha. I just rate the others I have mentioned more highly than Zaha and noway can we integrate all into the first team squad at once.
I am all for giving young English players time, but with Zaha it's not only that I don't see anything special in him, but add to that that his attitude sucks as well, which is too much for me as far as youth development is concerned.
Lingard is so overrated on here.
I'd rather have a great player with a bad attitude than a bunch of average players with great attitudes. Attitudes don't win titles. Their personality off the field is irrelevant to me.
By the way, I don't think Wilson's ready yet.
By the way, I don't think Wilson's ready yet.
I didn't see the MOTD analysis, as I tend to fast forward the likes of Shearer, Lawrenson etc. The fact (if it is a fact) remains that he wasn't trying for Cardiff. Only he knows if he was unmotivated at Cardiff, or if he even wanted to be there at all? Perhaps that means a bad attitude or maybe after moving from London to Cardiff via Manchester in the space of half a season unsettled him and he took his eye off the ball.
He hasn't been given the chance to "not try" for United yet. I think he looked good in pre-season but he didn't get the chance. Hopefully Van Gaal will put that right this year.
I don't know why people still talk about him not having been given a chance - you're not given a chance to play for Manchester United, you earn a chance. He hasn't earned his chance.
Thats not how it works either, the club doesnt pay milliions of pounds in transfer fees (10 million in Zahas case) for the players to not be coached and given every chance to be the best that they can be.
Academy players earn their chance to play, transferred players are leveraged/tempted to move from their clubs because WE want them.
We wanted Zaha and we have either not done our homework or not given him the the game time to mould him into what we want.
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I only used Ronaldo as an example. I could have used Evans, after his red card against City in 2011 there were a lot of people who said he would never make it at United. But the point is you can´t deem a young player not good enough just because he has had a bad spell of form. All young players who are developing will have some bad games and patches of bad form but that alone doesn´t mean they wont make it. Zaha has started 2 games in a United shirt so far how anyone can say he has not been good enough and should be sold when he has never been given the opportunity to show if he is good enough I can´t understand.
Don't tell that to Luke Shaw.
He wasn't coached or given every chance to be the best he can be?
Any idea why we would have done all the above for, say, Januzaj but decided that Zaha wasn't worthy of the same treatment?
I still reckon Zaha has a chance of a good career. With us or elsewhere is hard to say.
I saw a lot of him when he was with crystal palace. He wasn't just a big fish in a small pool, there was genuine talent there. Indeed I think people who criticise his talent are being unfair. He was crud when he played last year for us and Cardiff, but for a young player it must have been hard - one minute he's joining the Champions under the greatest manager of all time, the next minute Moyes is managing him and he's being brought on to save home defeats against Newcastle. I'm prepared to accept that his head went south.
I'm just hoping that LVG strikes a chord with him and gets him on track. That said, if he gets ditched, its tough, but thats football.
I saw a lot of him when he was with crystal palace. He wasn't just a big fish in a small pool, there was genuine talent there. Indeed I think people who criticise his talent are being unfair. He was crud when he played last year for us and Cardiff, but for a young player it must have been hard - one minute he's joining the Champions under the greatest manager of all time, the next minute Moyes is managing him and he's being brought on to save home defeats against Newcastle. I'm prepared to accept that his head went south.
I'm just hoping that LVG strikes a chord with him and gets him on track. That said, if he gets ditched, its tough, but thats football.
I wouldn't sell him, but he needs to go out on loan again. He has potential and he's not going to improve by sitting on our bench most of the time this season because I don't think he's good enough to be starting here right now and we already have at least 5 people ahead of him in the pecking order.
I'm not comparing him to the likes of Obertan and Bebe, but we signed Zaha for the same reason: young with potential and if it doesn't work out, no big deal it's the cost of doing business. Yes we paid alot to have that attitude, but Zaha is English and if he'd moved to Aston Villa first for example, his price would be at least double that. We were smart to move for him when we did and 10 million or so for an English player with potential is actually good value nowadays.
I'm not comparing him to the likes of Obertan and Bebe, but we signed Zaha for the same reason: young with potential and if it doesn't work out, no big deal it's the cost of doing business. Yes we paid alot to have that attitude, but Zaha is English and if he'd moved to Aston Villa first for example, his price would be at least double that. We were smart to move for him when we did and 10 million or so for an English player with potential is actually good value nowadays.
I didn't say he wasn't or isn't.
What I said was, transferred players are bought because we want them, that's our problem, not theirs.
The player has had a couple of months at United before the worst manager in living memory decided to ship him out to a relegated side with a rookie manager, I don't think anyone can make an objective judgment on his long term prospects based on that.
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