Great Expectations

I want to see Gerard Pique, he looks a great player in the making.

Bardsley is an obvious one, he looked a fantastic deputy for Neville last year, he's set to be our right back for years in the future.

Martin has shown a lot of talent, but his loan isn't working out too well and I'm skeptical as to whether he'd ever make the first team.

I've been impressed with what I've seen of Marsh, he looks full of running, but that said I doubt he'll ever be in contention for even a sub role in a serious game.

So, IMO, only 3 have realistic prospects: Pique, Rossi, Bardsley.

 

Great thread.

Outside of Rossi I'd say that I'm equally excited by the prospects of Martin, Pique and Evans with Dong and Bardsley not too far behind.

Dong I think might actually be useful this season if he comes in the Jan. window because of our depth problems on the wings and up front.

Martin - we need another winger to spell Giggs/Ronaldo and I'm excited about him. I think he has the talent and if given a shot in the 1st team where he won't be expected to be a top 3 option he'll thrive and grow as a player.

Pique - his loan has me worried. I don't want him reverting into the player who would have got bullied by physical forwards. If you put Evans out of your mind with Pique you've got the most complete defender you could want coming out of your academy. He's got phenomenal technique and I still wonder about him in a midfield role but I guess Fergie has other plans for him. His heading ability and awarness could be a big asset in the future. I think he's very talented and can grow to be a host of things.

Evans... what can we say about him? He's going to prove to be a headache. In a year he'll have Rossi issues. He won't be able to learn anything - not even consistency against inferior competition in the reserves or even on loan to Belgium. However, with Pique's availability and Evans not being limited by Rossi's lack of size we could see Evans on loan to an Eredivisie club. I think if/when he gets that chance to shine Ferguson is going to have a long think about how much he can get for either Rio or a combination of Brown, Silvestre and O'Shea.

 

R. Jones. Doesn't have a hint of United Quality in him in my opinion.

Great thread by the way, the other one's good too. You and DS keep coming up with innovative ideas, good work

 

I'm pissed Jones didn't get his shot but not suprised that he hasn't made it here. The signing of Carrick was the end of his career w/ us imo.

It may not come as a shock but I'm indifferent to our young strikers outside of Rossi and Dong***

*** I'm actually indifferent about Dong except for the fact that he can physically help us now and we may need that help come January. I don't think he'll ever be anything special for United but I think he'll turn into a decent role player.

There are a couple names that I will look out for in the next couple years like Simpson, Gibson and Kieran Lee and one or two others but I don't expect the world of the other guys. I'm hopeful of them but not resting too much faith in them because Jones' departure shows how hard it its to make it.

 

I don't rate R. Jones much at all. It baffles me that Ferguson has him around still, yet let David Jones go. Anyways ...

PLayers I Want to See - Rossi, Gibson, Evans, and most of all Lee Martin

 

Centre Back: Jonny Evans looks a cert. But the Rio/Vidic partnership may keep him out of the first XI for a long time. He may well replace Brown as our best backup though.
Pique, I'm not so sure. Unless he can play RB really well I don't see him as being better than Evans. So it's going to be hard for him to break into the team.

Fullback: I don't think Bardsley is quite MUQ. His falling out with LeGuen does him no favours. He was poor in Uniteds pre-season. Simpson has greater potential as he's a more natural footballer. Kieran Lee is a great little player but is he too small for the PL? Hopefully he can make it as he seems like a great player to have around the squad.

Midfield: I think Gibson has a great chance. I'd love to see him make it at United. He's a great footballer, but he's a big guy too which counts for a lot.
Lee Martin, I just have not see enough to make me think he is MUQ. But then again, he looks to have a better attitude than KRich so that's got to count for a lot.

Striker: Dong made a good impact on the South Africa tour. If we get him in January and work with him with our coaches then we could have a really useful player. He's quick and strong and seems to have competitive attitude.
Campbell does not look strong enough to me to make it in the PL.

So in total, I'd love to see Evans, Simpson, Lee, Dong and Gibson in the first team squad.
Of those though, Evans is the only one I would be really confident of still being at United in 3 or 4 years time. The others still have a lot to prove, and as we have seen with David Jones, it's very hard to break through at United today.

 

Danny Simpson fanboy reporting for duty. I loved watching him during the preseason matches. He's the absolute ideal replacement for Cap'n Neville. The fact that he plays my favored position means that if he does make it here and fully displays his immense talent, then he'll probably be my favorite player from the new crop.

I would also say Evans, but with Rio and Vidic holding down the CB spots for atleast the next 3 seasons, I don't really know what his role in the squad would be.

 

Evans could displace Wes Brown, IMO, unless Wes finds a way to step up and show the form he did last year. Even if he did so, Fergie looks like he will stick with Vidic and Rio through thick and thin, so games will be hard to come by at CB. I dont think Evans and Pique will both make it here.

I am a fan of Bardsley mainly because of the performances he put in during Nevilles extended absence last year. I havent seen enough of Simpson to pass judgement. I also think Dong could be quite useful for us, and he showed some class in the preseason. He is a keeper for me.

 

Pique, simply because he seems to be the odd man left out when competing with the mega-talent that is Evans.

Bardsley, again because I don't think he can compete with Simpson's talent in the long run.

Both would make good squaddies though.

 

If Pique or Evans show they are ready, we might see a star sold off to another big name club for a large transfer fee. Fill in the blanks.

 

re. R.Jones. He's a Fergie favourite, I think I mentioned that in his EOFR 05/06 and it means he'll be kept here way, way past sell-by date to the point he'll be forced to come good or be bled dry trying.

re. the question. Thinking about it I think my answers might surprise a few.

I literally shelved most of my pre-January plans to get to many Utd games before the window once I found out Rossi was not going to be there and Jones wasn't even given his chance. On that end it has been a great disappointment as a season opener to not see either of them at the club and moreover, not even playing.

Thing is, in relation to this question, Rossi AFAIC, is nailed on to make it here if given the chances and fairly treated in terms of starts and PT - he's no secret and it's not just me raving about him. Any coach and set of fans that understand the game and have seen him for any concerted period of time can identify his talent and say he is special. Zola was the last one to mention it, and he is amongst many other quality former pros and top notch coaches to say the same thing. My reviews of him were merely to make people who didn't know about him yet aware we had a gem amongst our ranks. He's not a player I have doubts about or think won't be an absolute star by the time he is 25 so it's different.

I'd say for me the players I want to see the most are the ones with doubts attached to them. I love a triumph over adversity; the likes of Pique, Simpson, Campbell and Martin intrigue me more than Evans, Gibson and Rossi.

The first 4 in order have:

- a doubt about his aggression and ability to cope in the PL
- his size, can he grow in time? Will his bat hour arrive, tune in next week, same bat time to find out!
- his size and can he keep doing what he has done at higher and higher levels
- Can he score goals???

as opposed to the other 3 who are just amazing talents equipped with all they need to be greats by the time their careers are up.

I.e Davey Jones' build and pace - he never got to PL build in time and was ousted because of it. His battle intrigued me after all he had gone through and how good a player he is. Rossi may still leave here and go to Serie A or La Liga. I expect both to really make something of themselves whether it's here or elsewhere so it's different to a Simpson or Campbell who if they aren't large enough as adults will really suffer for it career wise in England - that's pressure!

 

Just like VR, it's Gibson for me.

It's a bad reason really but it's because our greatest need is arguably in his position.

I must confess to not knowing as much as some on here about our current crop of youth/loanees but I'd really like to see him come through and offer an option of midfield bite/steel to the team as it's always a nice alternative to have.

A couple of years ago I did happen to watch a fair amount of reserve team football (04/05 and thre previous season too) but since then my watching of them has dropped off considerably. A number of the players already mentioned in the thread so far were here then but many of them had their breakout years in last season's reserve campaign by all acounts so I'm struggling to offer much opinion.

It's always fun to watch a player come through the ranks or follow the career of a young player starting out and I did have hopes for Jones and still do for Rossi who both excelled the last time I really watched the reserves in abundance. Then again, I quite liked the look of Eddie Johnson, who looked like a rampaging bull at times and Sylvain Blake who's pace was electric from that team too so I'm perhaps not the best judge in the world.

 

I'm quite excited about Gibson and Evans, and judging by the public praise that they are receiving from Fergie, I think he will make an effort to give them games and help them make the step up into the reserves.

I also think Rossi and Pique are two talents that we can't afford to lose. Zola reckons Rossi is destined to become a top notch player, and his finishing has already received rave reviews from Fergie and United first teamers. Pique looked quite impressive when he played as RB for us last season, and I think there's enough versatility in his game to make him a good candidate for the first team.

That said, I reckon the chances of the above four players making the grade is quite high. For Gibson and Evans, age is on their side whereas Rossi and Pique are already regarded as ready for the first team but only needing playing opportunities.

The player I'm worried about, but hoping that he'll make it is Lee Martin. I remember seeing both him and Fraizer Campbell playing for England's U18s against Scotland a few years back and Martin really stood out. I think he was playing as an attacking central midfielder at the time, and there was just something about him that made him look "special". He seemed to be pretty tenacious and was running about much like Nicky Butt used to. At the same time he looked like he had a bit of Giggs in him too, with the way he would try to take on his opponents with trickery. I haven't been able to watch him for the reserves so I don't know how much his game has changed or improved since.
His recent injury that took him out for 6 weeks was a huge blow, as he now has to work his way back into the Rangers first team and start producing some good performances. I don't know if his loan will be extended for the entire season, but I think that might be a good option for him. The bad thing is that if he does return to United, Richardson will be ahead of him in the pecking order based solely on seniority and that was a huge stumbling block for Jones as we saw.

Any reason why Fergie seems to favour him so much? I don't like slagging off any of our youngsters, but there isn't an inkling of his game that would make me think he's MUQ. To me he seems to be just another decent Championship/League One player in the making ala David Fox.

 

For me I think I am most interested in Bardsley. I think he is no where near as talented naturally as some other youngsters but I liked how he looked playing with the first team. He seemed very level headed, not awed by the situation or stage. He is physically strong enought to make it but will he be able to offer enough offensively to stay in the first team?

As for Ritchie Jones??? He is less exciting to me than Eagles who I don't think will make it here. Last year when we had injury worries Sir Alex recalled him off loan and it mystified me. That he is a Fergy-fav mystifies me.

 

I think that Evans will make it here. Fergie has showered praise on him, and according to some rumours, he has had to issue a hands off warning to other English clubs. Also his size is pretty much already there.

Then the obvious Rossi and Gibson.

Bardsley might make it here simply because he is physically ready.

Other than that, I dont think anyone else will make it here. We are entering an era where physical gifts matter more than technical gifts and its a shame.

 

Not really... I dont have a favourite (well Rossi is everyone's favorite right?) and I dont have anyone that I hope gets sold apart from the already mentioned Eagles and Jones.