Has Evra lost something in defence?

Eyepopper

Going forward I think he's outstanding, probably the best LB in the world in an attacking sense.

However in defence of late I think he has looked undetermined and loose for the majority of this season. He seems to drift, and give his opponent too much time and space. More often than not allowing them to get the ball in.

I think Luiz's goal last night was a good example of what I'm talking about, in the build up he seems to be a bit lost, gets drawn into the centre, picking up no one and by the time the ball gets to Luiz he reacts too late and is too far away to win the ball or get a proper block on it.

Just one example, but there have been others.

Overall I still think he's playing very well from an attacking perspective, just doesn't seem as assured to me going the other way as he once was.

Inigo Montoya

I don't even think that TBH. He gets in great positions and his final ball is usually crap.

Deefensively I think he's knackered mentally( from the WC) and physically with the amount of battering he's taken

Scholesgoals

thought him and fletcher were the standout players for us last night..

Feeky_Magee

Definitely. I've been apoplectic at times this year with his closing down especially. He stands off way too much these days. That said, he's still generally playing quite well, and his defending had actually improved recently so I'll give him a pass on Luiz's goal, overall he was very good.

Eyepopper

Meh, lets not debate the merits of him going forward (he and Nani ripped through Chelsea last night in the first half I thought).

Usually when the opposition are attacking down his side now, when they get to the final third he seems to take up a position around the edge of the box rather than actually make a challenge. Also noticeable for me is the number of times Vidic seems to be covering for him back there.

MacMUFC

I tend to agree, but on the other hand, Fletcher and Rooney have seen an equal drop in their performances. I'm not too worried if i'm honest, things should be different next year for those three i've just mentioned. I'll say it again, everyplayer goes through a below-par season.

Still a great player in my eyes.

Brophs

Yeah he's been poor by his own high standards. In truth he probably needs the summer off to recharge the batteries. The problem is we probably won't have too many obvious opportunities to rest him between now and the end of the season.

Eyepopper

Yeah I thought he was very good last night, dont get me wrong this isn't knee jerk, I'm not saying he's shit lets dump him or anywhere near that, but I do think he's not as good in defence as he once was, seems to make some basic mistakes and doesn't look as committed going back as he does going forward.

Just wondering if others have noticed it, what could be behind it and if its something he'll get over.

R_Kelly

I said the same thing in another thread yesterday or the day before, it's his positional sense that seems to have left him.

I'm sure he'll be back to his best after a proper summer rest.

Eyepopper

Anyone know if it was a forced sub last night? Seemed to pick up a knock in the second half.

Feed Me

Evra was superb going forward yesterday, but he was awful on that Luiz goal. It was such a lazy attempt to block.

Brophs

He looked to be struggling after he got treatment after the Luiz goal.

wr8_utd

He's a good dribbler and gets into great positions but he could learn a thing or two from Cashley and hell even Fabio when it comes to putting in a good cross or two.

And defensively he's been a liability at some points but I think he'll we'll see a much better Evra next year.

Eyepopper

I knew when I saw where he was in the build up to the goal that we were in trouble, its a typical example of what I'm talking about, picking up no one, getting drawn towards play and then a bit of ball watching and a late reaction, thats very very basic, the sort of stuff you expect to see from a novice, not a CL winning international with bags of experience.

Thats what I just dont get, its not a pace issue, he's not being caught out of position and then skinned by the opposition, it just looks like he's forgotten how to defend.

Mick1991

He tends to drift a bit but I think that's always been a little weakness in his armour.

bill.s.preston

To be fair, I thought Nani was equally at fault. He was stood 5 yards behind Luiz watching him. He could have marked him or given Evra a shout.

odinnh

why do these threads always pop up after one mistake?

hes a bit shaky in the box but hes and outstanding defender !

should really have blasted it on goal yesterday !

Eyepopper

I knew someone would.....

So you dont think there's any difference between how he's been defending the last 12 months or so and say how he did before that for us?

MadDogg

I didn't notice anything against Chelsea, but yes, his defensive work has dropped a little over the last 12 months or so.

I don't think it's his positioning that has changed. Evra has always been caught out occasionally. But he's always got back extremely quickly so it rarely came to anything. This season I've noticed many times that he's been dawdling and just generally jogging slowly back, so that space that he's vacated is now either open or being covered by someone else who's dropped back to try to look after his spot.

I don't know whether he's physically exhausted, mentally exhausted, or has lost some of the hunger. I'm guessing it's the mentally exhausted one, so hopefully next season he'll be back to his amazing best.

Name Changed

Evra's defending overall is not actually that good. He gets caught out of position so often. It's his attacking prowess that make him such a good player.

narnar

I thought Nani could have done more with Luiz's goal. He let Luiz just drift past him into the box when Evra was in the middle.

Name Changed

The ball was coming across and Evra pointed at Nani (who was ten yards away) to come back to Luiz. Why should Nani have done that? Evra should simply have come across and taken Luiz. That would have stopped the goal. Evra is the defender, he can mark someone. He did not have to run to Vidic. Vidic was capable of marking his man on his own. It was Evra's mistake, not Nani's, in my opinion.

Maciek

His mistake cost us a goal, exactly the same as v Bayern at Allianz...

TheReligion

Yeah, this has been a common theme of late, defensively he has lapses.

Should have done better against Luiz as his positioning was woeful.

amolbhatia100

Definitely. Not been the best season from him for sure. At his best he is the best left back in the world but his form has been off since the end of last season where he looked worn out.

Eyepopper

Nah. here's is is (from about 20 secs on).



Where is he? Whats he doing? Whose he picking up?

I dont really want to get hung up on this one goal, I think he's making those sort of mistakes a lot recently.

BaldwinLegend

I agree with Inigo's earlier post. I guess defending is down to mental strength a lot and he seems to have taken a hit in that respect, presumably down to events last summer.

I'd say it'd actually help Evra right now if Fabio came through and gave SAF the chance to give Evra a break now and then. We always seem to strike lucky with consistent left backs - I remember when Silvestre barely used to miss a game for us there, Irwin before him and now Evra.

Is there a reason why Fabio shouldn't be just as good on the left as Rafael is on the right? I mean, as identical twins shouldn't they be identical footballers? Is Rafael ahead just because he had less injuries and played more as a result? Or is Fabio maybe a converted right footer, thus slowing his development?

Either way, would be great to have a viable alternative to Evra so as he can be rested now and then.

Eyepopper

I think if Fabio was to get a chance it would most likely be eariler in the season and not during the run in.

As I've said Evra is a great footballer, he offers us so much going forward. Some of his link up play with Nani in the first half last night was brilliant.

Name Changed

If only his final ball was good, he'd be absolutely brilliant going forward.

Brwned

The amount of times he's just casually sauntering back when we're under real pressure is bizarre. Vidic is constantly covering for him and even then Evra still seems to think there's no issue.

BaldwinLegend

I guess when you're playing alongside a monolith complacency is a real danger.

Red Pavan

He seems to be a bit complacent in his defending, needs to cut it out soon. Saying that, i thought he couldn't have done anything else to try and stop Luiz's goal, he closed him down as fast as he could. It was just a superb strike and timed to perfection.

Eyepopper

Thats sort of what I'm getting at, he seems to have an attitude of just letting someone else sort it out. Seems quite happy sit off a player let them take it wide and get a cross in rather than getting close.

Of course other the risk he's taking giving them space is that he's encouraging them to take him on.

Ekeke

Just his form in general has dropped for the past few years. Far more often he's caused problems at the back and far less often he has a great game going forward.

Decotron

I dont think he was ever an outstading defender. Competent at best.

His other attributes and his attitude makes him the player he is.

amolbhatia100

Oh dear I didn't realize how poor he was on that goal. It would have been a simple clearance had he marked the man but he was just day dreaming there.

Red Defence

Over the last few seasons Evra's hardly had any rest. The effects of that are bound to reflect in his performances for us.

Basically the poor lad's just mentally and physically a bit knackered. He just needs some good rest and recoup over the summer and perhaps a bit more cover at LB. After that he'll be back to his brilliant best I'm sure.

Name Changed

Yes. And when you're at the games, you see it more. He always saunters back and leaves it to other players to do his job. I do be screaming for him to get back, not that he can hear me or anything.

Fair enough, he gets up the pitch as good as any other full-back, but surely the defending has to be the priority. A lot of our goals that we concede come as a result of Evra being caught up forward or caught out of position even when back.

He needs to make as much of an effort to get back as he does to get forward.


I suppose if Vidic wasn't as good, Evra would probably be more inclined to defend more often.

Eyepopper

I think if Vidic wasn't so good it would be costing us a lot more goals to be honest.

BaldwinLegend

This isn't true - he used to defend and concentrate with more intensity. At his best for us, he's looked a great defender. Now, he seems too slack, casual and a little eccentric.

Let's not lose perspective here - he's clearly been an outstanding defender for us.