Phil Jones is one of my favorite Manchester United players. There, I said it. He isn’t a club legend. We never saw the best he had to offer. He is infamously linked with the “Chuckle Brothers” moniker with Chris “Mike” Smalling. But I really liked him. Something about his potential, about the aura of what could have been that came when Sir Alex dared compare him to Duncan Edwards.
But we never got to see if that comparison was valid. There were glimpses, sure, and it’s not like he was injured all of the time. He was, though, never fit enough. It’s the nature of the business sometimes, especially when his issues were consistently with his legs. What sucked for Phil, and made his later years so hard to watch play out, was the vitriol. Harry Maguire is without a doubt the most ridiculed United player of the social media era—he certainly played his part in making that the case recently—but he has an England captainship to lean on, a promising career from Leicester, Wigan, Hull, and Sheffield United. Phil, thank God, has one Premier League championship to really lean on, and bench spots in an FA Cup and Europa League championship.
Because otherwise, he’s had to deal with this kind of bullshit. Imagine getting the opportunity to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, being handpicked by one of the most legendary managers to every grace a sideline, and having to delete your social media accounts because your body failed you and idiots decide to hold it against you.
And that’s what makes this departure so sad. When Jones made his return there in January 2022, it felt like a turning point. Not that he was going to be back to that player tipped to reach the top of the mountain, but just a squad rotation option, a feel-good player to help lead the team from the sidelines. Instead, it was more of his body failing him, then the decision by EtH (rightly) to keep him out of the PL squad this year.
Him leaving is the logical endpoint now. Is there a future ahead for him? I selfishly hope so. Shit, the Revs could use a presence like him in defense instead of what we’ve got going on now. In reality, this is probably the end of the line for Jones.
It’s sad it goes out with a dud like this. But sports are often cruel and leave those that play them broken, beaten, and scarred. All we can do is try to appreciate their efforts, and call them out when worthy.
Phil, I thought you were worthy of a lot more than you got. Thanks for everything, anyway.
“That was just a moment that I’ll never forget. It gives me goosebumps now, thinking about it. I mean I worked so, so hard to get to that stage of fitness. That was a huge, huge moment in my career and the fans, that day, were incredible. The love that they showed me for that game, the passion that they showed, was sensational. And I can’t thank them enough for that. They’ve been a constant support throughout my time here.”
Phil Jones, about the game against Wolves
Extra Kicks
Phil Jones’s story is interesting enough to know. Tifo Football had a good video after the Wolves game.
The FA is dogshit and always has been. I prefer when United players don’t go to England duty, they always come back hurt or unused when they could have been resting (Southgate gave Rashford 6 minutes AND KEPT HIS JOB). Jose Mourinho touched on it when Phil got pain injections to play a friendly. A fucking friendly.
Phil made God-tier faces
A Whately Devil 