Either he accepts to play a Wes Brown-like role or he just leaves. There's no room for sentimentality now because, let's be blunt, Jonny just sucks at being the main man in the back 4.
35
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 17
- Clean sheets
- 9
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 1
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
I bet even Helen Evans can do a better job
No he needs to leave. We are well stocked of hyped injury prone defenders. If we had to keep one of these gentlemen than it should Rafael.
And to think many laughed at me before start of season because I said he isn't good enough to be our main central defender.
Yes I accept he has had good games but that was when he was partnered by one of the best central defenders this country has produced.
When was the last game you can say he was a rock at the back? When was the last time this "ball playing defender" actually looked composed on the ball?
Very poor start to the season and now injured, could be a chance for someone else (if there is anyone else, that's the bigger problem we have) to stake a claim.
Yes I accept he has had good games but that was when he was partnered by one of the best central defenders this country has produced.
When was the last game you can say he was a rock at the back? When was the last time this "ball playing defender" actually looked composed on the ball?
Very poor start to the season and now injured, could be a chance for someone else (if there is anyone else, that's the bigger problem we have) to stake a claim.
Completely agree. Erratic and injury prone. Should now be in his peak years but is nowhere near sufficiently consistent or robust.
Not United quality in my view and never will be. It was negligent of van Gaal to go into the season with Evans and Smalling as his two senior CB's and if at all possible this must be addressed in January.
Spot on. Exposed now Rio or Vidic arent next to him. Smalling is better but a player that always looks like he's going to make a mistake.
You can say that about all our CBs but you don't. Why?
Because unlike Jonny, the others aren't branded as our "best" defender. They aren't as experienced as Jonny.
This is also a Jonny Evans thread, if I wanted to moan about the others I'd post it in there threads.
So because some branded him as our best defender he should be ridiculed and blamed for everything that's wrong with our defence. You also mention that he was only good when playing beside Rio or Vidic, how dare he right? He hasn't had a permanent partner for some time now, yet you fail to mention that. Oh and he also had a good partnership with Jones until the usual injuries ended that.
I noticed yesterday that many posters blamed him for their first goal, no explanation as to why just the usual shit that's talked in the match day thread. It's pathetic. Our defensive players aren't bad players, they are injury prone, big differance.
As annoying as it is, I won't join in and lynch him for being injured.
What I will say is that he hasn't impressed for a single minute this season anyway, which is more of a concern to me. Well, maybe a single minute, when he made that clearance a week ago, but other than that he's been terrible.
I just want Jones and Smalling to get a run of games, with Shaw and Rafael either side.
Any update on his injury?
Getting a scan at some point today. Got a heavy kick on his foot and ended up with a cast/crutches. With our luck it'll be his metatarsal.
That was my first thought when he had the cast on his foot.
Why is Evans getting stick for yesterday's performance, whilst he was on the pitch I thought we were doing fine?
People blaming the first goal on him and Rafael. I just think its a cracking goal, great ball in and top header - not much you can do about it. Only one who could have done better was Rojo.
Starting to think I am bias towards Evans because apart from his MK Dons "performance" he hasn't been too bad IMO.
People blaming the first goal on him and Rafael. I just think its a cracking goal, great ball in and top header - not much you can do about it. Only one who could have done better was Rojo.
Starting to think I am bias towards Evans because apart from his MK Dons "performance" he hasn't been too bad IMO.
I agree it was a good goal. But I don't know why Rafael was on the striker (a big striker) while Evans was just in front of them guarding no one. He should have been closer to his opponent I think. It probably would have still been scored, but Evans could have at least got involved somehow and tried to stop it from happening.
Cracking header but you can't be in the box as a CB, be standing in no mans land and look around to see your RB who is a midget challenging their big striker expecting him to deal with it. That is called 'you have just made an error'.
@Pogue Mahone was there any further news on his foot scan after Z asked? Saw him in a moonboot on the night and that pretty much said to me minimum one month but could be a while. I don't really rate him but having any defenders fit is better than having none.
I'd need to see it again but Evans' position was correct IIRC. 1 striker in the box and 2 defenders. Rafael should be picking up the striker and Evans covering the area in line with the front post.
He should have been manned up on the striker. Blackett was covering the space. It was an inch perfect cross but as a CB you can't be standing around marking nobody in acres of space when your partner is also covering near post and low.
This is my thinking. Although I don't remember it that clearly so I am just going off my memory. Would need to see it again.
9 goals conceded against Leicester and MK Dons is simply disgraceful.
Yeah, I'm a bit selective here for not including games against the likes of QPR, but still, when he really needed to step up in the games the rest of the defense was struggling he simply went hiding. I don't see why we should persist with him, especially since he's injury prone as well. We shall see what happens as the season progresses but so far he's not convincing me he'll make it here past this season.
Yeah, I'm a bit selective here for not including games against the likes of QPR, but still, when he really needed to step up in the games the rest of the defense was struggling he simply went hiding. I don't see why we should persist with him, especially since he's injury prone as well. We shall see what happens as the season progresses but so far he's not convincing me he'll make it here past this season.
As I said, I'd need to see it again. Remember thinking at the time though that Rafael seemed to have switched off.
I watched it again, to be fair the cross and the header were executed perfectly. Just seems to me that a lot of the time when we concede, if one central player is marking a zone like a near post cross or a cut back or something the other CB is also marking space as well and there is a free man with nobody on him. If your partner leaves the line to mark space then you probably should be going to the nearest man ASAP.
I thought it was Evans getting dragged out by Blackett and instead of staying with the man he kind of went to the ball as if anticipating an underhit ball or an anticipated intercept of some sort. Obviously that is just my opinion though. Personally, to me, it's poor if you're leaving your fullback to mark the striker and there is one of your own men in between the delivery and yourself. You as a CB should be trying to stay manned up as much as possible?
I am also sitting in a computer chair talking billy big on the Caf and not getting paid to play football professionally.
Last edited:
He has been fecking horrendous
Too many excuses. He's been here since a long time ago, he doesn't cut the job to be the main defender for a League challengers.
Sell / demote him to rotation I say, enough of this young and learning bullshit
Sell / demote him to rotation I say, enough of this young and learning bullshit
Indeed. He's 26 now FFS. Vidic and Evra were both 24 when we bought them, Ferdidand was 24 as well. If Welbeck was sold on grounds that his record was deemed not United quality then the same can be said for Evans. He's not even a reliable back up player like Silvestre, Fortune, Ronny Johnsen and Wes Brown were because he's more injury prone than they ever were.
I don't understand why he is getting abuse for the clubs inability to address the CB issue. Can any of his haters please let me know how that is his fault?
He is being blamed for not being a leader, was he being blamed for that when Rio and Vidic were here? No, those players were signed for that reason, to be big commanding figures at the back, the club has failed to replace them, that is in no way a reason to abuse Evans.
He is being blamed for not being a leader, was he being blamed for that when Rio and Vidic were here? No, those players were signed for that reason, to be big commanding figures at the back, the club has failed to replace them, that is in no way a reason to abuse Evans.
The criticism from me and most is more about his poor performances, not solely about his lack of leadership. If he was performing like he did in 2011/12 he wouldn't be getting abuse. We just have to accept that Evans is the new Wes Brown.
To be fair I've never really rated him. He was very promising as a youngster and his career to date is definitely nothing to be sneezed at for sure. But there has always been something I can't put my finger on about him that I could never explain. Something where I have always said 'There's just something about Evans and I don't know what it is'. I support him though, he's a quality footballer who needs to rediscover his best and fast. I feel that there is just not enough room at the moment to really wait on him.
If that were the case and people saw it like that, that's fine but I can't remember Wes ever getting the treatment Evans does. Maybe on the caf it was but I wasn't on here at the time.
Blackett was in no mans land FFS. Are we now making stuff up to blame Evans?
No? Blackett is covering the near post. He's out of position and he's had to drop to deal with the threat. I'd certainly want my other CB to be manning up in that case. Settle.
We are watching a completely different game.
I think it is safe to say that overall Evans has been pretty shite this season. On top of being very injury prone, he's become a liability. He's not a boy anymore and should be grabbing this opportunity to be the main man like nothing else. I suppose some people's bodies are just more tough than others...and at the end of the day there is nothing that can be really done about it. Genetics I suppose
It's here, he's come across with Rojo and is out on the flank while there is a threat that a player could cut inside. Evans is kind of stuck in no mans land not really marking anyone, he has a look around when the player beats Rojo and waves his hand. Right there and the he's made the error he should have probably slotted back onto Ulloa but he just stands there as if he's waiting to intercept an underhit or low cross.
Of course, as I mentioned the cross itself is absolutely perfect and the header is as well.
edit: If I could be even more nit-picky, even as the ball comes in he kind of ball watches and doesn't make an effort to get over to it. But that is being incredibly harsh.
The only thing that’s safe to say is that Evans is the new scapegoat, this is very evident in the blaming him for Leicesters first goal when it clearly wasn’t his fault. I noticed you and others have said that he’s been a liability this season when in fact he actually played quite well against QPR and Leicester until he got injured. MK Dons aside he’s done very little wrong. However no matter what good he does people will only focus on the negative, even blaming him for things he has no control over. It’s really becoming a bore now.
His recent injury has nothing to do with his bodies’ toughness but more to do with him getting a kick from a very aggressive Leicester team. We were a worse team when Evans went off, we conceded 4 goals after he went off FFS. No doubt had he been on the pitch all goals would have been his fault, actually, I’m sure there are some who do blame him for it.
How was he not at fault for Leicester's first goal? He pawns off marking Ulloa, a 6ft 3 aerial beast, to the 5 ft 8 Rafael when there's no-one else to mark. It was clearly his fault.
You are seeing what you want to see, in that clip the one person you can’t blame is Evans, Rojo, should do better, he is to easily bullied off the ball, Blackett gets sucked into the ball and our shape suffers because of it, Rafael loses his man, he doesn’t even challenge him FFS.
Evans is covering the space of two CB’s, you mentioned that the cross was perfect and it was but Evans has to be in a position to stop the cross getting to the player, that’s his job in that situation. However you’re trying to blame him for not knowing exactly where the ball was going to go, it could end up in 3 or 4 dangerous areas, it’s getting beyond silly now. Sometimes you have to applaud a good goal for being exactly that.
How? Tell me how it was his fault.
Because he is doing nothing. Who else is in the box on the end of that cross that scores?.
If Evans marks Ulloa properly, or atleast challenges him then no goal happens.
Instead he makes the wrong decision and tries to cut out the cross at the front post.
At the end of the day marking space is fine when you have cover, but he should have challenged the striker instead.
Of course though Rojo should have dealt with it first, and Blackett was out of position aswell.
Ok,
Stealing this from reddit user larry_b
Evans at fault for the first goal?: In the first goal, we see how Ulloa comfortably heads the ball between Rafael and Evans. Now, I tend to blame the latter for this goal. As Vardy carries the ball in the right flank, Evans signals Rafael to mark Ulloa. But why? Who is he expecting? Is he worried that Drinkwater is going to somehow sprint towards the first post? I don't understand why Rafael (a 1.73m/5' 8" right back) would be a better choice than Evans (a 1.89m/6' 2" center back) to challenge Ulloa (a 1.90m/6' 3" center forward) in the middle of the box, when there were literally no other Leicester players in it.