Patrice Evra | 2012/13 Performances

[Ash_G]

Came across this article, http://www.eplindex.com/17634/the-truth-about-evra-demise.html,

Pretty interesting really, certainly highlights that we might be being a bit harsh on him at times. He's had a dip in some aspects but on the whole is at the very least comparable to the other top left backs in the league. I reckon if we can get a stable midfield like carrick and clev it'll go a long way to help Evra with some of his problems such as loosing possession.

 

[I'm always right]

Pretty interesting really, certainly highlights that we might be being a bit harsh on him at times.

Been saying that for 1.5 yrs.

You don't keep playing week in week out for United if you're as bad as some here make out. Still a top player, still better than most.

 

[acnumber9]

It has become kind of the in thing to jump on Evra regardless of what has actually happened at times. I saw one poster here sayin we might have beat Everton had he not been so lazy. Next to nothing was created on his side of the pitch and yet the criticisms still come. He has gone from the extreme of being able to do no wrong to being able to do no right.

 

[Ash_G]

Been saying that for 1.5 yrs.

You don't keep playing week in week out for United if you're as bad as some here make out. Still a top player, still better than most.

Yeah he's had some harsh treatment though he has dropped some clangers at vital times which stats won't really show you. Just come across that website recently, it's pretty good.

 

[I'm always right]

It has become kind of he in thing to jump on Evra regardless of what has actually happened at times. I saw one poster here sayin we might have beat Everton had he not been so lazy. Next to nothing was created on his side of the pitch and yet the criticisms still come. He has gone from the extreme of being able to do no wrong to being able to do no right.

Too true.

 

[Rossa]

Evra has been susceptible to make a few silly mistakes in defense. Against Everton he did great defending but didn't offer too much going forwards - he was criticised for not going forward, but no praise was given for his defending.

I also think he looks physically better than last year - he looks more agile and way quicker. Hopefully he won't be outpaced by other players than Lennon, whom we can live with seeing that his end product is about the same as that of Neville Chamberlain.

To me, it seems that us supporters need a scape goat; since O'Shea and Park left, Evra is left standing. Maybe we should support our players instead of bashing them as if they were playing Downingish at Liverpool (not sure which is worse, playing like Downing or playing for Liverpool, but doing both really is cringeworthy).

Evra is still amongst the best fullbacks in the world, but he has lost that little bit of pace that made him a beast - and this I fear comes from him being physically exhausted. Give him some rest, maybe a proper injury (we know the physio room at Carrington loves those), and he might be back on track. Let's hope that this Büttner fellow can give him some competition and rest in easy matches.

 

[ghaliboy]

His crossing was pretty awful in the Everton match. But striking a relatively dead ball in a hit and hope manner he's never really been that good.

 

[Rossa]

His crossing was pretty awful in the Everton match. But striking a relatively dead ball in a hit and hope manner he's never really been that good.

Not sure I agree - some of his crosses were actually quite good, but they could have come from Beckham and it would've been to no avail. I think literally no one would beat Distin that match - he was a beast in the air and on the ground.

I do think that he lacked a bit urgency going forwards, but had at least a couple of decent crosses.

 

[AVARiCE]

Haven't read the thread recently but saw it bumped which gives me a chance to get something off my chest:

To me, it seems quite clear that we rely on Paddy for our attacking shape. He does for us on the left what Alves does for Barca on the right in that he's the "winger" when we attack. He's the one that hugs the touchline and is prepared to beat a man and knock in a cross. Our left winger (between Young, Nani or Rooney/Welbeck if they're stretched wide) tends to be an inverted winger so Paddy tends to do a great job of keeping the width down that side.

In many ways, he is priceless to the way we attack, which is what makes him almost undroppable. For me, this is highlighted in who we bought as his back-up. We could've gone for most left-backs but we were rumoured to be in for Baines (who can swing in a lovely cross) and eventually went for a relative unknown from the Netherlands who -- from what I gather given the early opinions and obligatory YouTube clip -- gets forward very well.

Of course, playing that many games at such a high standard and doing so much work has definitely taken its toll. His licence to get forward, which I would say is probably less of a licence and more of an actual order, also doesn't help him be in a position to... y'know, actually defend.

All these things put together mean that I, personally, find his slight decline perfectly understandable. Given that Sir Alex keeps picking him it's not like he's going to say "Cheers mate but I can't, I fancy a lie-in", is it? Whenever I feel frustrated with Paddy I just recall all these things and it calms me down because I remember the factors that go into it. As far as I'm concerned, he's still the best left-back in the league. We United fans, as a generalisation, don't see much of Cole but I always feel he's a game-raiser. I have plenty of Chelsea friends (West London and all that) who moan about how Cole is "only" a 7/10 against poor opposition. I understand that this week Chelsea conceded the most crosses into the box.

We may moan about how Paddy's positioning is poor or how he looks exhausted but I reckon we've just become spoilt. Just my opinion anyway. He's definitely declined but he's still probably the best in the PL and it's not a huge decline, akin to Giggsy's.

(Not that I'm mocking Giggs or trying to scapegoat him, before anyone takes the point personally. I mean it from the perspective that Giggs is clearly declining in terms of what his legs can do.)

 

[Brwned]

Agree with most of that but it doesn't make it any less frustrating that he goes walkabouts in every game. He's probably knackered from bursting forward all the time and simply doesn't have the same level of stamina as he did at his peak, but it's absurd the amount of times he's in the wrong position. He just goes sleeping, drifts infield yet doesn't pick anyone up and doesn't actually do any defending.

 

[AVARiCE]

I agree this it is weird that he's excellent at retaining width while we attack, then seems to want to hold the left CB's hand when we're defending, pushing the winger out wide in his place.

The thing is, and given that I'm me I'm probably hilariously wrong, I always feel like this is our tactical system. It happens on the other flank but not to such an exaggerated extent. Seemingly, we want our back four covering the width of the box, not the pitch, with the wingers dropping back to cover the flanks. There are countless times it's happened on the right, it's just that Rafael seems less happy to give a left winger all the time in the world before he 'breaks rank' and closes them down. Paddy seems willing to let them cross rather than abandon post.

I'm sure our games from here until the end of the season will see me highlighted as an idiot but if you watch some games over the past season or so it's a frequent occurance. Frequent to the point where I would feel comfortable suggesting it's our 'correct' defensive shape.

All of this is when we're flat at the back, with the midfielders dropped deep, etc. I have no excuse for the times when we're caught on the break and Paddy's about ten yards up from the rest of the defensive line, allowing the winger in behind with ease. That said, I'm pretty sure that's a by-product of being an auxiliary left winger more than anything else. Still no excuse though.

 

[Scots Crusader]

SAF has always liked his fullbacks to tuck in tight, he did it at Aberdeen. This is to not allow through balls into the gap between CB and FB played in behind. If the ball is played out to a winger, it is then a case of the FB getting out at pace to close down the cross, this or the wide midfielder to do it.

 

[I'm always right]

Evra at centre half... really boss.?

That's something I really hope we don't see. I doubt there is any real chance of that.

 

[gbgary]

evra at center back?

ugh! we're in worse shape than anyone's realized.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

I'd rather we play Wooton than play Evra at cb.

 

[kouroux]

I'd rather Carrick back there than Evra.

 

[gooDevil]

Unless you go into the reserves and choose Wootton or M. Keane, surely Evra has to be next in line after Carrick to play CB, who else could it be?

He played there a couple times before for us, though I can't tell you when, it was quite a while ago and only happened a few times. Back then he was imperious with winning headers, even from much bigger players, but now he's almost never in our box to even attempt it.

He still seems to have a lot left in his legs, he might not jump quite as well as he did 5 years ago but I suspect he could do a decent enough job in an emergency.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

I'd rather Carrick back there than Evra.

that too

 

[Drifter]

Think he may surprise a few if given the chance to play there.

 

[Lynk]

Absolute shite tonight, complete liability defensively.

 

[Aint gota Kalou]

I didn't think he was bad at all. I only remember him getting skinned once all game. Might just be poor memory on my part though?

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Really?? I can only think of that one really poor moment in the first half... what really was there other then that?!

 

[Rossa]

I didn't think he was bad at all. I only remember him getting skinned once all game. Might just be poor memory on my part though?

I think your memory is just fine. Did well today going forwards and defending. Getting skinned once or twice in a match is normal for any fullback, even on their best days.

I think his physique looks better than last season, a bit faster and he wins more headers too.

 

[nemanja15]

On the contrary, I thought it was one of his best games in a while!

 

[Lynk]

Positioning was awful, some terrible back passes. A really stupid fecking pass to Vidic in the first minute nearly conceding a penalty because of it, a needless challenge outside the box from which Galatasaray hit the post from. He was good enough going forward, but I'm dreading the thought of him playing on Sunday.

 

[Rossa]

Positioning was awful, some terrible back passes. A really stupid fecking pass to Vidic in the first minute nearly conceding a penalty because of it, a needless challenge outside the box from which Galatasaray hit the post from.

His positioning was just fine - one bad back pass, Scholes had several as did most our players. Saved our ass a couple of times too with some quality interceptions - proper knee jerk of you here.

 

[acnumber9]

Positioning was awful, some terrible back passes. A really stupid fecking pass to Vidic in the first minute nearly conceding a penalty because of it, a needless challenge outside the box from which Galatasaray hit the post from. He was good enough going forward, but I'm dreading the thought of him playing on Sunday.

We nearly conceded a penalty because of Vidic making a bad challenge. There seems to be no limit to what Evra can be blamed for these days.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

We nearly conceded a penalty because of Vidic making a bad challenge. There seems to be no limit to what Evra can be blamed for these days.

Indeed... and did you see it when Evans should have conceded a penalty at the end of the game? What the feck was Evra playing at!?

 

[Lynk]

His pass caused Vidic to take a heavy touch, it wasn't the right ball to play. But hey, we won right? Let's not be critical of any of our players even though we nearly drew/lost to fecking Galatasaray at home.

 

[Rossa]

His passed caused Vidic to take a heavy touch.

So Vidic's heavy touch is also Evra's fault now? Wtf are you on about? Let Vidic clear it the hell out if he can't control the ball...

Thought Vidic was quite good today, btw

 

[acnumber9]

His passed caused Vidic to take a heavy touch.

Did it cause him to make a tackle he couldn't win? Did Evra use mind control that prevented Vidic from using his brain and jockeying the player until he could make a legitimate tackle? He played a bad pass, nothing more.

 

[Lynk]

Watch it again. Evra's ball was too fast, causing Vidic to take a heavy touch. I'm not saying Vidic is blameless, I'm saying it stems from Evra switching off.

 

[acnumber9]

His pass caused Vidic to take a heavy touch, it wasn't the right ball to play. But hey, we won right? Let's not be critical of any of our players even though we nearly drew/lost to fecking Galatasaray at home.

I doubt anyone's saying you shouldn't be critical. I think we're saying you can't blame Evra for a stupid tackle made by another player.

 

[Lynk]

I'm blaming him for playing a stupid pass, causing the defender to be pressurized in his own box and nearly giving away a penalty.

 

[Cutch]

Watch it again. Evra's ball was too fast, causing Vidic to take a heavy touch. I'm not saying Vidic is blameless, I'm saying it stems from Evra switching off.

Think its you that needs to watch it again. There was no heavy touch from Vidic. The only touch from Vidic was his studs into the lads ankle

Edit: Too fast Seriously, watch it again

 

[Rossa]

I'm blaming him for playing a stupid pass, causing the defender to be pressurized in his own box and nearly giving away a penalty.

Stop being a jerk. If the ball came too fast for Vidic, then vidic should clear the ball away, simple as that. Passed the ball too hard - it's the CL, what do you expect, the ball bouncing steadily into his legs like some pub match between 60 year olds? If he had passed it slower and it had been intercepted, what then? jeeez

 

[Lynk]

He didn't have time to clear the ball away, he was closed down immediately. Evra was the one who should've booted it down field instead of risking it by passing it to Vidic.

 

[Rossa]

He didn't have time to clear the ball away, he was closed down immediately. Evra was the one who should've booted it down field instead of risking it by passing it to Vidic.

United likes to keep the game moving, not booting it away like any old Skrtel. Vidic reacts a bit slow sometimes, and one or two of those are to be expected from time to time. To say that he was shocking, as you put it is just plain stupid - and if you think he deserved a 3 it is just

Good night

 

[Lynk]

Cheerio.

 

[Escobar]

Still far away from his best form and our left hand side looks much more vulerable