He's improving all the time which is great to see. Baulking up a bit could help him further too, not that he's struggling or anything. Evans and Smalling will be a good partnership in the near future for us.
Jonny Evans | 2011/12 Performances
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Yep.
You've got to be wary that next season could potentially be Rios last at top level first choice, so one of these guys will have the chance to be Vidics partner.
IMO Vidic and Smalling are very similar types of players and I think that Evans would compliment Vidic more in the long run.
He's quality, I've always said so. Could be a future utd captain if he keeps working hard.
I'm always hesitant to praise any one other than Vidic when alongside Rio, simply by the fact Rio is one of the finest defenders pretty much ever. But Evans like most lads at this club come in for un-due stick and he's a very good young player.
Agree completely, the common opinion is that Smalling is Rio's replacement (because of physical similarities, I guess) but he's much more Vidic's replacement with his aerial dominance. Evans is a lot closer to Rio in his use of the ball and his style of defending, for me.
Evans is a bit like Vidic as well. He's got similar pace and likes to press the strikers at the moment he's receiving a pass. With the ball Evans is usually one of the smartest but he gives it more away in dangerous positions.
What can i say, ive always been one of Evans biggest haters in the last year or two, his form was shockingly poor and looked so unconfident i could not understand how he was getting games.
But since his remarkable turn around he has looked strong, brave and has made some excellent last ditch tackles too which has saved us.
Jonny looks like a different player in the last 2/3 months and i cant understand where he dissapeared too for all that time!.
I suppose the run of games and the confidence instilled in him by SAF has helped hugely, but i think rio guiding him through the games also helps him alot, he clearly needs a bit of instruction in defence but he has certainly responded admirably.
One thing i noticed most was how many headers he was winning against saha and adebayor. They are 2 of the strongest / most powerful forwards in the league and he was bullying them around - something that has been his biggest weakness in recent times.
Great to see the lad finally showing his worth, and im now pleased i dont see him as a weakness anymore.
But since his remarkable turn around he has looked strong, brave and has made some excellent last ditch tackles too which has saved us.
Jonny looks like a different player in the last 2/3 months and i cant understand where he dissapeared too for all that time!.
I suppose the run of games and the confidence instilled in him by SAF has helped hugely, but i think rio guiding him through the games also helps him alot, he clearly needs a bit of instruction in defence but he has certainly responded admirably.
One thing i noticed most was how many headers he was winning against saha and adebayor. They are 2 of the strongest / most powerful forwards in the league and he was bullying them around - something that has been his biggest weakness in recent times.
Great to see the lad finally showing his worth, and im now pleased i dont see him as a weakness anymore.
That's why Evans is such a useful player. Can form a good partnership with any of our other central defenders. Was class with Vidic during his debut season and looks very at home alongside Rio this season.
I actually think Smalling is similarly flexible.
I actually think Smalling is similarly flexible.
He's in good run of form, but best defender in the league? Every bit as good as Pique? Come on.
I agree. I've touched on that in the past of Evans being a hybrid between the ball-playing and the physically imposing defenders meaning that he can play well with either type without unbalancing the central defence if you want that partnership.
Piqués actual defensive qualities are being overrated IMO. He doesn't have to do that much defending compared to other defenders. The reason why he's seen as such a good defender is that he's great as a playmaker from defence, which is just what a team like Barcelona need with the amount of possession they have. He's the ideal defender for Barcelona, but is he the ideal defender in terms of actual defending? I don't think so.
Pique has been left out for tactical reasons a few times recently. A very good player, dont get me wrong but the way he flies forward I think in the Premier League he would struggle a bit like David Luiz. Not to the same extent, but you get what I mean in the way he plays.
Pique is generally rated as one of the best in Europe. Overrated maybe, but Evans still have long way to reach such compliment.
I hope your right as if these two do go on to become the back bone of the defence then flexibility will be key to our success.
A lot of the spunking about Pique is way over the top. I could play at centre half for Barca and look good. You don't have a whole lot to do there TBF.
I agree that Evans has a long way to go before he is regarded as one of the finest centre backs in Europe, but to base that on the fact that he's nowhere near as good as Piqué is wrong in my opinion as there are better centre backs around than Piqué (not many at the moment, mind you, but that's more due to dropping standards in the area rather than Piqué being freakishly good).
You had to be a complete retard to lose faith in Evans after the potential shown in his debut season.
There's plenty of posts to be found calling for his sale over summer, sadly enough.
The bolded bit is pure rubbish.
Problem with Evans is that he's easy target to blame for the supporters and I really don't know why. Jones had terrible match yesterday IMO yet people seem to find every excuse possible to justify his performance and if that was Evans in his place think he would already been crucified in the eyes of the supporters.
He had dips in form and bad matches, but tell which young player doesn't? Since he overcome those problems and gained his spot with first 11 in Vidić absence and he was 4th choice CB at the start of the season speaks volume about his character and determination to succeed as United player.
I really hope we'll see Smalling-Evans partnership once Vidić and Rio finish as United players since Evans is superior defender to Jones who I believe would be better as midfielder but that's another topic to discuss.
Evans has everything needed to become United regular and I really hope he does, at the age of 24 he's already seen ups and downs and can only benefit from those experiences and if he wasn't good enough Sir Alex would show him doors long time ago.
He had dips in form and bad matches, but tell which young player doesn't? Since he overcome those problems and gained his spot with first 11 in Vidić absence and he was 4th choice CB at the start of the season speaks volume about his character and determination to succeed as United player.
I really hope we'll see Smalling-Evans partnership once Vidić and Rio finish as United players since Evans is superior defender to Jones who I believe would be better as midfielder but that's another topic to discuss.
Evans has everything needed to become United regular and I really hope he does, at the age of 24 he's already seen ups and downs and can only benefit from those experiences and if he wasn't good enough Sir Alex would show him doors long time ago.
Hmmm... That was true a while back but Jones seems to be starting to experience the same backlash that had Evans went through when he had his first dip in form. For example, I think his ratings in the ratings thread are generally a bit harsh.
I thought Evans was very good yesterday. His reaction to clear a deflected save before any Tottenham strikers reacted was a particular highlight.
I dont think he was terrible at all, he made alot of decent interceptions, but also dived into a few tackles which he could of got sent off for - something rafael used to alot and get punished for.
Lennon is a very tricky winger on form and its no suprise he caused jonesy a few problems, if evra cant deal with him then i dont really expect anything else.
But lets just remember jones isnt really a RB, he is a centre back playing wide.
Carrick, too.
EDIT - and ironically, they've been two of our better players this season.
Don't think his rating were harsh, for me he was the worst player on the pitch, but as Evans he'll benefit from the experience and that's what really matters.
Since he's only 19y old and doesn't have figured out favorite postion it's normal for him to have dips in form and two sides matches, from great to dire, it's all part of him growing up as a player. But with Jones having bad match is much more easier to make excuses, while with Evans it's slating all over the place which isn't fair to the either one.
one of the worst posts I've seen on here in a while.He did play few matches as CB and didn't really set world alive with the performances, his best matches were in midfield when he was given run of games alongside Carrick.
He's obviously at his best when playing every game, and has a brilliant understanding with Rio.
It does make you wonder how things will turn out once Vidic's back, though.
It does make you wonder how things will turn out once Vidic's back, though.
I don't know about the ratings, because I thought he was poor yesterday, but your overall point seems right, there are some sweeping statements being made about him now as if his brilliant start had never happened.
Some of the comparisons in this thread with Pique are ridiculous and way off the mark. I'm of the opinion myself that Pique can be overrated by some at times, however he's still a top quality defender and he's still a class above Evans.
Evans has improved beyond belief this season and is now a very competent defender, but he's still a very long way off being the best in the league, or of being a truly world class defender.
Evans has improved beyond belief this season and is now a very competent defender, but he's still a very long way off being the best in the league, or of being a truly world class defender.
Exactly.
I think some of you have misinterpreted what I said and should reread my post.
Firstly, to compare Evans to Piqué is ridiculous. Pique has been in outstanding form for 3 seasons. Evans has had a great debut season and then poor form since. I almost think that debut season put too much pressure on him to match his performances from then.
He gets dominated by overly physical strikers. He was in Zamora's pocket last season and was awful in the 4-0 against West Ham to the point that he was substituted early. Now I gather that is last season and he has come a long way since then but he wasn't poor in the first half of the season (derby drubbing and carling cup exit stand out in my mind) and wasn't great in the recent games against Liverpool and Chelsea. Hence my comment he has been decentish last few games (decent=good). You can tell I'm not overly confident in him but if he continues playing how he has been in the last few games then I will be.
The way some of you talk about him it's as if he's one of the best centre backs in the world. He's not. He's a good defender but not great (yet). There are parts of his game he needs to improve. If you want someone to fawn over, then do it over Rio as he has been in the form of his life recently. His reading of the game, his tackling etc has been immense.
So to tie up- I can't remember which poster was comparing him to Piqué but it was wrong. He is a good defender but he hasnt been in the form he's in now for the whole season has he? It's a recent thing. Let's hope it continues and that he can fulfil his potential.
That's a bit more reasonable but it was this comment from you...
...which prompted all the scorn.
Which was deserved, as it's a ridiculous thing to say.
Im talking about jones PRE man utd, when he played for blackburn he played centre back next to samba and starred in that role.
Remember last year in the last game away to blackburn? he kept us out for the whole game until they gave away that stupid penalty towards the end.
Also when he was 18 he kept a massively inform drogba quiet all game too.
He is a CB and that is where his future lies.
It just so happens hes played pretty well in CM and RB too.
I really think that this is myth, he played a few games at CB but Nelson and Givet played next to Samba far more. I think last season when Allardyce was still there Jones played exclusively in midfield.
Through what all the commentators/people on here are saying I'm beginning to wonder if my memory fails me but I'm certain that this was the case, I watched Blackburn a fair bit last season.
Yeah, just had a look through the team sheets and match reports here, Jones played mainly as a midfielder.
Blackburn Rovers | Match | Fixtures & Results | First Team Fixtures & Results | 2010
Blackburn Rovers | Match | Fixtures & Results | First Team Fixtures & Results | 2010
I still stand by it. Tott game aside, where he was very good, he's been decent. Improved. Competent etc. in stark contrast to his previous form.
4 games???
you are clearly blind.
Go to Specsavers
you are clearly blind.
Go to Specsavers
How many games ago was the Lpool and Chelsea games? I'm guessing it was 4 games ago. I don't think he played particularly well in them.
let me just refresh what you said
Evans has played well in 3-4 games in a 3 year period
Thats complete rubbish
Evans has been better than Pique this season. It's hard to compare the two, Pique plays for a team that has the ball 85% of the time, but he performs his role there very well. I still think if we kept him, he and Evans would have been our next great partnership.
Liverpool at home?? Jonny was immense in that game... A top quality centre back performance.
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