[Archived] Phil Jones

[Roversider]

Bye bye Jonesy, hope you have a good career elsewhere, thanks for the £16 million.

Thats the last time I will bother mentioning him on this messageboard.

I support Blackburn Rovers, not individual players.

[lancashire]

Going from a team fighting relegation one year to the champions the next. I wish him the best of luck.

[DeadlyDirk]

His missus being supportive of him? Whatever next.

Not sure why so many are so adamant he'll be sitting on the bench next season. Smalling has had plenty of chances, Rio's knackered, Phil will get plenty of chances and I think he'll grasp it with both hands.

More money, chance to win trophies, champions league football and considering how the national team selection usually works you can bet he'll be in the next England squad.

He'd have been mad not to have wanted to go, if an opportunity comes your way in life you take it, you don't go waiting around hoping that another one will comes your way, loss of form, injuries, other players emerging, who knows what the future would have held for him.

[Stuart]

I think what worries me most about this is that the top clubs, who can afford the established stars (certainly more chance that we'll ever have), are now poaching the younger talent. (Presumably for the home grown rules).

But that means teams like us just don't have a chance any more.

The top 4's reserve teams will soon be better than the bottom half PL teams - if they aren't already.

Very depressing. Things like this can turn people off football.

[LWX]

Times like this i get disalusioned with football. Its obvious to everyone even his tit of an agent he wont plsy many games next season, which will be a stepnback for his development, rather than to play every week and come on leaps and bounds. Im on holiday and its really spoilt my evening

It's like everything in society, money talks louder than sense!

[Mattyblue]

I think what worries me most about this is that the top clubs, who can afford the established stars (certainly more chance that we'll ever have), are now poaching the younger talent. (Presumably for the home grown rules).

But that means teams like us just don't have a chance any more.

The top 4's reserve teams will soon be better than the bottom half PL teams - if they aren't already.

Very depressing. Things like this can turn people off football.

I saw this on a Sunderland msg board today:

' Think its beginning to dawn on people the realities for a team like Sunderland in the PL, we are destined to be a midtable side at best, maybe finishing 7th at very best. The financial reality id that we cany compete with the big boys unless Short fancies hoying 300-400 million down the drain.

Look how much it took Man City to make that push from mid-table to top four, £200 million odd on players than another £200 million odd on contracts. The figures are astounding and we along with a few other clubs just cant compete unless some rich arab takes over and decides to spunk a fortune down the drain. The likes of Villa, Everton have found out the past few years they cant make that final push for the top four places any more. We are in that same boat. It is the same for Stoke, Bolton, Newcastle, Boro in the past. We just cant compete when it comes to money

Like it or lump it what is happening today has happened to plenty of other midtable clubs in the past and will happen loads more in the future. The big boys simply cherry pick the best talent for there academies and the ones that slip through the net they buy further down the line with the promise to the player of better chance of silverware, playing with better players, playing in Europe, better international prospects and not forgetting offering more money because they can afford to. When thinking about them reasons can you blame any young player for wanting to make the move and further there career? I know I cant

Love it or hate it(and I ###### hate it by the way) this is modern premier league football'

Read more: http://www.readytogo.net/smb/showthread.php?t=598929#ixzz1OicTrid5

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Couldn't have put it better myself.

[Stuart]

Ironic then the Sunderland have never had it so good. The money they've spent in recent times to achieve virtual mediocrity (this season is the first time they've ever finished above Rovers - and that was on just in the last couple of games) beggars belief.

But the sentiment is right. I wonder where this is going to end? It has to surely end up like 1991 where ultimately Europe's elite form a breakaway league and the Sky money falls out of the PL - maybe even going full circle and bringing English league football back to terrestrial TV.

Apologies for dragging the Phil Jones thread off topic. But he started it!

EDIT: by "he" I mean Jones, not MattyBlue!

[J*B]

Hope he passes that medical. Hope his missus soon finds out that grass isn't always greener. Hope he spends years "gaining experience" and ends up being Chris Smalling's back up. Hope he gets dogs abuse when he returns to Ewood.

To do what he's done, and let Rovers fans believe, is nothing short of sickening. Far worse than Bentley, Bellamy etc. Years and years of nurturing, money spent and risks, and this is how he repays us.

Call me bitter, but he hasn't even given us a full season. Downright disrespectful, no matter the circumstances, to the club you "support".

[cravenblue]

Has he failed his medical?

[beanie]

Rumours are on twitter that he has failed a medical.

[Glenn]

Reports are saying it was Radio Lancashire that broke that he failed it. Seems an odd place for a story like this to break. Anyone listening to it ?

[Tom]

Loved this tweet:

If you failed a medical that Owen Hargreaves passed you must be clinically dead!

[Tarka]

You have got to be kidding me!

[cn174]

Reports are saying it was Radio Lancashire that broke that he failed it. Seems an odd place for a story like this to break. Anyone listening to it ?

I put it on but after half hour of listening to ronan keating, take that, 2x traffic and travel & a piece about a lamp festival somewhere in lancaster, i lost the will to carry on!!

[bob fleming]

Did they say where about's in Lancaster the lamp festival was Clare?

[cn174]

Did they say where about's in Lancaster the lamp festival was Clare?

they did actually - dolphinholme. saturday from 4pm, be there!!!

[Slinky]

I read that the reports of him failing the medical were wrong.

It's been a depressing day. Considering that United paid £29m for Rio Ferdinand, we've been robbed. If we also lose Samba, I do worry for our defense.

[bob fleming]

they did actually - dolphinholme. saturday from 4pm, be there!!!

Won't it still be light then? That's the problem with lamp festivals in the Lancaster and Morecombe area, they never think them through properly. I'll give this one a a miss.

Anyway, back to Phil Jones....

[chris]

You don't turn down a United move

Sadly I think he will just warm the bench he will not be in class of the current United back two for years maybe could take him 3 or 4 years to play regularly if ever, still very green.

I was much more sad to see the likes of Shearer, Bellamy, Duff, Sutton, Sherwood go then I am Jones because I think he is replaceable. Only a defender after all and not Hendry class yet.

[slough_rover]

I can see him playing as a defensive midfielder next season with Vidic and Rio still there. Once one of them moves on he will slot in at the back.

[bazza]

I'm hopping mad angry.

If we are to sell Phil to United we should have asked for 30 million; no less.

He is a future England captain IMO.

And what's all this, "We are not a selling club" Messrs Raos/ Venkys?????

You'd better do something good with your miserly 15 million................w....kers!!!!!!!!!!!

[RoyRover]

MAKES YOU SICK DON'T IT?

2:00 the most obvious sign he would leave any minute

The classic answer whenever someone is looking for a move is "I just concentrate on football and leave all the other stuff to my agent, blah, blah, blah." When you hear that you know you are in trouble. But talking about how he sees great things for the future with all the young players at the club and how he's a big part of it, just makes my stomach churn.

I share the same frustrations as those people who would have hoped that the guy would have shown more loyalty to a team that he says he supported as a boy, brought him through the ranks, gave him his debut, rewarded him with a new contract and got him back to full fitness after his injury problems. It's the exact same situation as what happened to Everton with Wayne Rooney. They spotted him, trained him, put him in the first team and only get one full season out of once he's decided that at the age of 19, he needs to be playing Champions League for some reason. The only differences are that Rooney was better than Jones and played right away, but did it right at the end of the transfer window leaving Everton no time to replace him.

If he were 22, 23 or 24 then it would be more understandable, but no less annoying. But at least we would have gotten a couple of seasons out him, in which time he would be an England international and that automatically means you can add £10 million to the price tag. He will warm the bench and when he comes back to Ewood, I hope he gets dogs abuse. But oh how lovely it would be for him to have failed the medical and end up with us for next season and feeling the wrath of the fans then. Little or no chance that it will happen, but it would be classic karma.

[mattyc2422]

I'm gutted too, but I don't know what people are trying to achieve by directing bitter and angry tweets at him. won't achieve anything.

[47er]

As Rovers fan of many years standing I've seen it all before-----Roy Vernon, Fred Pickering, Mike England (now there was a centre-half!) etc etc. Just grateful I saw as much of Dougie and Clayton as I did.

BUT IT STILL HURTS!!!!!!!!

Every time we build up a decent squad we go back to square one again. That's the life of a Rovers supporter. Still, I've got over it before and I suppose I will again. A tragedy that we haven't got a Hughes or an Allardyce to turn this situation to one of advantage.

[Roversi]

firstly, it was always going to happen, even if he had stayed he would of gone within a year. people say he will warm the bench but for instance smalling ended up playing 33 games in all competitions last season, thats 3 less than samba who was injury free last season. Phil will get games. being the same age as phil, if someone came up to me and offered 55 grand a week to play the game i loved, whilst playing with top top class players, under arguably the greatest manager of all time for possbily the biggest club in the world, it would be so hard to turn down, adding to the fact i wouldn't have to move, id still see my gf and best mates when i wanted. Jones wont have any regrets, he has earned the club he supports 16 million. good luck to him.