[MANCHESTER UNITED] IS JAMES GARNER READY FOR THE PREMIER LEAGUE?

INTRODUCTION

Manchester United is lagging far behind their city counterpart, Manchester City. The Reds are having their second full season under the former team legend Ole Gunnar Solskjær, but still, they show no sign of stability, a clear footballing philosophy, or squad’s balance. One of the priorities for Manchester United now is to have an excellent defensive midfielder in their roster to replace the aging Nemanja Matic and be a more reliable starter than the likes of Fred or McTominay. Many are suggesting United look into their own rank, as numerous young players have made their mark under the Norweigian’s regime, for another capable midfielder. That player is the Merseysidian, Steven Gerrard’s fan, James Garner. In this scout report, we will look into Garner’s styles, his attributes, and abilities off the ball and on the ball, to see whether or not he can break into United’s first squad.

CHANGING TEAMS, CHANGING STYLES

The English youngster, James Garner, made his debut for Man United back in 2019 against Crystal Palace. Four Europa League appearances and eight minutes versus Norwich in the next season is not enough for an exciting player’s development. Ole and the coaching staffs recognize the potential of the Merseyside boy:

“I believe he’s got the chance to have a great future. He knows we believe in him, we’ve got great faith in him as the next Michael Carrick. I know he’s young and I know it’s not fair on kids to compare to great players like Michael was, but he’s the same mold, he plays simple passes, plays through the lines.”

So, on the loan, he went.

As of this moment, James Garner has enjoyed a pretty loan stint at Watford before and now at Nottingham Forest.

At Watford, instead of being deployed in a deeper role like his time at the Academy or Nottingham Forest later on, James was mostly used as a box-to-box midfielder on the right side of a midfield trio. The standout strengths of his game at Watford are his tenacity pressing and movement.

James was instructed to press higher up the pitch. The challenges at Nottingham were very different compared to his time at The Hornets. Nottingham Forest is in the relegation zone and fighting for the right to stay in the league, instead of fighting for the title. Furthermore, it is fair to say that this is a wise move for the United board to loan him to Forest. After struggling for minutes following a managerial change, Garner would be able to enjoy more game time, as well as playing in his natural, deeper position.

Garner has changed his position many times only in the span of one season, as seen from the pictures below.

Garner’s average position in Watford (above, number 23) and Forest (below, number 37)

BRIEF LOOK AT FOREST’S TACTICS

Chris Houghton usually set up his team in a 4-4-2. Nottingham Forest will look to sit off and attack the counter. They will try to create a compact low or middle block before delivering the ball fast toward the dangerous area. This change in tactics and philosophy compared to Watford means that James will have to change his game. The young Englishman cannot press high anymore.

Nottingham Forest, oddly, does not build up with a back three comprising a defensive midfielder dropping off to create a numerical advantage in the defensive third and look to progress the ball through triangle and diamond passing. The Reds would instead be pinging long ball forward from the goalkeeper to the strikers or the wide attackers. Due to this fact, the central midfielders like Cafu, Yates, and Garner, would not assist much during the build-up phases, shown in the relatively poor passing statistics below (all statistics are per match).

JAMES GARNER DURING DEFENSIVE PHASE

James dropped the tenacious, intense pressing style from his time at Watford to a more conservative, holding style at Forest. He will be required to maintain position and the solidity of the defensive posture. This is shown in his average heat position, James is spending more time in his own half. As in the picture below, James occupied one of the two central midfield stances during the defensive phase of Nottingham Forest. Foresters defense in a classical 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1/ 4-4-1-1. Therefore, as a holding midfielder, unlike his time at Watford, Garner would not be the one responsible for the pressure applied on the opposition. The wider players and the strikers would press the opposing team. Garner’s defensive positioning is different and depending on the opposition. In the case Nottingham Forest is playing against stronger teams and looking to cede territory instead of struggling for possession, Garner would not fight for the ball and wait for the loose ball as well as maintaining defensive position.

Garner also maintains his intensity from the loan at Watford. Especially on the opposition counter, Garner shows his ability to track back and cover the spaces. The boy from Birkenhead maintains a fair defensive statistics of 8.6 defensive duels won with a 59.1% successful rate, 4.76 interceptions per match. Garner’s defensive skills still have much to improve, his 1.37 fouls per match is not a pretty number.

Against weaker teams, who look to sit off in a low block, when Forest dominates possession, Garner tends to press a little bit higher, applying pressure right at the opposition half. However, the problem arises as Forest’s defensive line does not move cohesively to shorten the gap between the lines. As a result, Garner does not have the efficiency matching with his aggressiveness.

James recognized the situation in front of him and attacked the opposition’s player, forcing him to turnover.

Another case where the English midfielder has a good reading of the game. He saw a bad touch from the other team’s player and imposed pressure immediately, forcing a turnover.

Another detail worth mentioning is James Garner’s improving physique. The young player has grown significantly since last season, from 176cm to 182cm. His aerial duels won has risen from 1.15 (40%) to 2.92 (34.5%). James should be able to use his body better to shadow defense, as well as impose his body on the opposition’s running path. James still has much to improve on his defensive game, especially with his reading of the game, defensive positioning, and body orientation.

THE MERSEYSIDE KID ON THE BALL

Due to the “special” tactics of Houghton’s Forest side, James, albeit playing deeper than previously in Watford, still has fairly poor statistics of passing. James Garner does not participate much in the build-up process of the team. However, his passing ability is still sharp, as shown in various games. In my opinion, it would be beneficial for James to play in a system that emphasizes more on building up from the back. Therefore, the boy would have more time on the ball, being able to dictate the game from deep, improve his passing and tempo-controlling ability.

James (on the ball), spotted wide attackers forward and had an accurate long ball.

James knows what he is doing. The young lad understood the space in front of him after getting the ball back and laid a beautiful pass for his teammate:

James (37) held the ball neatly for his teammate to exploit the space created by him before laying the ball back.

Garner is also capable of pinging long ball to switch play

Here, James recognized the space on the far side of the pitch and made a good pass for his teammate.

With two goals to his tally after just 14 matches for Nottingham Forest, James shows that he is also capable of banging in goals the same way his fellow academy teammate Scott McTominay does.

Attack the box with pace and pick his spot beautifully, elegant touch, and a goal. This is crucial for a “traditional” English team playing in a 4-4-2. The gaffer is always concerned with getting the ball in and out of the boxes.

SO, THE BIG QUESTION, IS GARNER READY FOR PREMIERSHIP FOOTBALL?

One can postulate that Garner is ready for higher-level football. However, in my opinion, the lad is still far from playing his best football. James has only been playing Championship football for less than one season and the kid’s footballing style is not yet shaped. To answer this question properly, we need to look deep inside United’s squad and James’ abilities. Manchester United is rebuilding, the squad is imbalanced and lacks sustainability since Fergie’s departure. United’s board may be looking to have more experienced players into the squad. James’ strengths are in his intensity, his movement inside the box, and his fairly good passing range. Manchester United is already stacked with midfielders that can provide these qualities, such as Bruno Fernandes, Fred, McTominay, Pogba, Donny Van de Beek, or even Jesse Lingard. James Garner can look to his fellow Carrington graduates McTominay and Lingard for inspiration, these two players only break into the first team and make their mark later in their career. The most necessary thing now for the young Merseyside boy is to have more game time in a clear-style team, improve his skills and physique. James Garner can be a real good player in the United squad, the same way Fletcher or Park used to under Sir Alex Ferguson. However, that is still in the future, for now, another loan would benefit the Englishman and his team.

CONCLUSION

This article has shown that James Garner is a decent player, with only one season playing competitive football, and the youngster already made a name for himself. James shows that he is capable of intensive defending, a fairly good reading of the game, and quality on the attack. However, there is still much to improve if he wants to have a solid spot on the United first team. In my conclusion, Man United should loan him for one or two more seasons and see how he can improve to become a Premier League-level starter.