Sorry but he never convinced me and certainly not for any length of time. Spasmodically looked the part but he remains mediocre.
35
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 17
- Clean sheets
- 9
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 1
Sorry but he never convinced me and certainly not for any length of time. Spasmodically looked the part but he remains mediocre.
I agree. I've never seen Smalling get beaten for pace in any circumstance. He stopped Willian in a 1v1 against Chelsea and he caught up with Welbeck and tackled him before he could shoot at the Emirates. He's our best out-and-out CB.
Evans is handing out heart attacks like hotcakes these days whenever he gets on the ball.
I really thought we had a gem when he first broke into the side.
I've no confidence in him currently I am afraid to say.
I've no confidence in him currently I am afraid to say.
At what point do individuals stop passing the ball back towards the keeper because they have gifted so many opportunities to opposing forwards ? Evans is doing it game after game this season. Other players have been guilty too, but not time after time.
At the moment, the case for playing Evans ahead of McNair or Blackett relies almost solely on his performances in previous seasons.
At the moment, the case for playing Evans ahead of McNair or Blackett relies almost solely on his performances in previous seasons.
He certainly looked like a leader when he played for Northern Ireland against Portugal away in an excellent performance i remember very well. Guess he can't replicate that at United at the moment. Look i'm not going to argue with United fans who are much more knowledgeable than me about him but i don't think Evans is as bad as some people claim. Perhaps he's going through a bad phase and struggling to regain form (along with plenty of other players in the last two years) but i think he is a decent player. Clearly injuries are taking a toll on him and his evolution as a player but i've seen him having excellent performances and perhaps given game time, patience, with a steady defence and lineup, he can return to the form of the past.
I was very concerned to see him being paired with Jones yesterday as they are probably our slowest pairing in central-defence, so seeing them up against the speed of Lallana, Dipsy and Po had me worried, but they were generally decent all things considered. Maybe that's down to Carrick's role in the formation yesterday?
I have Smalling down as our best centre-back so I'd have him back in the team once he's available (for the two or three games until he's injured again) but I'm not sure which partner is best for him ideally. I doubt that would be Evans, but hopefully he can re-discover the form he showed a few seasons back.
I have Smalling down as our best centre-back so I'd have him back in the team once he's available (for the two or three games until he's injured again) but I'm not sure which partner is best for him ideally. I doubt that would be Evans, but hopefully he can re-discover the form he showed a few seasons back.
Wasn't nearly as bad yesterday as some are trying to make out. Needs an injury free run in a back 4 to get his confidence back, if after that he still isn't playing well then it would definitely be time to move him on along with Jones also who to be honest i would ship out in January if we could get a half decent centre back to replace him.
Really worry when this guy is playing. He was always error prone when he was younger but I expected him to have ironed that out of his game at this stage. He seems to make a major error in nearly every game. He made ones against Burnley, MK Dons and Liverpool but thankfully De Gea bailed him out on two of those occasions. He makes Titus Bramble look reliable at this stage. We really should cut him loose in the summer.
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Do you mean error prone?What's up with Evans' flag?
His defending is fine, it's his distribution and ball work that he needs to work on.
Which will come back with more practice and confidence.
Yeah noticed that myself, seems English players have an English flag and Fletcher has a Scottish flag. But Evans and McNair have the Union flag instead of the NI flag.
Isn't the Union flag often used as well as the traditional one?
The status of the flags are different (the Ulster Banner isn't an official flag, unlike the others). But it's what the football team uses - and it's used by UEFA and FIFA. So, I reckon it could be changed. In terms of possible controversy and such it can't make a difference, you'd think. The Union Flag is hardly uncontroversial either.
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Fleg.
And don't you dare remove it.
In all seriousness - and with no intention of insulting anyone - wouldn't those who have a problem with the Union Flag have a problem with the Ulster Banner too?
Again, no need to get agitated - just asking. And for the record I don't consider the flag issue hugely important, nor do I have any preference. I just figure it would be more obvious to use the flag normally used in a football context (which this is, after all).
Again, no need to get agitated - just asking. And for the record I don't consider the flag issue hugely important, nor do I have any preference. I just figure it would be more obvious to use the flag normally used in a football context (which this is, after all).
Not really no, the only flag used to represent the NI football team is the Ulster Banner even though its not an official flag.
He also struggles defensively against fast and physical players. Balotelli bullied him when he came on
I doubt anyone over here is offended by the Union flag in and of itself when its in a place its supposed to be like a government building etc. It doesn't offend me at all but to be honest i am sick of the sight of it. I have to drive through 2-3 areas in Belfast most days absolutely covered with the things its tacky as feck.
I reckon i would feel the same if it was Tricolours or any other flag for that matter plastered all over the city making whole areas an eye sore. All flags should be banned in Northern Ireland unless on an official building. And don't even get me started on curb painting anyone caught doing that should get 50 lashes
He's been out for a while. Let's give him some time before making judgements. Remember RVP was supposedly finished a couple of weeks ago.
I'm not sure if you understood what the word means...
He'll be given a chance, but in all honesty he hasn't been good in two seasons (and in this same time period he hasn't played more than 7 consecutive games.
Evan's contribution is receding faster than his hairline.
Always thought he wasn't good enough, should be the first to be shipped out when a target becomes available, might get £6-7m for him too.
That's my current assessment of him too. The thing is though, Van Gaal wants us to keep possession and play out on the floor more, which is getting him into lots of trouble. Distribution and ball work is about half the job these days, and being bad at half of your job is pretty bad.
Oh I think I do..
noun, plural journeymen.
1.
a person who has served an apprenticeship at a trade or handicraft andis certified to work at it assisting or under another person.
2.
any experienced, competent but routine worker or performer.
3.
a person hired to do work for another, usually for a day at a time.
Sums it up that, for me, he was never better than just competent
It's what he should of been to be fair.
If he hadn't of been carried through the former parts of his career here by Vidic and Rio he would of been bombed out years ago and plying his trades with the likes of Burley and Wigan.
Fair enough, "journeyman" is usually used in the context of player who hops around clubs e.g. Anelka, but your command of English is obviously superior to mine.
However, I do disagree as well - there were periods in the 2012/2013 season where Evans was a rock in the defence whenever Rio isn't available. Like most players he became shite under Moyes, and this season he's been out so long so I'm sure that plays a part in his dire performances.
Strange what's happened to him.
When he first arrived on the scene he was good on the ball, a little weak at times, but a decent defender.
Now he seems to still be weak, looks slower to me, and as mentioned earlier in the thread he has introduced dithering on the ball to his game.
I don't know if this is down to a lack of confidence, or lack of games, either way I still have hope he can regain his best form.
When he first arrived on the scene he was good on the ball, a little weak at times, but a decent defender.
Now he seems to still be weak, looks slower to me, and as mentioned earlier in the thread he has introduced dithering on the ball to his game.
I don't know if this is down to a lack of confidence, or lack of games, either way I still have hope he can regain his best form.
I'd say it's a bit of both.
I don't know about slower, seems about the same pace he always had. Again, it's amazing how the defender who played the most minutes during VDS's record breaking clean sheet run is now this.
Fair enough, "journeyman" is usually used in the context of player who hops around clubs e.g. Anelka, but your command of English is obviously superior to mine.
That's one meaning, indeed. The other meaning is a performer who is at a decent level but who can't or won't go beyond that level. I think it's an American term originally in the latter sense*, something they used to say about baseball players, etc.
FWIW
* The sports meaning, that is. An actual journeyman is something else.
Although he has been poor this season, he has been injured more than half of it and the few times he has played, he has been played in a back 3 where the whole team tends to defend poorly. Kinda hard to slag him now, if you ask me.
Give him a few more games and see if he gets to grips with the system, etc. If at the end of the season, after he has played many games and still doesn't perform, then perhaps we can draw a conclusion he doesn't fit into LvG's system and might be shipped off. But I get the feeling, if he gets a run of games in a settled back 4, he'll shine. I still remember a time when he was part of an excellent back 4 for us 3 - 4 years ago. I do not believe that the wonderful centerback of that time has suddenly disappeared.
Give him a few more games and see if he gets to grips with the system, etc. If at the end of the season, after he has played many games and still doesn't perform, then perhaps we can draw a conclusion he doesn't fit into LvG's system and might be shipped off. But I get the feeling, if he gets a run of games in a settled back 4, he'll shine. I still remember a time when he was part of an excellent back 4 for us 3 - 4 years ago. I do not believe that the wonderful centerback of that time has suddenly disappeared.
What troubles me more than anything is how he gets caught watching play develop around him without taking any kind of action. On Sunday there was more than one instance where Liverpool had gotten into our box or on the edge of it and Evans is just standing there, not marking, just standing and trying to figure out how to get involved. His main problem besides injuries is that he's too afraid to make a quick decision and carry it out. Is fairly good when playing with strong defenders next to him, but we don't look as solid when he's leading the backline. Smalling is 100x more of a leader than he is.