If that's the number 1 football comedy site I'd hate to read the competition. As funny as a kick in the balls.
Phil Jones
- Thread starter Baby Faced Assassin
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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.
He can talk him up all he wants, till he actually show some balls and actually start him is another matter.
Like Friday night then.
I meant in central defence.
I wonder which daft manager played Jones at right back in the first place, making Capello figure out he can do an excellent role there.
We played Jones out at RB because we have better players in CB, it's not like England can say the same
I would love to see him alongside Terry in the centre and to see him rollicking Terry for 90 minutes. I'd actually pay to watch that which is the first time I'd pay to watch England in about 10 years.
Hey, good point, I would pay to see that too!
Phil Jones: From schoolboy to Manchester United and England | Mail Online
Great article from the Mail, of all papers.
Great article from the Mail, of all papers.
We played Jones out at RB because we have better players in CB, it's not like England can say the same
No, we played him at right back because we didn't have anyone else to play there at the time, much like England right now, and he's done a great job there. You're not seriously suggesting that England don't have central defenders of Evans quality? It's one position where England seems well stocked with the likes of Terry, Ferdinand, Smalling, even Cahill.
Didnt have a good game. It passed by him, he seemed lost and clueless, walked around in the middle of the park. He is a defender and a very talented one, will probably keep that way
Yeah, I hope he plays in his best position in future, I mean it's not as if we've not got other midfielders. Strange selection in midfield.
His touch was real heavy and his passing wasn't much better, thrown in at the deep-end in fairness. looked very much like a defender thrown in the middle.
He's a very talented player and a great physical specimen but he really needs to work on his positioning, at times he was tight to Adam but at other times he was 10-15 yards away. I don't know if it's concentration or experience but I am confident that he will learn very quickly.
Strange also cause it was his first game for us in midfield against a very good game. Not the best introduction and honestly, he looked really out of place.
He's very young though. I doubt O'Shea would have coped any better at the same age. We might make a midfielder of him yet.
But yeah, poor performance and strange decision to start him ahead of Carrick and Anderson. He looked completely lost out there. Who knows what might have happened if we had another proper centre mid on the pitch.
I don't think Anderson'd have done better, to be honest, but Carrick in front of our defence would've added some composure. Problem is that we haven't got many good ball playing midfielders besides Carrick - and he sadly lacks mental strength. As for Jones, he's got a lot to learn if Fergie wants to groom him into a midfielder.
Wouldn't have been my choice for a first game in central midfield for United either. I'm excited to see what he can do from there, but he was clearly struggling out there today. 18 passes completed in 76 minutes from central midfield is indicative of his trouble getting into the game.
That's because he was a headless chicken. Not his fault, though.
Poor guy looked like a very young CB pitched into CM.
I think he's clearly a centre back long-term but you can bet he'll play in midfield again every now and then. Was better than Rio when he was in midfield which is something, I guess.
Well, you can say that, I think if I do I'll get reamed.
He wasn't terrible, but that was probably the most undisciplined midfield performance I've seen from a first team player.
I still think he can be turned into a top class midfielder if that's the plan.
I don't think it was an undisciplined performance, he just look lost and uncertain with himself, it wouldn't surprise me if it was the first time he'd been asked to play such a specific midfield role. Not in my mind the best game to test Jones in such a role, his future lies at the back anyway if Pogba and Morrison come through I doubt Jones will dabble in much midfield work.
By undisciplined I meant to say that he wandered about positionally, and did a fair bit of over-pursuing attackers to our detriment.
I think he needs to work on his positional sense but yesterday I think he was given a remit to press and push forward whilst staying especially tight to Adam but he didn't really pick the right moments and that's down to experience more than anything.
I agree, and I'm not sure if perhaps it wasn't everyone else who wasn't pressing enough, making Jones' pressing look more ineffective than it was.
I think you get a pass for your first game in a position for a team, so I'm not concerned, just a little surprised that first game was Liverpool.
Guess we won't be seeing Gibson again in the EPL if Jones is getting games in midfield.
I think you get a pass for your first game in a position for a team, so I'm not concerned, just a little surprised that first game was Liverpool.
Guess we won't be seeing Gibson again in the EPL if Jones is getting games in midfield.
if anything that's the biggest improvement the boy has to make. His positional awareness is questionable at times. We all know he has the ability. He's a natural leader. He'll get stuck in. Pretty competent on the ball and loves to go on a mazy run. Tremendous talent at his age but his biggest area to improve is his positioning. No slight on him really. He's only 19 and just beginning to learn his trade. Once he fully develops, he's going to be one hell of a defender.
Today, I dont think is the best occasion to determine his merits as a midfielder. It is liverpool after all. A game in which you do need some experience and Jones looked as if he lacked just that. Nonetheless, I thought he did okay. His touch, like Smalling's, was off today and he just didn't seem as comfortable as he usually his. Still and yet, he did a job and played his part in helping us secure a draw. As it's been said before, the future's bright!
Today, I dont think is the best occasion to determine his merits as a midfielder. It is liverpool after all. A game in which you do need some experience and Jones looked as if he lacked just that. Nonetheless, I thought he did okay. His touch, like Smalling's, was off today and he just didn't seem as comfortable as he usually his. Still and yet, he did a job and played his part in helping us secure a draw. As it's been said before, the future's bright!
I think his forward runs have made people think that he'd make a great midfielder by default, but I disagree after seeing today's performance (yeah, yeah, captain hindsight etc.) because in my opinion, the thing that allows him to make those runs out of defence is that as soon as he steps out of defence, he gives us a man advantage in the opposition half. That's because the striker isn't going to track back and follow him all the way back. That means that he is given a free run in the opposition half as confusion arises among the defending team and nobody knows who's supposed to pick him up and track the run.
When he plays in midfield he's going to be up against an opposing midfielder who will mark and track him, and therefore his runs where he plays those 1-2's will be much tougher to pull off when he plays in midfield and has a man on him all the time.
When he plays in midfield he's going to be up against an opposing midfielder who will mark and track him, and therefore his runs where he plays those 1-2's will be much tougher to pull off when he plays in midfield and has a man on him all the time.
good assessment. fully agree with that. you never know though. This boy is so versatile it's unbelievable.
I don't think it was at all strange to play Jones there given the way we have been more or less bullied in this fixture recently. We needed a physical presence and he provided that. They created very little and only opened us up once, courtesy of a lucky rebound in the 1st half before the game later opened up a bit. He wasn't much cop on the ball but did his job. I do generally like Carrick but think we needed some balls for this and Fletch and Jones were an improvement here.
Had a bit of a shocker today. He just had no idea what positions to take up. I literally only noticed him touch the ball once in the first fifteen minutes of the second half.
Understandable really. But it might put the brakes on the 'Jones is too good for central defence' thinking that I've noticed a bit of. There's a hell of a lot more to playing midfield than being athletic and able to drive past players with the ball. That's way down the list, to be honest.
Understandable really. But it might put the brakes on the 'Jones is too good for central defence' thinking that I've noticed a bit of. There's a hell of a lot more to playing midfield than being athletic and able to drive past players with the ball. That's way down the list, to be honest.
He didn't have anything remotely approaching "a shocker". Some people on here forget he is a defender and was put on in a defensive mf role to protect the back four which he and Fletcher both did and did well. Unless he runs the length of the pitch juggling the ball on his head or becomes the re-incarnation of George Best he's not what he's cracked up to be eh?
He had a shocker because he basically didn't do anything. He was never in position to get the ball when we had it, and he never seemed to know which Liverpool player to cover when they had it. So he ran around looking lost. Because he was lost. Understandably so. He's a central defender, not a midfielder.
Doesn't look like a midfielder to me. Unless he just had an off game yesterday.
He'd be good if he was playing in the position Fletcher was yesterday (the DM in a 4141).
I don't know why he was played higher up than Fletcher.
I don't know why he was played higher up than Fletcher.
I think we started of playing Giggs behind Welbeck but then he stayed to be like a deep lying playmaker alongside Fletcher and that may have encouraged Jones to push up front. Sometimes I noticed he was even higher up than Welbeck.
I think we need a thread with just Phil Jones' facial expressions, to be honest. It's great fun.
I think we need a thread with just Phil Jones' facial expressions, to be honest. It's great fun.
he must get some stick about it in the dressing room. Never seen anything like it.