Jonny Evans - What do we think?

I destroyed Evans after the city demolishing when he got sent off. Since then Evans has really shut me up.

I think he is well up for a leadership role. He even started scoring more goals. I trust him back there. I trust Smalling too but not Jones who is just a maniac.

There are only a few better defenders out there that could improve us and they won't come because of no Europe. Time to see what these guys can do without Rio and vidic.
 
mazhar13 said:
He's not good when facing someone quick and fast running at him, and he still struggles against big, strong target men who know what they're doing
Click to expand...
This is such lazy commentary, I wish people would actually quantify it. people are like sheep rather than actually watching themselves.

He's had a few games against Andy Carroll where hes been beaten in the air - so what? most centre halfs would lose out to the likes of Andy Carroll. Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister used to have a nightmare against Duncan Ferguson yet they were known as one of the best pairings around.

As for speedy forwards, every defender dreads playing against pace.

i think some people on here are too caught up in trying to get the perfect player, who never gets beaten, never missplaces a pass, never loses an arial duel. Guess what? that player doesnt exist
 
Sammyjunn said:
Cahill is a more reliable defender with less errors than Evans, who makes every 9 games an error that leads to a goal, personal errorr. Cahill is better with attackers who are running at him with pace because he is pacey, he can handle physical stong attackers better. He is better in the air, Evans is also good in the air, but Cahill is always a really big threat and scores more goals with the heads and wins more aerial battles, Cahill is also positionally better than Evans, he has more blocks than him, that shows that he knows where the threat is. Evans is the better ball playing defender, think that is a fact
Click to expand...

Defenders do make a lot of errors during games...its just the little matter of the opposition capitalizing on it... Its easy to look a woeful defender at United coz our managers having not been using defensive shields(or Carrick who also has a secondary role of being a deep lying playmaker), whilst at chelsea they always play with a shield whose sole purpose is to make sure the CBs are not exposed thru the middle...
 
stevoc said:
I was being a bit sarcastic there mate, seriously though i like Cahill good player but your post that i quoted described what seemed a much better player than Cahill has ever been in my opinion, i don't put much stock into stats.

Cahill along with Evans are both solid defenders, both make mistakes neither will ever be world class in my opinion but good players none the less. For me there isn't much between them, Cahill has a better injury record and is probably coming off the best season of his career under Jose conversely Evans had probably his worst season last year with injuries and the team in turmoil under Moyes. Because of this some seem to think not only is Evans crap but there are 10-20-30 better defenders than him in the league which is just not true.
Click to expand...

Good summary - they are at a similar level. Cahill carries more goal threat from set pieces but Jonny is much better at distributing the ball or carrying it out from the back. For these reasons he should fit into LVG's philosophy very well.

I also think Evans' top level potential is higher than Cahill's but it is all about getting consistency and that will only come with avoiding injuries and having a good run in the team - that is the biggest question mark against Jonny at the moment...
 
He's going to come very good indeed now that he'll finally be an undisputed starter. Especially under a manager who appreciates ball-playing defenders.
 
Our most experienced defender. Weird state of affairs for the club of that size but at least he doesn't try to kill himself in a pitch accident like Jones and has a way better passing control than Smalling who should try NBA career someday.

He played many times in cooperation with Vidic or Rio. I think he already got his lessons from the best. Let's see what he can learn in a Dutch school of football but if he wants to be part of this team he needs to progress and eliminate few detriments in his game. That's not gonna be easy task for Van Gaal if he'll decide not to reinforce formation with some world class quality.
 
Why has this turned into Cahill vs Evans? Cahill is well ahead of Evans at present but that might be also due to the fact Cahill has more reliable defenders whereas Evans had either aging players or Smalling and Jones.

Also an earlier comment saying Cahill was one of the worst players? Very odd considering he was rated as one of Englands better players, I remember him being called Englands rock vs Uruguay. Baines was the defender that had the awful world cup.
 
golden_blunder said:
This is such lazy commentary, I wish people would actually quantify it. people are like sheep rather than actually watching themselves.

He's had a few games against Andy Carroll where hes been beaten in the air - so what? most centre halfs would lose out to the likes of Andy Carroll. Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister used to have a nightmare against Duncan Ferguson yet they were known as one of the best pairings around.

As for speedy forwards, every defender dreads playing against pace.

i think some people on here are too caught up in trying to get the perfect player, who never gets beaten, never missplaces a pass, never loses an arial duel. Guess what? that player doesnt exist
Click to expand...
Indeed.
 
He's miles better than Cahill was at the same age although he's also significantly more injury prone and hasn't had Mourinho to teach him how to defend.
 
If he can stay injury free, he'll be worthy of a first team spot.
 
Carrick is already on the sick bed...if one of Evans, Smalling or Jones pick up an injury on tour United are gonna be in serious trouble.

I'm a big Evans fan, but i doubt anyone at the club can have a injury free season after the passed few years.

Prays Evans can have a big season! We need you Jonny!
 
He and Smalling should be given the opportunity to be starters here and both of them have proven themselves to be good enough. Before we go spending a huge sum of money on someone like Hummels, we should at least give them a chance to fail before deciding that they aren't at the level required.
 
golden_blunder said:
This is such lazy commentary, I wish people would actually quantify it. people are like sheep rather than actually watching themselves.

He's had a few games against Andy Carroll where hes been beaten in the air - so what? most centre halfs would lose out to the likes of Andy Carroll. Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister used to have a nightmare against Duncan Ferguson yet they were known as one of the best pairings around.

As for speedy forwards, every defender dreads playing against pace.

i think some people on here are too caught up in trying to get the perfect player, who never gets beaten, never missplaces a pass, never loses an arial duel. Guess what? that player doesnt exist
Click to expand...

He was also troubled against Anichebe at Old Trafford. He will still struggle against not just Andy Carroll but also a couple of other big, strong forwards. Still, he's improved in that aspect from the past (when he would be troubled by just about any big forward + defender in set pieces), and it's not as common as it used to be. Still, he has this issue, but it doesn't make him a bad defender. It's just one of his weaknesses.

About the "speedy forwards" part, again, there are defenders who can deal with that and manage the situation. Evans can't; that's one of his weaknesses as well.

Of course there's no perfect defender. Everyone has weaknesses. All I did was highlight Evans' weaknesses, weaknesses that can be suppressed by a partner who complements him (Smalling/Jones). I believe he should be our first-choice defender as he's a very good defender, overall, and is one of the best in the Premier League and 1 tier below the best in the world (Hummels, Subotic, and Thiago Silva). The fact that he is good on the ball + good defensively makes him a very good defender and better than many of the ball-playing defenders currently out there.
 
good CB, not great at defending against players with a lot of height or speed though, good squad player but imo I'd rather have better players as our first choice there.
 
Jonny is a brilliant player but is getting injuries for frequently. When he get's a good run of games his attacking play improves imo, must be a combination of confidence and fitness. It's getting a partnership that works. I'm not sure he has any real understanding with Smalling or Jones yet. They seem to play better together. This is a huge season for Jonny Evans at the club. When we buy or next defender the game time will be limited. It's going to be a competitive year for all them. They are all going to try to cement there place and impress LVG. Staying fit and injury free will be crucial. I hope it's competitive, it can only be good for Manchester United.
 
Evans is our best defender and imo we should be starting with him and Jones at the back.
 
golden_blunder said:
Baaaaahhhhh
Click to expand...

If Evans is seen as a squad player with those weaknesses, then everyone else but the top 3 I mentioned will be squad players here lol.

Heck, even my top 3 defenders have weaknesses, but they don't show it/rarely show it. I wonder if some people here thought of Vidic as a squad player when he was tied up like a knot by Torres all those years ago...
 
LR7 said:
Evans is our best defender and imo we should be starting with him and Jones at the back.
Click to expand...

I think on ability alone right now he's probably our most solid centre back, although obviously there's always the risk of injuries holding him back a bit.
 
Morpheus 7 said:
Jonny is a brilliant player but is getting injuries for frequently. When he get's a good run of games his attacking play improves imo, must be a combination of confidence and fitness. It's getting a partnership that works. I'm not sure he has any real understanding with Smalling or Jones yet. They seem to play better together. This is a huge season for Jonny Evans at the club. When we buy or next defender the game time will be limited. It's going to be a competitive year for all them. They are all going to try to cement there place and impress LVG. Staying fit and injury free will be crucial. I hope it's competitive, it can only be good for Manchester United.
Click to expand...

I don't know about you, but every time I've seen Jones pair with someone in the past while, our defence would be less organised than normal (though Jones is continuously improving in this aspect and make himself more reliable).

Anyways, I remember when Smalling and Evans were partnered together against Arsenal at the Emirates in the 2011/12 league match, and they nullified Arsenal's attacking threat for much of the match. I believe they can make up for each other's weaknesses perfectly and become our main defensive partnership. None of our central defenders are as good as Evans is on the ball, and none of them can read the game as well as he can.

If we want to mount up a title challenge, we'll need Evans in our defence. Smalling and Jones are similar in their skill set and don't really complement each other. Michael Keane's yet to establish himself in the first team (this should be his first full season at the club, hopefully). Evans will be a very important defender for us this season.
 
golden_blunder said:
This is such lazy commentary, I wish people would actually quantify it. people are like sheep rather than actually watching themselves.

He's had a few games against Andy Carroll where hes been beaten in the air - so what? most centre halfs would lose out to the likes of Andy Carroll. Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister used to have a nightmare against Duncan Ferguson yet they were known as one of the best pairings around.

As for speedy forwards, every defender dreads playing against pace.

i think some people on here are too caught up in trying to get the perfect player, who never gets beaten, never missplaces a pass, never loses an arial duel. Guess what? that player doesnt exist
Click to expand...

Pally and Bruce were sensational in the air though. Vidic and Ferdinand were excellent in the air.
Evans will never get beyond decent in that department.
 
mazhar13 said:
If Evans is seen as a squad player with those weaknesses, then everyone else but the top 3 I mentioned will be squad players here lol.

Heck, even my top 3 defenders have weaknesses, but they don't show it/rarely show it. I wonder if some people here thought of Vidic as a squad player when he was tied up like a knot by Torres all those years ago...
Click to expand...

The Torres thing is one of those annoying "Facts" people mention.
Yes he had 3 games against him where he got sent off, perhaps 2 of the games he was roasted. But what about the other 12-15 games against him he's kept him in his pocket?
 
Meh, he's ok, not United quality but we have so many in the squad who isn't I'm starting to forget what a player of Manchester United caliber should be.
 
Of course he's United quality. He just needs to stay fit.
 
I think Evans should be a nailed on starter for next season, I'm not sure who's more likely to be his partner Jones or Smalling?
 
AltiUn said:
I think Evans should be a nailed on starter for next season, I'm not sure who's more likely to be his partner Jones or Smalling?
Click to expand...

Tough one, but I dont think its a choice that will be made since I expect LVG to make signings and those two to become squad players.

If he doesn't you would probably say Smalling.
 
ItsEssexRob said:
Hes not. United quality is Staam, Rio, Vidic.
Click to expand...
When he's fit he's a very good defender, Rio and Vida were rarities as they were the two best centre halves for a good few years, I think very good players are United quality.
 
ItsEssexRob said:
Tough one, but I dont think its a choice that will be made since I expect LVG to make signings and those two to become squad players.

If he doesn't you would probably say Smalling.
Click to expand...
There's been a lot of talk about Vermaelen so it does look like LvG isn't confident with his options, I wouldn't mind either Jones or Smalling starting with Evans, hopefully they can all stay injury free and develop into better players.
 
ItsEssexRob said:
Hes not. United quality is Staam, Rio, Vidic.
Click to expand...

Those 3 were world class, amongst the best of their generation. Evans is a very good player and is United quality, similar to Cahill for Chelsea.
 
AltiUn said:
There's been a lot of talk about Vermaelen so it does look like LvG isn't confident with his options, I wouldn't mind either Jones or Smalling starting with Evans, hopefully they can all stay injury free and develop into better players.
Click to expand...

I would be a little concerned about Vermaelen, more so that some of the other options anyway. It is probably the area that needs attention the most to be fair, DDG's brilliance can mask whats in front of him.
 
Zoo said:
Those 3 were world class, amongst the best of their generation. Evans is a very good player and is United quality, similar to Cahill for Chelsea.
Click to expand...

I wouldnt say Cahill was automatically Chelsea quality, but hes been made into a top CB by Jose and Terry. I think Evans could be capable, but its not been shown yet that he can perform at the highest level I dont think.
 
mufcwarm92 said:
Probably our 3 best centre halves ever - so has everyone else been below United quality?
Click to expand...

No but they would be the kind of players who are the 'quality' of the best teams, it doesnt mean every single player will be their quality but thats surely the definition United quality.
 
There does seem to be some element of truth in what @ItsEssexRob is saying.

To elaborate a bit, while I do think Evans, Jones and Smalling are very capable players (particularly Jones - just think the world of him, bit held back by injuries and occasional mental lapses) none of them get a unanimous vote among United supporters like Stam, Vidic, Rio, Pallister or Bruce used to. And TBF since the 90s, up until now we've had atleast one them through the entirety of a season. That sense of assuredness knowing you have atleast one top top CB is now missing. And while I do hope the three will up their games and emerge as leaders, it's not a certainty. And uncertainty lends to poor defensive records.

There doesn't appear to be any organiser of the backline of sorts like we've grown accustomed to. Thing is even if there is an average player in central defence, his weaknesses can be somewhat masked by a more astute partner. Perfect examples are Cahill (initially) at Chelsea (Terry), Alex at PSG (Thiago), Barzagli at Juventus (Chiellini), Lescott at City couple of seasons ago (Kompany), Fonte or at Southampton whose consistency suddenly went up in the presence of Lovren and so forth.

Right now we do lack someone of that ilk considering our projected starters - Shaw, Evans, Jones/ Smalling, Rafael. A top notch defender who's also a vocal leader and organiser at the back. Evans has done well in the past, but it's always been alongside either Ferdinand or Vidic who took up the mantle while Jonny was their understudy. Can he now manage the weight of expectations in their absence and lead some of the younger players ? Maybe he does.. But what if he doesn't ?

With that in mind if we manage to sign someone like Benatia or Sokratis or Hummels, someone who can really organize the backline and coach some of the less experienced ones I for one will breathe a huge sigh of relief.
 
ItsEssexRob said:
No but they would be the kind of players who are the 'quality' of the best teams, it doesnt mean every single player will be their quality but thats surely the definition United quality.
Click to expand...
We'll all have different definitions, but for me United quality means good enough for United. Rio and co are the cream of the crop, the likes of Evans, Brown and Johnsen are good players.
 
ItsEssexRob said:
I would be a little concerned about Vermaelen, more so that some of the other options anyway. It is probably the area that needs attention the most to be fair, DDG's brilliance can mask whats in front of him.
Click to expand...
I think it's because of his versatility that he's being looked at, definitely better options out there. I still think the CM problem is worse than the CB issue.
 
ItsEssexRob said:
I would be a little concerned about Vermaelen, more so that some of the other options anyway. It is probably the area that needs attention the most to be fair, DDG's brilliance can mask whats in front of him.
Click to expand...
I'm concerned too, he's shite.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.