Jonny Evans

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe said:

I hate this type of revisionism on Smalling. His passing ability was woeful. Even Southgate wouldn't go near him because of his inability to play out from the back.

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He was poor on the ball… probably still is.

But he has some elite defending qualities we have massively lacked since he left, mainly the combination of pace and complete aerial domination.

And had we have been spoiled with elite, ball playing CBs since Smalling left, you’d have a better point. But it’s been maguire, jones, rojo, Bailey… and I’d even go as far to say that Varane ain’t that much better on the ball, and teams allow him to have possession in the exact same way they used to allow Smalling. Lindelof is a lot better passer, but nowhere near as good defensively.

Martinez is the only CB in all that time who looks as genuine step ahead.

Would we have faired any worse had an Evans/Smalling partnership been our mainstay duo over the last 10 years? Id have argued not. And it would have been left 100s of millions to invest in other areas of the squad.

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe said:

I hate this type of revisionism on Smalling. His passing ability was woeful. Even Southgate wouldn't go near him because of his inability to play out from the back.

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Southgate's selections are always suspect. He plays Phillips

His passing ability was limited and he knew that so he didnt try anything with much risk. He rarely gave the ball away in any bad position. Varane is similar. He mostly keeps things simple although he did try a longer left footed pass today that luckily went behind its target to a United man today.

Whats far worse than players like Smalling are players slightly better on the ball who think they can always play their way out of trouble and dont play the easy passes when it makes sense. Those are the ones who lose the ball in their own final third leading to opposing teams getting a shot on goal that they otherwise wouldnt have. It might not always end in a goal but it always risks one and invites pressure on the backline. Its also these players that pressing teams are designed for. They want you to try and play your way out

Player of the season brilliant

Surprisingly performed well above expectations. I just assumed we were doing him a favour in the summer by letting an old boy train with us ahead of a potential move. Shouldn't be kept next season though because he can't defend large spaces 1v1.

Top said:

Player of the season

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Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber said:

Player of the season, Manchester United. Hands down.

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Was thinking the same today. Unless Hojlund continues his streak upon return, Evans has probably been the most consistent player we've had over the course of a very inconsistent season.

Best ETH signing by dinner distance. And that for free.

Fair play to Evans as he has been one of our best this season. But it is depressing that it is the case at the same time and sums up the season. When we signed him I only expected to see him a couple of times all season as cover, not anywhere near the starting line up. Yet now he is probably our top performing CB.

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe said:

I hate this type of revisionism on Smalling. His passing ability was woeful. Even Southgate wouldn't go near him because of his inability to play out from the back.

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Yup, he had to go. For his sake and for united to move on. The problem was we sold smalling, but kept ddg and bought awb which didn't make sense.

Evans has been fine when called upon this season. Moving him on back then, in hindsight, has been a disaster because the replacements have been shocking. Selling him and keeping Jones for as long as we did (including that insane four year contract extension) was the funny one.

Him and varane look a decent partnership.

Dargonk said:

Fair play to Evans as he has been one of our best this season. But it is depressing that it is the case at the same time and sums up the season. When we signed him I only expected to see him a couple of times all season as cover, not anywhere near the starting line up. Yet now he is probably our top performing CB.

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I expected we would only see him pre season when he played those games :lol

Amar__ said:

Yeah, Jones and Rojo were amazing to be fair.

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No they were shit. So was Evans.

And Evans was unreliable and panicked in a championship winning team. Now that he's more experienced, calmer, and playing for a 6th placed club with zero pressure he's doing fine. If that's good enough for you then great.

Top said:

Player of the season

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Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber said:

Player of the season, Manchester United. Hands down.

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No he hasn’t it’s been Dalot

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe said:

I hate this type of revisionism on Smalling. His passing ability was woeful. Even Southgate wouldn't go near him because of his inability to play out from the back.

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That's the problem with attacking straw men. You simply go off on your own tangent that has actually nothing to do with what anyone said.

At no point did I praise Smalling's ability to play out from the back in my post. I simply said he had become one of our most reliable defenders and was the best possible partner in our squad at the time for Maguire. My entire evidence for that is based off the excellent pairing he formed with Blind previously. Even with Lindeloff when they DID play together

Alongside him, a Maguire (a defensive upgrade on Blind/Lindelofd) would have been able to not only lean in to his passing ability more and step into midfield. He'd have been able to operate proactively in a high line without ever having the fear of pace running in behind him thanks to a quick non erratic covering partner like Smalling behind him.

Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber said:

That's the problem with attacking straw men. You simply go off on your own tangent that has actually nothing to do with what anyone said.

At no point did I praise Smalling's ability to play out from the back in my post. I simply said he had become one of our most reliable defenders and was the best possible partner in our squad at the time for Maguire. My entire evidence for that is based off the excellent pairing he formed with Blind previously. Even with Lindeloff when they DID play together

Alongside him, a Maguire (a defensive upgrade on Blind/Lindelofd) would have been able to not only lean in to his passing ability more and step into midfield. He'd have been able to operate proactively in a high line without ever having the fear of pace running in behind him thanks to a quick non erratic covering partner like Smalling behind him.

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Smalling wasn't a quick defender - see FA Cup final where his lack of pace was exposed, causing him to get sent off. Maguire and Smalling playing a high line would be a CB partnership from hell. Two clumsy oafs bumping into each other and tripping over themselves.

You'd probably say only Evans and Dalot have been consistently pretty good for us throughout the season this year. Bruno and Garnacho probably next but still a way off. I'd give player of the year to Dalot on balance I think but fair play to Jonny, we have to sign him up for another year, either as player or player/coach.

Was a scapegoat back then but he is now a respected CB.

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe said:

Smalling wasn't a quick defender - see FA Cup final where his lack of pace was exposed, causing him to get sent off. Maguire and Smalling playing a high line would be a CB partnership from hell. Two clumsy oafs bumping into each other and tripping over themselves.

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He played a high line with Blind under LVG. He was never exposed with pace. Furthermore he was sent off tracking an actual top end speed merchant in Bollasie. The type even Kyle Walker would struggle to contain. The type who would leave Maguire so far in the dust he wouldn't even be able to get booked.

Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber said:

He played a high line with Blind under LVG. He was never exposed with pace.

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Blind was superb in recycling the ball, picking the right passes and maintaining composure though. Loved that guy

VP89 said:

Blind was superb in recycling the ball, picking the right passes and maintaining composure though. Loved that guy

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True. Only our beloved butcher has come close to replicating that in defence since.

Rasmus has come good and we miss him terribly, but I reckon Jonny is our signing of the season. His coming in at the age of 35 and doing the business shows everything that is wrong and has been wrong with this football club for over a decade, but obviously I mean no disrespect to the player by pointing this out.

He's doing everything asked of him and is putting in a proper shift for the club. I wish we had more blokes like him in the team, now and for the previous ten or so years.

I would sell Harry Maguire and extend Jonny Evans contract in the summer. Even if he doesn’t start a single game next season, Evans is worth having around. Steady back up and leader.

VP89 said:

Blind was superb in recycling the ball, picking the right passes and maintaining composure though. Loved that guy

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Don't think our fanbase praise his time at united High enough, he was inexpensive signing that has arguably been best centre back signing post fergie and was a shame he was sold by mourinho, he still doing great in la liga

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe said:

Smalling wasn't a quick defender - see FA Cup final where his lack of pace was exposed, causing him to get sent off. Maguire and Smalling playing a high line would be a CB partnership from hell. Two clumsy oafs bumping into each other and tripping over themselves.

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https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/row-zed/chris-smalling-one-manchester-uniteds-8075725

He was pretty quick, just maybe not lightning acceleration like a winger has. Certainly not slow.

Didn't he just come back to train or something? Kind of walked in the wrong door and ended up on the pitch. He has been fantastic. Yesterday he was great. Definitely gives a shit about club and badge. Great guy, I have huge respect for him, and the combo of him and Varane works somehow. As others have said, Dalot also deserves praise. I am delighted with that result against a team with their backs to the wall.

TwoSheds said:

You'd probably say only Evans and Dalot have been consistently pretty good for us throughout the season this year. Bruno and Garnacho probably next but still a way off. I'd give player of the year to Dalot on balance I think but fair play to Jonny, we have to sign him up for another year, either as player or player/coach.

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Yeah, agree with everything here.

red.knight said:

I would sell Harry Maguire and extend Jonny Evans contract in the summer. Even if he doesn’t start a single game next season, Evans is worth having around. Steady back up and leader.

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Don't get this perspective at all. Maguire is an even more steady back up than Evans and has already showed no desire to leave despite getting shifted to the bench. Why get rid?

For me Maguire is a perfect 3rd choice CB and Evans is a decent 4th choice (questions marks around his age and how long he can continue to perform will remain).

Vidyoyo said:

Don't get this perspective at all. Maguire is an even more steady back up than Evans and showing no desire to leave.

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Maguire has made meme worthy mistakes that Jonny Evans has not made during his entire career. Harry Maguire hasnt made many of his meme mistakes this year but i wouldnt call him steady at all. He always has a big mistake in him.

Maguire also has a much higher wage and would also bring in more money. I rather keep Evans around than Maguire. Although when they both play at their very best and both play in a system that suits them, Maguire is likely at this moment the better player.

Stadjer said:

Maguire has made meme worthy mistakes that Jonny Evans has not made during his entire career. Harry Maguire hasnt made many of his meme mistakes this year but i wouldnt call him steady at all. He always has a big mistake in him.

Maguire also has a much higher wage and would also bring in more money. I rather keep Evans around than Maguire. Although when they both play at their very best and both play in a system that suits them, Maguire is likely at this moment the better player.

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I mean Jonny was notably hounded back in the day for making mistakes. He just wasn't United captain so I don't think anybody cared back then, except on here where he often caught pelters. I think there's a level now where our low expectations of him have made us over-value what he offers a little bit. When all is said and done I can't see him being anything but a 4th choice centre back next year, which is what he was brought in to do this year (maybe 5th choice actually).

It's true we'd get money for Maguire but I suspect we'll let Lindelof leave before him. We should get anything between 10-20 million because he's not on mega wages, which could dramatically drop what we get for 'Arry. There's also certain questions surrounding the fitness of Varane, or even if he wants to stay rather than go for one last payday in Arabia, so I think that could be another likely departure as well. In that case Maguire becomes more integral to keep around.

This is saying nothing about how good/bad Maguire or Evans have been because both have been decent of late. I'd be delighted if both were here next year personally.

From F365:

Jonny Evans
It doesn’t bear thinking about where Manchester United would be if a 36-year-old free agent didn’t need to maintain his fitness last summer.

For confirmation that Evans never featured in Erik ten Hag’s initial plans for this season, consider that his return came as one of 10 half-time substitutes in a pre-season friendly with Lyon in July as part of a second-string XI made up entirely of youngsters and fringe players, replacing expected first-teamers. Omari Forson is the only other player still at Manchester United of those Evans took to the field alongside for the second half; the rest have left either on loan or permanently for Burton Albion, Port Vale, Hibernian and other obscure backwaters.

Even that first-choice side contained only two other players who started against Everton in Raphael Varane and Kobbie Mainoo. This campaign’s reliance on Evans is laughably far from the sort of Tom Huddlestone role that was first envisioned.

But while that is a harsh reflection on Manchester United’s squad planning, it should not detract from how excellent the centre-half has been in trying circumstances. He only ever played more games than this in two of his seven seasons at Old Trafford a decade or so ago. And that was in Manchester United teams which either won the title at a canter or missed out on the final day due to goal difference.

In a troubled side desperate for his experience and guidance, Evans has gone from filling in and making up the numbers to producing them on a more impressive and consistent scale than any teammate.

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe said:

Smalling wasn't a quick defender - see FA Cup final where his lack of pace was exposed, causing him to get sent off. Maguire and Smalling playing a high line would be a CB partnership from hell. Two clumsy oafs bumping into each other and tripping over themselves.

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It always amazes me when the occasional poster pops up and says Smalling wasn't fast (or that he was downright slow). He's quite easily the fastest central defender we've had over the last decade. Actually, Bailly was faster over the first couple of steps, but Smalling's top speed was faster. The only thing is that, as is fairly normal for someone of his size, if his momentum was moving forward and he then had to turn and race back the other way it did take a couple of steps to really get going. He was fast enough that he almost always made up that ground, but there were the occasional moments where he couldn't.

In saying that, in his last season here I did think he was starting to slow down a little. Still comfortably faster than our other options, but not quite as fast as he once was. I don't watch Roma so I'm not sure if that slow deterioration continued (in a similar was as we've seen with Varane who is nowhere near as fast as he once was) or if it's still something that is a big strength.

Pretty hilarious in hindsight that we'd have been significantly better off having Evans and Smalling as our CB pair for the last decade than the vast array of alternatives. My goodness, how many has it been? Blind, Rojo, Bailly, Maguire, Varane, Lindelof, Tuanzebe, Martinez, Jones, and probably about 15 I've forgotten?

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe said:

Smalling wasn't a quick defender - see FA Cup final where his lack of pace was exposed, causing him to get sent off. Maguire and Smalling playing a high line would be a CB partnership from hell. Two clumsy oafs bumping into each other and tripping over themselves.

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He was rapid, to claim he wasn't is just having blinkers.

Lu Tze said:

Pretty hilarious in hindsight that we'd have been significantly better off having Evans and Smalling as our CB pair for the last decade than the vast array of alternatives. My goodness, how many has it been? Blind, Rojo, Bailly, Maguire, Varane, Lindelof, Tuanzebe, Martinez, Jones, and probably about 15 I've forgotten?

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Yep, and Welbeck would have been perfectly serviceable as a backup striker rather than all the random stop-gaps we signed up front.

Lu Tze said:

Pretty hilarious in hindsight that we'd have been significantly better off having Evans and Smalling as our CB pair for the last decade than the vast array of alternatives. My goodness, how many has it been? Blind, Rojo, Bailly, Maguire, Varane, Lindelof, Tuanzebe, Martinez, Jones, and probably about 15 I've forgotten?

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Vaan Gaal fecked us so badly. Destroyed a good squad. Not title winning, but a good squad which could be built on.

Lu Tze said:

Pretty hilarious in hindsight that we'd have been significantly better off having Evans and Smalling as our CB pair for the last decade than the vast array of alternatives. My goodness, how many has it been? Blind, Rojo, Bailly, Maguire, Varane, Lindelof, Tuanzebe, Martinez, Jones, and probably about 15 I've forgotten?

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The problem wasn't that we got rid of any of those. The problem has been our aimless, shambolic recruitment over the past decade.

Will be part of the coaching team and wouldnt surprise me if in 10 years he's our next manager

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe said:

I hate this type of revisionism on Smalling. His passing ability was woeful. Even Southgate wouldn't go near him because of his inability to play out from the back.

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Yeah, its not a coincidence that Smallings best run was next to Blind when Blind could think and pass for him.

Robertd0803 said:

Yeah, its not a coincidence that Smallings best run was next to Blind when Blind could think and pass for him.

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Still remember PSV away where their coach literally said we will let Smalling have the ball in the build up to the game. Blind was marked and instantly pressed whilst Smalling had zero pressure. We struggled to move the ball all game and lost.

Lu Tze said:

Pretty hilarious in hindsight that we'd have been significantly better off having Evans and Smalling as our CB pair for the last decade than the vast array of alternatives. My goodness, how many has it been? Blind, Rojo, Bailly, Maguire, Varane, Lindelof, Tuanzebe, Martinez, Jones, and probably about 15 I've forgotten?

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Martínez and Varane last season was probably our best CB pairing since Vidić and Rio.

"Not everything that is good quality is expensive" - John Rambo

And this guy is a proof of that.

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe said:

I hate this type of revisionism on Smalling. His passing ability was woeful. Even Southgate wouldn't go near him because of his inability to play out from the back.

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It's your stance that is revisionism, sorry.
There's a reason Smalling won the 2015/16 POTY, interrupting DDG's run of 4 seasons either side of it.