Agreed and that's why the onus on improving his durability and fitness record is completely on him. He does play a certain way but he needs to understand that he can't keep being so reckless with his body, especially since it physically can't take it. That will not eradicate completely the fact that he is prone to injury, but at the very least, it should help.
Jones's biggest problem from my point of view is that he is way too reckless, especially given how fragile he seems to be. He needs to adjust the nature of his game and stop throwing his body so loosely into challenge because he simply can not physically take it. If we get at least one quality CB to compliment Smalling as our first choice, Jones can become a nice backup option for us, which could work out well for the club.
agree, lack of disciple leads to reckless behavior. however disagree. jones, if could magically calm down and gain composure, is above smalling in ability. smalling is a poor footballer. poor technique. poor positioning. poor focus. jones has excellent technique, poor positioning, great focus. he is simple too rambunctious.
I disagree with your assessment of Smalling. While he still has some ways to go, for me he's made great strides in the past year in plenty of departments, while Jones seemingly has gone the other way. I haven't completely given up on Jones yet and if he can really buckle down, perhaps there is still hope for him. As it stands, he needs to show it though because he's been a major disappointment for the past 2 seasons, pretty much like Evans has been.
It's kinda of a myth that he gets injured due to diving in or being reckless only. Most of the injuries he picks up are hamstring or groin type stains running or even jumping. It's all about staying fit for him and getting a good run in the team. Once he does his star will rise probably in the same way Smalling's did once he started to stay fit more and get a regular run at CB. He was actually fairly good in LVG's first season when he got a fit run in at CB and can see Mourinho liking him as well.
Jones has a decent ceiling (though it has been a while since we have seen it), but he also has a shocking floor, so he will be a good test for Mourinhos coaching abilities. Experience should tell us that in the EPL you need four good 6 foot centre backs - as it is a high attrition position injury wise. Also a few games during the season (such as West Ham when Carroll playing) we may need for example Jones on the pitch at right-back or CM to give us an additional player to defend crosses / set-pieces (much as Mou used Ivanovic). So for me there is a place for him in the squad after we make some CB acquisitions, just unlikely to be the starting eleven given his form.
Ferguson wasted him is what happened. We should loan him out for a couple of season to see if he can salvage his career.
he's shown no progression to his game though. then again the minutes in the shop window would be good if Mourinho deems him surplus
To be perfectly honest, it is an issue I'm very torn about. On the one hand, I agree that given where his career his at the moment, sending him out on loan at least for a season in a lower pressure situation could be what gets him back on track and ables him to finally start making the progress we've been desperate to see on his part. On the other hand, we are already short in experienced CB at the club as it is and as such, is it wise to send him away, when he, at worst, could prove to be a valuable backup? We've got some interesting prospects at youth level, but what are the odds that Mourinho will turn to the likes of Williams, Tuanzebe or Poole at this juncture anyway. Not an easy and clear cut situation any way one looks at it.
The only crime Fergie made with regards to Phil Jones is buying him. We would have gotten Varane instead who only joined RM since we had already bought Jones in the same window. Sigh.
And now Varane is coming close to being an ongoing sick like Jones which is sad as hes got loads of talent. More than Jones.
West Ham are eager to splash the cash if we are looking for a buyer. that said even a select band of championship clubs could pay double digits or close to it for him
I dont consider Rojo or Blind EPL standard CBs, Rojo is either just LB cover (or not EPL quality at all) and Blind is CM / LB cover. Especially in a Jose team. If we sell Jones we would need 3 CB this window which I dont see happening - 1 or maybe 2 tops. We have priorities elsewhere. I get that people dont rate some of our squad, but we have to keep some depth at certain position in our squad in the short-term.