Why Always Me?

October 23, 2011 will be the day that the blue half of Manchester celebrated a 6-1 thrashing of their world famous neighbours, Manchester United. As a United fan I cannot argue that City were the better team, have the better squad, but the changing of the guard? I am not sure about that. It’s a long season and City has the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool still to play before we enter the second part of the season. The changing of the guard is not what I am here to talk to you about, what I want to talk about is why Sir Alex continues to play a certain Jonny Evans.

Not an unusual sight

I know lads, its tough watching
Jonny Evans defend

Tuesday night’s game versus Otelul Galati, Evans was left out of the lineup and a friend of mine was overjoyed, saying and I quote “Vidic is back and will use this as fitness to prepare for the derby. No more Evans!”  I wasn’t so happy, I mean I was glad to see Evans on the bench but had a feeling that he was being rested for the derby. Another clue was the substitution after Vidic’s ridiculous red card, Evans was chosen to replace Antonio Valencia, ahead of the outstanding Phil Jones. So Sunday morning arrives in New York and I wake up to Sir Alex, yet again putting Jonny Evans name on the team sheet. Bringing me to my first point, we have Nermanja Vidic and Phil Jones fit and ready to play in the biggest game of the season so far. Vidic is our captain, our leader, and one of the best center backs in the world. To my horror, not only did I have to comprehend the score line that read 4-1 at the time, but then to see the Serbian sitting in his club tracksuit in the stands. An argument could be that he wasn’t fully fit, but I would take a 50% fit Vidic over a fully fit Evans any day. At least put him on the bench! Phil Jones on the other hand, made the bench. The ex Blackburn defender has been outstanding since arriving at Old Trafford and rewarded with his first full cap for England. Whether it is right back, center midfield, or in his natural position of centre half, he has looked four million times the player Evans could even dream of being. Why would you play your fifth best or worst center back if you have a world class defender or a man in form at your disposal?

Always a step behind

The second point is his body of work, from his horror show of last season to his recent displays. In an interview with MirrorFootball , he claimed that he has played a lot better this season. Maybe that is true, but they were against poor teams and anything was better than last season. Steve Morrison, who you may ask? The Welsh international signed for Premier League new boys, Norwich City from Championship outfit Millwall. The striker has done ok this season, but Evans made him look like David Villa. Turning him at every opportunity, leaving Jones to  clean up his mess on several occasions. I wouldn’t say Morrison has breakaway speed but while the Irishman was pulling his caravan, the striker was leaving him in his wake. That was Norwich, a team that was outstanding on the day but shouldn't cause United so many problems at home. Benfica on the other hand is a team that Evans shouldn’t even be contemplated for, when it comes to the team Sir Alex puts out. Well he played and yet again cost us a goal. It was one mistake after the other and Cordoza, like Balotelli and Morrison, must have thoroughly enjoyed himself that night.

Embarrassing! 

The man is slow, average in the air, and there is always a big mistake looming. He should not be compared to the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Nermanja Vidic, or Phil Jones but Titus Bramble. So why is Ferguson consistently picking him, especially in the big games? I thought after the Champions League Final, with him not even on the bench that the boss had seen the light. Summer came and we saw the back of Obertan, O'Shea and nearly Darren Gibson too.Unfortunately, Gibson's move to Sunderland fell through but Sir Alex has firmly thrown him in the freezer. That is the place where Evans should be, he shouldn't even play reserve games because he will take the spot of a youth team player who is trying to prove himself. Signing Phil Jones and the emergence of Chris Smalling were all signs that finally this lad can move on and  I don’t have to watch him anymore. How wrong can one man be?

So lets move on to Sundays Manchester Derby, and focus in on Balotelli. Fox Soccer channel covered the game in the USA, and shockingly the so called expert was Danny Mills. He played in the Premier League, which means he is qualified and I believe he stated “Evans to me, always has a mistake in him”. Balotelli, displayed that now infamous shirt saying “Why Always Me?” whilst Evans picked himself off the Old Trafford turf after slipping and losing his mark. Here at Defensive Discussions we are going to speak with a T-Shirt company and for any Manchester United fan, they can purchase a shirt that has Evans face displayed with a message underneath stating “Sir Alex, Why Always Him?” On the bright side he cannot play for 3 games, unfortunately one game will be Aldershot in the Carling Cup. Bottom line we have four center halves that are better than the Northern Ireland international.  Evans should not be playing against the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City or Norwich City by the looks of things. Sir Alex and any other fan can defend him and say he is still young and is one of the best young defenders in the league. Without the proof, I am sorry I am not buying it even from the great man himself.

I would really like to hear the opinions of all football fans, especially the Manchester United faithful because I truly dislike him and maybe my views are biased. So please contact us by commenting here on the website or on Twitter @DefDiscussions.