Great news
Jonny Evans | 2011/12 Performances
- Thread starter Sir Matt
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) are here to discuss three 1-1 draws.
The first got us knocked out of the FA Cup, the next puts us in a good position in our Round of 16 Europa League game, and the latest was an actual decent performance against Arsenal at Old Trafford.
All hopes for the season now rest on the Europa League - does Amorim have the squad to win it?
Bit premature to be coming out with statements like that, he hasn't kept Rio or Vidic out of the team. He's an able back-up but Ferdinand/Vidic is still our first choice until it's shown otherwise.
Over Vidic and Ferdinand? Come on.
He's ahead of Smalling and Jones right now, due to the run of games and form since last season.
This is a reward for him stepping up to the plate and making the required improvements in his game. Still got a lot to prove, as with Smalling and Jones...I expect United to delve into the market for a young central defender in the next 2 years.
Yeah, I think if Rio and Vidic ever managed to be fit at the same time they would undoubtedly be first choice.
By next year I don't know if that'll be the case. With Rio's age and Evans sharp improvement he could well be first choice.
I love the fact that Evans extended his contract, and I agree he's been much better the past season, however I still preffer Smalling over Evans.
And obviously Vidič and Rio are still 1st choice for now until proven otherwise.
And obviously Vidič and Rio are still 1st choice for now until proven otherwise.
Nailed on truth.
I'd say Evans is more than an "able back-up" but that's a hair that need not be split. There's really no question that when fit and in form, Vidic and Rio are our starting two CBs. But "fit and in form" is an important qualification, isn't it?
Evans has done a magnificent job holding down the fort while dealing with rotating CB partners, but no one can deny that he's prone to the bonehead mistake here and there. Not just mistakes, but bonehead mistakes. But only bonehead mistake amidst 90 minutes of outstanding play is a fair trade for a third choice CB.
In terms of potential, I see Smalling leaping Evans fairly soon, once he's able to get in a decent run of games not that he's put his injury problems behind him.
I don't see a need to acquire another CB, as some have suggested here. Jones looks pretty good to me. Wooton, despite his bonehead mistakes against Chelsea in the league cup, also looks promising.
Smalling is more talented and will most likely become the better defender, but you have to give credit to Evans for his attitude and determination in fighting for a starting place, which he nailed last season.
I'm delighted for him to say the least. If anybody deserves a contract extension based on last seasons performances, it's Evans.
I'm delighted for him to say the least. If anybody deserves a contract extension based on last seasons performances, it's Evans.
Fantastic news for him and the club.
I hope he signs a new contract as well but i think Nani's career at United is sadly coming to an end.
Disagree, at this moment of time Vidic and Rio are still our best centre back partnership but with Vidic coming back after a lengthy spell on the side lines, Evans will likely get less game time because i am sure most will agree that Rio and Vidic are our best partnership in the centre back role for the time being.
Really pleased to see Jonny sign an extension on his contract.
Loved him since watching him as a rookie in the reserves at Hyde Uniteds ground
Loved him since watching him as a rookie in the reserves at Hyde Uniteds ground
Great news. Credit to the player and Sir Alex for how well he has developed over the last few seasons. Perhaps Rio and Vidic are still the preferred partnership on paper, but i imagine that gap could close for various reasons.
He's not better than Smalling never mind Vidic or Ferdinand.
Good news, Evans is such a classy defender for us.
Well you're wrong there.
I like Evans. I like his balls.
It's a deserved deal based on his performances last season and this. There was a time that it could really have gone either way for him, remember the battering at the hands of Carlton Cole he took, and remember him being linked with a move to Sunderland a few times.
I think Ferguson likes the fact he knows he can trust Evans and know that he will not cause him any trouble, he has known him since he was young and always likes to have players he knows are loyal as he finds them much easier to deal with. Evans really doesn't get the credit he deserves for his performances. Not sure why, it just seems like the media have an agenda when it comes to him, he is regarded as "dodgy" for some reason. Well done Jonny.
I think Ferguson likes the fact he knows he can trust Evans and know that he will not cause him any trouble, he has known him since he was young and always likes to have players he knows are loyal as he finds them much easier to deal with. Evans really doesn't get the credit he deserves for his performances. Not sure why, it just seems like the media have an agenda when it comes to him, he is regarded as "dodgy" for some reason. Well done Jonny.
The media have largely made up their mind about johnny as had a large portion of our fan base. Any decent journo is now admitting that Evans is a real player and even most of the haters among the fan base are converted, and the other idiots don't get an airing too often. Another few seasons and he'll be widely recognized as the gem of a player that he is, just like a lot of our other youth products that have been less glamorous over the years See Fletcher).
He's a classy defender alright is Evans. Evans > Pique.
prepare to be told you're an idiot!!I'd actually pick him over Ferdinand (alongside an in form Vidic). Rio's form tends to shift from game to game - he's normally well up for the big games, though - while I actually think Evans is more consistent. His passing has also developed really well and that's another big plus. We have to keep an eye on the future and it's not like we'll be picking Evans over Rio at the top of his game.
Ha! He's definitely not an idiot...but I don't think he is right, maybe it's tongue-in-cheek. Pique is definitely a better defender....never mind better player....than Evans. I never get this constant comparison I can only assume it is down to the fact Evans took his spot after he returned to Barca.
Not a dig at Jonny, but Pique is among the ten best central defenders in the game.....Jonny isn't.
So much so that Guardiola regularly dropped him last year and played a buck-toothed dwarf of a midfielder in his place.
Hmmmm...
It made absolutely perfect sense for Fergie to sell Pique and keep Evans, but any suggestion that Evans is the better center-back is ridiculous.
That said, Evans has grown into the job very nicely. When Rio or Vidic or Smalling are out due to injury or suspension, we're not losing much at all when calling upon Evans.
It's a noble thing to support your own players, but some objectivity is called for from time to time. Piqué starts at CB for what is undeniably the most dominant football club on the planet; Evans is at best third choice for a football club which has endured significant troubles defensively this season and it's no secret Evans has been the heart our back line this season.
That said, Evans has grown into the job very nicely. When Rio or Vidic or Smalling are out due to injury or suspension, we're not losing much at all when calling upon Evans.
It's a noble thing to support your own players, but some objectivity is called for from time to time. Piqué starts at CB for what is undeniably the most dominant football club on the planet; Evans is at best third choice for a football club which has endured significant troubles defensively this season and it's no secret Evans has been the heart our back line this season.
And your point is what exactly? Why Mascheranos' dental issues should have any bearing on whether he is picked is a fairly odd suggestion. I didn't know there were 5 ft 9 dwarfs around....jesus the world really is getting to be a bigger place. Well that dwarf played rather well in central defence last season.
Pique's form has been sporadic over the past year, so much so that he was dropped on a number of occassions.....good for Pep and rightly so. If his mind had been on football and not boning Shakira then he might have had a better season...sometimes players need a kick up the arse. He had a very good Euro's and he has started this season in terrific form so it obviously did him some good. It wasn't so long ago we were saying the same thing about Jonny Evans was it?
One poor season doesn't make him a worse player...you know that old cliché "form is temporary...class is permanent?" Well there you go it applies here.
Back to this nonsense. We didn't sell Pique to keep Evans, we couldnt keep Pique. Ferguson said he wanted to do so but we couldnt keep him from his hometown club when they came for him. Evans has benefitted a lot from that.
As for the contract, congrats to Evans. Very much expected and I hope he continues to improve over the course of it
As for the contract, congrats to Evans. Very much expected and I hope he continues to improve over the course of it
All accounts I've read say that Piqué knew he'd never get quality time in light of the form of Rio and Vidic at the time, thus he asked to be released.
Technically, we "didn't sell Piqué to keep Evans", but in reality didn't we have to choose between the two? We made the only choice that made sense for all parties concerned, even if Piqué (my iPad is selecting the accent mark over the e) was then and is clearly now the better central defender. Whether Evans pulls ahead of him in the future remains to be seen, but is a distinct possibility given his rapid progress.
Same here.
Some people are really clinging onto the Vidic/Ferdinand partnership. It was amazing, but I can't see it working half as well now. Although he's still a great defender, Rio's pace has decreased at an alarming rate and Vidic was never the fastest even when at his best, never mind now. Maybe I'll be proved wrong though.
I'm holding out on whether Vidic will return to his dominant best, but I would not be surprised if Smalling/Evans is our first choice CB pairing come the start of next season.
I actually think those two might make for a great partnership as well - potentially all the tools of the Rio/Vidic pairing but divided differently between the players.
I actually think those two might make for a great partnership as well - potentially all the tools of the Rio/Vidic pairing but divided differently between the players.
I reckon Vidic will come back strong. He's not old, and he never relied on pace.
I'm basing this on a terribly small sample size, and it's also possible he didn't fully recover from his knee injury before getting injured again - but I thought he looked a shadow of his former self earlier this season. Lacked the conviction and dominance, and terrible on the ball.
Of course it could have easily been just a case of easing himself into competitive football after such a long lay-off, but I just didn't like what I saw at all. It's not really an ideal time to get that kind of injury.
Anyway, here's hoping he's getting back to his very best.
You should read Sir Alex's accounts from at the time when he said Pique would get plenty of game time, if I recall correctly he even mentioned 30 games which would seem unlikely but I'm sure it wasnt an empty promise. But he said we couldnt keep him from going to his hometown club. I dont think Sir Alex was lying, what would be the point? He clearly wasnt worried about having to pick between Evans and Pique and has willingly gone into a situation where we signed Smalling and Jones before Vidic always seemed to be getting injured so he's not worried about keeping young players happy at the back.
I agree but he didn't have long enough.
They are still our best defenders. Rio has lost pace and he is adjusting his game to compensate for that. If you want to stick a fast defender alongside Vidic it would be Smalling obviously, Evans is not the quickest.
No caftard should operate under the illusion that Fergie is perfectly candid 100% of the time. The latest example I can think of is when Fergie publicly stated that he feared the prospect of Mancini starting Balotelli, which is exactly what Fergie was hoping Mancini would so. Mancini did start Balotelli, who made a fool of himself, was subbed off at the 50th minute or so for Tevez, who caused us serious problems almost immediately. Brilliant work by Fergie!
The point of Fergie claiming that it would be impossible to keep the Pique from "going home" is that it would defuse any public controversy as to whether he made the right decision in selling Pique as opposed to selling Evans. If it were a free choice, so to speak, Fergie's critics could have (and obviously would have) easily jumped on him in light of the form Pique has shown since we sold him to Barcelona (and the form Evans showed during that time), which has been nothing short of astonishing save some patchy performances last season.
In any event, Fergie made the right decision. Although Pique has been the better defender since then, Evans has developed very well recently and there's every reason to believe he'll get better and better as the seasons roll on. Evans fits the part of a United man perfectly. Both players are happy, the managers are happy and the fans are happy.
My only problem is we should have gotten about 30 mil for him, in hindsight.
Individually yes, but as a pair, I'm not so sure anymore. I'd feel a lot more safe sticking Smalling beside Vidic for the most part. He's been brilliant when he's played this season. As I said, Rio is still a great defender, but against Spurs for example, he was severely exposed. Rio should be used wisely now.
How would you get 30m for some one who's basically unproven at the top level (at that time) and only has 1 year left on his contract?
Transfer fees don't work with hindsight, that's the whole point. Otherwise Sporting would have sold Ronaldo to us for £80mil.
I don't think Smalling has been brilliant, he has been promising in the games he has stepped into. Against Spurs Rio was exposed because Evans and in particular Rafael made poor decisions in the initial movements leading up to the second and third goals. It could have been Evans who was exposed to Bale and then Defoe....the outcome would still be the same.
When you say used wisely do you mean in the big games? Champions League perhaps?
Completely different to talking about his own players and what he can guarantee them. Next.
Actually its because the boy wanted to go home. Your tinfoil hat isnt needed on this one. He wasnt a first team starter (yet) and his head was being turned by being offered the chance of playing more games at his hometown club. Despite that we tried to keep him but it wasnt going to work.
As already stated, we signed Smalling and Jones to overstock defence. The manager willingley did that. With Pique and Evans they were already here and not needing to be signed, so its obvious there wasnt going to be a problem with it. See our strikers also, we arent selling Welbeck and Hernandez because they arent going to get loads of games. The need to sell Evans or Pique is a work of fiction made up by fans and usually by those who want to say that Evans is better so we sold Pique to make way for him. Its nonsense.