The imminent transfer of Phil Jones from Blackburn Rovers to Man United looks to be the start of a summer squad restructuring process by Sir Alex Ferguson, with the likes of Wes Brown and Darren Gibson reported to be following Owen Hargreaves through the Old Trafford exit door any time soon. It’s the second consecutive close season United have purchased a young, English centre-back, with the club picking up Chris Smalling from Fulham last year.
Jones, however, is more adaptable; he started 24 games for Blackburn in 2010/11, playing in three different positions; centre-half, defensive centre midfield and centre midfield. It’s impossible to second-guess Fergie’s intentions as to where he’ll fit into the United side, but we can, at least, take a close look at his performances in both defence and midfield to see where Jones’ strong points lie.
Centre-Half
Phil Jones (6 appearances) average: 1.5 Tackles, 4.5 Interceptions, 9.5 Clearances, 1.16 Blocked Shots, 0.66 Fouls, 54.7% Aerial Duels won, 62.5% Pass Accuracy.
United Centre Half average: 1.68 Tackles, 2.36 Interceptions, 6.34 Clearances, 0.58 Blocked Shots, 0.84 Fouls, 66% Aerial Duels won, 81.6 Pass Accuracy.
The comparison shows Jones’ reading of the game is crucial to his play at the back; 4.5 Interceptions per game is almost double the United average- Vidic and Ferdinand both managed 2.6, though Smalling made as little as 1.4. Jones is compared more to Vidic than Ferdinand and their stats have definite similarities; when it comes to Clearances, the pair’s make exactly the same per match, 9.5. Put into context, Ferdinand make 6.5 and Evans makes 5.6, highlighting just how impressive that side of Jones’ game is.
When it comes to Blocked Shots per game, Jones put his body on the line to prevent a goal; his 1.16 per game is double the United defensive average, bettering Vidic’s best, 0.9. At the back, his tendency to make few Fouls is second only to Ferdinand. The latter makes a mere 0.2 Fouls per game, with Jones making 0.66. Vidic and Brown both average 1.1.
The defensive side of Jones’ centre-half displays stands up well against his soon-to-be team mates, but where he falls down substantially is in Passing and Aerial Duels. Jones’ distribution is poor, just 62.5%, with Ferdinand and Vidic setting the standard with 82% and 81% respectively. Jones is not the tallest just 5 foot 11, a reason why, when up against centre-forwards, he manages just 54.7% success in Aerial Duels.
Midfield
Phil Jones average (18 total appearances, 6 at DCM, 12 at CM))
3.45 Tackles, 2.79 Interceptions, 2.79 Clearances, 0.41 Blocked Shots, 1.24 Fouls, 65.5% Aerial Duels won, 58.3% Pass Accuracy, 0.29 Key Passes.
It’s clear Jones will add a new dimension to the United midfield- Fletcher and Carrick manage 3.3 Tackles between them, while Jones averages 3.45. In comparison to other midfielders, Jones’ Tackles (3.45), Interceptions (2.79) and Clearances (2.79) in midfield is more in line with the likes of ball-winners such as Marouanne Fellaini (3.4 Tackles and 3.1 Clearances) Alex Song (3.3 Tackles and 2.6 Interceptions), Nigel De Jong (3.0 Tackles and 2.7 Interceptions) and Cheik Tiote (3.3 Tackles, 2.5 Interceptions and 2.3 Clearances)- giving United the dynamic, battling ability in the middle of the park that was expected of Hargreaves.
With his defensive work so similar to the above-mentioned midfielders, how does the rest of his stats fare? Jones’ ability in the air succeeds in midfield far better than in defence, winning 65.5% of Aerial Duels- Song wins 48% and Fellaini 58%, as example of his success. At United, Fletcher and Carrick average 52% Aerial Duels won; Jones will boost that considerably. For a ball-winner, Jones is remarkably disciplined in midfield; he only made 1.24 Fouls per match, a lowly total when compared with Song’s 2.2, Tiote’s 3.0 and Fellaini’s 1.9.
It’s his Passing -once again- that lets Jones down, though. He’s not known for his creativity -managing a mere 0.29 Key Passes per game from midfield- but Jones’ Pass Accuracy, a lowly 58.3%, suffers poorly in comparison to others- De Jong has a 90% Pass Accuracy, Tiote 87%, with Fellaini, despite being the lowest of our four ball-winners with 77%, way ahead of Jones in terms of distribution. Playing in the United team will remedy this to a certain extent, but it’s clear that, regardless of where he plays, Jones’ passing must be improved upon if he is to seamlessly make that step up in class.
