Phil Jones

Joking mate.

"What's the show about?"

I then go into great detail explaining the show.....

"Aha! You watch it don't you!"

"Yes."
 
Which upcoming youth players do you think have a big chance in breaking through to the first team?
Tyrone Wright, Manchester, UK

Let's be honest, there are a lot of very talented players in our youth and rokeserve teams. I think Will Keane is a good player. Paul Pogba and Ravel Morrison are top as well. Larnell Cole and Zeki Fryers look good as well.

Anyone else amused by Phil Jones authoritatively answering a question about our youth players, all of whom are about the same age as him?
 
Anyone else amused by Phil Jones authoritatively answering a question about our youth players, all of whom are about the same age as him?

Not really. Jones may be the same age, but in terms of experience he's years ahead of them (having broken into the first team with Blackburn a few season ago).

Both physically and mentally he seems at least 3-4 years older then our reserves. (something which was also true of Rooney when he was 18..., ok, maybe mentally he was 16, but hopefully you get the point because in terms of footballing intelligence he was older then his peers. )
 
No one is saying he should be a winger, I was kidding!

And Capello seems to think he could be a top midfielder.



I don't think that is the case. Capello is probably harnessing Jones' ball playing skills and experience by playing him in midfield, where there's less competition for spaces. Also, it allows him to experience what its like to be marked, close down, etc. This are skills which would only enhanced the anticipation and abilities of a defender. Not so much on grooming him for a role there. He reminds me so much of Matthias Sammer. :drool:
 
I don't think that is the case. Capello is probably harnessing Jones' ball playing skills and experience by playing him in midfield, where there's less competition for spaces. Also, it allows him to experience what its like to be marked, close down, etc. This are skills which would only enhanced the anticipation and abilities of a defender. Not so much on grooming him for a role there. He reminds me so much of Matthias Sammer. :drool:

Fabio Capello said:
It is difficult to find a player like Phil Jones, really difficult. In my career I found probably only two.

I’m talking about Franco Baresi at Milan and Fernando Hierro at Real Madrid. They were great players, who could play as a midfielder but also at centre-back.

Phil can play in different positions but always at the top level. This shows what he has - he is a talent.

I should have said, Capello says Jones is a top class midfielder.
 
Perhaps I should have said that around here, being compared to Duncan Edwards is as good as it gets, but for most other groups, being compared to Baresi and Heirro is a bigger compliment.

We've already heard him compared to Edwards, I was suggesting that this compliment is even a better from a guy like Capello, who probably barely knows about Edwards.
 
Perhaps I should have said that around here, being compared to Duncan Edwards is as good as it gets, but for most other groups, being compared to Baresi and Heirro is a bigger compliment.

We've already heard him compared to Edwards, I was suggesting that this is even a better compliment from a guy like Capello, who probably barely knows about Edwards.

Ah ok I get what you mean now with Baresi.

I think Heirro is nowhere near as iconic a player on all shores as Baresi was/is.
 
Defensively I thought he was excellent, he handled Sinclair perfectly.

Sinclair had an open goal because Jones didn't mark him. They also had a potential chance rather late in the game when he lost his man and the ball was played around him.

Was a decent performance from him tonight, but I don't get why people are saying he was MOTM. I think people are getting carried away a bit here with his incredible talent and ignore his mistakes. I'm not saying he shouldn't make mistakes - he's just 19 so he still has a lot to learn obviously.

He really needs to work on his positioning. Our opponents have gotten quite a few chances because he's been in a bad position/ball watching. As I see it, it's his only weakness right now.
 
Except for the part when fell asleep at the back post and only Sinclair missing a sitter saved his blushes

yup. worst mistake i've seen him make. turned his back on him and never reacted until sinclair blew the chance. otherwise he was good. wish he and the rest would challenge the man with the ball. deny passes, crosses, and shots.
 
Every time they showed the replay, I was muttering darkly to myself. How do you not think "hang on, wasn't there a Sinclair around here?" and not check at least once?
 
Sinclair had an open goal because Jones didn't mark him. They also had a potential chance rather late in the game when he lost his man and the ball was played around him.

Was a decent performance from him tonight, but I don't get why people are saying he was MOTM. I think people are getting carried away a bit here with his incredible talent and ignore his mistakes. I'm not saying he shouldn't make mistakes - he's just 19 so he still has a lot to learn obviously.

He really needs to work on his positioning. Our opponents have gotten quite a few chances because he's been in a bad position/ball watching. As I see it, it's his only weakness right now.

Agreed, though he got 2nd place in my MOTM rankings as he got better as the game went along. Also as the game wound down he got better and had a few good link ups/runs that pinned them back and was unlucky not to score.
Couple of cracking slide tackles aswell.

He'll have some bumps in the road however I didnt mean to single out his one bad mistake but it was to highlight it wasnt perfect but he got away with it.
 
I love him, but his sustained lack of reaction for the Sinclair sitter was almost comical. My limited imagination struggles to picture the venom of the collective reaction if, say, Jonny Evans had done the same thing. Jones will be a monster for us but these potentially costly slips are there on a regular basis. Still has a way to go and the type of shite that Capello came out with is not helpful.
 
When he gets going on one of those runs he's like a fecking train.
 
Agreed, though he got 2nd place in my MOTM rankings as he got better as the game went along. Also as the game wound down he got better and had a few good link ups/runs that pinned them back and was unlucky not to score.
Couple of cracking slide tackles aswell.

He'll have some bumps in the road however I didnt mean to single out his one bad mistake but it was to highlight it wasnt perfect but he got away with it.

He's obviously a very good player, and a potential star, but it just seems that people don't see the mistakes he makes now and then, because he's Phil Jones. As Still ill said everyone would be all over Evans (or even Carrick, who was fantastic today) if they had made such a big mistake.

Jones deserves all the praise he gets, but that doesn't mean that his mistakes should be ignored.
 
Clearly a very special and exciting talent and only just getting started in his career, hopefully he will be a lifer at United. Yes he makes the odd youthful error here and there but he brings a lot to the side IMO.
 
I love the way he dribbles. It's like he purposely has a heavy touch so the defenders think they can get the ball, then he just turns on the afterburners and he's gone.

The only weakness in his game is his positioning, it says a lot that our 19 year old defender has played more minutes than anyone this season.
 
I love the way he dribbles. It's like he purposely has a heavy touch so the defenders think they can get the ball, then he just turns on the afterburners and he's gone.

The only weakness in his game is his positioning, it says a lot that our 19 year old defender has played more minutes than anyone this season.

In his first season at the club as well
 
I love him, but his sustained lack of reaction for the Sinclair sitter was almost comical. My limited imagination struggles to picture the venom of the collective reaction if, say, Jonny Evans had done the same thing. Jones will be a monster for us but these potentially costly slips are there on a regular basis. Still has a way to go and the type of shite that Capello came out with is not helpful.

I think you draw a poor comparison by using Evans. Jones is getting the same support that Evans got in his first full season. Young players can be forgiven mistakes at this stage. If he's still doing that in 3 years time he'll likely get grief like Evans gets now.
 
He's obviously a very good player, and a potential star, but it just seems that people don't see the mistakes he makes now and then, because he's Phil Jones. As Still ill said everyone would be all over Evans (or even Carrick, who was fantastic today) if they had made such a big mistake.

Jones deserves all the praise he gets, but that doesn't mean that his mistakes should be ignored.

Evans is 4 years older than Jones and miles more experienced, the odd blip is understandable from Jones while Evans that is 24 in like a month should be at a point when those mistakes are less frequent.

Rio managed to cut away most of the mistakes around Evans age, Wes Brown didn't so guess we will have to wait and see which path Smalling,Jones and Evans follows.
 
I think you draw a poor comparison by using Evans. Jones is getting the same support that Evans got in his first full season. Young players can be forgiven mistakes at this stage. If he's still doing that in 3 years time he'll likely get grief like Evans gets now.

Didn't mean to imply I'm not supportive of Jones. Fully accept mistakes will be made and as I say, I'm hugely excited by him. Just grew a little weary of Jonny's failings being constantly held up against Jones' alleged infallibility in the Newbies. Maybe things more balanced up here. But point taken.
 
Would have been a great goal that had it not been for a good save and the fecking post. Amazing talent this lad, future club and country captain if you ask me.
 
Evans is 4 years older than Jones and miles more experienced, the odd blip is understandable from Jones while Evans that is 24 in like a month should be at a point when those mistakes are less frequent.

Rio managed to cut away most of the mistakes around Evans age, Wes Brown didn't so guess we will have to wait and see which path Smalling,Jones and Evans follows.

Of course the odd blip is understandable - that's what I've been saying. I'm just saying it shouldn't be ignored, just because of who he is.