Ross McCormack can “understand some fans’ frustration” with Leeds United winger Dan James despite his excellent performance against Watford.
The former Elland Road striker told BBC Radio Leeds after Saturday’s (September 23) 3-0 win that despite two more assists from the Welshman this weekend, he wanted see him playing with more “consistency”.
James is back at Leeds this year after spending last season on loan at Fulham, and while he has performed well in recent games he sometimes comes in for criticism for his end product.
Asked by Jonny Buchan what more the Welshman can do to avoid criticism McCormack said (20m 45s): “Yeah he was good. It was hard to say anyone hard a poor game, but you can understand some of the fans’ frustration.
“Because you know fine well what’s in him, what he can go and produce, you just want to see it a bit more often.
“You saw it with [Crysencio] Summerville quite a bit in a first half, going at people and beating people and creating things.
You just want to see Dan James have a little bit more belief in his own ability to really go and take it to the opposition.
“It’s there. He can do it. Everyone’s seen it in the past. It’s just doing it consistently.”
Unfortunate
Some supremely talented players never develop the belief that their ability would suggest should come naturally before not everyone has the same personality, while others simply always blow hot and cold for their whole careers.
James may be both, and perhaps it will forever be a matter of trading off the bad days where nothing works for the good where he can barely be stopped.
In fairness to him he has hardly had the smoothest of rides at Leeds United or indeed for the past few years in general.
He was infamously in Yorkshire ready to sign from Swansea on deadline day in January 2019 only for his then-club to not sanction the move, before moving to Manchester United that summer where he spent two increasingly unsatisfying seasons under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
After finally making it to Elland Road in 2021 he was obliged to frequently play out of position as a striker thanks to injury in a chaotic season that saw Marcelo Bielsa sacked, before he became an afterthought for Jesse Marsch and sent to Craven Cottage.
If he had an extended run out wide for the Whites then perhaps the inconsistency which plagues his game could be ironed out, but with Crysencio Summerville, Willy Gnonto and Jaidon Anthony among others to compete with that is easier said than done.
However, if he continues how he is currently performing he will give himself a strong chance to finally prove his worth.
