In this modern game of football people expect that if a player has not turned into a full blown star by a certain age then they generally won’t amount to anything. They forget how difficult it is to look good in certain positions or that a young players worst enemy is consistency.
Nani got off to a poor start at Old Trafford and many wrote him off as useless and a flop but this season he has shown that he really is the quality player that we spent £17m on.
When Jonny Evans broke through to the first team last season his performances were impressive and great things were expected of the young Northern Ireland defender. He played a more prominent role this season especially in the absence of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic through injury but at the start of the year he suffered a dip in form.
He clearly wasn’t at 100% in terms of fitness and the fact he did not have a settled partner beside him in the center of defence meant his performances were not of the high standard he set for himself the previous season. After Sir Alex publicly dressed him down at the San Siro and was given ample opportunity to do so at Goodison Park, people were quick to write him off, even more so after seeing Gerard Pique, the player who was ‘forced out of the door’ due to Evans emergence, against Arsenal.
But as quickly as things can turn against you they can turn in your favour and after getting a number of good appearances under his belt, people have begun singing Evans’ praise again.
After keeping Darren Bent quiet yesterday, Jamie Redknapp was full of praise telling the Daily Mail,
“I Wonder how much longer Jonny Evans will be happy to play second fiddle to Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic at United. At 22, he’s already a top defender.”
“He didn’t allow Darren Bent a kick yesterday and is far too good to sit on the bench and wait for an injury to one of Sir Alex’s first-choice centre backs. I expect him to play a bigger part next year.”
It just goes to show how fickle people can be.
It was never a case of Jonny Evans not being good enough, rather he was just going through a bad patch and the media picking up on it and making it bigger than it was.
I’m just happy that Evans has got back to performing at his best whether it is noticed in the media or not
Guess the phasing out will begin next season on. Rio will definitely be looking over his shoulder with Evans performing and the arrival of Smalling.
I’m properly worried for Rio they say his back problems are terrible something like a sneeze can cause him to spasm. Makes you wonder how much of a career he has left?
We’ve got to hold onto this guy. Your article is dead on and giving up on a 22 year old over a couple performances is foolishness. People can debate about Pique all day long, but it doesn’t affect whether or not Evans is of value to us. Evans is raised and suited for the English game and on top of that, defenders usually take a couple more years to reach their potential than other players.
Of course he’s more valuable if Rio doesn’t heal; but even if he does, United compete in about 5 competitions so he’ll always have a chance to play. Even if he waits for a couple years before he’s the bonafide #1 choice at CB, that’s not so bad at 25 y.o. for a club like United.