Maybe for the occasion we could get our most recent title winning squad back together, managed by Fergie, and have them hammer our current starting 11 for jokes.
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
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Agree with this.... Varane looked his most comfortable since he's arrived. Both players seemed to work well together. Jones's fitness is another matter however.
I still haven't lost faith despite my better judgment. He's only 29 after all
Imagine we "discovered" unpredictable leader in the dressing room in the like of Jones
Absolute boss
Loved the way he brought the ball out from the defence against Wolves so assured without brainfarts or nerves. We are so use to hoofball Maguire who belongs in the Championship on current form we forgot what it's like to have a Rolls Royce ball playing centre-back. He's also much quicker than Maguire especially on the turn.. he breezed past a few Wolves players to start attacks
seems to smell the danger to be in the right position at the right time. Very switched on and alert to crosses coming into the box and getting ahead of the opposition attackers. No sleeping like Shaw and Maguire who just seem so disinterested body language wise letting runners go, opposition attackers getting infront of them etc. it's night and day comparing a player like Jones showing desire aggression with a point to prove compared to players who are costing along too comfortable like Maguire and Shaw.
very impressive performance. Should be ahead of Maguire on current form. Even outshined Varane.
he's got the starting spot right now. Rangnick shouldn't drop him. But I guess Rangnick won't do the right thing and say go again Jonesy! Rangnick should let Jones start now to show and prove a point to the locker room that you have to show Jones level of desire and aggression every game otherwise you won't play as there is always someone ready to take that spot if you take it for granted. That if you get a chance and take it you'll stay in the team proving to Donny etc there is a pathway to be starting games when you come in from the cold.
Loved the way he brought the ball out from the defence against Wolves so assured without brainfarts or nerves. We are so use to hoofball Maguire who belongs in the Championship on current form we forgot what it's like to have a Rolls Royce ball playing centre-back. He's also much quicker than Maguire especially on the turn.. he breezed past a few Wolves players to start attacks
seems to smell the danger to be in the right position at the right time. Very switched on and alert to crosses coming into the box and getting ahead of the opposition attackers. No sleeping like Shaw and Maguire who just seem so disinterested body language wise letting runners go, opposition attackers getting infront of them etc. it's night and day comparing a player like Jones showing desire aggression with a point to prove compared to players who are costing along too comfortable like Maguire and Shaw.
very impressive performance. Should be ahead of Maguire on current form. Even outshined Varane.
he's got the starting spot right now. Rangnick shouldn't drop him. But I guess Rangnick won't do the right thing and say go again Jonesy! Rangnick should let Jones start now to show and prove a point to the locker room that you have to show Jones level of desire and aggression every game otherwise you won't play as there is always someone ready to take that spot if you take it for granted. That if you get a chance and take it you'll stay in the team proving to Donny etc there is a pathway to be starting games when you come in from the cold.
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He will eventually get injured... again and will be put on the sidelines for God knows how long... again.
We have to stop doing this to ourselves. And i was one of the people on here who supported him because, as you mentioned, he's the modern type of proactive/aggressive defender that any team that plays a high-line needs. Not Jones himself, but the whole situation with him being here for a decade, is one among the many other examples why our wage bill is a mess and our squad full of players who believe they have a divine right to be here.
He wasn't even as good as many believe. A couple of wonderful moments in a sea of poor clearances and bad choices that are so common with him. He practically offered them their goal on a silver plate. All the time and the freedom in the world to head the ball, and he chooses to clear it into an area where Wolves have some of the best shooters from distance in the league. Then he rushes like a bull in a china shop to block the shot. Please, no more.
If I'm Eddie Howe I'm on the blower to Rangnick ASAP making enquiries about getting Jones atleast on a loan deal with option to buy if they stay up. He would shore up Newcastle's defence nicely.
win-win situation for Manchester United too if Rangnick doesn't expect to play him regularly this season. He will come back in the summer after playing regularly for Newcastle in the Premier League Match Fit raring to go for next season to challenge Maguire.
that will give Jones a chance to prove his fitness too by playing the second half of the season regularly. To see if his body can hold up with playing week in-week out at the highest level. He will have a lot of defending to do at Newcastle too so it'll be a good opportunity to judge him properly.
win-win situation for Manchester United too if Rangnick doesn't expect to play him regularly this season. He will come back in the summer after playing regularly for Newcastle in the Premier League Match Fit raring to go for next season to challenge Maguire.
that will give Jones a chance to prove his fitness too by playing the second half of the season regularly. To see if his body can hold up with playing week in-week out at the highest level. He will have a lot of defending to do at Newcastle too so it'll be a good opportunity to judge him properly.
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We go on and on about meritocracy and as it stands Jones has performed better than Harry has in a long time and as you said he will inevitably get injured, so why not give it a go before it all goes wrong again, or we could pull an ole and just play Harry varane every single week.
I'm all for meritocracy, and i was actually happy to see Jones healthy again. But he didn't have a good game. If Maguire had turned an easy clearance in the box into an assist for the opponent, he would have been slaughtered. I'm indifferent to the whole situation, really. If RR wants to play Jones, then so be it. The entire club is a hopeless case at the moment. I just said that we know what Jones brings to the table, and it isn't much. The fact that Maguire's been performing like a drunkard this season doesn't change that. I never agreed with Solskajer's infamous man-management, but, on the other hand, i certainly believe that the back-four, plus the keeper and the deepest lying midfielder, should not be tinkered with more than necessary.
this is not foolish. This makes lots of sense. It would be perfect if jones can maintain a good run. He isn’t a bad defender, he is just injured too often.
All the posters in here who questioned his will and determination and said he was just sitting on his ass and picking up a free wage can suck it. Glad for him to show that he still has the talent. Well done to him.
From our mother's basement?
Yeah, even better if the basement is unfinished.
No, your mum's spare bedroom.
Feck sake's. These haters can't even quote him properly
He had these sort of performances under LvG and Mourinho. Just wait for a few more games and watch for the feck ups to pile up.
He had games where he looked calm and composed? I recall him being very erratic and preferring Smalling because of it in those days.
He may have bad games, but it's is to his credit that after not playing so many games, he came in and slotted right in to the center back position and played very well. How many ever bad games he will have, will still be lesser than the amount of bad games, Maguire has had this season. So willing to give him time to catch up. He now has a chance to even move to a different team and shine.
As boring and irrelevant as this may sound, would it be possible to change his picture in this thread? He’s more than just a defender with funny facial expressions…
Not yet he’s not.
Crazy as it seems, if Jones puts in another performance or two like the one against Wolves, Ralf really will have to think hard about who the better partner for Varane would be: Lindelof or Jones.
No, I haven't forgotten about Maguire, but Maguire has had such a horrific season -- his infamous goal celebration notwithstanding -- of circus clown defending that Ralf really does need to consider all his options and not just rely on reputation alone to complete the starting XI from here on out. Or he can stick with reputation and hope Maguire pulls it together. Either way, if Phil can stay healthy Ralf has another option to work with now through the end of the season.
No, I haven't forgotten about Maguire, but Maguire has had such a horrific season -- his infamous goal celebration notwithstanding -- of circus clown defending that Ralf really does need to consider all his options and not just rely on reputation alone to complete the starting XI from here on out. Or he can stick with reputation and hope Maguire pulls it together. Either way, if Phil can stay healthy Ralf has another option to work with now through the end of the season.
he’s never been mate. The disrespect is unreal…
Under van Gaal he had quite a few games where he was commanding and composed. Never elegant but there was a good run where he just did the fundamentals really well and imposed himself on the game constantly, squeezing the pitch, maintaining the tempo, suffocating the opposition. There really wasn't anything new about his performance in the last game.
He would always throw himself into aerial challenges he didn't need to, like getting kicked in the head for the free kick in the last game, but then so did the likes of Terry, Vidic, etc. Unfortunately he doesn't quite have the body to withstand all that punishment. No matter how good he is he can't be relied on to play regularly so he can't be considered as genuine first team centre back. It's unfortunate but that's just the position he finds himself in.
Hardly unexpected. Good on him for the triumphant return but he has hardly played in his time here. When he has, he's bounced between solid and average and even when solid you've always had the feeling he has a brain fart in him. I get that the romantic comeback brings a tear to the eye but let's not rewrite history.
Seem to remember him and Blind forming quite the partnership together, they complimented each other very well. Jones will never be elegant as such, he needs someone next to him with that calming presence, which Blind had and what Varane seems to have now.
I don’t remember that but I do remember a period were him and Rojo were solid together. But then he got injured.
I never thought he made that many mistakes, to he’d just always let you down by being injured when you needed him. It would be great if he now managed to stay fit, put in good performances and cement a place in the team. But given his injury record, and he’s about to turn 30 next month, there’s every reason to think it’s just going to be more of the same.
if you look at my earlier post, i just asked to change his picture in the thread out of respect. He’s been unlucky with injuries which have held him back. Not trying to rewrite history there
Yeah. I can’t understand who let that picture in the first place. Pure bully in my book.
When he went for that sliding challenge I nearly had a fit. If he had missed it then it would have been an open goal.
How's it bullying him when he almost certainly doesn't read the caf anyway? It's a bit of light-hearted fun. Stop with the virtue signalling.
Perhaps he doesn’t. But perhaps friends, family or relatives do.
Trying to be funny on someones looks etc just doesn’t tick it for me. But we are all different.
I like Phil. I’m sad to see memes of him crying gone viral… on a United player. For it to stop we have to begin in our own house. But thats just my opinion.
Fair enough, I do take your point. Not saying he's ugly or owt, just that he has a funny rubber face.
It was never a lack of productivity while playing that held Jones back. Fitness, of course, was. It’s really not that hard to imagine that had Jones stayed fit all these years that he would have had a fantastic career for club and country.
In this alternative universe we probably would never have spent 80m on Maguire and possibly would have spent a fair amount of that sum on a proper CDM. But we live in this universe.
In this alternative universe we probably would never have spent 80m on Maguire and possibly would have spent a fair amount of that sum on a proper CDM. But we live in this universe.
I think he will be managed after not playing for 2 years. I don't see him playing tonight but could be wrong
Is he injured again?!
Did people think he'd suddenly play a string of games?
Meh not worried. Muscle injury. It happens. Has never hard a calf injury before.
He has f'd up knees and ankles. If those aren't bothering him he'll be fine.
He's here anyway, no one is going to pay for him. Get behind our player and support him.
He has f'd up knees and ankles. If those aren't bothering him he'll be fine.
Yeah, no one thinks that. We just want him to be useful for us on his existing one.
He's here anyway, no one is going to pay for him. Get behind our player and support him.
But but… he cried while walking off the pitch after a 1-0 defeat. Have some compassion.
Fair point.
I think it's time Ralf tries Jones in a defensive midfield position. I'm tired of Matic/Fred/McT in that position.
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