JJ Gabriel, Max Dowman and how to successfully manage a wonderkid as Man Utd face losing once-in-a-generation talent
Gabriel does not match up to Dowman from a physical standpoint. He’s a very slight build, and is often the smallest player on the pitch. Although his toughness and determination go some way to making up for that, rushing him into first-team action could backfire dramatically for United, especially if he made an immediate impact.
In that scenario, Carrick would then be under pressure to play Gabriel every week, putting a lot of strain on his young body. Arteta has the luxury of rotating Dowman in sporadically, because Arsenal have a deep squad that allows him to pick a variety of different teams that win games consistently.
United are far weaker across the pitch by contrast, with performance levels fluctuating constantly. If Carrick suddenly dropped Gabriel from his plans, he’d be accused of being too conservative as the team toils for improvement. On the flip side of the coin, if Gabriel came in and struggled to impose himself, people would label him an overrated prospect.
Carrick has, then, been very wise up to this point, certainly in the eyes of United academy graduate Danny Simpson, who got his start in the game towards the end of the glorious Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Speaking exclusively to GOAL courtesy of Free Bets, Simpson said: “You’ve seen Arsenal do it, haven’t you, with Max Dowman. He’s come in, then he takes him out, then we don’t know about him for a bit, then he might come back in. I think it’s easier for Dowman.
“This is what I’m going to say. I came through United, this is what people don’t realise. I came through United and United were great. I could come on for 10 minutes because most of the time we were 2-0 up, 3-0 up. I would play, I’d get my debut or a second game and I’d be playing with the second XI who could win the Premier League! I think that’s Max Dowman. He’s coming into a team that’s flying in confidence, full of top, top talent, winning games.
“People in the second XI, a bit like United back in the day, just as good. It’s easy to come on and have an impact and play well. I think maybe United at the minute is a bit different. I will say that. I know we all want to see Gabriel play and it’s exciting, but it’s just a very different situation to Max Dowman at Arsenal.
“I just think that Michael Carrick will know what to do and when to. We’ve seen it a little bit with Shea Lacey. I’ve trained with Shea and I’ve been around him and I’ll say he’s a top talent. Just let him [Gabriel] train and be around the team and his time will come.”
