[devilish]

I believe that Jones is not ready to be a first teamer at a top club. TBH I wonder if any of our defenders are. He does have passion and can hold himself up on the pitch but he certainly lack the necessary intelligence, composure and positioning needed at this level. He's not at Blackburn anymore.

Honestly I sometimes wonder if SAF had done Smalling & Jones justice by signing them so early in their career only to then put them as right backs. In one hand the tactic made sense. Rafael was made of glass, we had Rio and Vidic in the team and its better to gain experience than stay on the bench. Having said that, maybe 1-2 years on loan playing in their natural role would have been better for them.

Anyway I believe that we desperately need 1-2 CBs. If Smalling and Jones are truly good enough than they will win their place back.

 

[Lentwood]

I can't understand why both Jones gets such a hard time. People should be careful what they wish for because you hear these foreigners getting talked up as being Ferdinand and Vidic rolled into one and they get over here and can't hack it. I really do think that CB's in the Premier League have it far harder than anywhere else in the world. Not only do they need to be hard as nails and strong in the air to cope with big lumps like Benteke/Walters/Carroll etc.....they are also expected to be capable of pinging 60 yard passes and bring the ball out of defence.

 

[Ole90+3]

It's Strange. You'd fancy him to keep the best players in the world - Ronaldo, Aguero, Suarez - relativley quiet, yet you would be scared of him making huge mistakes against Jonathon Walters.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

How many serious errors has he made this season?

I think he gave away a daft penalty and then had that daft look on his face afterwards. He gave away a couple last year too IIRC.

 

[NinjaZombie]

Am I the only who liked that crawling header? Any other defender in that situation might have given it up. Except maybe John Terry, who would've been praised to high heavens.

 

[devilish]

I can't understand why both Jones gets such a hard time. People should be careful what they wish for because you hear these foreigners getting talked up as being Ferdinand and Vidic rolled into one and they get over here and can't hack it. I really do think that CB's in the Premier League have it far harder than anywhere else in the world. Not only do they need to be hard as nails and strong in the air to cope with big lumps like Benteke/Walters/Carroll etc.....they are also expected to be capable of pinging 60 yard passes and bring the ball out of defence.

You'll be lucky to find a Vidic and there's no one like Rio. However there's plenty of defenders better than Jones.

 

[montpelier]

I get a bit worried every time he attempts to control the football. And when he moves in the direction of a 50/50 challenge.

Top marks for lunacy, commitment & bravery though.

 

[Ayush_reddevil]

Love Phil Jones, probably my favorite United player now that DDG is leaving

 

[Insanity]

I like him very much. Needs to get over the injury issues though; those injuries are only stumbling blocks in Smalling and Jones becoming top players for this club.

 

[Devil may care]

Looked jittery today on the ball but took that punch like a boxer!

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Although he give away the ball quite a bit today, I thought he had a decent enough game defensively. He wasn't the only one, though. When our defenders have the ball, there's literally no one showing for them, which often means they hesitate and end up taking extra touches and get tackled or they hoof in up the pitch.

 

[Fergus' son]

Shouldn't be starting games for a club with our ambitions, he's not good enough.

I'd be delighted to get 10-15m for him in the summer.

 

[Henrik Larsson]

I liked how he gave away the ball to win it back a moment later, once it happned three times within 15 seconds.

 

[marlowe78]

He's a mistake away from costing us dearly. He has good energy and can take on runners well but he loses his balance too easily and is sometimes a moment too slow in reacting. He might be okay as a backup but he is simply not good enough if we want to chase titles.

 

[Eugenius]

I thought he was very solid today, made a lot of good interventions, headers and clearances. I'd like to see the stats.

Some joke posts above. Funny how he's always looking like he's going to cost us, yet never actually does. He makes funny faces, falls over a bit and overhits the odd backpass but he's no clown like Mangala etc.

 

[Escobar]

He's a mistake away from costing us dearly. He has good energy and can take on runners well but he loses his balance too easily and is sometimes a moment too slow in reacting. He might be okay as a backup but he is simply not good enough if we want to chase titles.

He plays without his head, and that's a problem. If he can't improve that now, he won't become a starter imo

 

[gerdm07]

He defended well today but his distribution was horrendous. He must have misplaced at least 7 passes today.

 

[Sultan]

Probably his worst season at United. Injuries have been a massive hindrance to his development.

Needs to play with his head up and bring calmness to his play.

5/10

 

[Red Dreams]

I like him very much. Needs to get over the injury issues though; those injuries are only stumbling blocks in Smalling and Jones becoming top players for this club.

agree.

But us getting Otamendi means LvG is going to play different permutations.

 

[Americano]

It didn't bother me at all that he got punched in the stomach today.

 

[sizzling sausages]

Probably his worst season at United. Injuries have been a massive hindrance to his development.

Needs to play with his head up and bring calmness to his play.

5/10

I'd give him a 6 or 7, I thought he looked solid in most games.

 

[Annahnomoss]

I thought he was very solid today, made a lot of good interventions, headers and clearances. I'd like to see the stats.

Some joke posts above. Funny how he's always looking like he's going to cost us, yet never actually does. He makes funny faces, falls over a bit and overhits the odd backpass but he's no clown like Mangala etc.

Statistical MOTM according to WhoScored thanks to all his 15 clearances. Never seen anybody have that many before, but I am sure it has happened especially by defenders in the worse teams. 3 tackles and 2 interceptions which was the (shared) third highest after Rojo and Blind.

 

[Moriarty]

It didn't bother me at all that he got punched in the stomach today.

I'm glad he didn't retaliate and get a red. Others wouldn't have been so restrained.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

He's a mistake away from costing us dearly.

Very rarely happens though does it? In reality, you know.

 

[Ballache]

I'm glad he didn't retaliate and get a red. Others wouldn't have been so restrained.

I'm not, our team lacks balls. Can you imagine if that was Stam? Vidic? I'm not saying go punch him in the face, but a slight reaction would have been good.

 

[ottosec]

His contract is up next summer, right?

 

[Eugenius]

Statistical MOTM according to WhoScored thanks to all his 15 clearances. Never seen anybody have that many before, but I am sure it has happened especially by defenders in the worse teams. 3 tackles and 2 interceptions which was the (shared) third highest after Rojo and Blind.

That's a lot of clearances for someone who doesn't have any anticipation or positional skills. Must've been all last ditch attempts

 

[ivaldo]

I'm not, our team lacks balls. Can you imagine if that was Stam? Vidic? I'm not saying go punch him in the face, but a slight reaction would have been good.

yeah thats right, should've gone all Fellaini on his sorry ass!

 

[Keeps It tidy]

That's a lot of clearances for someone who doesn't have any anticipation or positional skills. Must've been all last ditch attempts

It also amazes me how a braindead defender like Phil Jones can also consistently get interceptions.

 

[Keeps It tidy]

Statistical MOTM according to WhoScored thanks to all his 15 clearances. Never seen anybody have that many before, but I am sure it has happened especially by defenders in the worse teams. 3 tackles and 2 interceptions which was the (shared) third highest after Rojo and Blind.

He is also the highest rated defender of the PL season and finished top 10 in WhoScored's overall ratings for the season.

http://www.whoscored.com/Regions/25...erStatistics/England-Premier-League-2014-2015

 

[Ballache]

yeah thats right, should've gone all Fellaini on his sorry ass!

That's not what I meant, but at least have a go or something.

 

[Ekeke]

Yeah Jones gets highly rated because he has a high workrate, so he gets more of everything done than almost any CB in the league. Unfortunately he tends to ruin that with dodgy passes and choices leaving openings for the opposition. Rojo is in a similar position, he also gets rated highly but a few choices ruin his day

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Yeah Jones gets highly rated because he has a high workrate, so he gets more of everything done than almost any CB in the league. Unfortunately he tends to ruin that with dodgy passes and choices leaving openings for the opposition. Rojo is in a similar position, he also gets rated highly but a few choices ruin his day

Which is a very good thing, obviously. And reflects well on him as a defender.

Don't remember any "dodgy choices" yesterday. Sounds like you're stretching for reasons to criticise.

 

[Kidders]

Sad as it is to say, Phil Jones is just a bit short of being a top top player, I do believe that he still could be but it would mean him having an injury free season (unlikely), a regular partner (also unlikely) and most importantly have the total faith of his manager (which is possible with a good pre-season)
It's an old cliche but this season could be make or break for him.....I hope it's the former.

 

[LeftyBlaster]

That's not what I meant, but at least have a go or something.

I think it reflects very well on him that he didn't.

 

[DevilRed]

Can Jones and Smalling finally stay fit for an entire season? If they can then I maintain that we don't need any additional centrebacks (unless we get rid of Jonny Evans).

Really want to see a Jones/Smalling partnership for the next 10 years.

 

[Robbie Boy]

I thought he had an ok season and he definitely improved as the season went on. Still not convinced by him though.

 

[Brwned]

I thought he was very solid today, made a lot of good interventions, headers and clearances. I'd like to see the stats.

Some joke posts above. Funny how he's always looking like he's going to cost us, yet never actually does. He makes funny faces, falls over a bit and overhits the odd backpass but he's no clown like Mangala etc.

I'd hazard a guess that he's been heavily involved in at least 2/3 of the goals we've conceded against top teams when he's played. He has a lot of very good qualities but he consistently makes mistakes, I don't see how anyone could argue against that.

 

[Acole9]

I actually thought he had one of his better performances of the season yesterday. He's got to improve next season because hopefully if we do sign another centre half he's going to be spending a lot of time on the bench.

 

[Eugenius]

I'd hazard a guess that he's been heavily involved in at least 2/3 of the goals we've conceded against top teams when he's played. He has a lot of very good qualities but he consistently makes mistakes, I don't see how anyone could argue against that.

2/3 of goals we've conceded against top teams? Care to name any examples? I don't think he's even played in many of the big games this season. He makes mistakes but there are two types of mistakes a defender can make (a) those resulting from being a shit defender and making positional and not reading the game well and (b) those from losing concentration or panicking . I'd say he's making more of the latter which isn't particularly worrying for someone who's young. I'd be more concerned if he was a Luiz or Mangala with no defensive instincts.