Is the Mancunian striker good enough?
It’s a simple question, one that for many Manchester United fans won’t even need much thought or debate. It seems Danny Welbeck has taken over the mantle from Michael Carrick as the player who divides opinion amongst fans.
Take Sunday’s harder-than-it-should’ve-been victory over Liverpool as an example. Sitting in my seat at the game, I was somewhat amazed at the amount of people who seemed genuinely convinced Welbeck was ‘having a shocker.’ I personally thought, shooting aside, he did an excellent job as was a huge part of the reason we ran out eventual winners.
Taking to the interweb after the game, it seems it wasn’t just those attending the game who couldn’t agree on the value of young Daniel to the team. Many tweeters, bloggers and commenters had Welbeck as a contender for man of the match- my personal choice would have been Patrice but I see their point.
On the other side of the fence, shouting somewhat angrily while waving goalscoring stats were those who are of the belief Welbeck is ‘not United class’ and needs to move to a ‘Sunderland’ or ‘Reading.’
Let’s address the white elephant in the room before we go any further, Welbeck’s goalscoring record this season is deplorable, one goal by January isn’t what any forward for United should be achieving. There’s extenuating circumstances for the lad though, he’s often played on the wing- the left wing at that, despite being right footed and also never a winger. Welbeck seldom has a run in the side and certainly doesn’t have a run in the side as a striker. In fact the FA Cup game and Sunday’s match were one of the only times I can recall him starting two games in a row as a striker this season- if I’m wrong I’m sure someone will correct me.
There’s also the Chicharito factor, Hernandez regularly scores for United which goes some way to making Welbeck’s profligacy look even more egregious. There’s also the fact that as against West Ham it seems we often need Robin Van Persie to bail us out with a goal, as Welbeck doesn’t have anywhere near the scoring touch the Dutchman does.
Firstly there’s no point in pretending Chicharito isn’t more likely to get you a goal, he is but there’s an argument that he’s more effective as an impact player from the bench than as a starting player. Even if you were of the opinion Chicharito should start ahead of Welbeck, there’s no denying the fact that the Englishmen holds up the ball better and is arguably more capable of linking up with others than his Mexican counterpart.
When it comes to the Van Persie point, yes Welbeck does need to be more lethal in front of goal and it is a tad worrying that we are so reliant on the Dutchman but that doesn’t mean Danny isn’t good enough- just not as good as RVP, then again who is?
Ever since I started attending games in the 90s there have been players that do a job for the side yet don’t always endear themselves to all fans. I remember Brian McClair getting no end of grief of the masses when I used to stand in the Scoreboard Paddock, yet he was an integral part of a golden period for the Reds. Andy Cole had his fair share of critics during the 95-97 era, despite being part of a double winning side that went on to retain the league title. More recently we’ve seen Carrick win three titles in a row yet still be classed as ‘not United quality’ by more than the just a few.
Welbeck isn’t going to impress everyone, his gangly style and lack of goals will infuriate many of the ‘we’re Man United we do what we want’ types who demand a shedload of goals, trophies and samba soccer type football from the side.
For some of us though a player who plays his part in the side, has the work rate others can only dream of, creates space and chances for his strike partners and will only get better, is one I’m more than happy to see at United.
Am I right that Welbeck is good enough or is he simply not United class? Answers on a brick through the usual window or feel free to comment below:
Feel free to comment suggest and abuse below:
He has very fast feet, pace and a superb work ethic to help the team but to be united quality I don’t think so. He will have to improve massively over the next year or two he lacks a lot of football intelligence that the other young players have. I think Will Keane and particularly James Wilson are better prospects but I would give Welbs a chance for another season after this to see how he does.
The first striker to make it through the academy in years. Goalscoring will improve in time. Van Persie was in a similar position to Welbeck at the same age I seem to remember, often found on the left while Henry shone. Van Persie learnt a lot from him and I think Welbeck will also learn a lot from van Persie as will Hernandez learn and improve.
Fergie knows Welbeck has the talent and potential to become a United player as has been shown by him making him first choice with Rooney last season and also in the summer when Welbeck was given a new contract.
Fans constantly moan about the lack of players coming through the academy, yet can’t wait to write them off when they do come through (see Fletch and Evans). I look forward to the day when Welbeck proves his doubters wrong like Fletcher did and Evans has done recently.
Great article but the fans in k stand are all behind him, the pea is a sub as he can’t hold the ball up or link as well but he is a first class finisher. The article should’ve headlined is Ashley Young good enough but I suppose 99% of United fans know the answer is no – the guy is weak , average pace andvgol return is poor.
Nice piece and I agree with you 100%.
No no no no!
Welbeck is a class act! The only thing missing from his game is more goals but he’s only 21 and won’t reach his prime for another 5 years so people just need to be patient. Not everyone is a top top goal getter at such a young age. He will be world class within 2 years
Plain and simple no!
i am one of those of the opposing view…however i will try and articulate my point further than just goal stats…whenever anyone praises wellbeck what is the first thing all of them say?? workrate..effort…tracking back….etc…never control…touch..vision…etc…the wellbeck split is the same as the split regarding england and our national team and coaching methods…people who like wellbeck are the same people who demand 100% effort from anyone wearing a football shirt that they would “give my left arm for” without realising footballs a huge talent….and you need actual talent…it isnt marathon running…you need more than just a good engine or desire….this is exactly why england has stagnated as a country…we lavish praise on wellbeck and yet crucify berbatov…..90% of people alive couldnt do the good things berbatov can….anyone with spirit and high fitness can do what wellbeck does….we are talking about englands best team..englands flag bearers…efforts an admirable pre requisite but surely not the sole pre requisite…wellbeck would be ideal for a mid table team…but he isnt ina million years united class……and regarding not getting a run…he played nearly every game last year and scored 12 goals..the same as chicarito who hardly played because of having a bad season apparantly…my cat could score 12 for united…its admirable people defend wellbeck..he seems a nice lad…and his work ethic is to be admired…but not celebrated…lets celebrate RVP messi ronaldo……then maybe england as a nation may enter the 21st century…and for those who disagree should remember that any nation in the world wouldve built their team around scholes…we built it round gerrard because he works harder…its worked well hasnt it!!
i agree completely that welbeck is terrible,chicharito has played 13 games worth of minutes & has 5 assist on top of countless other times he created goals,he also has 12 goals,considering his overall stats to minutes,its infuriating every time i see hernandez on the bench,& welbeck starting,theres only one reason he starts because hes a manu academy player,and everyone always says hes good,he can run in circles all he wants,theres a reason he doesnt even have half the assist as chicharito yet starts over him in important games,if he really did anything besides run around and give up corners that lead to goals hed have more assist,u can say he creates better chances than chicharito yet why hasnt anyone scored but twice off him this season,SAF is clearly biased plain & simple,hernandez should leave to somewhere he can actually be rewarded for his hard work,btw hernandez has the best goal/assist-2- min ratio in the world,more goals/assist to min. than messi/RVP/ronaldo this season ,yet this mediocre player starts ahead of him,racism at its worst.
Racism at its worst! People like you need to be shot at birth. Your like a disease.
people like u should have been aborted,u are scum that knows nothing of the game,so go where your raaacist kind are tolerated imbecilic-trash
someone like u should never have been born,I wouldve been your father but the guy in front of me had a coupon!
You just ruined your point by talking up Berbatov. He had all the talent in the world but was completely useless for us because he din’t work hard enough.
Welbeck will never be a United quality. Am sure Kiko Macheda will do better if given a chance at first team, same with Will Keane, Nick Powell and Angelo Henriquez.
The 2 best finishers at Man Utd is RVP and Chicharito and the worst is Welbeck. We shoulda been out of sight on sunday but his woeful finishing made it super difficult…. Sorry to bust your bubble but he isn’t United quality and will never be, all he does is run , run and run this is not SPL or Championship
To put it simply NO!
Welbeck is not gangly.