Jonny Evans

Solius

How good can this guy become?

I mean he's only 21 and when he plays he seems to go under the radar slightly because he goes about what is needed doing quite well. Obviously he's made and will make a few mistakes in his youth but I think the fact that some of his performances are so low key are a testament to his ability. I mean I know there have also been performances that have gotten him noticed like vs Inter and Chelsea, but he just reads the game so well for someone his age that it's hard to notice the work he does. I know he's going to be good, for me it's just a question of how good.

Can he be better than Rio? How good was Rio at 21? I was old enough to remember but sadly do not actually remember because I am a bit of a spazzer. Is the shared opinion on here that he can become a World Class centre-back for years to come or is the jury still out? What do opposition fans think of him as well?

VoetbalWizard

i think lack of pace/turning circle as wide as a oil tanker will stop him from being as good as ferdinand. however i can see him anchoring our backline for a good 5-6 years, partnered next to someone who is a bit quicker.

kietotheworld

At 21 Leeds broke the British transfer record to sign Ferdinand. Evans is an outstanding player though, I have no worries when he steps in for Ferdinand or Vidic.

dev1l

Evans improvement has been incredible over the last couple of seasons. He certainly has the potential to be as good as RIo though there is something that Evans will never have - Rio's pace.

however, there may also be other aspects which Evans may develop better than Rio, like concentration for example.

Devil_forever

Evans seems to have better concentration for his age than Rio and seems to be far more consistent, from what I remember Rio wasn't this consistent. Though as a raw defender Rio slightly edged it over Evans, when he was younger.

rednev

Out of all the young players, he's the most likely to 'make it'. He's great cover for Rio or Vidic.

dev1l

To be fair, Rio when younger was considered to be a more complete footballer than simply a defender. At times this played against him, in the sense that when he was transferred to Leeds, there were some who were very sceptic about his defensive qualities.

Evans is more of an out and out defender, but at his age is one of the top in business. Not many defenders played for a modest team like Northern Ireland and kept Torres in their pockets...

Crerand Legend

Going to be a great and homegrown,rare these days

MUFCgal

True, he's kept some of the world's top strikers quiet and out of the game, namely Torres and Ibrahimovic.

I've no doubt in my mind Jonny Evans will become one of first choice CB's for years to come after Vidic & Rio.

datura

Evans distribution from the back and composure on the ball is very good as well. I don't think he's that slow, definitely not slower than Vidic anyway. He's also very mature for his age and doesn't suffer from the concentration lapes that many young centrebacks struggle with.

I remember a game last season where he was having a go at either Neville or Ferdinand for a mistake which really impressed me.

VoetbalWizard

evans/rodwell future united cb pairing IMO

Great Hat

I think Evans can, and probably will become fantastic. Last year saw a big development from him, and he showed just how composed and assured he can be (Inter [A] being a good example of that). The defensive side of his game can still be developed a bit, and he's perhaps not strong enough physically, but his distribution is good, as is his awareness, and despite a few less than great performances towards the end of the season, he played pretty consistently for a defensive player just breaking into the first team.

He's got work to do on his game, and I don't think he's quite a commanding a presence as Rio was at his age, but he's come on leaps and bounds in the last 12 months, and his play so far, as well as his seemingly impressive understanding of the game, would suggest that he will most likely develop into a tremendous defender. It'd be nice to see him get forward a bit more next season, too, but you can't fault him for much so far, really.

On a similar note, Corry Evans has looked really promising for the reserves this last season. I think he'll make a few senior appearances this campaign, and it'd be interesting to see the two of them play together at some point.

FlawlessThaw

Sunderland were prepared to pay £10 million for Evans at the start of last season and his price will have continued to have risen over the past year.

kietotheworld

Yeah, but the market has inflated vastly since then. I don't think in a market at the level it was at when Ferdinand was transferred, we'd get £18m for him. That's not to say he won't become a fantastic defender, or he isn't already, but his status as mainly a substitute would contribute to no-one wanting to spend that money on him.

FlawlessThaw

I think the transfer price argument is irrelevent anyway because whether its Leeds or Man City throwing the cash inflated figures have always been a factor.

I do think though Rio was a better player than Evans at the same age though, Evans has consistency on his side though.

sammsky1

what has happened to cathcart? Everyone used to go on about him all the time ... what is his potential from those who intimately follow the reserve and u18 teams?

datura

He spent last year on loan at Plymouth and won their young player of the year award however without seeing him play it's hard to judge where he's at as a player at the moment and whether he has the potential to be a first teamer.

Red Dreams

He came on and twice was beaten, one resulting in their goal.

Has he forgotten to be a CB?

MacMUFC

Samba is a complete fucking beast though.

Red Dreams

but Vidic was keeping him quiet.

Smalling would have handled him.

Cutch

Who gives a fuck?!? We won 7-1!!!! Dry up

cw1984

Can I borrow your crystal ball when you're done with it please?

Ekeke

Never got close to challenging Samba. Could have been David Dunn leaping and he might have scored it

Sir Matt

He gets beaten on headers far too often.

Godfather

Won't do his confidence any good. To come on in a completely dominated match and beeing at fault for a goal of their's.

Red Dreams

just saying Smalling is a better player...

R_Kelly

Jesus Christ

Cutch

How can someone still find something to cry about after that today, seriously?

Red Dreams

exactly....

I don't care it was 7-1...that was frustrating conceding to a team that was nowhere.

MacMUFC

True, although Vidic is one of the best defenders in the world. Evans is still learning and I still maintain that in 4-6 years time he'll be our first choice CB and one of the top defenders around the world.

EDIT - Also, i'd just like to add that coming on as a substitute as a CB is probably the hardest position on the pitch to do so in my opinion. It doesnt matter how the oppostion are playing, a quick jog down the touch line wont get you up to speed with the tempo of the match, and concentration levels arent as high. As a striker, winger, etc you might get away with this, but as a CB you're punished.

Just throwing that out there.

Widnes

bloody hell some people just love to hate a United player, he clearly has a problem handling big powerful players at the moment but it is a side to game he can improve as he is still very young, the lad has proven he has class and will be a united player for the next decade.

Plechazunga

He's just having a spell of poor form, he'll soon be back.

Red Dreams

hope you are right mate....and I don't hate the lad...

R_Kelly

Then you seriously need to evaluate your priorities.

Widnes

has potential to be but he isn't yet, he has played well in the league cup where Evans has gone places like the san siro away to Inter milan had his ankle strapped up, pumped up with pain killers and put in a superb performance. He has had a dip in form and Rio has had them, Vidic had one that lasted about 10 months and I'm sure Smalling will have them aswell.

Eriku

Seconded... that's not even seeing the glass as half-full... and for the record, it was pouring over today.

Devilton

Put a big man against him, and he might as well not be there. Just no presence in the air at all these days. A bit annoying. Hopefully he finds his confidence and puts in some hard hours in the gym.

Red Dreams

Hope he plays against West Ham. He needs to play in these cup games.

He has the character to come back...perhaps another Kung-Fu against the likes of Drogba should do it...

Sky1981

The fact that we did not feel Rio's absence as much as we used to says alot about Evans, If he's good enough to made us forget about Rio he's good enough.

The lad's still young and learning and he's already doing quite good. Plus i don't think he's a closet RM fans by any means

Snow

Tempo of the match? There was no tempo to handle. His concentration should be high for playing for that short period of time. Didn't even give Samba a challenge for those two headers he had.
He really has no excuses for it as he does it every game, starting or not.