Not sure there was all that much groundwork to do. Apparently Jones was surprised at the contract offer so doubt there was much if any negotiation on his side.
Phil Jones | released summer 2023
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Huh?
First off, the transfer window is still open so Lingard can still leave for 20m.
Additionally, West Ham are the ones not submitting a bid for him. What's that got to do with us?
You're acting like Lingard was out on loan 2 seasons ago and we've kept him around just because. It was literally the second half of last season he was out and West Ham/any other team haven't tried properly to buy him.
Exactly.
Any club official who sanctions a move to take Phil Jones to their club, on a free transfer (paying his wages), would face a disciplinary for misconduct.
If that official decides to actually pay a transfer fee, he'd be instantly dismissed, for gross misconduct.
Contract will be based on appearances, simple. I’m sure Phil will just want to get back on the pitch at this point, it’s the best outcome for all parties.
He is young with lot of potential. I can't understand why no one is interested 
Nobody will make an offer for him. Which is why it was completely mental to renew his contract because we could have let him leave as a free agent.
I’ve said my piece multiple times on Phil, I have no idea how a player makes himself unavailable for such long periods seemingly without any long term pre-existing/chronic issues. Just a never ending succession of knocks.
We’re stuck with him for the length of his contract.
I’ve said my piece multiple times on Phil, I have no idea how a player makes himself unavailable for such long periods seemingly without any long term pre-existing/chronic issues. Just a never ending succession of knocks.
We’re stuck with him for the length of his contract.
If I was Ole I would tell him not to bother coming to work. Manchester United have standards and Jones shit on those standards by still being at the club despite not being a player anymore. Its not his fault that the club was silly enough to give him a long term contract but that doesn't remove such fact.
Because he's not wilfully failing to do it, like say, you in an office job, just downing tools.
He's injured, which in a physical sport, you can't possibly hold against him.
Unless he's doing reckless unprofessional stuff behind the scenes.
Given the man has been made a laughing stock even among his own club's fan base, I would not rule out mental health issues
But willfully or not, if he is actually unable to do it, not just because he is injured, but repeatedly injured for huge periods of time surely that means his body just isn't up to it, and that's not the clubs fault. If someone is actually unable to do what they are being paid to surely they can be gotten rid of.
I don't know why I'm harping on so much, I actually quite like him and he's not on massive wages, just curiosity.
100k a week IS massive wages.
You can't get rid of someone who has signed a contract, unless they've done something unprofessional which stops them from fulfilling their contract.
Injuries are part of football, and being injury prone is just massively unfortunate.
It can't be compared to say an office, where someone is constantly off ill. For starters, illness etc is usually paid only to stipulated totals of time. ie been there 10 years, get 6months paid off on full wages etc, then it drops to statutory.
Footballers have all the power, and would simply never sign a deal based on health. That's why you get very few "Pay per play" deals. Those are generally only those who have huge history of injuries and doubts. Probably the type of deal Jonesy will end up signing in future in fairness.
Fair enough, I'd love to see him still get some decent playing time out of his career, never been negative about the club or in the press for any shitty reason, seems like a decent lad.
The worry is that if United with what must be the best medical resources in Europe can't get him consistently fit, then surely any other step down club has even less chance.
Think maybe it’s partly psychological, like with Louis Saha? I feel like wherever he goes next, he’ll play quite regularly. I wonder if there’s more going on here.
I'm not so sure I have the same faith in our medical team you do.
It may well be, after so many injuries he must be worried about it happening again, that's only natural.
Well if that were the case it would at least make sense and if so he would certainly be viewed differently than he is now.
The paradox with Jones is that he’s blood and thunder on the pitch, not the type that would fear playing and not the type that would play on his injuries, so in the absence of a chronic underlying issue why is he never fit?
Surely there's no mystery about it.
He just plays with absolutely full commitment, to his own detriment.
His body unfortunately can't deal with the top level needs, and he's just locked in a permanent cycle of one niggle leading to another.
We have standards, and that’s exactly why the manager of Manchester United football club would never do such a stupid thing.
100%
Sometimes a new place/adventure/whatever will stop the old problems and give you a lift.
But at the end of the day players like Jones must want that and not just look at the bank account.
Ronaldo was only injured at Inter Milan (apart from his first season).....he moves to Real Madrid and played there nearly 50 matches in his first three seasons.
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Jones suffered a serious knee injury in June last year and had an operation to try to fix it. He’s still recovering from that. Considering Ole himself spent the better part of three years suffering with a serious knee injury before managing to make it back to full fitness to play an important part in winning the league in 2006/07, it’s no surprise that he’s sympathetic towards Jones’s plight, having been there himself. Jones has played 224 times for the club, despite his injuries. Should Ferguson have tossed Ole aside when he had his knee troubles? Should he have released Darren Fletcher when he was battling his illness? What about ditching Gary Neville after his ankle injury at the end of 2006/07, that kept him out of league action for around 18 months? That’s not United.
Gary and Ole were actually great servants of the club who contributed to this club and left before their legacy got tarnished. However that isn't relevant to my initial argument. A club like United have standards. Jones haven't reached those standards for years. This United is a young side and young players are easily influenced. Now we are legally obligated to pay Jones but we're not legally obligated to have him around as testament of how one can steal a living from football and get away with it. .
Hello Mourinho
Top managers had done that with far better players who tested the club's patience far less then Jones did. Lippi did the same to Roberto Baggio while at Inter. Il codino was not a football meme. Actually he had more talent in his left toe then half of our current side including the manager. Sir Alex was ruthless to Paul Parker by releasing him on a free.
You don't want a player whose got nothing to give lingering around on a decent salary. Its not good for morale and its certainly not setting a good example for the rest. I would compare what Lippi and Sir Alex won as managers to what Ole won in that same position. However I doubt that is really necessary.
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Not even sure that is legal.
Sir Alex released Paul Parker on a free which ruined his career.
it was certainly legal not that long ago. Id rather see the club paying his contract off. However that's not in Ole's hands. Not having him in training is though.
Jones isn’t stealing a living out of football. People like Mino Raiola are. Discounting the last two seasons due to injuries, Jones has played in 163 league games in those eight seasons, which is about 20 league games per season. In that time he’s been deemed good enough to make multiple England squads for World Cups and European Championships. When fit, he’s a very decent player. The fact that he’s been injured for the better part of the last two seasons, coupled with United not being particularly successful in recent years, has spawned this idea that Jones has somehow been siphoning money out of the club for many years while contributing nothing in return, which is nonsense. He’s had a long term injury, he’s nearly back training again, and here’s hoping he can stay fit and help out on the pitch again.
Of course he's stealing a living out of football. He's been rubbish for years. Its not his fault for being so but that doesn't remove the fact that he's been useless for us.
Mino is actually extremely useful to his clients whom he made insanely rich or in Balotelli's case he had managed to rescue his career. Unfortunately those clients happen not to be football clubs. Criticising Mino's contribution to football is like criticizing oil rig director for terrorism. Sure some oil money might go to terrorism but that isn't the oil rig director's fault.
Yes he’d been injured, but Paul Parker was released because his contract was up, he was 32, and Denis Irwin, Gary Neville, and Phil Neville had all overtaken him as options for right-back.
He was my favorite player - even when he was injured. Mainly due to his bravery and dedication. Had that United mentality.
Sadly, his body wasn’t made for top tier football
Sadly, his body wasn’t made for top tier football
I suspect there's plenty of players who had overtaken Jones as options for center back.
As said, its not Jones fault that things ended the way that it did. However its not good to have someone stealing a living at any organization let alone among employees who are still young. Thus Jones should be paid off as per contract while we can focus on players who can actually still play football.
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Excellent point
Where did you hear that?
I'm pretty sure it was widely reported last August that the club had decided against having surgery done on his knee.
That never happened. He was finished by the time his deal with United ran out. And he still got a payday at Derby County when he left us, as well as a short stint at Chelsea.
It’s been several years since his last injury during the game. The problem is that he receives new injuries while recovering from the old ones, without being on the pitch.
So in short - no, he doesn’t play with absolutely full commitment, just because he doesn’t play at all.
I do believe that Jones is finished as a player as well. Its sad and all but its the reality
We couldn't sell him when he had the injury as clubs were put off because of him needing surgery. That's when we decided to get him surgery.
It seems that there were/are conflicting reports in the media about whether or not he actually had surgery:
Phil Jones given hope of future at Man Utd after 'disheartening' year through injury after knee surgery (thesun.co.uk)
Phil Jones injury: Defender unergoes surgery on 'persistent issue' (oldtraffordfaithful.com)
Man United cancel Phil Jones' knee surgery so he can be sold - Man United News And Transfer News | The Peoples Person
Man Utd opt against Phil Jones surgery as they look to find buyer for defender - Mirror Online
The club's official website does say that he had surgery, though, in these articles:
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Phil Jones's injury recovery | Manchester United (manutd.com)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gives injury update on Eric Bailly and Phil Jones | Manchester United (manutd.com)
Yeah expect when is the last time he played a competitive game?
It’s not like he’s coming back, playing and then getting inured. He’s just permanently unavailable.
Yet has no single underlying physical issue that’s recurring. It’s not normal
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