Season 2021-22 Opinion Talking Points The enigma that is Jonjoe Kenny by John Keating | 05/03/2022 26 Comments [Jump to last] First off, I have to admit to being a fan of Jonjoe Kenny. In fact, I'm a fan of any locally born player. Kenny may not be the most gifted of players but he will always leave everything out on the pitch, unlike so many of our “gifted" players. Every team, including our past trophy-winning sides, are and have been constructed with team players as opposed to superstars. Recently, our boy has proved his worth and has produced good steady performances in unlikely positions. So what do we do? Is he worth keeping or do we let him go? I know my answer. Return to Talking Points index : Add your Comments » Reader Comments (26) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer John Zapa 1 Posted 05/03/2022 at 14:18:58 I'm surprised the club haven't offered him a contract, I think if he was given more opportunities earlier in the season, £12m would never have been wasted on Patterson Dave Abrahams 2 Posted 05/03/2022 at 14:30:54 Definitely worth a new contract, beats letting him go for free in the summer besides him being a very good squad player at the very least.I think he has done enough on the field and in training to impress his worth to Frank Lampard.I've got to admit being a fan of Jonjoe like John Keating who wrote the O/P but I wouldn't post if I didn't believe in Kenny's ability. Robert Tressell 3 Posted 05/03/2022 at 14:40:55 Very strange situation. I just don't understand why he didn't get more games here after that season with Schalke. He isn't brilliant - but he's much the same standard or better than others who have been playing regularly. The situation with Ukraine, money etc may mean we do offer him a contract because otherwise we may have to pay more (fees, salary, agent costs etc) to bring in the cover he's providing.I kind of hope he stays – and really hope he has a good careers. First class attitude Peter Mills 4 Posted 05/03/2022 at 16:01:24 I'm a fan of Jonjoe, have been since watching him in the junior teams, and for England at the same level. You know he will give his all. I fear he may fall into the Sandy Brown, Alan Harper category of player, excellent as a stand-in, great guy to have around, not quite up to the standard to be an automatic first pick on a regular basis. If I was his manager I think I would have to explain that to him. I would want him to stay at the club as a squad player, but if he wanted to go elsewhere for a first team game every week I would let him do so, with thanks for his efforts. Martin Mason 5 Posted 05/03/2022 at 16:07:54 Not contracting Kenny again could be seen as a facet of our motto but it would be as ridiculous as our motto itself. He is an excellent full-back either side and a perfect squad player. No, he isn't world class but neither was Sandy Brown and he filled many positions and gave many useful performances in a title-winning team. Jonjoe is much better than Sandy. Dale Rose 6 Posted 05/03/2022 at 16:16:09 Very surprised by this. Has always given his all, and of late has stood out as a good squad player. Been very impressed by him. Jerome Shields 7 Posted 05/03/2022 at 21:50:39 He has been really good recently. His left-back fill-in role has been seamless. He should be offered a new contract. He is being taken a bit for granted by the club. If he was half as good and they paid megabucks for him, he would have a new contract. Always puts in the work and effort. Mike Gaynes 8 Posted 05/03/2022 at 22:03:42 I'm with Pete #4 on this one, which marks a step up for me. Before the past few weeks, I probably would have let him play out his contract and move on. But at this point, assuming he's willing to be a squad player who be a sub for league games and start the early-round Cup ties, I say yep, keep him. Ian Bennett 9 Posted 05/03/2022 at 22:31:55 Depends what the lad wants really. I'd have him as a reserve but, if he wants regular football, he needs to move on.Full-back spots have badly planned out. Coleman is back-up only, Patterson doesn't look ready, Kenny looks like a lad who will be back-up for 5 odd games a season.Left-back is equally as badly equipped. We've sold an out-of-form Digne, no real left foot cover for a Mykolenko who has a lot to prove. And a lad out on loan, that has promise – but looks a fair way of Premier League quality.The recruitment team have let the club down here. Sam Hoare 10 Posted 05/03/2022 at 23:25:29 Not sure we've nailed the full-back situation. Spending around £30M on Mykolenko and Patterson continues to look like slightly panicked buying to me, though both could prove very useful in time.Kenny has been pretty solid for last few games and having reliable, hardworking, versatile squad players on low wages is always a good idea. Though perhaps he may have loftier ambitions. Ben King 11 Posted 06/03/2022 at 00:45:56 Kenny has been very good recently and, on that basis, given our finances and our current form, then he definitely deserves a new deal. He's been better at his job than Delph, Iwobi and some of the others are at theirs. But that really shows where we are now…. Bill Gienapp 12 Posted 06/03/2022 at 02:23:32 Kenny's never really made much of a case for being Coleman's long-term successor, but he's a perfectly solid Premier League backup. I never feel uneasy about him when he's pressed into service.He's exactly the sort of player who'd be ignored by the likes of Ancelotti, but can probably carve out a niche for himself under a manager like Lampard. Pete Clarke 13 Posted 06/03/2022 at 03:23:07 Jonjoe Kenny may not be the most gifted full-back but, as we all know, there have been plenty in the past who have gone on to win many trophies without being gifted. I give you the Neville brothers as an example. A lot depends on what Frank Lampard and his team can get out of players like Kenny, Davies, Holgate etc. With other decent players around the pitch, it can be made to work for players with pure effort and will to win, but the key in that is getting the other skilled players in. The restrictions around our finances will tell us where we are heading, I think, but – if we do go down – then it's players like Kenny who are the more likely ones to stick around and help us back on our feet. David Currie 14 Posted 06/03/2022 at 03:26:30 Kenny has been a bit unlucky with his lack of playing time, but under Frank he has performed pretty well. I watched him a lot for the England U21 team and always hoped he would make our first team. A good squad player and he is good enough for the Premier League. Alan J Thompson 15 Posted 06/03/2022 at 05:00:56 Everton should really be thinking what and who will be needed in 2 years time, wherever we might be playing. I'd have thought that full-back with Kenny, Patterson, Mykoleno, Nkounkou and even Godfrey (never mind any youngsters at Finch Farm) would be one position with which we might not have to be overly concerned or be paying massive wages. While the first XI is the priority, you do have to think of a squad of around 25 players. Danny O’Neill 16 Posted 06/03/2022 at 06:50:28 Those who bother reading my thoughts know that Jonjoe has represented a conundrum for me. A few years back, I wasn't convinced he was good enough to be where we wanted to be. I'll still maintain that.But I like him. He is committed and he is good enough to be part of a squad for where we are now. He gives us options at both full-back positions and as a wingback, where I watched him play for Schalke.For me, Pat van den Hauwe wasn't the best fullback or footballer. He brought attributes and was fortunate enough to have played in a great team. Phil Neville wasn't the greatest full-back or footballer, but he provided leadership, presence and influence on other players. You can see that Kenny is respected by the team and squad. In hindsight, he has been a victim of the continuous managerial revolving door and uncertainty that has plagued both players and fans over recent years. And in terms of development, it is the younger up and coming ones that have suffered from this more than me and my dogs.Maybe he was just a late developer. We all develop and mature at different stages in any walk of life.Keep him in my opinion. Although, given how the club he loves has treated him, will he stay? Dave Abrahams 17 Posted 06/03/2022 at 08:59:12 Danny (16), correct about Pat Van den Hauwe and Phil Neville, not the best but very good for the Blues, throw in Tommy Wright who wasn't even a full back, an inside forward, until he was given a chance there, then he got regular football under the demanding Harry Catterick and flourished there. I think Jonjoe will continue to improve with regular first team football. Kevin Prytherch 18 Posted 06/03/2022 at 09:14:46 Kenny has been the victim of successive inadequate managerial appointments….Koeman - signed Martina as cover - says it allSilva - didn't give a single youngster a debutAncelotti - always preferred established playersBenitez - see Ancelotti but worse. He was forced into playing Gordon because his performances embarrassed him to do so.Like others have said, if he isn't first choice then he's a very good back-up to have. Offer him a new contract. Ray Robinson 19 Posted 06/03/2022 at 09:28:32 Depends on whether he wants to stick around as a squad player, on the playing style we want to adopt, and the league we find ourselves in next season, my view is that he is loyal, solid, and dependable. Being local, I'd love him to succeed, but he's nowhere near the level that I'd want us to aspire to. It was rumoured Burnley wanted him – I think that would have been a great fit for him. Lee Courtliff 20 Posted 06/03/2022 at 21:57:27 Definitely should have been given more of a chance earlier. Before the Burnley game back in September, someone on here was posting about how Dyche would target Kenny, if he was playing, as he was our weak link!!I've never seen anything from JJK to suggest he's any worse than some/a lot of the others we've seen underperform on numerous occasions. He's not brilliant, never will be, but he's a decent player and seems like a good guy with the right attitude. Another P. Neville in the making who could turn out to be a valuable squad player. Jay Wood[BRZ] 21 Posted 07/03/2022 at 14:16:38 Nice interview with Jonjoe Kenny on the club site.Full of praise for the new management staff, in particular Frank Lampard himself and Ashley Cole.Kenny on Lampard's Big Impact Christopher Timmins 22 Posted 07/03/2022 at 14:21:09 I hope things turn out well for the guy. He has had a lot of people knocking him but he has kept going and hopefully is at the start of a long run in the team. Certainly based upon current performance levels he is a starter. Tom Bowers 23 Posted 07/03/2022 at 15:14:38 Let's face it when Everton lose and they have done a lot this season then most of the team gets stick and we all have our favourite whipping boys.Most of the players have undoubted talent but too many have shown an inconsistency that has put the team in a struggling position.One can only speculate how the season would have gone if the two main strikers hadn't missed so many games and especially as the stand-in's Tosun and Rondon have been unable to step up for different reasons.Apart from the odd decent games from those two who cost nothing (Townsend and Gray) we have been a non-entity going forward and then the onus has been on a defensive line that has proved inadequate against most teams. We have not been able to get many draws--(4) and a few more points in that column could have eased the situation a little.Perhaps Lampard can get the team up for it today as we did have a good time in the capital last season. Kevin Turner 24 Posted 10/03/2022 at 17:37:19 It's a no from me I'm afraid. I don't buy into this local player stuff anymore (I used to) but the cold hard facts are you have to add something extra to the team or squad and Kenny is average at best. The Premier League is all about pace and strength and he has neither. Not athletic enough to bully his winger and certainly lacking pace. You can coach players in positional play but you can't teach them to run faster. We've tried to develop him with a loan to Schalke and move to the Scottish Prem (doesn't that say something?) and neither worked out for him. Soren Moyer 25 Posted 10/03/2022 at 18:03:41 Sorry but, with the likes of Kenny, Keane, Holgate and an aging Coleman, this club is heading for disaster! Jim Wilson 26 Posted 10/03/2022 at 23:58:35 'The enigma that is Jonjoe Kenny' is quite simply being at Everton while we have had managers like Silva, Carlo and Benitez who haven't a clue.Kenny got into the team under Silva and after a slow start became one of our best players. After Seamus got back into the team he has been completely overlooked until Lampard gave him a chance and he has done remarkably well, at left back. And would play even better at right back! Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. About these ads Find out how to browse ad-free and support ToffeeWeb © ToffeeWeb