Sometimes I come on here and feel that there are two layers to how people see United.
There is either the real view of them and there is the idealised view where people don't want to accept the reality and live in constant hope for United to be how they want them to be.
Phil Jones is one of those guys who a lot of supporters just don't get. Some people think that he'll just be happy to sit on the bench for the next couple of years until Rio and Vidic are gone and even then he has to somehow start games ahead of Smalling and Evans (and maybe even Garay).
The reason Sir Alex (and believe it or not, a lot of other managers) 'put square pegs in round holes' is because it gives talented players game time on the pitch rather than have them sit on the bench and have no game time at all. I fully expect Moyes to continue that because if you have a massive squad of talented players then you have to do that. It's common sense and until someone on here can find another way to give everyone a decent amount of game time then surely you'd all have to agree?
Whether we get Thiago or anyone else this summer Jones will play a lot of games in midfield because in addition to being a talented defender he is also a guy who performs the man marking role in midfield very well and while these supporters I mentioned earlier think that United shouldn't worry about the opposition and should just play their natural attacking game, thank fook football managers think differently.
Jones WILL play in midfield this season, especially if we get Garay so get used to it. He was good when man marking Bale, Ronaldo and Fellaini last season so why be so hostile to the idea? While not (yet, if ever) as good as Javi Martinez, we should be happy we have a player who can play in defence or midfield when needed. Only in England is that seen as a weakness.
Get used to Jones in midfield.
posted on 11/7/13
You make comments and then if people dont agree you call them arrogant.
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Eh? I called you arrogant because you said this...
"Now SAF has gone you have no reason to advocate his silly ideas"
i.e, it's arrogant to say that a guy who has forgotten more about football than you or I will ever know has something you can far too easily brush off as 'silly' ideas.
As for 'playing the victim', that's just a bizzare thing to say. I just have an unpopular opinion and am defending it. I'm sure when the majority were saying the Earth was flat and the minority were saying that you wouldn't drop off the edge of the world if you kept sailing past the horizon were playing the victim?
(For the sake of the pedants out there perhaps I was being a tad arrogant by somewhat comparing my situation on here to the men who proved the earth was round)
posted on 11/7/13
Eh? I called you arrogant because you said this...
"Now SAF has gone you have no reason to advocate his silly ideas"
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And most didnt believe it was good for the players so I said you dont need to keep saying its going to continue, some of us are looking forward to seeing a natural CM in there.
Its clear a defender shouldnt play in midfield, I dont think I can make it more simpler.
And then for you to come out and say get used to Jones playing in midfield? I pretty much bet you're the only one on this board who is happy with that idea.
posted on 11/7/13
I pretty much bet you're the only one on this board who is happy with that idea
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Even on this thread about 3 or 4 people think it's a good idea.
posted on 11/7/13
I pretty much bet you're the only one on this board who is happy with that idea
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Even on this thread about 3 or 4 people think it's a good idea.
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Its a worst case scenario if everyone suddenly gets injured, im pretty certain you're the only one who wants to see him there when everyone's fit.
posted on 11/7/13
Its a worst case scenario if everyone suddenly gets injured, im pretty certain you're the only one who wants to see him there when everyone's fit.
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While I don't think he should be there in a worst case scenario, i'm also not advocating he plays there every week.
I'm a firm believer in changing your team and tactics to suit the opposition. If we're playing a team who sit back and don't have a particular dangerman to watch out for then I wouldn't play Jones.
Again, too many people just think football is all about putting your best 11 out every week and sticking with that. It really isn't that simple.
posted on 11/7/13
Jones in midfield is fine as long as it's occasional.
He's shown he do marshall top players in that role and the previous season we saw a couple of great box-to-box performances.
He's not the answer long term, and i hope we sign a top class specialist for the role but I don't mind him in there if needs be or for tactical reasons.
posted on 11/7/13
I guess you missed when Jones and Carrick played in CM last season many times and we won the title...
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to be fair we played some awful football last year.
jones and carrick in a 2 man midfield is a big no no for me, as said before it is too defensive.
we already sit too deep as it is the majority of the time.
posted on 11/7/13
To be honest, I would prefer him playing in midfield than in defence.
Then when he makes a mistake or loses concentration as he often does, we still have a last line of defence before people are 1 on 1 with the keeper
posted on 11/7/13
comment by Robb_Targaryen (U9808)
posted 3 hours, 3 minutes ago
I guess you missed when Jones and Carrick played in CM last season many times and we won the title...
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they didn't though Robb... Arsenal and West Ham away... we won neither, and neither were anywhere near decent performances.... west ham was woeful.
Tottenham away was a good result but not a particularly good team performance, although Jones played well.
The Everton game he was part of a midfield 5, when we switched about the hour mark at 2-up it was him who made way.
Chelsea away in the cup... woeful
outside of Madrid away which was again a 5 man midfield, the results have been poor when Jones is in midfield.
I actually don't wanna hammer the guy... tbh when in midfield he doesn't do a lot wrong, he's solid... he just doesn't offer much going forward...
in a midfield 5, backs to the wall, Madrid game... great, he's the man for the job.
in a midfield 2 alongside Carrick... just no... it invites the opposition on to you, leaves too much of a gap between defence and attack... it just doesn't work.
There was a reference earlier to a similarity with Fletchers style... Fletch never really worked in a midfield 2 either for me... his best games were always in a 5 man midfield... think Arsenal, AC Milan etc.
posted on 11/7/13
in a midfield 2 alongside Carrick... just no... it invites the opposition on to you, leaves too much of a gap between defence and attack... it just doesn't work.
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Fair enough Shugs. To be fair I never said we HAD to go with Jones and Carrick in a midfield two. I said we should adapt to whoever we play against and if Jones is best in a 5 man midfield then by all means play him in there.