Phil Jones

Jones has said he would prefer playing centre-back as it is his best position.
 
Let's be honest, he has more chance playing midfield for us than as defender.
 
RedRonaldo said:
Let's be honest, he has more chance playing midfield for us than as defender.
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Why? Rio's not getting any younger and Vidic won't be around for ever. He's got competition in Smalling and Evans, the latter of which is probably lower than him now in the pecking order. Not to mention that I suspect Evans will be used a lot more as a left back.
 
Fabio Capello to call-up Phil Jones for England friendly with Holland | Football | The Guardian

Fabio Capello to call-up Phil Jones for England friendly with Holland
• 'It has all happened so quickly,' says 19-year-old
• Defender impressed coach at U-21 European Championship

Nick Duxbury
The Guardian, Friday 5 August 2011

Phil Jones says did not expect so much to occur at such an early stage.
After only one season in the Premier League Phil Jones found himself to be worth £17m and a must-have signing by Manchester United. Now his meteoric rise will include a call-up to Fabio Capello's provisional England squad for the friendly with Holland.

Sir Alex Ferguson sees the 19-year-old as the successor to Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic at the heart of United's defence but the time scale may have to be drastically altered.

Jones may not make the final cut from a 30- to a 23-man squad for the game with Holland at Wembley next Wednesday but his performances for England at the recent Under-21 European Championship impressed Capello.

"It has all happened so quickly," Jones said. "I'm 19 and I did not expect so much to occur at such an early stage. I'm just riding the rollercoaster and enjoying everything. I did play every week at Blackburn and want to do the same at United but I am a realistic person. I know it is not going to happen with the quality of player we have here. Hopefully as I improve I will get an opportunity and will take it."

Jones has been used at right-back during United's pre-season tour and can also play at the base of midfield but is adamant centre-back is his best position.

Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott will almost certainly miss the Holland match due to injuries but Capello will sound out Arsène Wenger, their manager at Arsenal, before cutting his squad. England are also without Steven Gerrard, so David Beckham may feel a return could be on the cards but it is unlikely he will be called on despite solid performances for Los Angeles Galaxy.

Capello will almost certainly go for experience, though, having in mind next month's European Championship qualifiers against Bulgaria and Wales. The goalkeeper Robert Green and the striker Peter Crouch had hinted at ending their international careers at the end of last season but are included in the provisional squad.

Ben Foster, on loan at West Bromwich, has cited family reasons for not making himself available. He became disillusioned at joining up with England but not playing because Joe Hart is established as Capello's No1. "It's hard when you are away for 10 days or two weeks with England, especially when you have got kids two or three years old," he said." I almost feel as if I'm missing a part of them growing up.

"It's very hard to take and you feel you have lost two weeks of your life for nothing really. I'm a big family man."

Kyle Walker and Frank Lampard are again in the squad, and the striker Andy Carroll will be included provided Liverpool pass him fit.
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I assume Smalling will be included too.
 
Smalling should be absolutely nailed on for the England squad, he's probably England's next best defender after Rio and Terry. Jones is probably just below the likes of Dawson, Jagielka and Cahill, but has the potential to be much better. Since his move to City, Lescott has got progressively worse and should be nowhere near the England set up.
 
RedKaos said:
Why? Rio's not getting any younger and Vidic won't be around for ever. He's got competition in Smalling and Evans, the latter of which is probably lower than him now in the pecking order. Not to mention that I suspect Evans will be used a lot more as a left back.
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We have the best defenders in the world. Rio, Vidic and Smalling would definitely start ahead of him. At the right back role Fabio or Rafael would be our first choice. If we play with 3 midfielders, his only competition would be fletcher, who hasn't fully returned to fitness.
 
With such good CBs, we can now play a different formation when we need to such as:

...................de Gea.......................
......Smalling/Jones...Rio..Vidic..........
Rafael.....................................Evra
................Anderson/Carrick.............
Valencia.........................Nani/Young
.......Hernandez....Rooney.................

Maybe it can work against a full-strength Barca side, for example.
 
Formation with one midfielder definitely ain't going to cut it against Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets.
 
Maybe flooding the midfield might not be the best idea against Barca. Many teams have done that before. Never worked really. Maybe Smalling/Jones can be like a floating CB/DM. Rooney will have to be the creative AM in this example.
 
scholesy legend said:
Maybe flooding the midfield might not be the best idea against Barca. Many teams have done that before. Never worked really. Maybe Smalling/Jones can be like a floating CB/DM. Rooney will have to be the creative AM in this example.
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Flooding the midfield seems to be the only way to neutralise them. The only two times that I remember Barcelona having trouble with opposition was against Chelsea when they played three or even four in the middle two years ago, and Real Madrid who played with three defensively minded midfielders at once. Let them pass the ball around like they do without tackling or applying pressure and they're going to murder you.

Smalling was suggested for Pepe role before the final but it never happened, I'm not convinced Ferguson will ever use him like that.
 
Very impressed with this man. Rio has a real fight on his hand because quite honestly this lad could take his spot before the end of the season.
 
Awesome when he came on
 
Showed some good passing today, the way some go on about him its like he's just an aggressive aerial player, but he can be be very subtle on the ball too. Just needs experience and composure.
 
I wasn't all that impressed in pre-season, but he was very good today. I still consider Smalling as first choice, but the battle between the two of them and Evans to cover for the big two is going to be immense. I just hope we can give them all enough games to keep them happy and improving.
 
Like Smalling, he's got some very good pace for a CB. And thats one advantage he'll always have over Terry.
 
Kraftwerker said:
That disguised pass he played to Rooney. :drool:

A centre-half has no right to play a pass like that.
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That's why he would be my preference over Carrick for the DM role. He provides a real determination to win the ball and has the technical ability and mobility to bring the ball out and find a teammate.

The contrast between the 2 halves can be determined by the attitude of the players playing in midfield. Carrick does next to nothing, all he wants to do is wander side to side hoping our opponents misplace a pass. He shows no intent to get stuck in.

Jones and Cleverley however offer enthusiasm, mobility and confidence, and most importantly they want to impose themselves on their opponents and dominate proceedings. Class today the pair of them.
 
Another one who impressed. He and Evans looked really confident.

We have some frighteningly good young players. They just tore our derby rivals and the third best team in the country to absolute shreds.
 
This lad is going to push hard for a starting place this season along with Smalling IMO, very excited by these two young defenders.
 
apotheosis said:
That's why he would be my preference over Carrick for the DM role. He provides a real determination to win the ball and has the technical ability and mobility to bring the ball out and find a teammate.

The contrast between the 2 halves can be determined by the attitude of the players playing in midfield. Carrick does next to nothing, all he wants to do is wander side to side hoping our opponents misplace a pass. He shows no intent to get stuck in.

Jones and Cleverley however offer enthusiasm, mobility and confidence, and most importantly they want to impose themselves on their opponents and dominate proceedings. Class today the pair of them.
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Huh? Jones wasn't playing in midfield.
 
Jones-en-bauer?

He is seriously talented. We could potentially have 2 of the best ball playing center backs in the league in a couple of seasons time.
 
He should play games at OT when we are playing lower teams likely to pack the midfield. The way he comes forward, his confidence and ability on the ball and positioning means he can be an extra midfielder and we wont get caught out at the back.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Huh? Jones wasn't playing in midfield.
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Sorry should have been clearer. I meant Cleverley's attitude as opposed to carrick's over the 2 halves.

I was however speculating on how the full blooded determined approach of Jones would contrast and be more effective playing DM, compared to how Carrick operates.

Don't get me wrong under the right circumstances, Carrick is effective but he is increasingly looking one paced, indecisive, cumbersome and a little powder puff.

We don't have another option to Carrick unfortunately and this is an area i would like to strengthen. If not i am sure Jones would provide a better defensive platform for the likes of Giggs, Anderson or Cleverley to contribute more often in advanced areas.

Jones seems to have the confidence to carry the ball forward and use it wisely, we need more steel in midfield and iam afraid Carrick's days as first choice should be numbered.
 
apotheosis said:
Sorry should have been clearer. I meant Cleverley's attitude as opposed to carrick's over the 2 halves.

I was however speculating on how the full blooded determined approach of Jones would contrast and be more effective playing DM, compared to how Carrick operates.

Don't get me wrong under the right circumstances, Carrick is effective but he is increasingly looking one paced, indecisive, cumbersome and a little powder puff.

We don't have another option to Carrick unfortunately and this is an area i would like to strengthen. If not i am sure Jones would provide a better defensive platform for the likes of Giggs, Anderson or Cleverley to contribute more often in advanced areas.

Jones seems to have the confidence to carry the ball forward and use it wisely, we need more steel in midfield and iam afraid Carrick's days as first choice should be numbered.
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I've seen Jones play quite a bit in midfield for Blackburn and although he put in some good performances he's definitely more of a centre back. With the way we play football I don't think we can afford to have someone like Jones in midfield unless we suddenly change our tactics.

Jones doesn't offer enough when he's on the ball which isn't really a surprise as he's a defender, a defender which is good with the ball but a defender none the less.

Our midfielders have to be able to do a bit of everything and I don't think Jones really fits the bill, but if we want a specialised defensive midifelder for occasions I think he'd do a good job.
 
apotheosis said:
Sorry should have been clearer. I meant Cleverley's attitude as opposed to carrick's over the 2 halves.

I was however speculating on how the full blooded determined approach of Jones would contrast and be more effective playing DM, compared to how Carrick operates.

Don't get me wrong under the right circumstances, Carrick is effective but he is increasingly looking one paced, indecisive, cumbersome and a little powder puff.

We don't have another option to Carrick unfortunately and this is an area i would like to strengthen. If not i am sure Jones would provide a better defensive platform for the likes of Giggs, Anderson or Cleverley to contribute more often in advanced areas.

Jones seems to have the confidence to carry the ball forward and use it wisely, we need more steel in midfield and iam afraid Carrick's days as first choice should be numbered.
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You're making even less sense now.

Didn't you catch the last couple of months of last season?
 
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