Re: The David Jones Thread - Fergie: Jones is Keano's replacement!! Omar, whilst I see where you are coming from, I think you are being far too optimistic about so many youths making it here. Ngalula has far more than a 'bit' to do to get anywhere near a starting position as do most of the others you mention...you must consider the calibre of player in the United 1st xi...do you really think some of the players you mention have or will ever, have the skillset/ability to usurp/suceed a Ferdinand, a Keane/Scholes/VNR? etc. It is far more likely we will have to buy to replace and the youth (most of) will go off to other clubs.
Re: The David Jones Thread - Fergie: Jones is Keano's replacement!! The proposed front line makes me wonder: Has Fergie ever had a team in which the best lineup didn't feature a target type striker? Obviously Arsenal don't play with a target man but United does. Has this always been the case? If so, a front line of Ronaldo, Rooney and Rossi seems unlikely, even if Rossi makes the first team.
Re: The David Jones Thread - Fergie: Jones is Keano's replacement!! I cannot think of one. Perhaps this goes back to the "English" style of longish balls being played to the tall guy? Omar's lineup, I can see maybe half of that team moving on to become at least squaddies for United at some point in the future, but not the whole lineup.
Re: The David Jones Thread - Fergie: Jones is Keano's replacement!! Yorke and Cole. Not too far back eh?
Re: The David Jones Thread - Fergie: Jones is Keano's replacement!! That's exactly what I wanted to know. So Fergie can field a team without a target man. Maybe the future does include Ronaldo, Rooney and another (Rossi) buzzing around up front. *mouth waters*
Re: The David Jones Thread - Fergie: Jones is Keano's replacement!! sorry if i was a bit obscure in my post, what i meant to say is that the talent depth at united is so huge, that if the likes of eagles dont make it, we've always got lee martin and the likes of sean evans, you get me? i know that all those guys will not make it, but they have the potential to do well at a very high level, none the less.... tbh, i think that ngalula is 60% there, he has the physique and talent already, its just that consistency which he lacks, and that consistency will come with games, games which he will get when/if d.jones breaks through....
Re: The David Jones Thread - Fergie: Jones is Keano's replacement!! Oh no doubt. I think you warch as much reserve footy as me and I see where you're coming from with these players. But realism has to play a part in any forecasting and it would be revolutionary if so many got through to the 1sr squad. We often buy 10-2Xm pound players to keep us ticking over and that's because they have the quality needed to keep us at the top..I'm not as assured over the array of talent we have at reserve level as you are in the sense that to replace some of the best players in the world takes not just a good reserve but an exceptional one. I only see exceptional talent in Rossi, Jones(David), Blake, Campbell and after that I see a few players who could certainly play in the prem...but at United? I'm not convinced...yet.. they have a lot of developing to do...you have to be outstanding at reserve level to look ready for the bench at United...would you say these guys you are mentioning are outstanding? Honestly?
Re: The David Jones Thread - Fergie: Jones is Keano's replacement!! you dont think much of spector? i think he's the most developed of our youngsters...
Re: The David Jones Thread - Fergie: Jones is Keano's replacement!! My thoughts on each player are already in the youth thread.
Re: The David Jones Thread - Fergie: Jones is Keano's replacement!! Did you forget Pique or have you changed your mind?
Re: The David Jones Thread - Fergie: Jones is Keano's replacement!! forgot, kinda He's always been a 50/50 for me as far as EPL is concerned.
Re: The David Jones Thread - Fergie: Jones is Keano's replacement!! *bump* Well, Keano's gone, so when will we see Jones? Will he be able/ready to come back in January?
Interviewed Um, could one of you lovely mod fellows change the title of this thread to just 'The David Jones Thread' ?? David Jones interview Since a few weeks a new talented younster has arrived at de Goffert: David Jones. It's time for an introduction with the 21-year-old England U21 starlet. An interview with a youngster who has got all the ingredients to be a top player. Obviously the fans know a bit about you already, but can you introduce yourself to them? I was born in Southport, a Merseyside town near Liverpool. After a few years I moved to North-Wales where I grew up. When I turned 16 I moved to Manchester, because I was playing for them since I was 10 years old. I moved there because I started full-time training. Although I grew up in Wales, I consider myself English. What was the United youth academy like, because Dutch people always seem to think it is a tough time for a youngster. It is not considered that tough really, everyone knows when you start full-time training as a youngster, an apprenticeship, you are expected to clean the changing rooms, make sure all the equipment is there for the senior teams and tidy everything up. So there is a big barrier between the senior players and the youngsters? Not at United I would say. The manager, Alex Ferguson, likes to integrate both groups. In that case, if younger players come into the first team squad they will not be too much amazed by all the players on the pitch with them. Otherwise it could be the case that youngster will have too much pressure to coop with. So what happened in Breda, where all the younger players felt pressured because of the presence of van Hooijdonck, couldn’t be the case at Man. Utd? I wouldn’t say that is the case at Man. United. When Roy Keane was there, he was the captain and the main man. But you see him training and you chat with him all the time, so there isn’t too much of a barrier in that way. How is it for you to represent your country in the under21-squad for example? It is great to get that recognition as a young player, I’ve played a lot for the 21 squad and it is just superb. What did you think of your time in Preston, the first half of this season? Preston obviously was a new experience for me. I learned a lot but I needed a different kind of challenge. The football played in the Championship isn’t like great football. The passing and things like that isn’t the way I like to play football. The coaches at Manchester thought it would be best if I would get a new experience out here in Holland. The football is very different here and the style of play is good for me to improve my technical game. Rene Meulensteen, one of your coaches at Manchester, thought you already should have had a chance for the Man. United first team, have you got a good relationship with him? Yes, I’ve known him for a few years now and I started doing some individual work with him about two years ago. After training and before training, a bit of passing and other technical things for about half an hour. When the youngsters get like six weeks off in the summer, Rene and I used to do some extra work too. We developed a good relationship and he advises me how to improve my game and what to do in different situations. The extra training I do is just a thing I want to do. I came into football not to be an ordinary player, but to be a top player. Obviously I want to get into the Manchester United first team, since I was playing for them since I was ten. What did you already know about the Dutch Eredivisie and NEC in particular? I watched some games on Sky Television, it was always on in the middle of the night so I had to record it a few times. It is always good to watch a few games. I didn’t know much about the club really, except for some of the matches I had seen. What was the most important factor which made you decide to come to the Netherlands? Style of football, definitely and the standard of the football. I also knew a lot of people speak English here so that wouldn’t be too much of a problem considering the short term I’ll be playing here. It is important that I could communicate with people here. What do you think of the group, is there a nice atmosphere? A very nice group, everyone is supportive and they gave me a warm welcome here. Rutger Worm, showed me around a bit, because he knows the city. And what about the fans? I haven’t experienced anything like this at a club where I’ve played. I’ve, of course, been at United and Preston and those fans were good to me as well but nothing can compare to this really. The match against Sparta, the fans already sang my name before I kicked any ball. That support felt really good to me. What are your expectations for the rest of this season? We should be competing now for the fourth place, as we cannot reach the third place realistically. The fourth place is a realistic option I think. As an individual I want to develop my game as much as possible and of course score as much as possible. If NEC would be playing in Premiership or in Championship, which place would they be at? I think we should be able to hold down a place in the Premiership, you of course have the top teams as Man. United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool. But the bottom six to eight clubs would match us I guess.. Obviously there are a lot of differences between Manchester United and NEC, but have you experienced any similarities? Yeah, the philosophy of playing football. The fans at Man. United they expect obviously a win, but also a good performance. It’s quite the same here I think. Playing at Manchester makes that easier of course because you mostly have, by far, the best team. As a youngster you probably played a lot of games with Uniteds rivals, Manchester City and Liverpool. Which of those clubs is the real archrival in your experience? Well, I once was a Liverpool fan you know, but playing those teams as a United youngster is different. I know Manchester City is a massive game, but for me as a youngster the biggest rival always was Liverpool. Both games were the matches you really had to see. It is great to watch these games and to see how much it means to the fans, and the players, of both teams. Recently United won 1-0 last minute, Gary Neville ran to the Liverpool fans and to celebrate the United goal in front of them. I think if he would be on the stands he would have got killed. So Liverpool is United’s archrival, do you know who ours is? Vitesse! Was the biggest game for you as a player, also against Liverpool? As a youngster for me, it was the final of the FA Youth Cup. That is a big competition in England for young players. I was the captain when we won it. Especially for United it means a lot, the last time United had won it was with Beckham, Neville, Scholes. Many players who reach that final will be professional football players. Are you a natural leader or were you the skipper simply because you were the best player in that team? I would say that I’m not a typical sort of captain who shouts a lot on the pitch, like a Roy Keane type. I think it’s more in the way I play and how I play. I do like to be a captain, to be a teacher for the team. Some United fans already dubbed you the new Roy Keane, is that a fair comparison? I’m very different to Roy Keane. Of course, everybody is looking for the new Roy Keane, but he is impossible to replace. He had been in the United midfield for ten years, it is a big role for a player, also as a skipper. But I’m a different player and I want to put my own stamp on the game. It’s a big compliment if people dub you the new Roy Keane. I want to make one step at a time and I do not want to be carried away with compliment like that. Is the position of a midfield centre, the one you are focusing on in the future? Previously, before coming here, I used to play on the centre of the midfield. I do see myself playing as a centre midfielder in the future. From that position I like to go forward and score as many goals as possible. What do you think are your main qualities? My passing game and to dominate games. I like it when everything is coming through me, when I have lots of ball contacts and to create opportunities for my team-mates. My biggest quality, I think, is to dictate games, a real midfield playmaker. ** Hehe, pats himself on the back as I said the same thing in his strengths and weaknesess profile ** And what are the things that you should improve to be in United’s first team? Well, in the beginning of the season I wasn’t strong enough, but I learned that at Preston. I think I have the ingredients to get into the first team. I think it is the confidence of coming onto a pitch and be sure you are going to rule the game. I’m still to shy on the pitch. Have you always been a midfield player who scores a lot? Yeah, I think so. I’ve set myself a goal to score ten goals every season. A good example in this is case is Frank Lampard of Chelsea who is doing great, scoring lots of goals as a midfielder. What are your expectations for the future? Get into the United first team, hold down a regular place. Play for the international team in the big tournaments and to be recognized as one of the best midfielders in the world. I think you got to aim high. If you are in United’s first team, anything can happen really. I always look up to Zinedine Zidane, he is my idol and a good player to look up to. I want to try to accomplish what he has accomplished. In football you got to aim high, otherwise you will probably never improve. Football is a good game in that, because it is impossible to play a perfect match, you can always keep on improving. Which league, besides the English Premier League, would you like to play in? The Spanish league, definitely. And what is your favourite club, besides Manchester? NEC! Besides United and NEC? Barcelona, the history of the club, the stadium, the games I watched at an European level, magnificent! Will you be playing in Nijmegen next season? Still not sure, it depends on my manager back in England. If United wants me back next season, I’ll do that. It’s out of my hands at the moment really. But if Manchester doesn’t want me back yet, I’ll see what is the best option for me, to improve as a football player. Obviously it would be nice to stay because of the technical game. David Jones, Personal file Full name: David Frank Jones Date of Birth: 4/11/1984 Place of Birth: Southport Brothers/Sisters: One brother, one sister, both runners for Wales. Hobbies: Tennis, watching films and playing computer games. Favourite artist: Van Gogh, just kidding, P. Diddy and Michael Jackson Favourite song: I’ll be missing you Favourite movie: Godfather, all of them Favourite book: Biographies in general, the one of Bruce Lee in particular Favourite drink: Water Favourite food: Pizza Favourite car: Range Rover Favourite city: Chester Piercings/Tattoos: None, not in mind either Holiday destination: New York Football highlight: FA Youth Cup Final Worst moment: When I was loaned out, it was a big disappointment for me Favourite club: Besides Manchester and NEC, FC Barcelona Favourite trainer: Alex Ferguson Favourite player: Zinedine Zidane Favourite jersey: Barcelona Change in football: I like the controversy if a player is offside or not, or when a player scores a goal which hasn’t past the line. I would like the offside rule to be more clear. Article taken from a Dutch magazine and translated by a poster at the café.
Re: The David Jones Thread - Fergie: Jones is Keano's replacement!! Jones was a Liverpool fan as a kid! His musical tastes extend to P Diddy and Michael Jackson! I don't like the sound of this at all. Stuff like that should not colour your opinion of a player if he can do the business for your team, but he better turn out to be bloody good.
Re: The David Jones Thread - Fergie: Jones is Keano's replacement!! Holiday destination New York. Just let Jayro and I know when you're coming, son.
I was confused by the title because I thought it was a music thread featuring David Bowie. Anyway, I'm a little concerned by NEC's recent results. When they were playing well, I was more than ready to credit Jones. Now that they are struggling, I'm not certain who to blame.
tbh, I haven't a clue what's going on over there. Barely an update and seeing the results alone doesn't tell the whole story. It'd be the same as us going on a losing streak where somewhere in it there were performances like last years FA cup final etc, unless you see the games you can't really call it. As long as Jones is playing I'm happy. It'd be good for him to experience both highs and lows as well as learning to pick himself up after a bad game or two. In his formative years this kid has known nothing but success so I hope losing is teaching him about the other side of his game. Positives out of negatives and all that!
Hello everybody, Dark Savante asked me to give some info on how Jones is doing at NEC. I'll copy paste Darks list with strenghts and weaknesses and add what I can see. - Superb link up player. Brilliant at intricate plays which require sharp, one-touch football and passing with movement. Yup. It's a plus of the NEC side, they have some really technical players in there, and the four man midfield, in which Jones mostly plays at the left side, displayes some flowing football. - Controls the tempo of games. Not really. He's not the main man who does so at NEC, that's Paraguyan international Edgar Barreto. - Adept at playing defence opening passes. True, he's had some assists I think. NEC has one fast and one strong striker, and the faat one and Jones have been doing well together. - Superb leadership and stable un-flusterable personality on the pitch. Can't argue with that. Altough he isn't the real leader of the midfield, his game is steady and he is never involved in incidents or anything. - Scores goals from midfield. Very purposeful and skilful goals, not goalmouth scrambles and the like. Yes he does, 6 in 13 games, out of which two were penalties, one was a free kick and the rest were long distance efforts. - Has the ability to raise his game and fit in with those around him. He displays this by performing as good as he has, I guess. - An expansive player, his game grows as match goes on. Once he gets into a game he is likely to take over – you see his influence grow throughout the 90 He is not the only one, but yeah, he does influence the game quite a bit - Excellent under pressure. Releases the ball at the right time and into the path of team-mates when closed down by a lot of opposing players breaks zone play systems with this and often you will see he is no longer zone pressed because of his ability to exploit the gaps. He's good in the clutch, keeps sight of what's going on around him. Weaknesses: - :Lacks strength Not in the dutch league he doens't. He really isn't a leightweight I think. - He is not very fast, but neither was Scholes or Keane or Beckham for that matter.. He isn't slow either. - Lacks defensive bite because of his lack of strength. He plays more in the Scholes role anyway, but if he was at DM and had to make heavy tackles his bodyweight would be a problem. He doesnt play as a DM, as NEC have a very good DM. His tackling is good enough for someone who would play the scholes role. - His stamina is not great. He is not a tireless worker like a Fletcher or Smith, he takes breathers and then comes back into the play – I think this is due to his age and physique myself. He needs bulking up. I think bulking up would only bother him. He's present at all times in NEC games, doesn't display any stamina problems. - Hard games take their toll on him. I could be wrong, but it’s hard for me to envisage a player like David Jones being able to handle something like the current winter schedule with his physical make up, again he needs muscle mass to help him here. He needs time, not bulk. No 20 year old van survive that schedule. __________________ Hope I helped you lot out a bit. He does well at NEC, but i'd expect someone who is being groomed for the first team of Man U the next year to make a bigger impact at a club like NEC. He is important, his goals have been important, but he is not THE man. I think this is largely due to being here for only a short time. He is in England today by the way, to have a conversation with SAF, I just read that. It's about his future. If I hear anything i'll let you know. Next week i'm going to a NEC game, and i'll pay extra attention to him, so i'll give you an update next week.
Thanks for that post Joep and it would be great if you would post here and keep us all updated from now on. It's hard to get in-depth info on him whilst he is Holland btw, the strengths and weakness for him were done (or based on) over a year ago before he was loaned out to Preston in the English lower division. Also, Jones is a CM - it's even a surprise to me that he is playing so well at LM as he never played that role for the reserves. I think you'll see his true strengths exhibited if he gets a prolonged run in the team at CM. I don't think you'll see him take over games from a wide position. You hope he stays in Holland next season, we hope he comes back next season! tug-o-war
Well, maybe he is a CM, depends on how you look at it. NEC play with a defensive midfielder, and an offensive midfielder, plus two other midfielders. You could say they're play like this Jones---vd Doelen (DM)--Boutahar (OM)---Barreto but you could also say theyre playing like this -----Boutahar Jones------Barreto -----vd.Doelen Basically, both are true.
Jones is used to the United 4-4-2 which is -----CM----CM RM---------------LM Him being the bolded one. He's used to having a player on the outside of him in midfield and exploiting the space the outside player makes. If what you put up is how NEC play then he is kind of a cm there, but it's very different to what he's used to.
Well, I'll see how he does saturday against Heerenveen. Both teams are battling for the play-offs, so it should be good. I'll pay extra attention to him now I know it'll be appreciated.