Jay McEveley

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He was excellent for the first half of the season and then struggled in the back half following his injury. Naturally the supporters went from not being able to praise him enough to slating him relentlessly.
 



coaxingstar71 said:
I'm preparing myself for a huge backlash of abuse and vitriol for this one.....

I can't really understand what everyone seems to have against Jay. I've been quiet about it as I've read many posts scorning him and that in most blades minds, he'd be one of the first out, but I like him (there, I said it). In fact, I'd go as far to say that last season, he was my favourite player!

I went to every home game bar about 2 and 2 away games and overall I thought he was one of our better players. To me, he seems to read the game well and has got good feet so instead of panicking and just booting it in the stand, he's preparing to turn and play the ball. I think he's a decent passer of the ball too, especially for a centre back. Ok, he has made a couple of mistakes but who didn't in the team last season? I was on the Kop for home games last season and most of the fans around me appeared to be appreciative of his play too, applauding as he regularly turned an oncoming forward and played a good ball.

What I do think, is that we didn't defend well as a UNIT, particularly at set pieces, a crime in this league, but I blame the coaching and tactics for that, certainly not one player.

So there you have it..... feel free to abuse, but please don't tell me I know nothing about the game having played it for over 25 years.
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Are you deluded or blind?
 
He isn't a Centre Half. Like a poor mans Roger Nilson - he is a left back who can occasionally cover centre half if the emergency arises, but he has a mistake in him.

The fact he had to play most of the season out of position is one of the reasons NC isn't still in charge of a championship club. That said with another year on him I would not have given him another contract.
 
i hope to never seen him in utd shirt again, or least at CB he cost us at spurs & he cost us twice at swindon that just off the top of my head, i cant lay the blame 100% at him because when he started he was alright & cloughs fault for thinking he was a CB. but i thinking he is just to old lets get a younger guy in
 
"As for Tel (and I might get a bashing here) - don't think he is good enough. Tries hard, but he always seems to be playing at his maximum. If we are to get out of this division we need a strong core, to then take up a division. If others think Tel is capable of playing a higher level, then fine - I don't. Being a footballer is not just about 100% (aka Monty) - you need other attributes. It isn't anything personal - not bothered which 11 play in the R&W stripes..............sorry WHITE shirts with a red pin stripe (couldn't resist that one!), I just want them to get better and make the team better and for us to progress. Just can't see that with Tel. The question with Tel is: can he improve? If not then he is not one of the 2 CH's we need - sadly."

Don't know if Terry Kennedy is good enough for the next level up but our defence last season was certainly better when he was in at centre half. For me he has a proper centre half's mentality, when the ball was in the danger area that was when he was in there snuffing it out. In comparison McEveley was never fully switched on to those situations, hence the number of sloppy goals we conceded, when the so called "centre halves" were then stood around, scratching their heads, looking at each other, wondering what went wrong. Not all McEveley, Basham or Alcock's fault as Clough insisted on playing them out of position, but still a problem that promotion teams don't have.

Centre half, all about taking responsibility and making sure danger is snuffed out. Proper centre halves have it, fill ins don't.
 
sheff_blade90 said:
i hope to never seen him in utd shirt again, or least at CB he cost us at spurs & he cost us twice at swindon that just off the top of my head, i cant lay the blame 100% at him because when he started he was alright & cloughs fault for thinking he was a CB. but i thinking he is just to old lets get a younger guy in
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McEveley is 6 days younger than Cristiano Ronaldo. Unless he lies about his age!
 
sitwell said:
I like him ,his confidence took a knock after his daft penalty give away at Spurs ,and some fans decided he should be scapegoat from then onwards.
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I agree, 'cause it's not like you to be scapegoating individual players is it ;)
 
The way I saw JM last season was as follows. The first game he played at CB (can't remember who it was against) he looked really out of place. Was consistently beaten in the air and looked like a fish out of water. However as the season went on he grew into the position. I thought against Spurs at WHL the whole defence inc him played really well and I could not see Spurs scoring except from a penalty. They seemed to have run out of ideas. I thought he was very unlucky with the penalty. The ball bounced very awkwardly. May be he was slightly in the wrong place but I do think that it could have hit any player as it did him. So I did not really blame him for "giving it away". It was not like a really rash tackle in the area (like Bob Harris on at least 2 occasions). I thought he continued to look quality as CH until later in the season when he had the shoulder injury. He was never the same again. NC played him when he was on painkillers and he looked awful which perhaps was not surprising but hardly his fault. However even when he was playing well we were always susceptible to give goals away at dead ball situations. Were they his specific fault? I don't know. However I agree that the defence as a unit did not play well. I would not want either him or Bash as CHs next season. We do need proper CHs not converted fullbacks and Bash will be excellent in CM.
 
true99blade said:
I agree, 'cause it's not like you to be scapegoating individual players is it ;)
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I have always openly admitted my dislike of a certain player ,and ones before him ,Long ,Hill ,MacMahon and further back such as Falconer Hayles and Richardson. I think everyone has at least one player they dislike ,I think it was warranted with all those but would never boo or slag a player off when hes playing even when Richardson gave 2 fingers to the kop.
I do think the scapegoating of Maceveley was unwarranted ,one mistake (a costly and stupid one admittedly) masked what was a good season he was having and he went a bit downhill from there.
When does disliking turn into scapegoating anyway ?
 
My measure of the player is the feeling of disappointment I had when I learned his contract extension option was taken up.

If he is the standard we accept then scraping into a play off place is what we are aiming for.

That's what 5 years in division 3 does for you.

If McEv makes more than 25 appearances for the Blades this coming season, we will not be getting anywhere near automatic promotion.
 
Surprised Clough didn't offload him at the end of last season, never looked comfortable at centre half.........oh that's probably why he retained him!
 
sitwell said:
I have always openly admitted my dislike of a certain player ,and ones before him ,Long ,Hill ,MacMahon and further back such as Falconer Hayles and Richardson. I think everyone has at least one player they dislike ,I think it was warranted with all those but would never boo or slag a player off when hes playing even when Richardson gave 2 fingers to the kop.
I do think the scapegoating of Maceveley was unwarranted ,one mistake (a costly and stupid one admittedly) masked what was a good season he was having and he went a bit downhill from there.
When does disliking turn into scapegoating anyway ?
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It's probably not the definitive answer, so don't all go rushing to consult your dictionarys but in my opinion disliking a player is a private matter for the individual and something you might share with your friends (or complete strangers on a forum) but scapegoating is actually airing your dislike at the match hoping the subject of your wrath will hear and know of your disdain for them.
 



coaxingstar71 said:
It's probably not the definitive answer, so don't all go rushing to consult your dictionarys but in my opinion disliking a player is a private matter for the individual and something you might share with your friends (or complete strangers on a forum) but scapegoating is actually airing your dislike at the match hoping the subject of your wrath will hear and know of your disdain for them.
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If that's the definition I have never scapegoated , the guys behind me do ,from Tonge via Monty to Doyle, I ll let you know who it is next season.
 
I'd say scapegoating is when you blame the player single handedly when there was quite clearly others to blame in the same game or same moment.

While McEveley was very dodgy at times he wasn't always to blame as we had many others who didn't do their jobs. What is apparent to me though is he can be nothing other than a back up for Harris, which isn't the worst thing because we don't have an abundance of left backs and he can certainly do a job in his NATURAL, yes NATURAL position. He's adequate enough for league one but we will need to look for much much better if we are to get up this season.
 
sitwell said:
If that's the definition I have never scapegoated , the guys behind me do ,from Tonge via Monty to Doyle, I ll let you know who it is next season.
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Maybe we should start a sweepstake just before the season starts, obviously after we've made all those marquee signings... :rolleyes:
 
Kenilworth said:
My measure of the player is the feeling of disappointment I had when I learned his contract extension option was taken up.

If he is the standard we accept then scraping into a play off place is what we are aiming for.

That's what 5 years in division 3 does for you.

If McEv makes more than 25 appearances for the Blades this coming season, we will not be getting anywhere near automatic promotion.
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Harsh. In the extreme.

He was superb up until his injury last season and was clearly still struggling with it on his return to the side. Give him a break.
 
Patrick Suffaux said:
Harsh. In the extreme.

He was superb up until his injury last season and was clearly still struggling with it on his return to the side. Give him a break.
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Pragmatic
Realistic
Truthful

Need better quality than him to improve.
We're not a retirement home for ageing footballers are we?
 
Kenilworth said:
Pragmatic
Realistic
Truthful

Need better quality than him to improve.
We're not a retirement home for ageing footballers are we?
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For automatic we do need quality players . Its not always a players age that bothers me . Its the routine for any players medical . Was the SP just two things-

Cough

Bend over and touch your toes.

Tick in the box , for both , and the players fit enough to sign on the dotted line.

UTB
 
Surprised this thread has such polar opinions.

The guy has had umpteen clubs since his career started and has never seemingly stayed anywhere more than a season or so. He is only just turned 30 and was released from a mid table Swindon side last season not deemed good enough. We signed him as cover and he ended up playing most of our games. He had some decent games but when it mattered he made big mistakes giving away needless free kicks almost every week. I am not convinced he is any better as a full back. Those thinking him (and likes of Alcock) are the answer and should even be close to first teamers should just watch the first 20 minutes v Swindon again. It was embarrassing (others to blame too of course) but they were outbullied, outskilled and out pace. This by a side that then got hammered in the final.

To give him another contract was a ridiculous decision. The type of ordinary, journeyman players remaining at SUFC are the reason why we are still stuck at this level whilst sides like MK Dons, Brentford etc signed young, hungry athletic players with potential to improve.

We need 2 solid centre backs. That is the priority for me more than anything else. Kennedy is sadly a crock. Brayford is not a centre back and injured. Collins also (see McEveley) is not good enough and we need to move on. McGahey showed nothing to me that he could go and be a player; even at this level (I work with a Tranmere fan who said they had to send him back he was that bad).
 
Kenilworth said:
Hmmmn
Out of character there, PS
I didn't moan, I stated an opinion that was contrary to yours.
If you disagree with it I don't have a problem with that.
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Nor I. The exception is when an opinion is harsh bordering on the ridiculous.

The trouble with football is that it shortens memories. I should probably allow for that in fairness.
 
Deadbat said:
Surprised this thread has such polar opinions.

The guy has had umpteen clubs since his career started and has never seemingly stayed anywhere more than a season or so. He is only just turned 30 and was released from a mid table Swindon side last season not deemed good enough. We signed him as cover and he ended up playing most of our games. He had some decent games but when it mattered he made big mistakes giving away needless free kicks almost every week. I am not convinced he is any better as a full back. Those thinking him (and likes of Alcock) are the answer and should even be close to first teamers should just watch the first 20 minutes v Swindon again. It was embarrassing (others to blame too of course) but they were outbullied, outskilled and out pace. This by a side that then got hammered in the final.

To give him another contract was a ridiculous decision. The type of ordinary, journeyman players remaining at SUFC are the reason why we are still stuck at this level whilst sides like MK Dons, Brentford etc signed young, hungry athletic players with potential to improve.

We need 2 solid centre backs. That is the priority for me more than anything else. Kennedy is sadly a crock. Brayford is not a centre back and injured. Collins also (see McEveley) is not good enough and we need to move on. McGahey showed nothing to me that he could go and be a player; even at this level (I work with a Tranmere fan who said they had to send him back he was that bad).
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The polar opinions vary from "McEveley is garbage" to "McEveley was decent before his injury and could be ok as back up".

There is general consensus that we need to sign two new centre halves, and personally I've advocated three.

Football fans in general are far too quick to dismiss players who've had poor spells though. Sometimes different tactics, a signing or three is enough to change the dynamics and balance of a side completely. It can suddenly make individuals perform better. This is easiest to see following managerial changes. Several players improved after Clough took over from Weir, Murphy being the prime example. The same happened when Blackwell replaced Robson. But it also happened for both of the great sides (03/04 and 05/06) that Warnock built, where a lot of individuals were written off the prior season.

Fans need to acknowledge that it can be very difficult to make a proper assessment of players during periods when the team is struggling to get the balance right, like we did last season.
 
Bergen Blade said:
The polar opinions vary from "McEveley is garbage" to "McEveley was decent before his injury and could be ok as back up".

There is general consensus that we need to sign two new centre halves, and personally I've advocated three.

Football fans in general are far too quick to dismiss players who've had poor spells though. Sometimes different tactics, a signing or three is enough to change the dynamics and balance of a side completely. It can suddenly make individuals perform better. This is easiest to see following managerial changes. Several players improved after Clough took over from Weir, Murphy being the prime example. The same happened when Blackwell replaced Robson. But it also happened for both of the great sides (03/04 and 05/06) that Warnock built, where a lot of individuals were written off the prior season.

Fans need to acknowledge that it can be very difficult to make a proper assessment of players during periods when the team is struggling to get the balance right, like we did last season.
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I agree to an extent but this is not about dismissing a player too soon. McEveley has had so many clubs and so many different managers. None have kept him for very long. He has bobbed around Champ and League One recent years and was heading down the leagues and no one signed him all last summer. He is a player that was regressing not improving. He is not someone who is going to suddenly after so many clubs going to suddenly really improve things and start moving up the leagues again! I could be wrong but I would be very surprised if McEveley is not playing League One (lower reaches) or league Two for much of rest of his career.
 
Deadbat said:
I agree to an extent but this is not about dismissing a player too soon. McEveley has had so many clubs and so many different managers. None have kept him for very long. He has bobbed around Champ and League One recent years and was heading down the leagues and no one signed him all last summer. He is a player that was regressing not improving. He is not someone who is going to suddenly after so many clubs going to suddenly really improve things and start moving up the leagues again! I could be wrong but I would be very surprised if McEveley is not playing League One (lower reaches) or league Two for much of rest of his career.
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He did well on trial at MK Dons last summer, but they decided against signing him. I think everybody agrees that he's not going to move up the leagues again. If his shoulder injury won't bother him I don't see much of a problem in keeping him for another year as a back up player. It was Clough who offered him that deal though. Ideally it should have been Adkins' decision.
 



Patrick Suffaux said:
Nor I. The exception is when an opinion is harsh bordering on the ridiculous.

The trouble with football is that it shortens memories. I should probably allow for that in fairness.
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The harsh reality is that he was part of a very poor defence last season and if he is to be the linchpin of the defence this season that would be a retrograde step. I see him as a back up to left back and a 1-2 game filler to shore up CB on the odd occasions we need cover.

As I say, if we harbour any realistic expectations of gaining automatic promotion this time around then McEveley cannot play more than 25 games - if he does then the collective quality of our first XI will be below the standard required to do the job.
Now you clearly disagree with my assessment of a player and I have no objection to that but to dismiss my opinion as bordering ridiculous because it does not coincide with yours is both harsh and bordering the ridiculous.

My memory is not short term either.
I remember a particularly poor defensive record at home coupled with a particularly poor record in attack. Lack of quality all around and lack of tactical understanding of what is required to achieve success in the third division. A recipe for mediocrity that some appear to accept with alacrity. Maybe my standards are ridiculous, maybe I should lower them eh?

That's clearly what 4 years of third division football appears to be doing to some.
 
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