Not Messing About - The Brandon Williams Thread

I'm all for passion, etc and really like this kid, but that particular incident could have ended very poorly. Don't think we'd be cheering him on if CHO had sustained a season-ending injury.

In the end, no one got hurt and I'm glad to see some fiery personalities emerge to make up for the loss of Herrera and Rafa.

 

Williams has definitely overtaken AY already at this point. It is possible that Shaw could be next much sooner than thought possible. Right now he is what Shaw was when he first got to the club.
Shaw being out injured should (and likely will) get a fair chance to defend his spot when he returns. And Williams could be the real kick in the ass he's needed.
Either way, Williams deserve a run in the team until Shaw comes back and in the end, it could be a good situation at least in the short term, as far as adding quality in depth in a position that had question marks going into the season.​

 

Kid should get run of games, Time for ole to walk the walk...

 

I've been pretty out of the loop with the academy bar the obvious prospects. Was Williams a known quantity prior to this season? Is his rapid rise unsurprising for those in the know?

 

Williams plays like a South American player - Romero

https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...s/man-united-brandon-williams-latest-17225584

His grit is definitely a big asset of his, on top his athleticism and stamina. As previously stated, still believe that Shaw, by virtue of being out injured, should get a genuine chance at getting his place back on his return.
However, the leash should be much shorter than before with Williams waiting in the wings (particularly if he can keep up with what we've seen from him so far).

 

AY and Williams will share the workload but you can see that against non top 6 oppo, Williams should be leading until Shaw is back then he spells Shaw.

 

With the intl break coming up, Shaw should be close to returning, if the previous projections are true. He might even be ready for Sheffield by the looks of it (if he's not ready, Williams can start for that game). As mentioned elsewhere, the way forward should be Shaw and Williams handling the left, with Wan-Bissaka and AY the rotation at RB.
Once Dalot returns, hopefully he can become Wan-Bissaka's backup and AY can be used in case he's needed until he sees out the season, by which time his contract will be expired and we can just let him go then.

 

Still very early days but he is and should be ahead of Young.

 

It's understandable to be worried about Ole giving AY mins/games ahead of Williams but the difference with other youngsters this season, is that Williams has really distinguished himself everytime he was called upon.
He did so well over the weekend that he earned himself the MotM award: surely that can't go unnoticed to Ole. None of Chong, Gomes, Garner and even Greenwood have consistently been that good in their appearances.
Also, Ole has dropped some players who were higher in the pecking order (like Matic and Mata) when they were clearly better options available. Therefore, I think that the LB spot will be between Shaw and Williams, as long as the latter maintains the same level of performance he's shown so far. Shaw, as previously stated, will still be first choice upon his return for the foreseeable future by virtue of being the senior option. Suspect also that Ole will not want to 'lose' him right away or hurt his confidence either and he'll remain the first option as long as he can put him good displays.
If he comes back slow off the blocks or is just plain mediocre, then that could open the door for Williams to figure more (and perhaps for the club to cash in him in the summer). But I feel confident in Williams having overtaken AY on the left, particularly since a backup to Wan-Bissaka is required, as long as Dalot is out. And it probably would be too much to wish for Laird to promoted full time to the senior team as of yet.
Pretty amazing though how quickly things change in just a few months, with FB being a position of weakness for us to what it is now.​

 

Kid looks good. Solid head on his shoulders and doesn't seem bothered by the occasion. He's good in both directions and athletic. Very few complaints thus far.

I'm not sure why Ole is getting stick for kids. He's played McTominay over Matic, he's played Greenwood and AP over Mata. He's moved Lukaku on in order to focus on Martial at CF and Rashford at LW specifically identifying Greenwood as our back up striker. He moved Smalling on and identified and played Tuanzebe as our 3rd or 4th CB.

He's given PLENTY of chances to youth.

 

More Gomes.

 

Yup, so the beef is with a player who plays #10, a spot where we've given the majority of the minutes to an academy graduate. I like Gomes as much as the next guy and I do want him to get time, but I'm not sure he can play in this league he's tiny. He needs to get more minutes though, I agree. But I think that's a minor complaint. Ole has done wonders with giving kids a chance.

 

Brandon Williams:

• Cousin to Zelfa Barrett [23-1 champion boxer]
• Headbutted Accrington Stanley's captain in a pre-season friendly
• Squared up to De Wit on European debut
• Man-handled Hudson-Odoi on Cup debut
• Squared up to Maupay on first League start

Bad boy. 🥊 pic.twitter.com/xQhDyN8lAs

— Robbo (@utdrobbo) November 12, 2019

Nice to have a player (defender especially) with some bite/attitude and can absolutely see what Romero was referring to with his comments about him. Williams has got some dog in him and I love it!

 

I think there's a lot of impatience about the youngsters thing but there's a clear if gradual approach towards integrating most or all of these youth players by the end of the season. We can't just lump these players in and demand that they sink or swim, that can be psychologically very damaging. Look how crippled a lot of senior players are by lack of confidence, and how different they look when we start playing well or score a couple of early goals - how are we expecting kids to deal with putting in a bad performance or two and the crowd getting anxious?

We're on course for Tuanzebe, Williams, Garner, Greenwood, Laird and hopefully Gomes to be established and trusted first team squad players by the end of the season.

 

The boy has performed brilliantly, he has a good head about him and his future looks bright.

 

Nice to have something to be excited about.

 

Kid looks golden but it’s gonna take some time because of AY’s “leadership.” We have a direction, though, guys. Fans need to be patient.

#olesatthewheel

 

I imagine that the vast majority of United fans probably see the same way...

https://www.strawpoll.me/18934644/r

Seniority is what will probably give the edge to Shaw when he returns, but he's going to have to step it up even more.

 

I deleted the 1st part of your post because i dont know what you're talking about.

The size argument against Gomes is irritating.

Mata IS too small and too slow. Silva was too small and too slow. I realize Gomes is a little smaller than they were, but it doesnt really matter to me.

Just as easily as those two could be pushed around, he could be too. If he is good enough it wont matter.

 

I was saying if the biggest knock against Ole playing kids is at a position where the minutes mostly go to an academy graduate then the point is moot in my opinion.

There's a big difference between players of the ilk of Mata and Silva when they came to the prem vs a kid from the academy.

I absolutely want him to get a shot and get some playing time, but I understand the hesitation. He's probably at least part to blame by playing hardcore with signing an extension.