Morrison, Pogba and Januzaj - A comparison

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 14: Adnan Januzaj of Manchester United takes on Jason Puncheon of Crystal Palace during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on September 14, 2013 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

In the 26 years that Sir Alex Ferguson managed Manchester United, one aspect of his footballing philosophy stood out prominently; first for its excellence in execution, and later for its glaring lack: Sir Alex’s Youth Policy.

The early years of his reign at Manchester United saw the factory production line-like efficiency in churning out young players. The fact that there are two instances of “Fergie’s Fledglings” pretty much says it all. The first batch of the Fledglings were part of the team that made it to the final of the 1986 FA Youth Cup, losing out to bitter rivals Manchester City. From that team, Lee Martin, Tony Gill and David Wilson would go on to become some of the first Fledglings. They were joined by Russell Beardsmore, Mark Robins and Deiniol Graham. Lee Sharpe and Giuliano Maiorana are also considered a part of the troupe, even though they were not from the United Academy, but were purchased from Torquay and Histon respectively.

The second batch, so to speak, of Fergie’s Fledglings were the ones who would make the connotation famous around the world. They are also, incidentally, the same group of players who would condemn football pundit and former Liverpool player Alan Hansen for a lifetime of ridicule for his infamous, “You’ll never win anything with kids” quote. These were the all-conquering stars of their generation, who could claim the honour, rightfully at that, of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the infamous Busby Babes. Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt are the leading lights of the Fledglings of the 90s, with some such as Terry Cooke fell by the wayside, unable to match the brilliance that was displayed by the rest. Of course, Eric Harrison, Sir Alex’s trusted assistant coach, in charge of youth development, deserves equal credit for the achievements of the Fledglings.

But, this batch of players were the last ever to be given the label of Fledglings, for after them, Manchester United never were able to produce a batch of players with talents to match those. While it is true that United kept on promoting young, often British, players to the first team from the youth teams, none of them were able to garner the acclaim that their predecessors enjoyed. Players such as John O’Shea, Wes Brown, Darren Fletcher and recently, Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley have come through the system at United, but both sets of players are far apart in age, a fact that demonstrates United’s paucity in recent times as far as producing talent goes.

But, now, we take a look at 3 players: former players Paul Pogba and Ravel Morrison, and current United hot-prospect Adnan Januzaj.

Right off the outset, a point must be made: namely, in terms of pure talent, Morrison stands heads and shoulders above both Paul Pogba and Adnan Januzaj. This might seem a ludicrous and somewhat preposterous claim to some, given that both Pogba and Januzaj are so much more famous than Morrison, but that is only because of the circumstances of fate.

HULL, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 28: Ravel Morrison of West Ham United in action during the Barclays Premier League match between Hull City and West Ham United at KC Stadium on September 28, 2013 in Hull, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

Morrison grew up a Mancunian, growing up in a suburb in south Manchester. He joined as a 16-year old, signing on schoolboy terms, and signed his first professional contract a year later. Right from the start, the coaches at United knew this was a special player. After all, not many players get compared to the legendary Paul Scholes when they’re just 17. Morrison was the consummate English player, but with a twist; he was physically competent, being hard to get off the ball, and possessed good athleticism and stamina, but he also was technically astute and had good vision- a combination that was more than noticeable in the young Paul Scholes. Much was expected from the young lad from Wythenshawe, but he was a victim of his own youth and inability to rise from his upbringing. Much of Morrison’s time at United is marred by his off-the-field misdemeanours, which include a 12-month referral order for witness intimidation, a dropped charge for assault after his girlfriend refused to testify. He did not get off scott-free in the latter though, as he was convicted of criminal damage for throwing her mobile phone out of a window, and was advised to undergo domestic violence counselling, at the age of 18. In 2012 he was reprimanded by the FA after he posted homophobic tweets, and was also fined.

These incidents showcase the undesirable side of Morrison; the main culprits in the lead-up to him being cast-away by Manchester United. As Rio Ferdinand himself posted on facebook a while back, at the same age, Morrison was way ahead of Pogba and Januzaj in terms of pure talent.

TURIN , ITALY – SEPTEMBER 29: Paul Pogba of Juventus in action during the Serie A match between Torino FC and Juventus at Stadio Olimpico di Torino on September 29, 2013, in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

No matter what Paul Pogba goes onto achieve in his career, he will, in at least small part, be forever remembered as the player who left on such acrimonious terms from Manchester United, and Sir Alex Ferguson. Pogba, just like Morrison, joined United as a 16 year old, and proceeded to make a name for himself in England owing to his obvious talents. Pogba was equally adept at making an explosive run forward from deep in midfield as he was in dispossessing opponents. Pogba is that rare mixture of power and grace who seems to come along once in so many years. Classy and assured on the ball beyond his tender years, it seemed only a matter of time before the young Frenchman would be making a mark on the senior side. But, alas, that opportunity never arose. Pogba’s main grouse with United was the perceived ill-treatment at the hands of the United hierarchy, and especially Sir Alex. He felt that he was overlooked for selection in the 2011-12 season, when United were hit by a raft of midfield injuries as, instead of giving him a call-up to the senior squad, Sir Alex chose to call Paul Scholes out of retirement. In the end, Pogba moved on at the end of that season, leaving on a free transfer to Juventus, as his contract expired. Pogba remained vociferous in his accusations that he deserved better at United, but there is a section of fans who feel that it was monetary factors that made Pogba choose Turin in place of Manchester.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 14: Adnan Januzaj of Manchester United in action during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on September 14, 2013 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Januzaj is the only player, among the three, to still be contracted at United. He too joined United as a 16 year old, and has risen through the ranks at Old Trafford quickly. Winner of the 2013 Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year award last season, he is the latest prodigiously gifted player to come through United’s Youth Team. Unlike both Pogba and Morrison though, Januzaj is a player who lacks physical presence, but more than makes up for it with dribbling skill and positional sense well beyond his tender 18 years. He is already an occasional feature in the senior squad at United, and is expected to earn his first senior start against Sunderland at the weekend. The pacy youngster, who can operate on the flanks as well as an attacking midfielder, scored a peach of a goal against the Bolton reserves for the Manchester United reserves recently. But, there will be a source of worry for the United fans, as history threatens to repeat itself; Januzaj is yet to sign a new contract, and is already into the last year of his current contract. To exacerbate that worry would be reports that City are waiting in the wings, looking for the slightest hint that Januzaj wants out, ready to offer him a bumper contract.

United, and David Moyes, must now make sure that the mistakes that were prevalent in the last years of legendary manager Sir Alex do not spill into the Moyes era; for, what Moyes would want the least is to be known as the manager who let a talent like Adnan Januzaj join United’s bitter rivals.