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Patrice Evra has been a familiar figure for Manchester United for many years now. He has made the left back position his own ever since joining the club from AS Monaco. Into his 7th season with the Red Devils, Patrice has won 13 trophies with the Manchester outfit and has been a faithful servant to Sir Alex since he made the move from France.
Evra a couple of seasons back, encapsulated all that was good about a modern day wing-back. Power, pace, agility he had it all; that coupled with his strength to hold off attackers and great tackling ability made him one of the world’s best. Over the last two seasons however, Evra has looked a shadow of that player. A distinct loss of pace, below-par defending and average judgement in the tackle has marred his game. Offensively he has been alright but as a defensive player, United need him to be much, much more secure at the back. This may seem harsh so do not get me wrong, Patrice is still a top quality player but I just do not believe a club competing for top honours in more than four competitions every season can afford the inconsistencies that Evra now brings.
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Notably Poor performances this season
Evra, this season itself has had more than a couple of shockers.
The loss to city rivals Manchester City is the first thing that comes to mind. Evra was all over the place throughout the game and he was largely at fault for the last two goals. A man of his experience is not expected to make such mistakes. Then there was Liverpool in the FA cup. Of course I’m talking about allowing Kuyt to sneak in and grab the winner right at the death. I remember watching United play QPR earlier in the season and Jamie Mackie taking Evra on and beating him each time. That trend continued when Evra was battered by Lennon when Untied visited Spurs. Sturridge too had Evra in the palm of his hand in the 3-3 draw at the bridge.
What was really troubling was that it wasn’t as if the attackers were significantly more skilled or pacey (with the exception of Lennon), it just seemed like Evra was a wee bit predictable in committing in the tackle and seemed a little off the pace. This criticism of Evra may seem harsh but it’s not uncalled for. Every player has his bad days and cannot be declared waning in form due to that, but Evra has been poor for a majority of this season.
Future
Evra will turn 31 next month and he obviously isn’t getting any younger. The problem United have right now is there are no LBs that are ready to give competition for Evra’s place in the starting XI.
Patrice Evra’s recent dip in form reminds me of then club captain Gary Neville, one of the Red Devil’s greatest ever defenders. Towards the end of his trophy laden career at Old Trafford, SAF often played Gary Neville more for his experience than his form or ability. Sure, Neville didn’t play week in week out like Evra does, but the theory applies when it comes to Evra. It is evident that Evra can no longer be expected to play 35-45 games a season at full fitness. Evra however, will most certainly be the first choice LB for another season. The only decision is whether the boss decides on someone like Fabio or Fryers to take over the reins or whether SAF will go out and buy himself a replacement.
Verdict
Evra has started almost every game in the premier league barring the first match of the season. This just shows the lack of options United have at LB. Lets not forget this is a team that hadn’t played the same keeper in goal for more than 12 games at a stretch for over three years (until just last week). Evidently, Evra is still by far the 1st choice LB but I think SAF must bring in someone to improve competition for that left back spot. Evra is suffering not only from a dip in form but also a bit of complacency knowing that Fabio is never fit for long enough and Fryers just isn’t ready to step up as yet. A little bit of competition ought to bring some of the sharpness and focus back to the Frenchman’s game. Hoping to see the Patrice of old reclaim his throne as one of the best left backs in the world.
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