So whos going to be the new utility man?
Clayton Blackmore - Phil Neville - John O Shea - ???
Phil Jones? Ryan Giggs??
Clayton Blackmore - Phil Neville - John O Shea - ???
Phil Jones? Ryan Giggs??
Sunderland bid £12m for O'Shea, Gibson & Brown
- Thread starter Mickey
- Start date
So you think "fecking yes! O'Shea is playing"?
Do we really need a utilty man? AKA Jack of all trades, master of none.
Jones will take O'Shea's spot. Smalling and Evams will serve as backup for Rio and Vidic
I know it's not as specialised a position, and people can fill in, but I'd be a lot more comfortable seeing O'Shea there than any central defenders or wingers. You can put a non-specialist in there, but I don't know why you'd put yourself in that position when you don't need to. If we were starting a big game with Evans or Smalling at full back I'd be concerned, with O'Shea I wouldn't be.
I have never been amongst the most critical of O'Shea, I don't know where you've got that from.
We went in too fast once it was clear it's now or never for Jones, and paid too much, to think of him as a utility player.
Yes, we paid 20 million for one of the brightest centre backs in the country to deploy him as a back up full back, genius! are you here all week?
This is the mentality that I am not understanding.. So what if we paid big bucks for him? And what exactly is wrong if he acts as a utility player for the 1st few seasons rather than be 4/5th choice for a position we are well covered in? Its not like he is going to say no to playing at CM, Fullback if we have multiple injuries.. Jones will not tell SAF: "No you signed me as a CB and I will only play there or sit on the bench till players are injured/rotated" Does anyone remember Pique? He admitted to lying to SAF saying that he had previously played at RB just to get a game for united there.. These are young, talented, professional footballers that are craving to learn, play more and have a chance to impress..
Also I am reminding you all just because on paper a player is noted down as a Utility player doesn't mean that is his only role and that he can never become a 1st team regular.. Infact I think Jones will be a much better utility player than JOS because IMO he is already a better player on his day.. Consistency is what makes JOS more reliable though.. Also we don't know how well Jones can cope in the Fullback positions so that too must be seen..
I think this is a joke, if we sell all three for 12m, I am sure they are worth at least a tad more like £15m+
Phil Jones is a better centre back than Jonny Evans, he will be competing with Chris Smalling to be first choice cover at centre half.
I am sure Arsenal fans would be elated.
Possibly lose Nasri, Fabregas, have lost Clichy(shite), but to gain O'Shea and possibly Gervinho.
Wenger will be next on the transfer list.
that is to be seen, over a period of time, especially if Evans gets back to his best.
Jones wouldn't have joined us if there wasn't a decent guarantee of match time, not when he had the option of joining pretty much every other top club in the country, hed have been first choice at Arsenal and Liverpool from the word go for a start.
You say that as though being a utility player is a poor reflection on the quality of any given player.
Which is ironic when you consider the main thrust of this thread is now anxiety over letting O'Shea go.
If SAF thinks Jones has potential to cover for the absence of O'Shea then that's all good by me. His own manager recently compared him to Essien, in his ability to play several different positions very well. If one of Essien's strengths is his value as a "utility player" then that speaks volumes about how important a player Jones might be.
So who is going to lose sleep over O'Shea moving to another club?
The muppets have got their dream come true at last, I guess.
The muppets have got their dream come true at last, I guess.
I'll be devastated if O'Shea leaves.
Devastated? lets not get dramatical here, hes been a good servant whos filled in positions when required but hes hardly irreplaceable nor is he a key member of the team, he is/was a utility player who by all accounts is deemed surplus to requirements by Sir alex.
Id be devastated if we sold Nani or Vidic or Rooney etc, not John O'Shea.
Ferguson moved fast to acquire one of the best young defenders in the country. He's always paid top dollar for talent. Doesn't mean he won't be eased in gradually.
Price tag doesn't mean anything. Look at Berbatov. Until he proves he can hack it at the top level (and I have not watched him at Blackburn, which is irrelevant), then he's only guaranteed O'Shea's spot.
That's some funny shit.
I'm surprised you didn't jump off a bridge following past departures of genuinely class United players.
For me a pertinent issue is that playing full back and centre back require a different mentality and skill set.
He may be happy to play the odd game at full back but its arguable that its not in any players best interests to play regularly out of position, especially when they're still developing and are considered one of the brightest prospects in a particular position.
I think its far more likely that United will bring in another full back if they deem it neccessary, or put faith on one of the younger players coming through.
It's not, but being sent to due several duties normally results in a player being able to do a job in several positions and not a great one in any of them. I do believe part of Jones learning the game could see him playing more than one role, just like Keane played right back for us. But overall, long term, I do expect Jones to be more than an O'Shea or a Phil Neville.
I didn't much care when Beckham left. I was devastated when Ruud left and though I've not always been his fan, I'll be pretty sad if O'Shea leaves. Losing VDS, Neville, Brown, Scholes and O'Shea in one summer is a lot..
Jones will mostly play in midfield next season
Its called squad rebuilding.....we want to make way for younger lads to come in....
From all out devastation to mild sadness in less than an hour. Cold indifference by the end of this one?
What the feck is your problem?
O'Shea isn't good enough to be missed if he leaves finally?
So you like O'Shea better than Beckham?
How did you figure that one out?
Pardon my rudeness, shit start to the day
Thought you were taking the piss in that post
I don't disagree with what your saying but I am asking you this do you think he is better off sitting on the bench till Injuries/Rotation lead to him getting a chance or would you rather he played and covered for players in other position as and when the opportunity arose? He will gain more experience by playing in different positions.. Its all part of the learning curve..
I personally do not see any need to bring in another fullback as Pogue said Big Sam has outright come out and said that Jones is very Versatile and can fill in on a number of positions.. For me that is enough.. IMO Jones will play all over the park for us until he finally gets his chance to be one of the 1st choice CB's..
You just said yourself that Keane played at Rb for us and I am quite sure that Keane has played at CB for us as well.. Did that stop him from being one of the best Midfielders to play for Manchester United? No.. So will Jones filling in at a number of positions actually stop him from being a great CB we all hope he can become? I think not..
Also I don't think anyone is comparing him to the levels of Phil Neville or O'Shea except the fact that he is versatile just like them..
Its so much easier getting rid of players playing football manager, none of this emotional nonsense
You kidding? I get emotional every time no one meets my asking price.
OK, if O'Shea wasn't Irish, who would lose sleep if we sold him?
Wouldn't be heartbroken if he went to Sunderland/Everton club of that ilk, but I'd miss the lad. If he goes to the Arse I will actually be devastated.
If we sell him to Arse, he's clearly finished.
There'll definitely be no more Champions League football for him that's for sure.
JOS is on (relatively) shit money at United, he'll tripple his wages at Sunderland.
Good luck to him, I wish him all the best.
Good luck to him, I wish him all the best.
He's reputedly on £80k or so.
To be fair, I thought both Phil and O'Shea were shit hot in their first seasons as regulars. I don't think that versatility was the reason they never seemed to mature quite as well, though.