thefutureisred:

.hes got good technique

I think you have to watch more DM of other teams before deciding he has got good technique. Evans passing is very good for a CB. That is avantage to us so lets use that from his natural positoion. ALso for playing at CM, you need a great awareness which I dont think Evans has.

mark.k.:

The league is so competitive now that there is very little room for experimentation.

Exactly. I have been watching premier league for just 7 years and 1 huge difference is that these days its more competitive and every single game , you have to take very seriously otherwise you will lose some points and might lose the league title itself. This is not doing any good to young players especially at the big clubs as they cant take risk at all.

thefutureisred:

thomas21:

Evans is OK where he is.........

yes hes been brilliant...but i think smalling given a full season at centre back would be better...and i watched a youtube video and honestly evans technical abilty is wasted at centre back

rio is technicaly better than evans,you wouldnt say he's been wasted would you,technicaly good players are not wasted in the back four,they are needed.

mark.k.:

The league is so competitive now that there is very little room for experimentation.

Agreed. Experimenting on teams even on Wigan's level can be hazardous nowadays.

He has got assists in the opposition half though (vs Villa and Wolves). He does also bring the ball out from the back a lot, especially in the second half of the season. His pass accuracy is also significantly higher than Smalling (82%) and Jones (83%). Only Rio comes close to him with 89%. That comparison with Vidic was an old one I made, guardian don't have chalkboards anymore.

thefutureisred:

Hes good on ball...good in the tackle...hes got good technique...his got good stamina and hes been known to go on a maruading run...

What do u think of in pre season trying him out as a holding midfielder...the only weakness i see in him really is that some times he is a bit weak in the air.. maybe a michael carrick type role would suit him what do u think?

Oshea and jones have played there why not give evans a go?

I wrote a similar post but got slated by the Evans haters.

donald p to sign for united:

he is in fact very good on the ball.

(Didn't want to bog the thread down by reposting all of your graphics.) I did think, to myself, that if one defender seems less comfortable on the ball than Evans it would probably be Vidic, so it made me laugh that's who you did the comparison with. Anyway, yeah, decent stats but really just because he can pass decently, in his own half, doesn't mean he's cut out to be a midfielder. Take a look at the Chelsea graphic for example: yes, great success rate, but if you look at his success rate of passes made in the attacking half, he is only 2/4, 50%. Generally, you're going to get a lot more time and space passing out of your own half as a centre back. Put him in crowded midfield for a game and take his number of attempted passes up from 44 to 100+ and see how things work out.

Evans is good on the ball but he takes advantage of his position to find space and time to make a good pass.If he was played in midfield he could struggle with the lack of time available to turn and pick a pass.

You took the words right out my mouth. I would love SAF to try Evans there come pre-season and see how he gets on. Like you said, he's good the ball, can tackle and has good defensive awareness.

Wouldn't hurt trying him there. As for the people saying Carrick can play there, what happens if Carrick gets injured?

Sir Kones:

Thinking about all of our defenders, he may actually be the one who appears least comfortable on the ball in comparison.

That is completely wrong.

His pass accuracy of 90.4% is better than any other centre back in the team and is the 9th best in the entire Premier League.

Take a look at his passes against Everton away compared with that of Vidic.

Note how Evans is superior in passing over longer and shorter distances.

Also look at his passing against Chelsea.

Very good accuracy for short and long ranges and lovely assist to Nani as well. He is not getting these stats by just making 5 yard passes, he is in fact very good on the ball.

You can say that about many of the young defenders coming up nowadays. Actually, I feel that a new kind of central defender is coming up, and we are seeing an evolution that started out when Lucio was at his peak and when Makelele came into prominence.

In the past, central defenders just defended. All they did was sit back and defend. Nowadays, you see them get involved in the attack, linking up with midfielders and even going forward with the defensive midfielder(s) covering them. Nowadays, we see young defenders like Evans, Jones, Smalling, Hummels, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Pique, David Luiz, etc., come up who have good technical ability to go forward and good passing but are just an extra option and not really relied upon like midfielders are.

To say that such defenders should be defensive midfielders at this age is not a bad idea, but with the evolution occurring, I say let it happen. It will give teams more options in the attack, and for this reason, I say keep Evans as the central defender and let him be the extra man from defence to join the attack.

thefutureisred:

thomas21:

Evans is OK where he is.........

yes hes been brilliant...but i think smalling given a full season at centre back would be better...and i watched a youtube video and honestly evans technical abilty is wasted at centre back

Technical ability is important for a modern day centre back. Passing from the back is key.

Mmm, I dunno.....in the sense of being a midfielder I don't think I, personally, would label him as "good" on the ball. Thinking about all of our defenders, he may actually be the one who appears least comfortable on the ball in comparison. My other question area would be a relative lack of acceleration and agility. I think even a defensive midfielder should have a quick-turn in his locker, have a change of pace, ability in tight spaces.....don't see those in him. Most importantly, in a system with two central midfielders you need to have a full midfielder's skillset, not JUST a "defensive mid" skillset, know what I mean? Hell, basically he would be a far less skillful Carrick, with maybe a bit better tackling.

I've seen this suggested before. I'm not sure if he is that big a tackler to be a defensive midfielder. One thing I will say is that he is not weak in the air. He has handled quite a few big target men very well this season including the likes Pogrebnyak.

almasi:

thefutureisred:

thomas21:

Evans is OK where he is.........

yes hes been brilliant...but i think smalling given a full season at centre back would be better...and i watched a youtube video and honestly evans technical abilty is wasted at centre back

I agree Evans in the mid of the pitch I see him as a good holding midfielder as Gustavo of Bayen who canclled Ronaldo in both legs at the middle of the pitch. Also Evans in the holding role will bring the flovour and flayer of our old utility man Ronnie Jonsonne but will Fergie accept it when he feels Scholes does the job.

I agree. It would be nice to see him as a DM with Vidic and Smalling in the back.