Dave Ewing's Back 'eader
Well-Known Member
If he was any good Utd would not have let him go.
Exactly. If Pep is pushing for this, rather than having Jonny foisted on him, it raises serious questions.
If he was any good Utd would not have let him go.
If you were him would you want to come to play maybe 15 games a season?
Decent article. Wish people give that a read before slagging off City and Pep. The transfer market is treacherous. It's a miracle we're able to secure so many signings. Look at Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and United ready to throw big money on players like VVD, Keita, Sandro, Lemar, Perisic, etc. but still failing to close the deals.Decent article from Sam Lee about the events that led to the interest in Evans (principally the Alves u-turn):
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/reve...alves-bonucci-jonny/kptymfm1g8n41w0f514z0ebys
If you were him would you want to come to play maybe 15 games a season?
Decent article from Sam Lee about the events that led to the interest in Evans (principally the Alves u-turn):
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/reve...alves-bonucci-jonny/kptymfm1g8n41w0f514z0ebys
It'd all depend on the money! WBA are reportedly offering £85k a week so were he to get a sniff more but play less it's the best motivation there is!
It casts serious doubts on the efficacy of the Academy if this is a serious scouting mission. We have Vinny, Otters, Stonesy, Tosin, (do we still have JD?). I make Jonny fifth choice! Baffling stuff!
The thing I'm struggling with is that we're willing to let Mangala go and sign another potentially £20m+ player as 4th choice. I know Pep's decided he doesn't want the Mangler and he needs a better ball player etc. but the same arguments that are being applied to getting Evans in as 4th choice can easily be applied to Mangala. Namely, he's left-sided, he won't play much and there would be more funds for a forward. I don't accept that he wouldn't be at least as good as Evans in a back 3.
The thing I'm struggling with is that we're willing to let Mangala go and sign another potentially £20m+ player as 4th choice. I know Pep's decided he doesn't want the Mangler and he needs a better ball player etc. but the same arguments that are being applied to getting Evans in as 4th choice can easily be applied to Mangala. Namely, he's left-sided, he won't play much and there would be more funds for a forward. I don't accept that he wouldn't be at least as good as Evans in a back 3.
I know he isn't that good for Pep's system but surely he's good enough for 4th choice CB/3rd choice LB?
Maybe of more interest is what it says about other players coming in. Does this mean we've backed off Mbappe/Sanchez or were we originally going for a more expensive CB (Van Dijk) and we've settled on Evans to free up funds? Were we content with Mangala but we've managed to get Mbappe/Sanchez cheaper than we thought so we've gone for what Pep considers a better option at CB?
Stones/Ota - Kompany/Evans. That's the pecking order if we're playing 4 at the back. Ota will step in for Stones and Evans for Kompany. Entire point of buying an experienced CB who is accustomed to the prem and has played/is playing at a high level (has played a central role in title winning teams) is to allow Stones to bed in. If we play Stones and Mangala together, the former would be covering up for latter's mistakes instead of the other way around. Pep wants Stones to play consistently at a high level alongside a senior CB so that he can marshall the backline on his own in a couple of years. He's not gonna do that playing next to Mangala. Evans is not even close to what we should be aspiring for in an ideal world, but given the circumstances, he's our best option. Hate him for being a rag, but he has played under the pressure of challenging for titles across multiple seasons and has plenty of CL experience. He's more than good enough to be a 4th choice CB for 2 years.The thing I'm struggling with is that we're willing to let Mangala go and sign another potentially £20m+ player as 4th choice. I know Pep's decided he doesn't want the Mangler and he needs a better ball player etc. but the same arguments that are being applied to getting Evans in as 4th choice can easily be applied to Mangala. Namely, he's left-sided, he won't play much and there would be more funds for a forward. I don't accept that he wouldn't be at least as good as Evans in a back 3.
I know he isn't that good for Pep's system but surely he's good enough for 4th choice CB/3rd choice LB?
Maybe of more interest is what it says about other players coming in. Does this mean we've backed off Mbappe/Sanchez or were we originally going for a more expensive CB (Van Dijk) and we've settled on Evans to free up funds? Were we content with Mangala but we've managed to get Mbappe/Sanchez cheaper than we thought so we've gone for what Pep considers a better option at CB?
The homegrown aspect , suggests to me we have the 2 non homegrown spots are earmarked for other positions.He's homegrown, vastly experienced and is a much better passer of the ball than Mangala. That's it really.