They are alright aren’t they, thoroughly and successfully alright.
But who of the pack who’ve been given their chance, and pushing to get there’s shortly stands the best chance of maturing into something that’s better than alright.
It’s been a while now since we promoted someone through the academy who added great value to the first team over a prolonged period, we’ve seen fits and starts from Evans, a master class in flattering to deceive from Welbeck, a Rocky worthy montage of misplaced passes from Cleverley & even Januzaj who was our greatest hope of academy achievement has for now at least gone off the boil since Moyes was removed from being able to damage the club any further than he already had, so who out there has it in their boots to do things that light up the Theatre of Dreams and help us forget that those ugly months ever happened at all?
James Wilson
The stand out candidate for me. I know mentioning is ridiculously obvious, but how do you start an article about bright talent without writing about the brightest of the lot?
It’d be like offering a cooked breakfast option with no bacon (that’s right Holiday Inn, I’m naming and shaming you, just stop messing people around and just add it as an option!!)
He’s an awareness about him in the final third that I like, he uses well for his own benefit in making the runs that allow those behind him to play him into positions that open the game up, he may not be a big unit, but once he’s on the ball he’s harder to get off it than a woman off her high horse.
You may well say that he’s yet to score this season, and you’d be correct if you did, but looking at the way he plays the game I’m certain that there are many to come, because I’ve rarely seen him fail to trouble the keeper when a chance has be fashioned, for one so young to have such composure when the chance comes is exceptional, add experience to that talent and he’ll bring many a happy day & night to we members of the United family.
Paddy McNair
Love this kid.
There have been times this season where he’s shown an instinct for defending inspiring, that header in stoppage time against West Ham on his debut was pure Kodak stuff, and I believe he has it in him to deliver such moments time and time again, IF, and it’s a BIG if he can learn to read the game and anticipate what’s to come and react to it that yard or 2 quicker than he does currently, then he may have an impact on how many central defenders the club need to buy this summer.
Ben Pearson
Have I seen him in many games? No!
But I’ll say this, you don’t need to eat a full chocolate orange to know it tastes amazing, so on that basis I’m hugely hopeful for this lad.
I watched him in the Manchester senior cup against City, Wilson rightly stole the limelight with an attacking display that took the game away from City, but his ability to do so was provided by a very classy midfield general display from this young man.
The City midfield was far ahead of anything we had in stature, it was a midfield modelled on the coach of their side, each of the men representing City in the middle looked like a young Viera, but they were never allowed to play like him, Pearson hushed, harried & hassled them from the first whistle to the last, the regularity with which he broke up possession and then used it to set United’s attacking element away was huge, add to that fact that his fear of a meaty challenge was nil.
If he can develop his skills to a higher level while he’s out on loan at Barnsley for the remainder of the season, then he’d be due a chance to show what he can do in the pre-season to catch LVG’s eyes for the 15/16 campaign and beyond.
I could go on forever clutching at straws and making a case for the others, but I won’t, I’m not writing them off, far from it, I hope the guys pushing for a chance that I haven’t mentioned go on to do amazing things in a United shirt, I hope that Januzaj gets his groove back and makes those of us questioning him look as foolish as the half and half scarf, but if they all fail to do so, then I’m hopeful the 3 guys listed will keep the academy flag flying high for years to come.
