Why Phil Jones Will Star for Manchester United This Season

Manchester United have made a sluggish start to the season, but Phil Jones has been the star performer in Louis van Gaal’s new-look side.  Now in his fourth season at Old Trafford, this could be the year in which Jones begins to fulfil his potential.

Fresh-faced and up against a Chelsea side that went on to win the title, Jones made his Premier League debut for Blackburn Rovers in March 2010. The then-18-year-old was outstanding, dominating in the air and tackling hard throughout the game. It was an impressive display from the young defender, but even more so because he was up against an in-form Didier Drogba. The Ivorian bullied defenders in his prime, yet Jones was unnerved.

That composure marked Jones’ performances for Blackburn over the next year, and Sir Alex Ferguson saw enough promise to splash £17 million on the Preston-born defender in June 2011, per the BBC.

There was something symbolic about Jones’ debut for United. In the 3-2 Community Shield win over Manchester City in August 2011, Jones replaced Rio Ferdinand at the start of the second half.

It wasn’t quite a changing of the guard, since Ferdinand only left United this summer, but it was nonetheless a significant substitution. Ferguson, he hoped, had signed someone to take over from Ferdinand.

There are certainly similarities between the two. Ferdinand, perhaps the Premier League’s most technically accomplished defender of all time, was a remarkably composed player, rarely flustered. Jones is grittier, more rugged, but he too keeps his poise in even the most testing circumstances.

Ironically it was Ferdinand—and Nemanja Vidic—who stopped Jones from holding down a centre-back role in his first three seasons at Old Trafford. With those two now at Queens Park Rangers and Inter Milan respectively, the stage is set for Jones to shine.

Jones has starred in defensive midfield for United and is an able deputy at right-back, but it’s in the heart of the defence where he plays his best football. He’s strong in the air, confident in possession and he reads the game extremely well.

Putting all of that together on a consistent basis is—and will continue to be—his biggest challenge.

There’s no doubt that Jones has the makings of a world-class defender. He just needs to fine-tune his game to make the transition from good to great.

That’s why it’s important he plays solely at centre-back from now on, even though his versatility could prove handy in an emergency.

The point is that United have always had some of the world’s best defenders at the club, at least in the Premier League era, and the only way Jones can join that select few is by honing his game as a centre-back.

Of United’s three senior centre-backs—Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans being the other two—it is Jones who has looked most comfortable in Van Gaal’s three-man defence. Where Smalling has struggled and Evans has been erratic, Jones has been solid.

Against Swansea and then Sunderland, Jones began on the right-hand side of the defence. An injury to Smalling saw Michael Keane brought on at the Stadium of Light and Jones moved in the centre. Though United didn’t win the game, Jones was superb after that switch.

In the one game since, against Burnley, Jones played in the middle of defence. It was a subtle but important switch, because it suggests that Van Gaal has been impressed by Jones. His previous experience at right-back means the right-centre-back position is ready-made for him, but the middle of defence is where you need your most accomplished defender and perhaps Van Gaal has made that judgement of Jones.

If there’s one area in which Jones must get better—and quickly—it’s to improve his decision-making. Jones can make mistakes, whether it’s unnecessarily throwing himself into a challenge and getting injured or recklessly giving away a penalty.

The reason why Jones has impressed in the early stages of this season is because his decision-making has largely been spot on. Van Gaal is a coach as much as he is a manager, and there’s every chance he’s worked with Jones to eradicate the errors he’s prone to making.

For instance, in the two games that United have faced Liverpool in 2014—in the Premier League and the International Champions Cup during pre-season—Jones has conceded a penalty.

In March, he clumsily shoved Joe Allen over in the box and Steven Gerrard gave Liverpool a lead that United never looked like clawing back. Five months later, Jones stormed into a challenge and brought Raheem Sterling down inside the penalty area. Jones’ tenacity can work against him in instances like that.

In his first three United games this season, as well as two matches for England, Jones has exuded a level of control that has, at times, been missing. His performances have been extremely mature and belied his young age.

It may surprise some people to learn that Jones is still only 22 years old. He has so much of his career ahead of him, even though it seems as if he’s been around for ages.

On his day, Jones is a colossal defender. His energy and drive is endearing to United fans, who know that Jones could be a special player.

With Van Gaal in charge—a man who is obsessed with learning and improving—Jones can be expected to fulfil his potential, become a world-class defender and, who knows, one day be captain for club and country.


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