Jonny Evans | 2011/12 Performances

It looks as he wanted it that way. Over the top of defenders and in front of full-back, who doesn't have to reduce his pace to get the ball.
 
Tomuś said:
It looks as he wanted it that way. Over the top of defenders and in front of full-back, who doesn't have to reduce his pace to get the ball.
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I see him cut across the ball slightly, I don't see the swerve fully materialise, and I see Rafa having to scramble to keep it in. I think it was meant to be a Scholesian one landing plumb at his feet, not skidding off the grass at waist-height. But we'll have to agree to disagree.

golden_blunder said:
whatever, it hit the target. not bad for a cb eh?
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He's a lovely passer and he's great under pressure too. Can't hurt coming up alongside Rio Ferdinand.
 
Should of watched him in his latest international match, was outstanding against Portugal if I remember correctly, he actually counter attacked by himself at times. He's developing and to me, he's passing is only a little bit inferior to Pique, but I think he defends better so I think he's more suited to our style.

Been one of our best players this season, underrated because a few bad tackles and his strength, but he seems to be getting better and better.
 
RedThaiDevils#7 said:
Should of watched him in his latest international match, was outstanding against Portugal if I remember correctly, he actually counter attacked by himself at times. He's developing and to me, he's passing is only a little bit inferior to Pique, but I think he defends better so I think he's more suited to our style.

Been one of our best players this season, underrated because a few bad tackles and his strength, but he seems to be getting better and better.
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He was superb against Portugal. A height-of-his-powers Rio would have been chuffed with that performance. And their goal had a lot to do with him beating a man and putting a nice pass into the assister.

I think he passes as well as Pique. It's easy to think that because Pique passes well and plays for Barca, he passes like Xavi, which isn't true. Evans' passing is as good. What makes Pique special is his footwork and dribbling, which is bizarrely good for a centre-half. He's scored a couple of goals from inside the box that made him look like Ibrahimovic.
 
his cross field passes are just excellent. he is definitely a two footed player. not sure whether he prefer his right or his left.
 
ricky-romeo said:
his cross field passes are just excellent. he is definitely a two footed player. not sure whether he prefer his right or his left.
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Very true.I mean when he first broke through I was convinced he was left footed but then again you see him use his right foot often.
It should be compulsory of modern day footballers to be two footed
 
kouroux said:
Very true.I mean when he first broke through I was convinced he was left footed but then again you see him use his right foot often.
It should be compulsory of modern day footballers to be two footed
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And 6ft 2 and be able to run 100 meters in under 10 seconds but it ain't going to happen. Think Messi or Scholes.
 
He was brilliant and his use of the ball and skills as well as distribution is underrated. Superb player when on form
 
Plechazunga said:
I don't think that was actually a great pass, by Jonny's standards. I think he was trying to land it at Rafael's feet, not bounce it ten yards in front of him. Rafa did damn well to control it.
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What makes you think that? There was plenty of space in front of him, surely playing it into the space makes more sense than playing it to his feet.
 
Lawman said:
And 6ft 2 and be able to run 100 meters in under 10 seconds but it ain't going to happen. Think Messi or Scholes.
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What you just said is stupid tbh.Being two footed isn't the same thing as being a physical freak in terms of height and pace.Being two footed can only help you on the pitch even if you are truly shit footballer.Height and pace are useless if not used intelligently
 
kouroux said:
What you just said is stupid tbh.Being two footed isn't the same thing as being a physical freak in terms of height and pace.Being two footed can only help you on the pitch even if you are truly shit footballer.Height and pace are useless if not used intelligently
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Plus you can't teach a footballer to be taller or (much) faster, but you can certainly improve their two-footedness.
 
Tomu? said:
I said recently he has that potentially great cb aura about him and someone asked what did I understand by that. That performance is the answer.
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That would have been me sir. You actually answered at the time, but this answer still does not convince me of his "great cb aura."

It was a very comfortable afternoon for Jonny, against a solitary, very average striker in Giroud. Don't get me wrong he was impressive in his distribution, and his positioning was very sound...something I often criticise him for. That performance was not a big test though so it does not convince me he has an aura about him...no offense I just don't think you quite understand the meaning?

It was like a training exercise for himself and Rio, who I thought was actually just as good in nullifying any threat Arsenal posed. He's getting better is Jonny but I really feel he is on top form when Rio is alongside him to support. Rio steps in when Jonny is a tad reckless or a tad over-enthusiastic. Eventually he may be able to take up the mantle when Rio departs and the signs are fairly promising...second half against Braga is an example when he took control of his backline.

At present he is doing the right things and improvement is there, with room to progress further. He will have much harder tests this season and I will wait until he's come through those to assess where he is truly at.
 
Good ball playing center back who is developing a knack of scoring goals. He's excellent at defending as well. He's developed really well.
 
Rowem said:
What makes you think that? There was plenty of space in front of him, surely playing it into the space makes more sense than playing it to his feet.
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It's the way he cuts across it to make it fade right but it doesn't really happen, it goes pretty straight.

Comsmit said:
he was impressive in his distribution, and his positioning was very sound...something I often criticise him for.
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But that's probably his best quality and always has been, from his first season at Sunderland. Criticising him for that is bizarre. The recklessness you mention below is a real concern but his positioning and reading of the game are top-notch.

I really feel he is on top form when Rio is alongside him to support. Rio steps in when Jonny is a tad reckless or a tad over-enthusiastic.
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He was also great alongside Vidic for most of a season. Admittedly playing well alongside Rio and Vidic is a bit like learning to be a good songwriter when you're George Harrison, but still.
 
Lawman said:
And 6ft 2 and be able to run 100 meters in under 10 seconds but it ain't going to happen. Think Messi or Scholes.
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These are aspects a footballer cannot control. The ability to use two feet is something that can be built up as a youngster (and even later on) through practice. Extremely different.

feck knows how good Valencia would be if he had a left foot.
 
Brightonian said:
Plus you can't teach a footballer to be taller or (much) faster, but you can certainly improve their two-footedness.
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It should have been the first thing to say in my post tbh.I play football but my left foot is completely useless, I'm so jealous of two footed players and even purely left footed ones (they're difficult to play against).
 
There is simply no excuse for not being two-footed as a professional footballer, however good you are. It's like a concert pianist who can only play the white keys.

Actually that analogy doesn't work at all as you can't play the piano like that. feck it, I'm sticking with it.
 
Plechazunga said:
There is simply no excuse for not being two-footed as a professional footballer, however good you are. It's like a concert pianist who can only play the white keys.
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Agreed. Valencia was just mentioned as an example, and the Arsenal game actually had a moment where if he'd use his left foot, he would almost certainly have scored. All he had to do was let the ball hit it, and it was probably going in, but he insisted on his right.

As a footballer, I am terrible. I could make Rik Waller look like Zidane, but I try to make sure that I use my right foot to pass almost as much as my left. If I can do it, surely people with actual ability could spend some time in training trying to use the other foot?
 
Same here, though it's mainly cos my dad forced me to practice with my left as a little kid.

I can actually do some things better with my left, eg volley they ball. My crossing and long passing are a bit shite with it though.
 
Look at all the great CB during the fergie era.

Bruce was a few days away from his 27 birthday when he joined.
Pallister was 24 when he joined.
Rio was 23 when he joined.
Vidic was 24 when he joined.

Evans was 20 when he came back from Sunderland and started getting games. He has had to do it the hard way. Just like De Gea his position is probably the hardest to play in for a young player. We are really only starting to see the best of Evans now.
 
Quite. And it's not as if he hasn't been good, he's been largely excellent aside from one six-month spell. And to balance that spell, we weren't letting any goals in when he had that run alongside Vidic.

If he stays fit and keeps improving he's going to be a top, top centre-half. He needs to iron out those flying tackles - he's reading the pass, but making bad judgments that he can get there first.
 
Plech is right. I think preformed opinions do tend to distort reality when it comes to fans and pundits. It makes me mad every time Steve McMahon calls out Rafael before every game and says that United can be had there when Rafael has been one of the better performing RB's in the league not just for United.

The same goes with Evans. A six month spell where he didn't do well seems to have stuck in people's mind whereas the one year spell before that and his performances since haven't absolved him of his "sins".
 
Once you get an image, it's so hard to get rid of it. Look at Gary Neville, he was going through a rough patch around the year 2000. It tooks years for people to actually realise he was past that and going well.
 
During Evans' bad spell, Pique was playing very well in a brilliant team and there were a lot of criticism aimed at Fergie too, for letting Pique go.

I'm not sure if it affected Evans that much though.
 
I reckon he's nudged ahead of Rio now, when Vidic comes back.
 
Evans is always going to have that rash tackle / penalty incident about him as thats how he plays. He however is very good with the ball at his feet doing pirouettes when under pressure. He is more composed under pressure than many midfielders!

His strength is reading the game, interceptions, positioning, and ball playing, he isn't the greatest man marker ala Thiago Silva.
 
I can't help comparing him to Pallister for some reason. Then I've mostly seen Pallister thanks to footage of the high-profile games we had when he was here.

And I don't say he's or will be as good, before someone attacks me.
 
Tomuś said:
I can't help comparing him to Pallister for some reason. Then I've mostly seen Pallister thanks to footage of the high-profile games we had when he was here.

And I don't say he's or will be as good, before someone attacks me.
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I don't know why anyone would have a go at you for suggesting that Evans could be as good as Pallister. I'll be hugely disappointed if he's not just as commanding and influential in the next 3 years.
 
I could understand people being a little bit cautious but I do believe he can make it big time.
 
I don't understand why some folk are unwilling to give Evans credit for his turnaround here. I was almost ready to give up on him a couple of years ago when he generally looked out of his depth but I sure learnt my lesson not to write off a youngster so quickly again, and he did have a promising start to his career here but I didn't see him coming back from that horrid run he went through in 2010. Some people I know think he's "awful", as is Carrick. Obviously don't have a clue though. Pisses me off none the less. He's been outstanding for the best part of the last 18 months here.
 
Orton said:
I don't understand why some folk are unwilling to give Evans credit for his turnaround here. I was almost ready to give up on him a couple of years ago when he generally looked out of his depth but I sure learnt my lesson not to write off a youngster so quickly again, and he did have a promising start to his career here but I didn't see him coming back from that horrid run he went through in 2010. Some people I know think he's "awful", as is Carrick. Obviously don't have a clue though. Pisses me off none the less. He's been outstanding for the best part of the last 18 months here.
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Spot on, i was the same doubted his future at the club. it just shows young players (especially defenders) need time to develop and imo a poor spell like Evans went through isnt so bad, it builds experience and shows great character to come through it.
 
Plechazunga said:
But that's probably his best quality and always has been, from his first season at Sunderland. Criticising him for that is bizarre. The recklessness you mention below is a real concern but his positioning and reading of the game are top-notch.
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It's probably not his best quality man, for me it's his technique, his first touch is terrific for a central defender. His positioning still needs work but it's far more accomplished than his anticipation. He tends to position himself for the most part pretty well, but there are occasions such as Braga's second at Old Trafford and the second at Stamford Bridge where a combination of both lets him down. The one at the Bridge was really poor, he went chasing the ball when his first instinct should have been to re-position himself centrally and maintain shape.

Like I said he is a tad over-enthusiastic at times but he's improving so I probably can't keep griping at him for long. An interesting feature of Evans' season for me is that his best performance by a mile wasn't in a United shirt. If he can replicate that week in week out at club level then I will be convinced.
 
Just won a competition where I get to watch the NI team train and meet them... Any messages for Jonny you want me to pass on?
 
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