I don't know how anyone other than regular match-going Palace fans can comment on the lad's ability.
Wilfried Zaha
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I don't know how anyone other than regular match-going Palace fans can comment on the lad's ability.
Yeah it's frustrating. Crystal Palace fans on their forum seems gutted to lose him even though they're getting a very good price for him.
Jelavic 
WTF?
WTF?
That's one way of putting it but in actuality Zaha's only 2 years older than Ox and Bale were when they moved. Having just turned 20 he's still as much potential as he is quality.
To be fair though Crystal Palace fans standards are considerably lower than United level. I've not seen Zaha play even once so I can't comment on him, I'll reserve my judgment until he plays a couple of times for United.
Have you ever been to a football match? There are plenty of people expressing absurd opinions. Their opinion holds no more weight than the next man, they basically espouse exactly the same opinions that you will find on here. In fact, why don't you listen to Talksport for a while, you will hear the golden opinions of many a match going fan on there.
As for Zaha. It looks like we are going to sign him, thus I am getting behind him. Though KM, where the Arsenal bid be at?
I'm not being a smartarse, but I genuinely don't see the logic in that. Each of those transfers ranks about the same in terms of risk (probably Hernandez was the least-risk but it's splitting hairs).
Oxlade-Chamberlain, Bale and Walcott weren't regulars at Arsenal and Tottenham when they were 19 either, and people have been raving on about Zaha for more than a year. The fact that he's developed at Palace between the age of 17 when he made his debut and 20 isn't necessarily a bad thing. Someone like Young probably took too long before joining a big club, had United put a stamp on his development earlier on in his career he could have turned into a better player.
He means CP match goers have actually watched Zaha regularly, in full matches, as opposed to 5-6 games and some YouTube clips.
As for Arsenal's bid, we clearly have no idea who is bidding for who and if you are going to use paper talk as a tool in your argument I'd suggest keeping in mind that even if Arsenal made a bid we wouldn't necessarily hear about it.
I'm referring as what they offer to the team really. Welbeck isn't a striker. He won't be getting game time for us as one as he can't finish. RvP, Rooney and Hernandez are all comfortably ahead of him in the pecking order.
Welbeck is being used on the wing. Same place where Zaha would be used. Now what does he do better than what Welbeck does? Is Welbeck great on the wing to begin with? I don't know the answer to the first question but the answer to the 2nd one is 'meh'.
I'm not an ITK like you Jimmy so I don't know whether he's put in a bid or not.
Wenger however has publically said that he's interested in the player.
Point me towards some please. I myself can't see anything on him. Only that he's talented. He's not better than what we have right now, that's for sure. And I'm talking first team, not reserves.
Replacement for Giggs? Makes sense. SAF said he's going to be here next year, that is if he wants to. He won't take up a squad spot next season so that isn't a problem.
I'm just gonna trust the management on this one (like I usually do). This is me regarding this transfer.
That's fair enough but isn't it a bit unfair to comment on the player when you've only seen it three or four times in the last two-three years?
It is. You have to see a player at his worst as well as at his very best to be able to properly judge his level, otherwise it's pointless. You cannot possibly witness that in 3 or 4 games, you only see glimpses. Kagawa is a good example, see him at his best at United or Dortmund and you may think he's world class already, watch him against Liverpool at Anfield or West Ham in the FA Cup and you may think he's worse than Henderson.
Palace fans will be ridiculously biased in favour of him, they are possibly the worst people to ask. Didn't someone post a Palace fans opinion who was going on about how well he played against us in the cup? If so, I remember that performance quite differently, he didn't impress me in the slightest, he just seemed like a cocky kid with some poor tricks and no direction. He has improved since then, no question, but it just goes to show how perceptions differ.
Anyway, if we sign him, I will get behind him. I am not deluded enough to think that I can judge absolutely on what I have seen, nor am I arrogant enough to think that I am qualified write off a player. I have just been calling it as I see it, rightly or wrongly. He will be exciting, at the least.
Personally, I think that Wenger was just partaking in a bit of verbal masturbation 'oh yeah we are in for the same players as City and United, naturally'.
I've seen virtually nothing of him and don't know much about the lad and I'm not sure many people on here really know how good he is either. The only people who have seen him regularly will be Palace fans, as such I would rather listen to their opinion of him than someone who's watched a few YouTube vids.
But as with any new signing, it's what he does when he puts a United shirt on that matters. We could be too big for him or he could be the next Ronaldo, nobody knows. But my point is, speculating on how good he is right now should only really be undertaken by people who have seen him 20-30 times this season. Fergie is building for our future and he likes to get all the very best young English talent available and he rarely gets it wrong.
They will be yes, but I'm sure they have some level-headed fans that can realistically assess his ability at this moment in time. They will still know more about him than anyone, that's my point.
Point me towards some please. I myself can't see anything on him. Only that he's talented. He's not better than what we have right now, that's for sure. And I'm talking first team, not reserves.
Replacement for Giggs? Makes sense. SAF said he's going to be here next year, that is if he wants to. He won't take up a squad spot next season so that isn't a problem.
I'm just gonna trust the management on this one (like I usually do). This is me regarding this transfer.
Well, then I can't help you. You're included btw, I'd be very interested to know how much you've seen of this guy to label him a "Welbeck type player". I'm guessing youtubes exclusively.
He ran us ragged on the counter at times. I distinctly remember him going past two of our players and it taking another three to get the ball of him. He disappeared at times but showed glimpses of real class. I'm not sure how you can not find that impressive in a teenager?
So we've actually done alright then, all things considered? And with Smalling, Jones, Da Silva's, DDG, Hernandez playing ever increasing parts in the squad it's looking better every year? That's what I thought too.
Being able to go past a man does not impress me. It is this kind of mentality that is the problem with English football. Just because he can go past a man does not mean that he is quality, a player increasingly needs to be multi faceted in skill set to be top level. Zaha, to me, is not the type of player who tries to pick the lock, he is the kind of player who bangs on the door until it comes of its hinges.
Maybe I am just projecting what I want to see, that being technical gifted and economical players.
He beat those men with skill and tricks, I would say that comes under technical ability.
And bugger off with that 'English mentality' possibly the most annoying phrase ever invented and routinely peddled out to justify weird opinions.
And bugger off with that 'English mentality' possibly the most annoying phrase ever invented and routinely peddled out to justify weird opinions.
I was at that game. I remember a couple of occasions he picked the ball up in space and used his pace to outrun our players. The thing is I remember two of the players were Park & Gibson...not the fastest or smartest. He didn't really create much for them that night, even Darren Ambrose was more effective for them. He caught the eye because he used a few little tricks & stepovers and has raw pace. He wasn't and isn't the subtlest though.
I would hardly say he ran us ragged, that's an exaggeration. I met some Palace lads at that game and they told me he has real potential, but they found him frustrating in his decision making. Sometimes his runs would end with him either in a cul-de-sac, losing possession or the impetus of a move. He needed to improve his end product. Looking on over 12 months later he hasn't really improved it to a level you might expect considering the side he is playing in and the ability he clearly has.
United may make him he is certainly lucky to have the opportunity, trust Ferguson's judgement I guess.
So basically he played like a young player with talent?
Darren Ambrose was the one who scored the screamer wasn't he? That's pretty much all he did in that game from what I remember.
Park not smart? This was also 10-11 for most of which Park was fantastic. From memory he also took one of Rafael or Fabio out of the game with a little flick to the side during that run.
Park looked absolutely knackered in that game right from the start.
People still don't get it. It was the same argument when we signed Rio. Oh Nesta/Cannavaro are cheaper and just as good, blah blah.
Even when we aogned CR people complained that we bought the wrong and lesser talented wingers.
Comsmit.. the Pique lover, Will Absolute..Jimmy_Choo's_HillsThere's a pattern there
The "ae" in encyclopaedic is based on a famous misinterpretation & misreading of ancient & historical Greek manuscripts, and is only preserved due to bodies of work such as Encyclopaedia Britannica that have and still use Latin titles. The "incorrect" word was added to Latin as "encyclopaedia" with the a & e close together and then transferred to English as above.
The "ae" is a historical mispelling as it is considered "pseudo-Greek" and not part of the original Greek educational manuals. Therefore it is actually invalid and only still in use due to the preservation of Latin in the western world.
So there you are. Go and grab a whisky and look it up.
I'm not sure what that post means, so it's hard to reply.
To sum up the point I was making:
Over the last few years, I believe we've bought too many prospects, and not enough finished articles, and the quality of our side has suffered, because too many of the prospects haven't quite made the grade.
That over-reliance on spotting and developing talent has probably been forced on us, because when we have competed for top players, we've mostly lost out to the likes of Barca (Villa, Sanchez), Madrid (Benzema, Ronaldo, Ozil), City (Nasri, Toure?, Silva?), Chelsea (Hazard) and PSG (Lucas).
The fact that we're very much underdogs in our forthcoming match against Madrid - a team who a few years back were our decided inferiors - shows the result. Madrid's newfound superiority was purchased in the transfer market.
It's a tribute to Fergie that despite our repeated failure to land out top targets (RvP excepted) we're still very competitive - at least domestically.
Haven't watched any youtube clips of him. I explained what I meant above the quoted comment. You include me yet I give no opinion on the player what so ever.
I don't know if twitter is allowed here, but it's not speculation.
Zaha's friend - who he has mentioned in a few tweets - has said that Zaha has "made a decision" regarding his future and the decision will "make his friends proud." Make of that what you will. Maybe we'll hear something soon.
The friend is an Arsenal fan, probably doesn't mean much though. If one of my friends was about to join Liverpool or City, I would still be proud.
Zaha's friend - who he has mentioned in a few tweets - has said that Zaha has "made a decision" regarding his future and the decision will "make his friends proud." Make of that what you will. Maybe we'll hear something soon.
The friend is an Arsenal fan, probably doesn't mean much though. If one of my friends was about to join Liverpool or City, I would still be proud.
Actually I was over the moon when we signed Rio, still love him now as a player when a lot are actually writing him off. I was just as thrilled when we signed Ronaldo....but he had twice or even thrice the ability of Zaha.
Pique yes I love him...because he is so much sexier than Jonny Evans. Who wants pale, lanky, nibbly toothed Paddy's with a boring surname when you can have the chiselled, blue-eyed Spaniard instead?
Get with it Wan man.
I do think our transfer dealings have been sound overall but we've not bought any outfield Spanish players, or any players from la liga. Considering they are by far the best National side with outstanding talent throughout their squad at all ages, it's an area of the market we should be looking at a lot more.
English players might be overpriced but if signing a youngster does work out we're pretty much guaranteed loyalty for the best part of his career. If Zaha comes here, works hard and finds himself as a valuable member of the squad for the next 10 years then noone will be mentioning the transfer fee being a few million higher than what we expected.
We have sort of done it. Hernandez, Henriquez, the twins. Not much but something. The U-18's has a few of those signings. The two Pereiras come to mind.
Maybe it's because we don't have to compete with the La Liga and Italian teams for the players that are coming from the UK, Ireland and arguably Scandinavia, Belgium and the Netherlands.
I think our scouting network is definitely getting wider. Work permit rules don't help as we can't get any Mexicans or S-Americans that aren't in the national team, youth internationals or luckily have a dual citizenship.
Yeah we seem on the ball in Mexico, which is good, but our Spanish scouting system is seemingly non-existent, why else have we bought no outfield players from the league when the quality is clearly there. Mata, Silva and Cazorla are all very good players who were available and very affordable and yet we expressed no interest whatsoever. We were happy to splash £30 million on Hazard, Sneijder, Sanchez and Lucas and spent £17 million on Young but for some reason are not interested in any Spanish players who are of higher quality and similar or cheaper prices.
Yeah, that's a long winded way of saying it's still used, the guy was right to use it and you were being a pedantic prick. Innit?
It's more that we don't seem to play with those sorts of attackers, Fergie seems to prefer more direct forwards who are quick with the ball, rather than technical little ball players. Kagawa is the only real exception we've made, his playing style is very similar to those who you described, and I think he went for Kagawa over those as he's the one who has proved to play his best football down the middle, whereas the rest have arguably been better starting from a wide position.
Zaha is a rare English (enough) talent that didn't have the flair drummed out of him by 11. he's very much so an out and out winger ergo nothing like Danny Welbeck.
question is - do Manchester United need them? answer, 5 points clear at the top of the league, is likely a 'no'.
if Mourinho, hypothetically, comes in and has a slew of _____ players in his XI - i'm sure there'd be a post that we don't have enough English players.
stick with homegrown. stick with what works. stick with history.
I see. So when you say "Welbeck type player", you mean winger? Seems legit. Shame you're "not a huge fan of those type of players" though. Odd for a United fan, but there you go.
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