Phil Jones Future | Reports: Observing United academy sessions

[redcucumber]

This sentiment is fine, and I have no real issue with Jones, or indeed the footballer that he was when he was actually fit, but he has no business being at the club right here and now in 2022.

If he is still here come September then there is something seriously wrong all round.

It really is as simple as this. Phil Jones still being here is another damning indictment of the calamitous Woodward-Judge reign (along with the Mata, Bailly, Matic etc. extensions).

 

[sunama]

I believe he will still be here in September. I don't believe that anything has changed (except for the personnel) - they'll keep the train on the same track as Woodward did.
We'll continue paying the highest wages and the highest transfer fees and despite doing so, we'll take the longest time to secure a transfer target.
We'll continue to hang onto players who are deadwood and useless on the pitch.
And the worst part: 4th place will be the target. As long as the players/manager get 4th every season, they'll remain in their job and the only way they'll leave is if they decide that the club isn't appropriate for them (Ronaldo, Lingard, Pogba, Matic).

Everything this Summer is proceeding exactly as I predicted.
Here are some more predictions (6th place this season, 4th place next season, ETH fired the following season - no trophies in the next 3 seasons),
I hope I'm wrong....I genuinely do.

 

[Sandikan]

You'll learnt to enjoy life more if you just accept he'll be here one more season, perhaps getting 5-10 appearances max depending on the Europa campaign.

 

[Andycoleno9]

You'll learnt to enjoy life more if you just accept he'll be here one more season, perhaps getting 5-10 appearances max depending on the Europa campaign.

He will not even get on the list for EL.

 

[Jezpeza]

He will not even get on the list for EL.

if we got jones, bailly and tuanzabe out the club for me I’d find that as exciting as a new signing

 

[Jericho]

At this point I'd be more surprised if he left. I don't see why anyone would bother gambling on him, it's basically a guarantee he won't stay fit. Given that, he and the club have no choice but to see his contract out.

 

[Gandalf]

At this point I'd be more surprised if he left. I don't see why anyone would bother gambling on him, it's basically a guarantee he won't stay fit. Given that, he and the club have no choice but to see his contract out.

I think our only chance is if he is willing to drop down to the Championship there might be a club or two there that would take him on a loan if there is a clause that lets them send him back if he can't stay fit enough, we would still have to pay most of his wages but it would be something. I think Rooney should take him to DC United with him, even a broken Phil Jones would be the best player in that sorry excuse for a squad.

 

[redcucumber]

Bordeaux were after him 6 months ago, surely some club will be willing to take a chance on him again?

 

[Adisa]

Bordeaux were after him 6 months ago, surely some club will be willing to take a chance on him again?

He had no interest in leaving then and doesn't seem to do now.

 

[redcucumber]

He had no interest in leaving then and doesn't seem to do now.

Yeah, it's why I've run out of patience with him to be honest. It's not a fecking David Lloyd.

 

[MrSingh2002]

If he had anything about him he'd join a championship team for the challenge. Even if it wasn't for a long term contract.

He doesn't want it.

 

[Sandikan]

If anyone would really leave in his position you'd be pretty dim.
One last guaranteed year of top money, top facilities etc and then absolute no man's land.

I wouldn't be too surprised to see him retire shortly after leaving us to be honest.

 

[PeteManic]

He is a career footballer and good luck to him. He must be on £150K a week easily. Happy to run down his contract and probably forget about football forever.

 

[Yakuza_devils]

He must be our record holder for spending the most time out because of injury.

Bailly will be close second if he stay long enough.

 

[Scorpy]

Woody would have activated the extra year option in his contract to protect his value.

 

[Oranges038]

If he had anything about him he'd join a championship team for the challenge. Even if it wasn't for a long term contract.

He doesn't want it.

He has no knees left. If he had he'd have played more than a handful of games in the last 3 years. The Championship requires player to play 2 games a week most weeks.
Even if he only played games and used the rest of the week to rest and recover. He probably still wouldn't be able for it.

Why would any club want a player who's body is not capable of coping with the physical demands of professional football anymore?

 

[wolvored]

Give Martinez his shirt No. That just might get him into thinking of leaving the club. Saying that the club need to make him available on a free as no one is going to want to risk paying for him.

 

[Number TwentyFive]

I can't see Jones leave at all this summer. Considering he has no meniscus there is probably no chance at all that he will get through the medical test at a potential new club. Secondly his wages are to expensive for most of the clubs that he could strengthen and who might be willing to risk signing him. Then third after what I understand the club want a fee for him, something that is really strange and doesn't improve the chances for him to leave. Considering the contract has one year left it might be easier for him to stay and become a free agent and then maybe someone will take the risk of signing him.

Still though bashing him for staying is in my view just stupid, if he is going to a new club this summer he will have to reduce his wages a lot. Now what person at his age on this planet will do that with one year left? For all what the supporters know maybe he still thinks he can come back and play for us, there might be things going on behind the scene that encourage him to stay, and at the same time he could have been told that he won't be in ETH's plan. Still if he decides to stay it doesn't make him a bad person or a greedy git. Beeing a footballer is a short career you just don't let the money go when you're close to the end of it. The club gave him the contract and there is nothing wrong with honouring it, playing or not playing, and plenty of others have done the same and plenty will do in the future.

 

[tenpoless]

Give Martinez his shirt No. That just might get him into thinking of leaving the club.

"Thank you boss, I've always wanted the number 99. You know me really well, the fact that it's only 1 number away from 100 speaks volume about how much you rate me."

 

[Kaos]

I don't get the sympathy for him. Yes he's had bad luck with injuries, but he's also turned down opportunities to play abroad (Bordeaux last season), opting to steal a living here and enjoying our facilities. The fact he's allegedly refused to hand over the number 4 to Varane makes it a lot harder to like him too.

I get why he's decided to hang on (I mean why wouldn't you, its not going to get better for him), but I'll reserve my sympathies.

 

[Alfie092]

Jones needs to go on a free, Tuanzebe needs to go too. Keep Martinez, Varane, Maguire, Bailly and Lindelof as our defensive options and we should hopefully be fine this coming season. 5 CB options is enough considering quite a few of those are injury prone and we have a lot of games potentially this season.

 

[Westerkerk]

Relative to Phil Jones I work long hours for crap pay - if I were given the opportunity to sit around earning hundreds of thousands of pounds for the next few years without having to do much of anything, and with next to no expectations placed on me to do much of anything, all the while having access to world class facilities, I would do it in a heartbeat, so I don't blame the guy. He doesn't give a shiny little shite what anyone on an internet forum thinks.

I've got nothing personal against him, but he signifies a multi-faceted weakness in the club that is rotting its very core and has done for years.

 

[wolvored]

I don't get the sympathy for him. Yes he's had bad luck with injuries, but he's also turned down opportunities to play abroad (Bordeaux last season), opting to steal a living here and enjoying our facilities. The fact he's allegedly refused to hand over the number 4 to Varane makes it a lot harder to like him too.

I get why he's decided to hang on (I mean why wouldn't you, its not going to get better for him), but I'll reserve my sympathies.

That cant be true. The manager delegates the numbers. Mourinho soon took Martials No off him and gave it Ibra.

 

[Number TwentyFive]

Some players have the squad number in their contract. Also some manager cares about squad numbers others let the players decide.

 

[Gandalf]

He is a career footballer and good luck to him. He must be on £150K a week easily. Happy to run down his contract and probably forget about football forever.

Pretty sure it is reported as 80K but still pretty nice if you can get it.

 

[FootyGirl88]

That cant be true. The manager delegates the numbers. Mourinho soon took Martials No off him and gave it Ibra.

Thats because we had Ole here last season, he pandered to everyone.

 

[diarm]

Some players have the squad number in their contract. Also some manager cares about squad numbers others let the players decide.

If somebody signed a contract guaranteeing Phil Jones the number 4 in 2019, that person should be publicly flogged.

 

[Red00012]

There’s no club in their right mind going to pay this guy £80,000 a week wages even on loan. So we are stuck with him unless we allow him on loan while continuing to pay the majority of his wages

 

[Number TwentyFive]

If somebody signed a contract guaranteeing Phil Jones the number 4 in 2019, that person should be publicly flogged.

Considering it probably was Woodward and Judge handling the contracts at that time so I guess they have been flogged.

 

[I’m loving my life]

Does his yearly wage outweigh the individual dividends the Glazer siblings get? If so, he could be the best businessman associated with the club.

 

[galwayfa]

He played a couple of games this season, was man of the match in one of them, he's not completely useless and I think he could do a job for a mid table team, obviously he is injury prone so I'd say if he doesn't retire, his next contract will be based on appearances

 

[lex talionis]

There’s going to be an injury crisis. We’ll have a few matches that are well under control by the 70th minute. Jones will get a match in this season.

 

[Someone]

I'm not at all bothered that he's here. He has a good attitude and would never be a negative influence in the dressing room. Why is he bugging people so much?

 

[Monte Clift]

I assume he'll sign on loan at Forest etc who will pay 50k a week and then he'll leave on a free.

 

[Ace]

I'm not at all bothered that he's here. He has a good attitude and would never be a negative influence in the dressing room. Why is he bugging people so much?

You can combine all the appearances he's made in the four seasons between 2018-2022 and it still adds up to less than he made in his first season with the club as an 18 year old. This will be his 12th season with the club and he's not contributed for half of that time.

 

[peridigm]

Jones needs to go on a free, Tuanzebe needs to go too. Keep Martinez, Varane, Maguire, Bailly and Lindelof as our defensive options and we should hopefully be fine this coming season. 5 CB options is enough considering quite a few of those are injury prone and we have a lot of games potentially this season.

That means we're basically reliant on a core of Maquire, Lindelof, and Martinez. Varane, Jones and Bailly are injury prone and the later two are only 5m apart in their wages and are here until 2025. Madness they both got renewed contracts last time around.

 

[Someone]

You can combine all the appearances he's made in the four seasons between 2018-2022 and it still adds up to less than he made in his first season with the club as an 18 year old. This will be his 12th season with the club and he's not contributed for half of that time.

Yeah but that only impacts us negatively in terms of wages, otherwise he's a good person who never caused any problems.

 

[Ace]

Yeah but that only impacts us negatively in terms of wages, otherwise he's a good person who never caused any problems.

I never said he caused any problems, only attempted to answer your question about why he bugs people.

He’s been earning £4 million a year despite not contributing (and still is under contract for two more years). While we all like to imagine money and wages to be an infinite thing, most can recognize that the £40 million in wages he collected over a decade could’ve been better allocated, especially in a position that has been crying out for quality since the days of Vidic and Rio (who Jones will oddly surpass in terms of longevity by the end of his contact).

Personally, I have less of an issue with the wages he’s taking home, United are the team who offered him those wages and extension. It’s just an unprofessional approach to team building which wouldn’t take place at any other club. We’ve struggled to create a culture of competition and high expectations and overpaying/overextending players like Jones is a big part of the problem, wether or not he’s on the pitch.

 

[flameinthesun]

That means we're basically reliant on a core of Maquire, Lindelof, and Martinez. Varane, Jones and Bailly are injury prone and the later two are only 5m apart in their wages and are here until 2025. Madness they both got renewed contracts last time around.

I'd agree with the poster you quoted and sell Jones and Tuanzebe. Maguire and Lindelof tend to have good fitness records, seems Martinez does as well. Bailly and Varane will be unreliable but in general one or the other will be fit. If in desperate need we can play shaw and/or keep mengi/fish as an extra option. We should cash in on Tuanzebe maybe with a buyback clause and see if we can fool someone into taking Jones off our hands.

 

[peridigm]

I'd agree with the poster you quoted and sell Jones and Tuanzebe. Maguire and Lindelof tend to have good fitness records, seems Martinez does as well. Bailly and Varane will be unreliable but in general one or the other will be fit. If in desperate need we can play shaw and/or keep mengi/fish as an extra option. We should cash in on Tuanzebe maybe with a buyback clause and see if we can fool someone into taking Jones off our hands.

Makes sense.