Forget about last season, is Phil Jones the best centre-back in the Premier League at the moment?

[Moonred]

Nope. In good form though.

 

[Sandikan]

If ever you needed proof about the fickle nature of your average football fan, it's threads like this!
It's not even 10 games in. Let's see if he's even fit in another 10 games time, let alone playing well.

 

[Lentwood]

I am not sure that he is the best but he wouldn't be far off and is definitely in the top bracket.

Your lazy armchair ABU will sneer at this thread because he/she gets all of their football opinions from the Internet and GiveMeSport, but when fit Jones is up there with the best defenders in world football

 

[DWelbz19]

Absolutely not. He's a good one, though.

 

[Ødegaard]

The question was is he the best CB in the league at the minute not is he the most injury prone CB in the league at the minute. People cant separate the two.

Being injury-troubled like that is part of what makes a player good for a team.
And if we look besides that, he's still behind Bailly just in Manchester United alone.

Brits seem to have a desperate need to over-hype at least one player each season of their own.
(last sentence not aimed at you as I haven't seen you go over board on here, at least not yet, just a general statement)

 

[SalfordRed1960]

Absolutely not. He's a good one, though.

This

 

[iammemphis]

The slip against Stoke is reason enough to say nooooooo.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

I am not sure that he is the best but he wouldn't be far off and is definitely in the top bracket.

Your lazy armchair ABU will sneer at this thread because he/she gets all of their football opinions from the Internet and GiveMeSport, but when fit Jones is up there with the best defenders in world football

He really isn't. But hey, opinions and all that.

 

[sammsky1]

Too early to tell. He has had a good start to the season and is forming a very good relationship with Bailly.

But I suspect he will break down soon and we'll get less than 30 starts out of him over all competitions. And if that happens, then it has to be no.

 

[Lentwood]

Lots of doubters, let me ask you all this - if Jones isn't one one of the best defenders in the PL then who is? Because for me, Phil Jones gets in every side in England.

I think in general we underrate all
of our CBs at Utd whilst at the same time over-rating some of our forwards. The previous seasons "for and against" columns would support this theory....

 

[poacher]

Are you forgetting the slip against Stoke? That was two points lost because of Jones.

 

[Son Of Sam]

Lots of doubters, let me ask you all this - if Jones isn't one one of the best defenders in the PL then who is? Because for me, Phil Jones gets in every side in England.

I think in general we underrate all
of our CBs at Utd whilst at the same time over-rating some of our forwards. The previous seasons "for and against" columns would support this theory....

Eric Bailly is slightly ahead of Jones. If we are talking about the best English player, then Jones is currently ahead of the pack but then there’s poverty of talents in the current generation of English defenders.

Around 2003/4 circa, I don’t think Jones will get a call up when England had the likes of....

Rio Ferdinand
John Terry
Sol Campbell
Jamie Carragher
Jonathan Woodgate
Ledley King
Wes Brown

 

[Lentwood]

Eric Bailly is slightly ahead of Jones. If we are talking about the best English player, then Jones is currently ahead of the pack but then there’s poverty of talents in the current generation of English defenders.

Around 2003/4 circa, I don’t think Jones will get a call up when England had the likes of....

Rio Ferdinand
John Terry
Sol Campbell
Jamie Carragher
Jonathan Woodgate
Ledley King
Wes Brown

Maybe not, although I do think he is at least on a level with King, Brown, Carragher and Woodgate.

I have a theory about defenders atm though which is that we are judging them by impossibly high standards and therefore we are left with none that anybody really rates. We keep talking about the shortage of quality defenders but I just don't think that can be right. There should always be a roughly similar proportion of top quality and world class defenders in the game. Problem is now, Jones, for example, has 5 fantastic games and then is out-manoeuvred on one set piece by some big lump and suddenly "ah can't be world class, remember Stoke". I mean, how many sitters has Aguero missed this year? Does that mean he isn't world class? I've seen Pogba overhit passes and lose the ball. Does that mean he can't be world class?

It's also got harder to be a modern defender. Managers ask their CBs to go 'man for man' vs the opposition CF which often means for top sides the CBs have to play on the front foot and push right up the pitch. They also have to cover the flanks as full backs increasingly push up the pitch. Old school defenders just defended the penalty box and that was fine. Fantastic as he was, do you think JT could have played in City's team right now? I think he would be exposed at times

These days every CB has to be a physical monster, they have to be a great reader of the game, they have to be quick, they have to be great in the air, their positioning has to be spot on and not only that, they also have to be great on the ball!

Let's appreciate what we have in Phil Jones. Who cares if he is the GOAT? He does a very difficult job very well

 

[GM K]

You could have a best in the league for every match week if you wanted, wouldn't make it any less daft considering the sample size.

Yep, it's a common thing in football every week all over the world. Pundits, fans and analysts consider how players performed in just single games. If that's daft to you, I'll respect your right to hold such a view. I have no problem with that at all.

 

[Redfan94]

He cost us against Stoke, or have you forgotten?

 

[GM K]

I don't have a dog in the fight TBH, I just find it odd to ask if Jones is somehow being singled out as the league's best defender after only 6 games. This also has nothing to do with looking at how a player did after one match because we're not looking at it in terms of whether or not they are the best player in the league, we're just looking at how they fared during the past 90s minutes.

That's why I wonder what the heck is the problem with discussing if a player has been the best since the season started.

 

[villain]

He cost us against Stoke, and but for Everton being cack at finishing chances he could have cost us there too.

He's in great form, but lets not count our chickens.

 

[GM K]

The slip against Stoke is reason enough to say nooooooo.

But like you said, it was a 'slip'. I have seen the best of the best, slip. Terry and Gerrard are famous examples.

 

[I Believe]

'At the moment' is the key phrase, over the last few games I would say yes his performances have been the best!

 

[Erictheking7]

If it wasn't for the slip up against Stoke he would have a good case for being the best on form. It is encouraging though that his form is good enough to hold down a spot with Bailly.

 

[AdnanRED]

Alderweirld for me. Jones is good but has moments of stupidity far too often for my liking.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

I think we should start a "fill in the blanks" thread...

Forget about __________ , Is __________ the best ____________ in the ____________

 

[Unmutual]

I don’t think you can say “forget about last season” when you’re six games in. After 25 or so games, maybe, but 6 games is too few to judge a player as the best around. Lots of players can play well over a handful of games, what makes the best players the best is their consistency over long periods. Maybe Jones has chalked up the best performances so far this season, that doesn’t make him the best centre back.

 

[AgentP]

What is it now, 6 games into the league campaign? This discussion shouldn't even be happening. We have had too many players who have had patches of being very good and then completely fading. There are others who are on and off with their form. For a player to be even considered as the best, he needs to perform consistently at a top level atleast for a few years. Just look at our own team. Jones had a good spell last year then spent around 4 months injured. Smalling had a brilliant season under LVG but since then has not even been a starter. Bailly had a good first half then faded after his AFCON trip. Rojo was our best defender and now is out for a long time. Shaw had like THREE good games and is still being hyped after 2 years. So let's not overreact and see where he is at the end of the season.

In my opinion, the players who consistently play well in our team are DDG, Valencia and Lukaku(his time at Everton). The rest are very on and off which is why we finished 4th, 5th and 6th in the league in the last three years. We need our players to deliver consistently to even think of competing.

 

[Don _ Conte]

Azpilicueta > Jones

 

[Smoking_Owl]

Jones' upturn in form has again highlighted the fickle nature of most fans.

A high percentage would've been very happy to see him sold on at the end of last season, despite the fact that he had previously shown tremendous potential and is still quite young for a CB.

 

[Robbie Boy]

http://www.football365.com/news/phil-jones-no-joke-as-man-utd-and-englands-best

 

[iammemphis]

But like you said, it was a 'slip'. I have seen the best of the best, slip. Terry and Gerrard are famous examples.

Yeh but with Jones he slipped because he got himself in a right mess by not watching the ball and only trying to mark the player, it wasn't because he lost his footing. I rate Jones alot but i worry about his focus and lack of concentration at times.

 

[GM K]

Yeh but with Jones he slipped because he got himself in a right mess by not watching the ball and only trying to mark the player, it wasn't because he lost his footing. I rate Jones alot but i worry about his focus and lack of concentration at times.

That's very debatable. I think it's hard for any of us to really say.
It did look like a slip to me but then you could be right. My point is that we can't be really sure.

Jones may not be the best but to me, he looks decent enough a defender to at least know that in scenarios like that, he needed to find the right balance between keeping his eye on the ball and marking his man.

 

[Raoul]

That's why I wonder what the heck is the problem with discussing if a player has been the best since the season started.

There's no problem, its just that its logical to look at how a player fared within the past 90 minutes since we're not attempting to call them the best defender in the league. That logic dissipates rather rapidly when you use 6 league games to call someone the best in the league.

 

[Invictus]

Yep, even though his form can be caveated by the presence of Matić and Bailly and he hasn't been 100% perfect, you could argue that Jones is s currently the best defender in the league with Azpilicueta. As in, if I'd to compile a Premier League Power Ranking, he'd be likely to headline the list of centerbacks. A bit like how Falcao is arguably the most precise striker in Europe at this moment in time. Far removed from being acknowledged as even a Top 10 centerback in the league from a slightly broader perspective, mind - for obvious reasons, though that's not what the OP was referring to with the thread title, I guess.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Not a chance in hell is he the best CB in the league. In this moment or any other.

 

[Ikon]

Has this thread title jinxed him, apparently Jones is now injured again..!!

 

[Salus Populi Suprema Lex]

Has this thread title jinxed him, apparently Jones is now injured again..!!

Is he?? I knew it was too good to be true. The guy is made of glass.

 

[Ikon]

No matter how good Jones is, or how much potential he might have, you just cannot build your defence around a player that is only able to string half a dozen games together before he is injured again.

 

[Salus Populi Suprema Lex]

No matter how good Jones is, or how much potential he might have, you just cannot build your defence around a player that is only able to string half a dozen games together before he is injured again.

So true. He's a good player, but can't be relied upon. It's so frustrating.

 

[Don _ Conte]

Azpiliceuta, Alderweild, Vertonjen & Koscielny are all better just off the top of my head.

 

[SirAF]

Is he?? I knew it was too good to be true. The guy is made of glass.

All we know is that he’ll miss the CL tie. Maybe Mourinho is managing him carefully?

 

[Salus Populi Suprema Lex]

All we know is that he’ll miss the CL tie. Maybe Mourinho is managing him carefully?

Hope so. Perhaps it is precautionary, given his injury record. He's been excellent this season; it would be a shame to have that disrupted by injury again.

 

[RobinHood]

No matter how good Jones is, or how much potential he might have, you just cannot build your defence around a player that is only able to string half a dozen games together before he is injured again.

Exactly. It also helps that he's had Matic screening the back four. He is good though. But so was Ledley King, and injuries cut short his career. It's frustrating as a fan, and no doubt frustrating for the player as well.

With his style of high-risk, putting your body on the line defending he's always an injury candidates. I feel bad for the fella, and really hope he can string quite a few games together.