Chamberlain is due to the lack of decent wingers England have and tbf he had a fair bit of experience in the Championship and looked comfortable in the PL, same thing with Walcott. On top of that, judging by Hogdson's selections I can safely say Powell won't play for England next year unless he makes a miraculous 3 league leap.
Mike Keegan ‏@mikekeeganmen Senior source at #mufc tells me Arsenal were United's main rivals for Nick Powell.
I don't think Oxlade-Chamberlain ever played in the championship. I also don't think we should judge Hodgson on the selection much, he didn't have enough time to deviate from the 'golden generation', and other than not picking Micah Richards, he really didn't have much else he could do. I hope and expect to see a much younger, more technically gifted team for the world cup qualifiers and the world cup. I highly doubt Powell will get a cap next season. There are many young midfielders who should be ahead of him in the pecking order, such as Shelvey, McEachran, Rodwell and Gary Gardner. I don't expect many of them to get caps either, but when we say goodbye to the Lampards and Gerrards, these are players who I think should, given they have got the playing time, be involved in the next world cup. However, I think it is likely Powell, after the 2014 world cup, will become an important player for England. I have watched him quite a lot this season and he is definitely a special player with a massive future ahead of him, and he has the right attitude.
Yeah, he's an Attacking mid/second striker.... like Kaka for example. He's scored some wondergoals for sure.
The lad looks like a natural to me.His main hurdle next season will be adjusting to the pace of top flight Football, once he has nailed that, I believe he will go on to be a big player for club and country.
richard askam ‏@richaskam Just been to see Dario Gradi. Says Nick Powell can become star for man united & has talent to shine at Old Trafford.#mufc #thealex
Confidence comes naturally to some players. They jump straight into big games and play their game. Rooney did it, Bale did it and Chamberlain is still doing it. Judging by the videos, Powell does it too. While L2 isn't high on quality, it's not a kids league and it's intimidating for a young player who isn't yet a fully grown man. Try some skills and there's a good chance of getting clattered. It's not an easy league to express yourself in. I was very impressed with how Chamberlain would pick himself up after being clattered and carry on running at defenders. He got lots of them booked in his time at Saints. Walcott and Lallana looked quite nervous to sart with and it's those ones that need the most careful nurturing. Chamberlain will take on whatever challenge is thrown at him and hopefully Powell will too.
Dario Gradi: "Nick Powell is like a Rooney or a Cantona. He doesn't need others to win matches. He will win them on his own"
Nick Powell ‏@NPowell25 I am Happy and excited to join man utd. A big Thank you to everyone connected to Crewe. #NeverForget #CAFC #MUFC #Future
Gradi needs to get a grip. Powell has only just joined and he is saying he is like a Cantona or Rooney.
You said he'd be playing for England in a year ! All Gradi was saying is that he's a player that can win games for you. He wasn't actually inferring that he is as good as Cantona.
Only time will tell if Gradi and Matt are right. He's certainly arrived with some promise, but it's all potential for now.
How, from that post, could you conclude that? I've got no reason to dislike United any more than any other big club.
This is what Crewe Alexandra's Director of Football Dario Gradie had to say on United signing Powell. Source: a poster called Vibhas on Redcafe "There were [other clubs interested] but I have to say Sir Alex wanted Nick more than anybody else did and worked harder at it," "I was very impressed with the way Sir Alex went about it and what he said." "If he was trying to sign me, I'd have signed!" "What Sir Alex has done is challenge the boy to do what Ronaldo did. Young players worry about their chances of playing when they go to United. "But Sir Alex told Nick, 'If you do well enough, you'll get a chance. Ronaldo went on as sub [on his debut against Bolton] and was outstanding so I picked him.' Nick has got to be good enough, first of all, in training to be named as a sub but that's the challenge Sir Alex has given him."
