Erm....examples?
Not sure that's really praising his anticipation or positioning. A top drawer defender would have prevented such situations surely?
Jonny Evans | 2011/12 Performances
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Erm....examples?
Not sure that's really praising his anticipation or positioning. A top drawer defender would have prevented such situations surely?
I disagree. His positioning is the only thing that is letting him down at the moment. As you say hes often close to a situation, just not close enough. That is a sign of bad, not good, positioning. Still think hes at least as good as Vidic in that aspect of the game though. Vidic is just better at putting in a good tackle to make up for it.
Evans is like a mix of Rio and Vidic. More of a goal threat than Rio has ever been, and better at contributing some forward, but worse positioning and anticipation. Less of an aerial asset than Vidic, but better at him at playing the ball in the back 4 + Carrick. If he adds a little bit more of both Rio and Vidic he will be a top, top defender.
Hes easily 3rd choice atm, and from what Vidic showed the short period he wasnt injured theres not much between Evans and him. Vidic of course has the higher level if he gets back to top form, but thats not a given when he gets injured at his age. I think Evans will be the CB with most games for us this season quite comfortably.
You are doing him a diservice. He was superb against Newcastle a few weeks ago and easily our best defender, didn't put a foot wrong. You can't blame him solely for the Tottenham game, Evans had a shocker aswell, particularly when he isolated Rio one-on-one with Bale for their second goal. Evans turns like a barge sometimes and is just as susceptible to raw pace and power as Ferdinand.
Yeah agree with this, he is very good at reading the game. Occasionally gets caught out but all defenders do, in general he can anticipate danger well.
He can make mistake after mistake, but I'll always love the lad. True red, and captain material really. 
He seems a hell of a lot more vocal this season than he I remembered him being. I remember in the Spurs game when Rio let Defoe turn and play the ball into Bale that resulted in their third goal, he absolutely tore into Rio for his error. I'd never have put him down for captaincy before, but I think last season has really turned him into a much more mature and confident player.
With that being said, I remember last season in the Champions League when Benfica (I think) scored, and Evans was near a microphone and shouted "You pricks! It's too fecking easy for them!" and the commentator had to apologise for his language
With that being said, I remember last season in the Champions League when Benfica (I think) scored, and Evans was near a microphone and shouted "You pricks! It's too fecking easy for them!" and the commentator had to apologise for his language
He seems a hell of a lot more vocal this season than he I remembered him being. I remember in the Spurs game when Rio let Defoe turn and play the ball into Bale that resulted in their third goal, he absolutely tore into Rio for his error. I'd never have put him down for captaincy before, but I think last season has really turned him into a much more mature and confident player.
With that being said, I remember last season in the Champions League when Benfica (I think) scored, and Evans was near a microphone and shouted "You pricks! It's too fecking easy for them!" and the commentator had to apologise for his language
It's fine being vocal as long as what you are saying is justified. Rio should not have had to move across to mark Defoe in the first place....Rafael was absolutely nowhere to be seen. Evans was dire in that game and made a host of errors himself.
There was a moment after the second goal on Tuesday when he was laying into Buttner for letting Alan slip across him. Instead of fecking berating him he should have been talking to him a bit more after the first goal, the guy is making his Champions League debut it's a big step up in class for him. When you criticize your teamates it needs to be constructive....simply saying "we are making it too fecking easy for them" is stating the plainly obvious.
Evans was the principle experienced central defender on Tuesday and consequently it's up to him to take some responsibility organising the back four. The defending was fecking static with too much ball watching and at times himself, Carrick & Buttner looked as if they had not a clue who to take care of. He missed Rio next to him plain & simple.
In the second half I was more encouraged as he started to take charge a bit more...made positive decisions that showed confidence. Not sure about being captain material you need to have a lot more about you than simply being vocal...you need to lead by example and actually take charge of situations rather than simply throw your arms about when mistakes occur.
Sometimes you do talk a huge amount of dogshit Comsmit.
So when Rio shouts Comsmit, how are we supposed to interpret that?
Sometimes you do talk a huge amount of dogshit Comsmit.
I would take that comment seriously if it didn't originate from the mind of an utter contradiction such as yourself.
Would you take it seriously. Would you really. And what, would you have been offended by it?
Bizarre that people are questioning Evans' anticipation. One of his best qualities.
He could have better judgement about when to act on it. That way when he anticipated the pass he wouldn't clatter through his man and give away so many free kicks. But the anticipation is there.
That flying in thing is the only real flaw I see in his game, aside from pace, and pace isn't very important for a centre-half.
He could have better judgement about when to act on it. That way when he anticipated the pass he wouldn't clatter through his man and give away so many free kicks. But the anticipation is there.
That flying in thing is the only real flaw I see in his game, aside from pace, and pace isn't very important for a centre-half.
I'm not really questioning it as such....just pointing out that he needs to improve in this area. I understand your point, perhaps that is closer to the truth of it. I maybe question more his decision making, sometimes it just feels like he doesn't fully trust himself and ends up delaying his decision to act on instinct. This results in errors....errors that are not neccessarily massive but add up and become a trend.
To be fair I did state he was much more impressive second half on Tuesday. In those 45 minutes he actually was decisive and he took charge of a disjointed backline. That was the encouraging part for me.
Maybe I'm too critical of the guy but I'm still not fully convinced he can...or should be the mainstay in central defence for the next ten years.
Would you want me to be?
24 and has already made 130+ appearances for United in a position where experience is almost as important as skill. With Ferdinand out, played a big part in the record breaking backline with Vidic(VdS not conceding for 11 consecutive league fixtures)
Last season he showed us his skill in bringing the ball out of the back...this season, he looks a big goal scoring threat, so we basically have a player who is continuing to improve his overall game. He just needs to work on his strength a bit more, and we'll have a class defender.
Unfortunately for him, I think he's going to be one of those guys who fans will question every time a mistake is made.
That's the problem though....people question him because he does make a fair few basic mistakes. There's no smoke without fire.
The way I look at it is this. If United are playing in the Champions League Final tomorrow, and Evans started...I would not trust him to dominate that game. Against the best attacking players in European football I think he would be found lacking.
Evans could perform like Beckenbauer and he still wouldn't be rated by some of the Ihni binni dimi diniwiny anitaime here. He has been an integral part of the team since the last two-three years and aside from this season our defense's been pretty good.
I have watched Evans dominate Torres at his peak, Ronaldo at his peak and others whilst playing for NI. He is more than capable of dominating any forwards
the possible difference is that NI fans get behind their team and give them confidence, whereas people like you moan every time a player makes any type of mistake
Idiotic statement, Evans was just recently heralded as excellent for his display against Portugal.
evans has performed well against top class players, for both united and northern ireland. on top of my head, torres, ronaldo, ibrahimovic, adriano.
that spell a couple of seasons ago when he struggled against charlton cole and bobby zamora really have a big hit on his reputation i guess.
that spell a couple of seasons ago when he struggled against charlton cole and bobby zamora really have a big hit on his reputation i guess.
Evans is an excellent defender, maturing all the time too.
If Evans was English or Spanish then he'd be one of the highest rated young defenders in the world. He's fantastic for his age, and keeps getting better.
He looks a lot more assured this season. He's maturing as a player, he's got his confidence back, and he's looking a real class act.
His distribution is quite magnificent.
His distribution is quite magnificent.
The problem is he cant perform like half a Beckenbaur
If he was English he'd be kept out of the national team by Lescott, Cahill and Jagielka. If he was Spanish he'd be considered the average as his ball play wouldnt stand out and he's no longer that young.
That's nonsense.
He's twenty-four, and two months away from being twenty-five. He's no longer "young". You can't use the fantastic for his age argument anymore because, well, he's not. Rio was 23 when we bought him for a world record fee. Vidic was 25 when we made him into a first teamer. Evans is at that age now where he can no longer rely on his "potential" and actually has to become the defender we all hoped he would be.
Now, don't get me wrong, I think he's a good player. He can offer us something and if he wants to say then I'll be pleased by that. He's shown now - when he's getting a run due to injuries - that he can do a job, and so if he wants to be a squad player / backup who is talented enough to stand in and do well, then brilliant. He can be this generation's Wes Brown. But I don't think he'll ever be the world class player that people thought he might be, or that we need as a first choice centre-back.
Nonsense post.
You're just abusing the fact he's not English or Spanish. That would be the reality
I'm sure Puyol would disagree with that assumption.
If anything Evans will certainly be rated higher if he was playing for a club outside UK. A defender is always rated here for pace and heading first and then the rest. The amount of ridicule that Mertesacker attracted for his pace was beyond a joke.
Pique's fanboys out in force whenever any praise is given to Evans.
Puyol was playing right back for Barcelona and Spain and doing it well. He still plays fullback at times.
Victor Ruiz doesnt get to play for Spain but he's just as good a defender as Evans and better on the ball.
I'd like to know when he dominated Torres? You are not seriously talking about the qualifier back in 2006? That was his international debut if I remember, he played ok but if I remember it was Aaron Hughes who was terrific that night.
The Ronaldo one is off beat....he wasn't even directly up against the man in that game. The whole of the Irish team defended as one. Ronaldo played pretty well but unfortunately for him his teammates let him down. You can't always win a game on your own.
You clearly misread my intentions. I'm not moaning about Evans I'm merely highlighting issues within his game that I feel he needs to improve on before I lavish appropriate praise on him. It's a bit daft to compare me with a partisan crowd of Irishmen, if I was Irish and I went to an international game of course I would be supportive of any player who is representing my country.....but in a forum or down the boozer I wouldn't be afraid to voice my opinion on their abilities as a footballer.
If you look at my recent comments I have actually given him credit for improvement, particularly the second half on Tuesday. After last season I expect more from him though, in my eyes he isn't playing as well. I'm just giving an honest appraisal of where I feel he is up to....believe it or not I actually want the guy to succeed....although it's hard to say anything in this thread without getting jumped on by people who can't accept a critique on the guy that is anything other than complimentary.
Comsmit, you're comment of praise was more a case of damning him with praise. You couldn't make a post saying he did well without making a slight at another aspect of his game. It was the most begrudging attempt at praise that I've read on these boards in a while.
You don't understand......I'm talking about dominating a game as big as the Champions League Final, not about an "excellent display," in an international qualifier....which it was. Although the same could be said for every member of the Northern Irish side. His reading of the game that night was actually better than it's ever been for United, but it was all built on organisation as a team. Let's be honest Portugal were shit, Ronaldo is not at his scintillating best and Nani is off form.
And would you trust that Rio wouldn't make an error in judgement when coming out to win the ball and not having the pace he thought he had? Would you trust that Vidic if fit would not make any errors or fouls leading to sendings off?
I think all 3 are fantastic centre backs, my point is, you can't single Jonny Evans out as untrustworthy, he plays just as consistently as Rio and Vidic. I love Rio Ferdinand and hope he continues to play in our defence for the next few years, but I can tell you now that Evans is the more trustworthy at this stage of the season.
Did Johnny Evans sleep with your wife or something?
Even then, when it was almost obvious you wanted to praise him, you added that crap on the end about Portugal. You can only beat what is in front of you.
Even then, when it was almost obvious you wanted to praise him, you added that crap on the end about Portugal. You can only beat what is in front of you.
Well if you're talking about who'd realistically be in the CL final, you're talking about teams like Barca, Real, Bayern etc.
Any defender no matter how great they are could (and would) struggle against Messi, Ronaldo etc.
Evans has came up against the likes of Torres, Drogba, Ronaldo and others, and he has shown himself extremely capable of handling them. I would have no worries whatsoever if he started a CL final for us.
He tries his hardest to give the other team a penalty at least once in every game he plays.
Other than that, he's solid enough.
Other than that, he's solid enough.
Fixed, just leave it at that, please, for the love of god.
Criticise him all you want in a different post, don't do both in one. It's highly confusing.
"Gee, that Keane fella, what a hell of a player, best midfield general we've ever had... and he's a cnut and I hate him and his ancestors."