Thursday, October 24, 2013

In Defence of Danny Welbeck

Why the young Manchester United star will prove his critics wrong


Football fans have been spoiled. The fact that we are witnesses to arguably the greatest footballers ever means that the modern fan suffers from exaggerated expectations. By the age of 23, both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were dominant forces in their leagues. By 24, both had been crowned best player on the planet. Few players reach these heights so quickly. Most players will only show real consistency in their mid-20s and peak at around 27. Despite the fact that he is still a month shy of his 23rd birthday, Welbeck has had to endure heavy criticism.

"Looks like Bambi on ice."

"What does he actually do?"

"A whole two goals last season..."

"Basically a modern Heskey."

Comments like this do young Welbeck a great injustice. While his hairstyle may be a throwback to the glorious 90s, the Fresh Prince of Manchester represents the future of football for both club and country. First off, Danny Welbeck is not a striker. Remove the thought from your mind. He may still end up playing as a front man but over the last couple of seasons the young Mancunian has been deployed as a winger, attacking midfielder and utility forward. In a team that has been blessed with tremendous attacking talent over the years, Welbeck's remit has rarely been to score goals and his willingness to work hard for the team has been to the detriment of personal glory. Last season Sir Alex Ferguson regularly used him in order to counter specific threats in other teams. Most notably, the young Englishman was selected to play in both legs against Real Madrid, United's biggest games of the season. 

Eyebrows were raised when he was selected ahead of Wayne Rooney in the second leg but Welbeck acquitted himself well, preventing Xabi Alonso from dictating the tempo of the game before Nani's sending off. In the first leg he opened the scoring with a well-placed header that silenced the Bernabeu. It was in these matches that he demonstrated his big game bottle - this young man is not cowed by the occasion. Welbeck's finishing is often the focus of criticism and it is true that he can lack composure in and around the box but this is to be expected from a young player that is constantly shifted about the park, playing anywhere but his preferred position for the benefit of the team. The boy certainly has the ability to finish as evidenced by a superb chip against Swansea to kick off the season. Consistency in front of goal will come with greater experience and maturity.

Welbeck's greatest strength however, is his link up play. Similar to Bayern Munich's Thomas Muller, his clever movement and willingness to play the one-two means that Manchester United are more fluent when he features. While he does not fit the traditional creative archetype, his style of play unfailingly creates openings and chances for those around him. For opposing defences he poses a conundrum - tall, quick and strong with clever feet - he constantly runs the channels, popping up wherever he can do the most damage. It was precisely these attributes that led to Welbeck being Rooney's preferred strike partner (before the purchase of Van Persie), even though Sir Alex could call upon Chicharito and Dimitar Berbatov. Welbeck's team ethic, movement and flair are also now proving crucial to Roy Hodgson's England side, allowing them to have pace and offensive threat from multiple angles while retaining defensive solidity. Only injury will prevent him from boarding the plane to Brazil.

Danny Welbeck is an underrated footballer. Much like the formerly maligned Michael Carrick, his contributions are hard to observe but are essential to his teams. Those who are already writing him off would do well to remember the resurgence of Aaron Ramsey; the Welshman has responded to near universal condemnation with imperious midfield performances this season. With the quality that he possesses all that Welbeck needs is faith and patience. At Old Trafford he is likely to get plenty of both.




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