Patrice Evra | 2008-12 Performances

[Rossa]

What's with the negativity? He did a great job at intercepting the balls on numerous occasions. He outpaced both Osman and Fellaini on a couple of occasions and he nearly got a goal; if he had scored that one you would all be hailing him once more. However, the general consensus seems to be that one sounds more intelligent by being more negative. Evra was actually quite decent today. He defended well, and if you watch other fullbacks play they too are out of position; it is a natural part of the modern fullback - they attack. Evra is integral to our attack; our first goal came partly due to him flying down that left wing and making space for Nani. He also busted his balls trying to get back.

The way I saw it, Everton played their luckiest match ever; they had four big chances and four goals. Hell, their first goal wasn't even that much of a chance as the cross was so so and the finish was brilliant, albeit slightly lucky.

 

[Solius]

If only that header went in

 

[Theon]

What's with the negativity? He did a great job at intercepting the balls on numerous occasions. He outpaced both Osman and Fellaini on a couple of occasions and he nearly got a goal; if he had scored that one you would all be hailing him once more. However, the general consensus seems to be that one sounds more intelligent by being more negative. Evra was actually quite decent today. He defended well, and if you watch other fullbacks play they too are out of position; it is a natural part of the modern fullback - they attack. Evra is integral to our attack; our first goal came partly due to him flying down that left wing and making space for Nani. He also busted his balls trying to get back.

The way I saw it, Everton played their luckiest match ever; they had four big chances and four goals. Hell, their first goal wasn't even that much of a chance as the cross was so so and the finish was brilliant, albeit slightly lucky.

That's ridiculously unfair to Everton, calling that their 'luckiest match ever' is an absolute joke. They played very well and although I think we slightly edged it a draw isn't a crazy result in the slightest. They were comfortably the better team in the opening 20 minutes I thought. Everton had 17 attempts overall, so to say they had only four chances is rubbish. Jelavic should have scored at the beginning of the game for example when he was played through but shot straight at De Gea.

With Evra, nobody is doubting that he is good going forward, although his final ball or cross is usually poor. So I'm not sure why your pointing out that 'the modern fullback attacks'. Everyone knows this and he isn't being criticised for it.

It is his defending which is letting him down, not when he goes forward because whilst that leaves him out of position occasionally, he is actually decent at getting back. Instead it is when we are defending deep as a team and he wanders infield to try and close down an opponent. He just leaves the left flank completely vacant, Osman was in so much space at times it was unreal, and it isn't surprisng that Hibbert got two assists at right back. Evra needs to stick to his position more and stop coming infield, it happens every fecking game.

 

[Makki]

If he's going to neglect his defensive duties he could actually contribute to the attack other than missing headers from three yards out.

 

[girish]

forgetting his defending duties is the problem. It's been the case for sometime. Nani,Young, even Welbeck has filled in for him at left back on different occasions .

And we are sending Fabio on next season, when he could have some playing time when we rest Evra.

 

[Wowi]

What's with the negativity? He did a great job at intercepting the balls on numerous occasions. He outpaced both Osman and Fellaini on a couple of occasions and he nearly got a goal; if he had scored that one you would all be hailing him once more.

"Once more"? It's been a while since he's been hailed to be honest.

If he's going to neglect his defensive duties he could actually contribute to the attack other than missing headers from three yards out.

And put in better crosses. He gets in great positions so often, but wastes them almost every time because of poor delivery.

 

[Transfer United Till I Die]

I love him, I really do, but he's been horrendous defensively this season. He's got too comfortable and has noone challenging for his position.

 

[Amar__]

Awfull season for Evra, he is probably one of our worst performers this season(I am talking about first team regulars). I like Pat, I really do,but this isn't working, we are desperate for left back, I would be surprised if we don't buy one during the summer.

I hope he will have good game against city, otherwise we are screwed up.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

His problem is he has no one challenging him for his starting spot. To top it all he is now the captain.

 

[girish]

Evra's positioning for both the Hibbert assists..

 

[Freak]

Absolutely ridiculous. Why on earth is Nani defending for him. It's not like Evra is busy with some other everton player either.

 

[Galactic]

His 'experience' is important I guess. I see no other explanation.

 

[kps88]

To be fair, its sometimes the game plan that your winger picks up the opposition full back. Problem is Everton weren't really playing with an out and out winger on that side and Evra wasn't tucking in or marking anyone when Hibbert was out wide.

 

[Cold_Boy]

He's been shit defensively since last season tbh.

Going forward he has done well but rarely does have a perfect final ball.

 

[ghaliboy]

And we are sending Fabio on next season, when he could have some playing time when we rest Evra.

I think this is the main problem. He's mentally and physically exhausted.
For me he needs a good long rest.

I don't think he's natural captain material but the guys respect him. I'd love to see him off for a quarter to half a season. We need some more fit leaders in the middle of the park however.

 

[girish]

At both times he was playing more central, though. But look at the space we are giving him. But then again, when we are in their half, he's always up top. And when Nani was crossing for Rooney's first goal, Evra was at the edge of the box, and going in.

At the other side, Rafael was at fault for letting Piennar go for the last goal, but then again he was not as bad as Evra. And for Nani, trying to defend, I don't think Evra could've been any better. (In his early years, Evra was much agile, due to his rather light frame, but since this all bulking up business, he's lost a yard of pace.)

 

[ghaliboy]

Rafael is marking Fellaini and (it looks like) Jelavic? (number 7) there. Both big guys.

 

[kps88]

Fellaini would run straight towards Rafael's side whenever he entered the box. On hindsight, this was one of those games where Fergie should have done his "I like height" routine and gone for Jones/Smalling.

 

[Rossa]

That's ridiculously unfair to Everton, calling that their 'luckiest match ever' is an absolute joke. They played very well and although I think we slightly edged it a draw isn't a crazy result in the slightest. They were comfortably the better team in the opening 20 minutes I thought. Everton had 17 attempts overall, so to say they had only four chances is rubbish. Jelavic should have scored at the beginning of the game for example when he was played through but shot straight at De Gea.

With Evra, nobody is doubting that he is good going forward, although his final ball or cross is usually poor. So I'm not sure why your pointing out that 'the modern fullback attacks'. Everyone knows this and he isn't being criticised for it.

It is his defending which is letting him down, not when he goes forward because whilst that leaves him out of position occasionally, he is actually decent at getting back. Instead it is when we are defending deep as a team and he wanders infield to try and close down an opponent. He just leaves the left flank completely vacant, Osman was in so much space at times it was unreal, and it isn't surprisng that Hibbert got two assists at right back. Evra needs to stick to his position more and stop coming infield, it happens every fecking game.

17 attempts on goal hardly tells the truth as most of them were hardly even shots, and some were hit miles over the goal. I agree that they were the better team the first 15-20 minutes. Overall they played quite well, but in the second half we were much better.

Evra does drift in, and there is no doubt that it looks weird. However, he has a fairly good header, so that may explain why. Fergie would never let him do that game after game if there was no reason behind it.

Hibbert only made two or three crosses, so yeah it is lucky that both of them resulted in assists!

And although I love Pat, I too think he has been defensively suspect this year, but the criticism he gets here from time to time is over the top! It's like an angry mob situation.

 

[Rossa]

Evra's positioning for both the Hibbert assists..

Wasn't that due to Evra coming back from an attack, thus not being able to track back fast enough? My memory may be failing me though.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Evra's positioning for both the Hibbert assists..

Right, so Nani's got Hibbert (who is his man)... so what exactly are we blaming Evra for here? Not doubling up?

 

[Rossa]

Right, so Nani's got Hibbert (who is his man)... so what exactly are we blaming Evra for here? Not doubling up?

I pretty much agree with this! It seems that Evra is getting the stick no matter what. If Nani tracks back and covers the attacker, then Evra should probably stay inwards and cover there - Nani never came close to Hibbert!

 

[Steven Seagull]

The ball is being delivered from 2 yards away from the touchline you gimps. If anyone's at fault it's the centre half. There's enough time to adjust yourself and win the ball. People are making out as if Evra and Nani have been done in the 6 yard box ffs.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

The ball is being delivered from 2 yards away from the touchline you gimps. If anyone's at fault it's the centre half. There's enough time to adjust yourself and win the ball. People are making out as if Evra and Nani have been done in the 6 yard box ffs.

Oh yeah, I'm not blaming Nani for not stopping a cross from going into the box... (though for the 2nd goal, he did amble out to Hibbert fairly leisurely... but thats not to say, even if he went at full pace, he wouldn't have stopped the cross going in) Ultimately, you can't stop every cross going in, much like you can't block every shot going at goal.

 

[girish]

For the first goal, Evra wasn't coming back from attack. He was just infront of the center of our defence, parallel with Carrick, as their move switched from left to right wing (Rafael was going one on one with Jelavic for a header). And when Gibson passed it to Hibbert on the wing, He was just walking, while Nani who was further forward, ran back towards Hibbert.

And for the second goal, When Mcfadden passed it to Hibbert for the Evra was infront of nani, But again he was nowhere near an Everton player.

(And how many times Vidic has bailed him out, I'd never know.)

 

[Orton]

Evra's positioning for both the Hibbert assists..

And some people are saying Nani should be doing better defensively? Evra always does this, moves centrally and leaves our left side exposed. I feel sorry for whoever we play at left midfield because they are going to have 2 jobs due to Evra's defensive deficincies. People bemoaning Rafael, he is caught out nowhere near the amount of times and he's just a rookie who will learn from his mistakes.

 

[Zen86]

He's a smart guy Evra. The fact he's consistently being caught out of position and charging up front, seemingly without criticism from Fergie, says to me that's what he's getting told to do.

Saying that it was still infuriating to constantly see our left completely exposed.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

For the first goal, Evra wasn't coming back from attack. He was just infront of the center of our defence, parallel with Carrick, as their move switched from left to right wing (Rafael was going one on one with Jelavic for a header). And when Gibson passed it to Hibbert on the wing, He was just walking, while Nani who was further forward, ran back towards Hibbert.

And for the second goal, When Mcfadden passed it to Hibbert for the Evra was infront of nani, But again he was nowhere near an Everton player.

The first goal, Evra shouldn't be marking Hibbert, that's Nani's job. Evra idealy should be tucked inside marking whoever Rio is so that everyone could move across and Evans would be marking Jelavic... but that's easy enough to say without actually seeing how the move went down. But yes, you could say he was at fault here, but not for not closing down Hibbert.

The second goal, Evra was actually going towards McFadden (his man) if I'm not mistaken (i'd have to see the video again) with Nani going out to Hibbert (his man). So not at fault there in the slightest. If Hibbert had decided to hold onto the ball instead of an early cross, McFadden would have ran into that space that Evra is in and so would have been picked up.

 

[Hectic]

Evra is found too often drifting in, or taking his time to move out towards the attacker. It's like he's seeing it happening in slow motion sometimes. Certainly not limited to this game. You watch the difference between Rafael when he observes the ball is played out to the wing and Evra, the difference in reaction is amazing. Rafael tries to give as little space and time as possible, Evra seems to do the opposite. I have to agree though, the ball is so far out, and looking at our defence there the CB's should have more than enough time to recognize the ball is coming in. Maybe there is something to it and he's been instructed to not close down the threat as soon as possible, but I can't really see why, and sometimes the threat seems so painfully obvious of how and when it is going to come. It's a lot more obvious in other games when he might not have the cover he did in the images above.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Evra is found too often drifting in, or taking his time to move out towards the attacker. It's like he's seeing it happening in slow motion sometimes. Certainly not limited to this game. You watch the difference between Rafael when he observes the ball is played out to the wing and Evra, the difference in reaction is amazing. Rafael tries to give as little space and time as possible, Evra seems to do the opposite. I have to agree though, the ball is so far out, and looking at our defence there the CB's should have more than enough time to recognize the ball is coming in.

He's extremely guilty of that... It really is infuriating at times.

I just take exception to non-sensical criticism... (someone earlier in this thread blamed him for 3 of yesterdays 4 goals for example...) It's easy to say "Cross from the left, Evra's fault" ... but it would help if people actually looked at the goals first before shoving blame onto him.

Yesterday, our whole defense, as a collective unit, let us down. They are all as guilty as each other in my view.

 

[KingMinger22]

He needs competition for his place

 

[Steven Seagull]

Did he used to be like this when he was God? I have memories of him being Roberto Carlos and Paulo Maldini rolled into one for at least 2 years. He's obviously lost some pace and I don't think he's adapted to that very well yet, but he definitely doesn't get close enough to stopping crosses, not that I think he should have been stopping them yesterday. Rio and Evans should be organising that better. Slack at best that is

 

[Hectic]

I don't think he was near this bad, he seems so relaxed and casual to move out to an attacker. It's hard to understand because you would assume as this keeps happening, it would be addressed, but it hasn't. It's in stages, he will see the threat late, move out to them probably too late, and then still finds himself struggling to block the cross. Rafael when he has to deal with the same threat on his side is so much faster to react, and clearly more aware, although yesterday he did have some problems.

I think perhaps Evra expends to much energy in our attacks, and maybe some of that isn't really neccessary at the expense of what we lose out on in defence.

 

[Steven Seagull]

There's an interview somewhere where he was explaining how he'd specifically been told to get forward a lot more. Probably from around 12-18 months ago. That's all very well when you've got midfields of Hargreaves/Park/Fletcher/ to do a lot of covering for you, but a midfield of Carrick and a knackered Scholesy just isn't going to cut it

 

[girish]

The first goal, Evra shouldn't be marking Hibbert, that's Nani's job. Evra idealy should be tucked inside marking whoever Rio is so that everyone could move across and Evans would be marking Jelavic... but that's easy enough to say without actually seeing how the move went down. But yes, you could say he was at fault here, but not for not closing down Hibbert.

The second goal, Evra was actually going towards McFadden (his man) if I'm not mistaken (i'd have to see the video again) with Nani going out to Hibbert (his man). So not at fault there in the slightest. If Hibbert had decided to hold onto the ball instead of an early cross, McFadden would have ran into that space that Evra is in and so would have been picked up.

Either way you look at it, the space he leaves at the left flank is beyond belief. Hibbert may have been Nani's man, but then again, Evra standing there ball-watching without even trying to mark someone is just hard to take.

 

[I'm always right]

Either way you look at it, the space he leaves at the left flank is beyond belief. Hibbert may have been Nani's man, but then again, Evra standing there ball-watching without even trying to mark someone is just hard to take.

He's clearly watching over Gibson in the first pic.

The second pic isn't wide enough but my guess is that an Everton player is in a similar position there.

 

[Ramshock]

Fergie has to take blame for this in my opinion because Evra has no competition and every player on the field bar him has competition.

 

[Hellboy]

Evra must spend some time on the bench next year, we really need a new proven left back. Even Leighton Baines would be a good signing.

 

[Adebesi]

So why is Fabio going out on loan? Given Rafael has done well and Fabio was always regarded as being the more promising of the two, why is he not given a few games at left back to see how he does? I dont get the logic.

 

[Hectic]

So why is Fabio going out on loan? Given Rafael has done well and Fabio was always regarded as being the more promising of the two, why is he not given a few games at left back to see how he does? I dont get the logic.

Evra is not getting younger, or seemingly any better. We need Fabio to be in a position where he can look to take over from Evra. That's not going to happen given our injured he always seems to be. Ferguson said himself that games will be key to his fitness consistency, as seen with Rafael. He can't get that here because he lacks form and playing time. It makes perfect sense to get Fabio as much games as possible as soon as possible, as we look to replace him with Evra. I imagine after a season out where he can get regular game time, he will be heavily challenging Evra the season after next, who will play nowhere near as many games as he has been.