20 Jun 2022 23:07:20
HI Ed02!

Sorry if this has been covered but what is going on with Phil Jones. Will he be surviving another window despite being one of the most useless player in the squad.

I don't want to sound rude but this guy literally has sucked millions and millions of pounds without even kicking a ball. I was extremely annoyed when he got offered a new contract by incompetent board despite having done nothing to earn it. A genuine player who would love playing football would rather move somewhere else to play and earn at the same time.

His chapter must surely end this window.

{Ed002's Note - Phil Jones (CB) was an option for Burnley last summer but James Tarkowski stayed, now relegated they will have moved on. Would likely need to drop down to the Championship to find a club where he would start although Fulham are open to a discussion with the player. Wages may be a problem. Bordeaux offered an opportunity - rejected by the player.}

1.) 21 Jun 2022
21 Jun 2022 11:44:40
It’s not his fault the club offered him a contract and that we signed him despite knowing he had bad knees that would cut short his career.

He has cost the club a lot of money, none of that is his fault though.

2.) 21 Jun 2022
21 Jun 2022 13:03:26
I hope that logic is applied to all players at the club not just a selected few.

Its not any of the players fault that the club gives them contracts or signs them for big fees.

3.) 21 Jun 2022
21 Jun 2022 14:24:45
DsG. You will defend pogba till your 6 foot under.
You will be on your own?.

4.) 21 Jun 2022
21 Jun 2022 14:25:39
If he rejected Bordeaux, he is thinking one of European Giants come in for him?

5.) 21 Jun 2022
21 Jun 2022 15:06:23
Jones may not be good enough but at least when he did play last season he put in the effort and tried. more than can be said of some so called better players.

6.) 21 Jun 2022
21 Jun 2022 15:57:49
I’d have thought Bordeaux would have been hard to turn down. What wasn’t to like……….

7.) 21 Jun 2022
21 Jun 2022 16:34:41
I have always found this odd, Phil has earned enough money in his career that he will never have to work again.
Why wouldn't he take a reduction in wages to get back playing regularly, he plays with enough motivation, so surely he would prefer to be on a pitch each week.

8.) 21 Jun 2022
21 Jun 2022 17:15:43
He won’t take a reduction in wages because he doesn’t have to.

The club were dumb enough to give a permanently injured player a massive contract. The player seems to be happy to sit on his contract.

9.) 21 Jun 2022
21 Jun 2022 20:00:28
Agree with Danny if someone is dumb enough to pay you £100k per week Phil Jones should be smart enough to take it for as long as contractually he's able to. We have been woeful in extending contracts to 'protect players' book value'.

That practice has hopefully been shelved now but we need to be smarter in tying down players to longer contracts quicker providing they've shown they're good enough. Rashford a case in point now - in his last year but have option to extend. If it weren't for Ten Hag coming in now and starting afresh his is a first 'keep now and extend or sell this summer'.

Strongly suspect (or is it just blind hope more likely) that Rashford will come good again and we will sort another contract for him. However I do think Sancho and Rashford are both vying for the same LW spot. So he may be fortunate that we don't have cover directly for Ronaldo and centre forward a position he could play also.

Ten Hag will make his decision whether to keep Rashford though or anyone else for that matter. After that we need to be more ruthless in moving players on. If you were a player on a massive wage though what incentive do you have to leave? I know its a short career etc but £100k for doing nothing or £50k for 'working'? - I know which most would pick!

10.) 21 Jun 2022
21 Jun 2022 20:13:19
He will never play regularly for any team he plays for so why would he go somewhere else for less money and sit in the treatment room there?

11.) 21 Jun 2022
21 Jun 2022 22:55:44
Gosh our fan base! Defending a ridiculous player because the incompetent board offered him a stupid contract. That more aligns with the fact that he is here only for the money and nothing else. And and top of that, the money is without even playing. I thought that all of us agree about not wanting to have such player in our team.

It is like defending a corrupt officer for accepting a bribe because someone was stupid to offer him.

How about we think that he is also among the problem lying at our club and we need to get rid of him despite the fact that we offered him a new contract.

His chapter needs to close and i hope that is this window.

12.) 21 Jun 2022
21 Jun 2022 19:43:41
I don't blame players for taking a contract that's overinflated. I blame the club that offered it them.

Under Woodward we kept doing it, player after player, year after year. Whether its him the manager or both to blame I dunno.

If someone offered my a lot more money to do my job but I didn't deserve it I would still take it! I bet the vast majority of people would but for some reason footballers are expected to have a different moral compass and think I don't deserve this so I will look for less money elsewhere.

13.) 21 Jun 2022
21 Jun 2022 23:36:41
Gds2 on the money there imo. I've said the same before.
If Jones was fit and well and available for selection every week then he might have considered moving on to play for less money. But why sit in 1 treatment room for 50k when you can sit in another fit 100k?

14.) 21 Jun 2022
21 Jun 2022 23:53:25
Jones has been useless even when healthy. Rashford is grossly overrated and if someone is stupid enough to pay 60 mill for him, i think the club should get him a On a G7 and move him on. Overated and overhyped. He has been rubbish for a long time. Take the money beef up midfield and back 4.

15.) 22 Jun 2022
22 Jun 2022 06:49:44
OakBark

If you are that sort of employee than the company shouldn't really want you. Should it?

Jones might not be wrong on his part taking the deal and earning without playing. But, as a fan of this club, we should not be here sitting accepting that. It is nowhere acceptable.

GDS, Ken

You have thought from Jones point of view but how about trying to think from fans view. We as a club should not do it. Yes! We did lot of wrong things but that does not mean it should continue.

What sort of footballer do you want? The one who wants to play and contribute and earn? or the one who doesn't care if he plays or not but only cares about money?

I know what kind of players i want at my club but not sure about you. Defending Phil Jones is laughable for someone who wants the club to get back to its best.

16.) 22 Jun 2022
22 Jun 2022 09:44:45
"f you are that sort of employee than the company shouldn't really want you"

And that's the point, Srestha. That's why people are blaming the club rather than the player. Any proper company shouldn't.

17.) 22 Jun 2022
22 Jun 2022 10:19:25
I tend to agree with Ken and GDS on this one.

Jones is unfortunate in that he just can't stay fit. I'm sure he'd rather be fit and playing even on half the wages.

I also think people are far too hard on him as a player. When he has managed to stay fit he has been first choice for most managers. He was first choice for LvG and Mourinho when fit. Ole played him for a few games when fit at the start of his time as manager.

I'd argue that his one start last season against Wolves was at least as good as anything we saw from any of our other CB's last season. Possibly as an individual performance it was arguably the best CB performance last season.

He isn't a bad player. He never managed to reach the heights his talent suggested he could reach due to the constant injuries. While the media have made him into a joke with the faces he pulls while playing. Which while funny is unkind and unfair.

I'd probably say a fully fit Phil Jones plays ahead of any of Maguire, Lindelof, Bailly or Tuanzebe.

He also has a good attitude, he never gives less than 100% when on the pitch. Watch him walking on to the pitch against Wolves and tell me the other 10 players look as up for it as Jones does.

I'll be sad to see him leave as his career is tragic and you are left wondering what if.

Every footballer wants to play and win things, they also want to earn as much as they can while doing so.

Jones is unfortunate in that it doesn't matter who pays him he won't play as his body just cannot sustain itself for the demands of playing football.

So like Ken said, why choose to take a pay cut to sit in a smaller physio room at another club. He's also fairly local to where he grew up and all his friends and family.

I can't see much appeal for him taking a pay cut to sit in the physio room potentially 300 miles away from his friends and family.

If you were given a choice of doing a job for 50k or 25k for doing the exact same thing, to a man everyone of us would take the 50k job.

18.) 22 Jun 2022
22 Jun 2022 10:46:51
Noucamp!

Looks like u missed my point. I am blaming the club for giving him the contract but that does not mean that Jones is blameless.

The amount of money he is earning as a lumpsum could have been used for better use. As for a football player who usually has 15 years of career, i have seen a lot of player who take a paycut to play the game they love.

Jones isn't that player and should not be anywhere near this club.

19.) 22 Jun 2022
22 Jun 2022 11:02:48
Shappy!

Firstly, we rarely had good defenders that could carry Vidic and Ferdinand’s legacy. Jones and smalling started because they were the best among the bad bunch of defenders so it is not really a convincing point.

Second, you mentioned about his injury record which is even frustrating because u can't even have him at bench if for some reason we needed him. He is a poor defender with absolutely horrible injury record which us the reason why he should have been let go a long time ago.

I am really surprised how easily you said that he gives his 100%. I guess it is because you forgot all the horrible defending we saw from him few years back and there was clear lack of effort from his side as well.

Wolves game last season does not erase all the horrible games he had. If one good game from him justifies him earning millions of pounds that otherwise could have been properly invested, then i am not sure what to say to that.

Further, his attitude clearly does not strike as someone who wants to play football regularly. He has rejected multiple contracts from various clubs despite knowing that he will play next to nothing here.

You did raise good point though ” why choose to take a pay cut to sit in a smaller physio room at another club. ”. It is the exact reason i don't want him and nor anyone should. Why would u want a player spending all his time in a physio room and leeching the funds that we as a fans have paid.

He had bags of potential to be one of the best defenders but wasted it. And it is not only down to injury but also his desire to work for it.

People really have a short memory. If Jones had played next 10 games after the wolves game then i am pretty sure he would have horrible 7 games (if somehow he wasnt injured again) .

It happened a lot before and because he is not playing anymore, i believe fans have already forgotten about how poor of a defender he was.

I am pretty sure if let's say Maguire get injured for a whole year, people will soon forget how horrible he was because there will be another regular poor performer who will be getting the blame.

20.) 22 Jun 2022
22 Jun 2022 14:42:59
Srestha, I think that's quite a naive view. 99% of people, if they were offered such and such amount of money, would not turn round and say, I'll take half that, please.

21.) 23 Jun 2022
23 Jun 2022 02:41:29
Noucamp!

Thats exactly my point Noucamp.

We should really have that sort of 99% of people
at our club. Jones might have done what is best for him no doubt but how is that helping us as a club. We need to stop thinking from Jones point of view and think from the club’s perspective.

22.) 23 Jun 2022
23 Jun 2022 10:02:01
Way to go with the character assassination and saying he is leeching off the club. I don't know Phil Jones but most of the ex players I know hated being injured and found that the hardest thing.

They are not playing and fear the replacement would knock them out of the squad. I would assume in that position I would sign a new contract to give me an opportunity to fight for my place back. Its not even as simple as going somewhere else to play as he would have considered his kids, homelife etc.

I know ex players who rejected moves with more money as the impact on family, schooling were too great so it is not as simple as saying he had offers so is a leech cause he did not take them. Personally I don't blame him at all and you may be blasting someone who is just determined to still have a career and try and succeed at utd.

23.) 23 Jun 2022
23 Jun 2022 22:00:45
Bookedredmole!

You must be kidding.

It is not character assassination, it is the truth. I can't believe people are defending one of the worst player to ever play for us. No wonder this club is rotten to core now.

For your info, Jones has rejected multiple contracts from other clubs where he could have played regular football. The reason he rejected them is because he does not want to leave his comfort zone. I mean he is getting paid for not doing anything. A passionate footballer would take a paycut and try to move to a place where he could play the beautiful game again.

He has earned around 20 million pound in past few years without contributing anything at all. That is called leeching. If you love this club, how can u accept people like him? I guess him not playing recently has erased the old memories of his horrible football and maybe one wolves game as raised his prestige among the fans. Unbelievable.

24.) 24 Jun 2022
24 Jun 2022 08:09:03
Srestha I was not joking. If you know Phil Jones and he has said or intimated to you he does not want to leave his comfort zone then fair play I accept you are right.

If you do not know him then who are you to make these comments about someone's character as if they were clear facts. If you are making out your thoughts are the truth without any info and slating someone that is character assassination in my book.

You keep saying about him not playing has erased the memory of his football but my issue was you saying his leeching. I tend to agree we need a better defender but that is not what I refer to in my response.

You are right players sometimes move for game time but there are also lots of players who turn down opportunity to stay and fight for their place back. You seem to know the truth as you say so if you know him well enough I accept your thoughts.

I just personally feel that Phil Jones (or any player) would have a lot to consider around his personal life/ family before making a move and should consider those above the wants of some utd fan only considering their own perspective. Should he have got an extension, possibly not but I understand him signing it to fight for his place back.

If you do not know him and are just making up things that sound right in your head without facts then top bolloxology to you.

Unbelievable.