Jonny Evans is living the dream at Manchester United, putting in great performances for his boyhood club when called upon and recently signing a new contract which will keep him at the club until he’s at least 26-years-old.
“The contract was a great bonus and I was delighted to sign,” said Evans. “By the end of the four years, I would like to be a regular and one of the first names on the team sheet. It is a big year for me next season because having just signed a new contract the expectations will go up even higher. I am 22 and, having signed that new long term deal, I will no longer be classed as the young lad just coming into the squad. I will have been in the squad for two years and people will be expecting a lot of me. There will also be more competition with Chris Smalling coming to the club. But that is all good. The extra pressure won’t worry me. I put pressure on myself as much as anyone else will. I want to improve and become better so you have to put more pressure on yourself to perform consistently and be a more important figure in the team.”
Man Utd News 24/7
the youth at united now, with the new neviles the gibson the evans kiko dannyW and gabby are gonna be future first team players for united. I know we have oshea fletcher and brown but for a reserve team to transform into a first team is something united have seen only twice before babes and fledglings. so while its a pain in the craic that we cant get money for a villa,silva or rodwell it seems it could be worse you could be scouse with no back up plan not only for the season ahead but the future of your football club during a time of a cash flow low
Well done Jonny…
I think Jonny and Smalling will be our central defenders in a couple of years and to be honest they can easily fit in if we have similar problems as last season.
I must admit I am very excited with the youth we have. I can see a repeat of the golden boys era..
That’s why Fergie is not signing big names.
Although everyone had written United off last season, an excellent Chelsea only won the title the last day of the season and that tells you a lot. That’s all part of the transition.
Next season will be a lot better I am sure!
romeo
how could i forget smallings
Evans is proof we have nothing to worry about. Even if it takes time, I’d rather we give these players the chance and time they need to develop. He’s played well in the League and Europe when he’s been thrown in at the deep end. Proof that Youth should continue being the way forward for our Club. Evans will be a United regular one day. Btw I think we have more than enough money for whoever we want, but Alec can’t see any value so he won’t buy, I can’t see any value either, and I’d rather he did nowt than follow Rafa. I’ve seen stats on Rafa’s transfer record that beggar belief. Nope, much rather we continue developing our own. How many wingers are up there with Giggs, Beckham and Ronaldo? How many midfielders are a match for Scholes? Neville brothers? Nah, much rather we stick with our own Youth. Any young player good enough to break into our first team is no less a player than some fancy big name from the Continent who costs 25+ million. Funny thing is, if Rafael and Fabio played for Barcelona our supporters would probably want us to sign em, but since they’re already here learning the english ropes they’re not good enough. Bizarre.
@ paul Parker
I dont know where you got the notion Rafael and Fabio aren’t thought highly enough of….?!
I think they are fantastic talents that just need to learn to control their emotions and impulses….with a bit of experience they are gonna be world class in a few years time…in the meanhile we must count the cost of their mistakes and while Fergie is there we will….
we got no problems with him, as a matter of fact he is very satisfactory. wat is the latest with berbflop
Red Devil – you didn’t read the amount of criticism Rafael receieved last Season? Well done for avoiding it mate. Even on ROM, he was blamed for our Champions League exit as an example. We all view players differently as supporters there is no real right answer, but personally I didn’t really blink when he was sent off. He’s a young player, it happens, I’d be WAY more pissed off if Brown conceded a Red Card. Neville’s free kick was a bit naive as well. But certainly Rafael has been critisised even though it was only his first real run in the team. Fabio too, even he’s been labelled “too injury prone” by United supporters, despite the impossible task of out performing Evra from the bench. Hopefully we’ll see Fabio rotated with Evra so Evra doesn’t burn out towards the end of a hopefully long campaign next Season. Im just Trumpeting our Players
completely agree with your assessment about their temprement and emotions, that can only come with experience. Him being sent off will be a blessing in disguse. He’ll never want to feel like that again. Likewise when he’s placed on the goal post im sure he’ll never fucking move off it like that again. I guess im more understanding of our youger players trying to make it through to the first team because I want them all to succeed (Can’t wait to see Eikrem, he’s a special player) Personally I think Alec is a genius for securing another 2 talented brothers to line up in our back 4. But certainly, Rafael and Fabio have had their doubters, and that was my point, if they both played for Barcelona those doubts would vanish under rose tints. The grass is always greener and sometimes as United supporters we are spolit. I think Rafael has, at times, been absolutely Brilliant, and I make more of him keeping big players quiet than I do his cock ups. Thats just me mate, Pint half full and all that lol.
@Paul
Yeah….have to agree with most of what you say…..
Yes he did get a rollicking here for the Champions league exit…..which he of course deserved…!!
Yes, when he plays well he will be appreciated, if he plays badly he will also be criticised. That is part of the life of a top-level player and learning how to deal with criticism and praise and not to let either get to your head is a major part of the psychological development of a player….
A class act is Jonny especially when paired with Vidic. Particularly his Cruyf turns in the six yard box!!! Will be well chuffed if Nemanja stays which looks likely. All the rumours of him fucking off seem to have calmed down.
Paul – “Funny thing is, if Rafael and Fabio played for Barcelona our supporters would probably want us to sign em, but since they’re already here learning the english ropes they’re not good enough. Bizarre.”
absolutely spot on mate.
If Rio continues to struggle like he did this season, his name will probably be among the first if not the first name on team sheet.
@asite Fergie said last week Bera was going nowhere, didn’t he?
@paul Parker how right you are. manchester nited consist of 3 types of fans 1/ fans who dont always agree but you can talk the talk with them 2/gloryhunters i feel for gloryhunters because the so want to be football fans and united is the biggest club but they just dont fully get football so they are only here for may and 3/ gloryhunters who act like they are fans and wont admit they are gloryhunters.
what you said about the next generation neville brothers is 100% bang on and only yesterday it was said to me” if carrick played for real united fans would see him as the answer to uniteds midfield”
busby fuckin damn those number 3s
@king eric
noooooo, they are fantastic, i mean rafael and the rest.
off the topic
I’ve read all the comments who we should buy, and I don’t think we need to sign anyone. Really!
I see only few players who would jump straight into our first eleven – but it’s impossible to buy them: Cristiano, Xavi, for example. And buying 30mil players who are on the same level as Carrick or Berbatov (for example) is stupid. Better use wise Scholesy and Giggsy and let Gibson, macheda, Obertan, da Silva brother etc, etc grow into top players.
Look at teamsheet – few teams in the world can compare with United!
And BTW – great to see Johnny sign new deal – he’ll be one of the greatest!
Glad the consensus is we don’t really need to buy anyone, obviously won’t mind if we do mind you! But, only as long as no existing player is forced out. It would be a crime to put Valencia or Gibson on the bench after both got 7 in their first season/first team run. Nobody on the market really warrents dropping anybody, even Carrick can sit out for a strong bench of Fletch, Scholes, Gibson, Anderson, Hargreaves. With the new limit of players coming in, who would we really BANISH from the team? and for which player on the Market? to be fair even if Messi was available I’d rather our apparently cash strapped club “bank” the money and pick an 11 from what we have in abundence. If anybody wants to leave fine, but who would you kick out for a new player to come in? I’d keep every last one.
Am I missing someone? What We gotta remember Messi was a young kid Rjikaard gambled on, you’d think he was born of a virgin lol. Messi is a special player but so is Ronaldo, so is Rooney, so could alot of players playing for United. been feeling like that for a while, its the same with Ole one day stepping up. WIth all the media gossip and our own anxiety its easy to forget we are the best placed team in england by a mile. I’d need to see Madrid and Barcelona’s books to see what youth they have coming through, but ours is phenom, plus its a majority of local lads – that means the lads we DO bring from abroad are all identified as very special indeed. against all mathmatical probability Ole might have found a GOLD mind in Scandinavia lol. even Staam’s on the case, lol. United have the perfect set up, long may it continue aye!?
We should sign Van der Vaart just to get a look at his wife more often.
Agree with the Real Madrid comment – For me mate Carrick has done enough over 3 years to warrent a dip in form. Quite right, yes he has been the quiet boring midfield play maker for us. Efficient as Fuck. How many assists did he provide for Ronaldo alone? All those runs into the final third, Carrick intercepted then provided for loads of those im sure unless my Lunchtime Pints have decieved me lol. Nah, he was woeful at alot of times this season, but he also put in a few importanat performances. He was shite for england last night tho lol. I wouldn’t want him going anywhere for someone else to come in from outside, christ he had to play in defence at times in a year that started with him dropping us points. Not surprised he lacked confidence, it would be a blessing if he didn’t go he needs a holiday and a good Pre Season. Until then we have Gibson Hargreaves and Anderson wanting to play for us. Carrick deserves a knees up he’s done well for us despite not being the most loved Player. Agree with the 3 types you identified as well mate.
Yeah, def comes with the territory mate. Rafael looks the sort to be up for it thats where my confidence comes from with him, he’s a right little fighter, wasn’t too bad in the Champions league as a regular. he was two mistakes from making RIght Back his own at the first time of asking. Neville is still about to show him the final tricks of the trade. the Future is bright indeed.
Looking forward to seeing more of the Evans-Vida partnership next season. That’s not a knock on Rio. But the Evans and Vidic ended the 09-10 season stronger than he did. In my opinion, SMalling has to be protected as much as possible in his first season. Hopefully we won’t have many injuries at the back.
@Sanj
Spot on about Van der Vaart.
Lots of good comments, especially from Paul Parker. Before picking up on some of the issues, I just want to cheer the good news that Jonny has signed his new contract and seems excited about it, and about the future of the club. I remember when there were worries that Fergie would let him go to Sunderland (where he’d had a great loan spell) and this appears to vindicate him in staying to fight for his place and Fergie in not letting him go. Sometimes I fear that very promising players are put out to loan and then never really thrive again at Old Trafford, such as Rossi, and Foster in a slightly different way. I hope the same isn’t about to happen with Cleverley, who was brilliant on loan at Watford. There are persistent stories that Newcastle are making him their priority transfer target, allegedly with encouragement from the player himself.
If it is really the case that Fergie doesn’t want to splash the cash because he trusts the youth coming through, rather than there being no cash to splash, I would be ecstatic. There is no finer sight than a kid coming up through the ranks, schooled in the United ethos, making it at the very top. Of course everyone remembers the Beckham, Butt, Giggs, Nevilles, Scholes generation, but we haven’t had anything like that since, just the occasional loner pushing through. If all the persistent claims that we have a terrific group coming through now are true and Fergie really does trust them, that would be brilliant, beyond anything assembled with big money.
Another point, which I’ve made before, not directed at any particular player, but just a general observation about the unpredictable nature of which young players make it to the very top. I’ve mentioned Shay Brennan before, but his career is the perfect illustration of the importance of giving youngsters time. As I wrote in my piece in March about the first time I saw United in the flesh, in March 1960, at that time no-one would have predicted that Shay would be part of the legendary European Cup Winning team 8 years later. Shay came to the club as an inside left, made his debut on the left wing (scoring two goals in the first match after Munich), failed to thrive, was moved back to left-half (where he was when I first saw him), still didn’t really progress, was shifted again, this time to left back, still without making much of an impact. No doubt if this all happened today he’d have been hounded out by the weight of fan hostility, but Busby kept the faith, and he tried one more change. And this time it worked. Shay was tried out at right back in the autumn of 1960, competing with such players as Maurice Setters and Tony Dunne.It took time and experience but eventually he nailed down the position, around ’63 or ’64, with Dunne moving to the left, another great switch. Shay was then a lynch-pin of the title winning teams of ’65 and ’67 before the European Cup win in ’68. In my view he was among the best 2 or 3 right backs I’ve seen at United, but when I first saw him that day in 1960 as a left half I would never have guessed it. Probably his greatest performance was up against Real Madrid’s magnificent left winger Gento, one of th best I’ve ever seen. Shay jockeyed him out of danger, matched him for speed and maneouvrability, never dived in, bided his time, waited, waited and then calmly nicked the ball away, leaving the fiery Gento in a fury of frustration. I’ve made this point before, but slowly nurturing of young players to find their best positions takes time, and faith, hard to achieve in the current culture of expecting instant success. As I think about about how Shay played Gento it immediately reminded me of Rafael up agaist Ribery. Given time Rafa and Fabio could become a fabulous pair in United’s defence, but they both need time and need experience. I just hope they get it.
Have you fucking heard this cunt? A new era? What with no youth and a team made up of 30 somethings. Fucking joker. Wins the league by ONE POINT and suddenly the Rentboys are gonna dominate? We MUST shut these cunt’s up next year.
http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/2171/premier-league/2010/05/24/1940401/chelsea-winger-florent-malouda-fires-warning-to-title-rivals
Meanwhile Milner has “snubbed” United due to his Leeds ties. Sick to my fucking stomach of the word “snubbed” being overly used particularly on players we haven’t even shown interest in.
@King Eric
Just read Milner snubbed dagenham and redbridge
Milner wont come to united because of Leeds ties , fair play to him for that . he’s a stand up guy
He now stands head and shoulders above nobodys like Jordan, McQueen, Graham, Irwin, Ferdinand, Smith and, Eric Cantona.
hahaha new era at chelsea…we’ll see about that next season won’t we, when they won’t have to contend with a “date raped” United (forgot who said that, but thought it was funny).
@ghtt- read on another thread you thought i was american, i’m actually bangladeshi and was living in america, but i’m living in bangladesh again and don’t have to wake up early saturday mornings hungover as fuck to watch my favorite team
that having said, i’m actually visiting the states for a week and already missing my hot weather, my parents and my barcelona-loving boyfriend 
hope emily’s doing well 
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdecgd_wayne-rooney-all-34-goals-season-20_sport
jellybean….You must have not talked to your Bf for a while after rome..
How can any Utd fan say Rafael and Fabio are not good enough. Such idiotic and ignorant thinking. The pair have the potential to be world class fullbacks. Thank God they came to Utd, instead of Arsenal. We are blessed with such talent. Evans has done well so far and will only get better. At 22 he already has bags of experience. I hope Corry makes it into the first team, like Jonny did. He’s absoloutely fantastic and I have high hopes for him. It’s be nice if the Evans brothers are both first teamers playing together after a few years.
MIG- oh man! i watched the final with him and my best friend both of whom are AVID barca fans , not to mention, ever since the semis i had been trash talking like mad! oh! on top of which, the aforementioned friend has arsenal as his 2nd team (dont get me started on ppl with 2nd teams!) and i actually MADE HIM CRY after we thrashed the gooners. argh the worst part was having to deal with the barca flag which was hanging up on my wall!
P.s Portugal 0-0 Cape Verdie Islands
lols
Keep working hard lad and you’ll get plenty more game time next season.
I love Evans attitude. He is always seeking responsibility and further he openly holds himself accountable when he makes a mistake. It is so refreshing. Earlier this year he spoke on his need to get over injuries. Then after reacting late and staying further back he allowed an opposing attacker sneak onside and grab a goal. He apologized and admitted his mistake. Now he is open to the fact his new contract will mean more is expected of him and he wants to leave up to it by becoming one of our best central defenders. I hope he can force out Ferdinand but I do not expect that to fully happen until after next season. That is not a slap to Ferdinand who I think has been a stalwart for us and fully believe had he stayed fit United would have won the title. Evans is simply younger and I would rather have a younger defender who has more peak years ahead of him to be our first choice over a defender who has 2 maybe 3 top years left. Evans could be our main CB for the next 8 years if he continues to develop. His next big step is the toughest. He will have to become a first team choice to begin to achieve that development. A changing of the guards is close but I don’t think it is going to be next season. I have a lot of hope in Evans and believe he will deliver. He has stayed motivated after signing a new deal which is often not the case.
Let’s get Giggsy an award!!!
http://www.goldenfoot.com
this guy kept out villa raul silva before even making his prem debut for united….always was going to be a class act
Giles Oakley – cheers for the important History lesson! Love hearing about the continuity of our Footballing tradition. So Shay Brennan went from inside left, to left wing, to left centre half, to left back to right back, where he played a role in our European Success? wow. the good old days aye? lol. the lesson is indeed heeded mate. Patience… and Ingenuity from the Manager.
this Summer I hope Alec is taking the media for a ride with all this transfer saga business. After last year he was quite clear that he thought the media was eager to portray us as having a major problem if we didn’t spend 100 million to keep up with Real Madrid (Trophy-less) and City (Europa League/Still Waiting) yet again he was spot on.
So I wouldn’t begrudge Alec if everything he says about “possible signings” is smokescreen, because he feels we don’t need anybody beyond Diouf, Hernandez and Smalling. Wouldn’t be surprised. We have loads of options, for example from all our strikers we have a few who can play the wide role. Welbeck comes to mind. I think we can expect a few surprises with regards to how we use all our players, whether we bring in a new CM or not. We have alot of flexible and adaptable players with great ability who can play anywhere, can’t see us coming short anywhere on the pitch next Season. what a squad to pick from!
Milner was always surplus to our requirements. Its like being in a resturant while others are eating but your not hungry. You might browse the menu doesn’t mean your about to order. Milner was never really a top priority, just an after thought, in fact if he wasn’t english I personally wouldn’t have considered him at all to be honest. Decent player, always good to have a quality english core to the team esp with new rules, but again you have to ask, who would we put on the bench or sell so Milner could play? Would Milner really start ahead of Gibson? Doubt it Pal, so let him move to City and play alongside the great Barry in Europa league next year. More importantly, he should be more concerned with getting Villa to fourth then jumping ship, they have a half decent squad but they’re slipping from contention.
Chelsea, CIty, Arsenal, even Spurs, everybody needs to seriously strengthen, but United? We look ready to start the new Season right now.
Off topic – Did anyone catch the Ivory Coast v Chile under 20′s semi final today?
Ivory Coast played brilliantly, jesus, what a well deserved victory. Best Youth football I’ve seen. if the senior team can match that we might have a few surprises next month. Fantastic team effort, looked like they had 10 strikers and 10 defenders on the pitch at all times. Very disciplined, going forward and backwards, they looked like Brazilian Germans!
Really starting to look forward to the World Cup now, just to see all the different “best players” from around the world line up. Too busy watching Hernandez on the bench to see Parks goal last night, Great Finish. Right now its France v Denark live on Eurosport to see who makes it to meet the Ivorians in the under 20′s final. 1-1 so far. Thank God for Eurosport during Summer aye? just seen it 2-1 Denmark, great finish. Have a good one fellas.
@Giles Oakley
With Cleverley I would maybe send him to Newcastle but on loan not sold. He was great for Watford but there is a big step up and 6 months at a Prem side where he can get some game time (which will be limited at United) will show everyone if he really can make it or not. I would also send Gibson out too especially as he will have to take a squad spot to see if regular high level football can help him develop his other areas of the game because he needs these to show as his shot alone isn’t enough and Reserve games with the odd first team game here and there is unlikely to push these area of his game, certainly not as well as 6 months or a year on loan in the prem would do
Paul Parker – na no offence to ivory cost but they do not match the argentina youth system, the argentina league is the huge ace in the hole for argentina, they may not have the strength or pretigue of europe but its a highly competitive league with endless potiental of world class players, already clubs are looking at the argentina league because europes clubs have lo all sence of reality on the price of players annow mexico argentina and brazil are the league’s clubs will look to not only this summer but in the many transfer windows ahead. The only weak link for argentina is marradona himself
Paul Parker- I LOL’ed at “Brazilian Germans”.
Giles- How is the health?
In the first game after Munich, wasn’t one of Shay Brennan’s goals a direct corner? Because I think I read that somewhere…
Thats the way Jonny” I want to improve and become better” yer a star* mate and gonna be a top centre back in the world.
Hi Boogeyman, thanks for asking. Treatment holding the line, waiting for biopsy results to see if there’s a new problem. It’s what they call squeaky-bum time I believe…
And the answer to your question is yes, Shay Brennan scored one of his goals in that first post-Munich match, against Sheff Wed, straight from a corner, causing us all to wonder if the lads ‘up there’ were somehow willing it in. I guess it was just ‘Bending it like Brennan’. One other thing about our Seamus, he was one of the best-loved players of that era, remembered fondly by people as different as Bobby Charlton and George Best. He seems to have been very relaxed and easy-going, with a rather gentle, even dreamy personality, with a quiet, subtle sense of humour. I know he was much missed when he died.
No way should we send out Gibson on loan, and not Cleverley either. Cleverley’s work in the final third has been scholes-esque and I don’t see why we’d buy Milner when we have him. I know it was the Championship, but he was playing for a shambles and managed to pretty much keep them up single-handed. Plus, the sort of midfielder who can make driving runs forward is desperately what we need. If Gibson or Cleverley can step up next year – and I think Gibson will, with Cleverley getting about as many games as he did this season just gone.
To be honest, if we didn’t buy anyone and sold a couple of players to make way for youth I might be even more excited than if we splurged a load of money on name-your-average-english-under-24 year-old.
Love Evans. He’s got the right attitude, this lad. He’s gonna be a legend for us if he keeps it up.
@wakey
Dont agree on sending gibson on loan.He should be a regular now for us.I didnt like him that much before this season but having seen him this season i think he would be like lampard of chelsea.He scores goals and thats what is important.Yeah he need to improve on his passing but i think he would.Like fletcher he should also stay and develope here.
Been on the local paper website for Newcastle, the chronicle, and they’re running a story about Cleverly and Wellbeck being wanted on loan.
Personally I’d take that, as long as they don’t fuck them about like they did with Rossi, gets them first team prem football and we get to see if these lads can really cut it week in week out at the top level.
Lets be honest, how many first tema games will either play next season?
On Evans, this lad is class, I’m glad we kept him and sold Pique, if we had to sell one, he will be keeping Rio out in 2011-12, mark my words.
I dont follow the other leagues all that much, so hearing so much talk about dimaria, silva, goucouff and others I got curious to check them out on youtube. After being suitably impressed, I made the huge mistake of checking out some vids of Sir Ryan and Scholesy in their prime…it made me feel like crying. They just don’t make them like that anymore….Ronaldo who?
On topic – love Evans, he’s got a great future – hopefully our defence will look like this in some time:
Da Silva-Evans-Evans-Da Silva…now wouldn’t that be fun!
@ Wakey….. Cheers for your thoughts….
@ Sir Giles Oakley……. I hope the biopsy results are all good…no new worries mate!
Your lessons on the history of United are the stuff of legend…keep them coming Sir….
our future defense will be amazing compared to the scousers and chelsea cuse they only have old people
Callum – Bang on pal. Why send them both on loan AGAIN? They have been and on loan and certainly in Tom’s case have proved themselves. In some ways the Championship is tougher than the Prem. Not the same quality but “proper football” where tackling is actually allowed. Have high hopes for Gibbo too. Always fills in for the full backs, can pass, gets stuck in and what a shot. This notion that all “he can do is shoot” is bollocks. Yeah 30 yard screamers ain’t too bad.
Giles Oakley, i cannot thank you enough for your lessons in our history. I am blessed to be here even just to read your piece. I hope your biopsy results will turn out great.
And on Jonny Evans, this is exactly the kind of ambition we need to have in our youngsters. And i believe he has all the potential to achieve it.
personaly i feel gibson is poor.all he does is shoot.he has a poor work rate.poor pass,poor speed.poor tackles.i rather prefer anderson
chukzy – Yeah because Anderson has a great work rate and is always hitting the net int he? Goals win games my friend.
King Eric – well fergie has said which I think the rules come in place this season you are limited to a 25 man squad, and if you feel certain players should be given the chance then there are players who will have to be moved on because they maybe blocking the pathway for future united players in the making. I do not think ibson will be loaned out but cleverly will def be loaned out so fergie can see what he truly is like in the premiership, because championship level is nowhere near premiership level.
If Fergie wants to see what Cleverley’s like in the premiership than he can play him in the fucking premiership
Gibson’s work-rate is fine to me, not afraid to put in a tackle. Decent passer, just the main problem with him is that if he starts he seems to be knackered after about 70 minutes but that’s normal for a kid not used to playing first team football
People would think Gibson a better player if he didn’t have that shot on him, because then all the MOTD fans would fuck off with the ‘all he can do is shoot’ nonsense without having watched the kid over the course of 90 minutes
Thanks Red Devil and Cantona7. I hope to write something historical again soon. Ages ago I promised to write on The Redemption of Eric Cantona – the story of the 1995-96 season. I really must get down to it. Your kind words are an encouragement.