No point defending properly for 85 minutes (still had a few bad moments though) but going to sleep towards the end. Him switching off from that wide Bournemouth player could have cost us.
12
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 45
- Clean sheets
- 20
- Goals
- 4
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 4
- Status
Yeah, not his best game but apart from today he's been putting very assured displays all season and we won, so can forgive.
That’s just weird,mate.
I think he's been our best defender so far this season.
Jones has been significantly better imo.
Really? One of the standout things about this game was that he moved the ball significantly better, including a number of good forward balls. He was quite a bit better than Jones at that aspect today. Even his usual side-balls were generally in front of the player receiving it, instead of behind them like he normally does. If what he did today becomes his 'normal' then we have no issue there at all.
Smalling was probably our best player for the first half. Won absolutely everything that was around him, completely dominated everything in the air, covered a couple of times where Jones switched off and was even good with his distribution. Second half he wasn't as good, and there were a couple of semi-mistakes in the last 10 minutes.
I think he's been our best across the entire season and I think Jones and Bailly have had games that have been better, or periods that have been better. But I think over the course of the season Smalling has been in superb form and our best.
I only watched the second half, but his ball distribution looked immensely improved, which is strange considering Bournemouth pressed high up the pitch. He also showed great speed in catching up with Joshua King on the break after a corner (why can't we take corners?). He did switch off a couple of times in the last ten minutes. That one chance, however, down the left, he was hardly the only one who switched off. I think there was a reason why Shaw, who played well, was substituted at the end.
Think Jones has had a couple of games at a higher level of performance, but Smalling has been a steady presence all season it feels like. Good job too as it feels like he is the only CB who can stay fit.
The only defender who has managed to play a considerable amount of games in a row, whether through injuries or performance.
I can forgive him for switching off in the last 5 minutes of a match, especially considering it didn't cost us a goal.
Our other defenders have done things that have led to goals, and other mistakes and they are given leeway also so it's only fair.
Hopefully he'll get a rest now that Jones is back, can't risk him getting fatigued.
I can forgive him for switching off in the last 5 minutes of a match, especially considering it didn't cost us a goal.
Our other defenders have done things that have led to goals, and other mistakes and they are given leeway also so it's only fair.
Hopefully he'll get a rest now that Jones is back, can't risk him getting fatigued.
He has played almost twice as much football as Jones, so that alone deserves far more praise for Smalling who was available while Jones missed the busiest period of the season because he insisted on playing meaningless friendly game that got him injured. Jones hasn't played one minute in cup or CL.
Agreed, his lack of throwing himself about sliding all over the place probably doesn’t get as much peoples attention as some of the others. For me he is significantly the best defender and has been for the last year.
This. Someone criticized him for not doing last ditch tackles and throwing himself around
But he can't pass the ball as well as Harry feckin' Maguire apparently.
Good showing last night again, bar the mistake at 85'. Especially improved was the passing.
I kinda feel I'm always in here defending him along with @vi1lain. This lad gets way too much shit from the fans considering how steady a performer he is.
I kinda feel I'm always in here defending him along with @vi1lain. This lad gets way too much shit from the fans considering how steady a performer he is.
Yep. Smalling can't put a foot wrong, he's played for about 2 months in a row, been incredibly consistent making no mistakes that have led to a goal, despite having to nurse Lindelof and a variety of FB's.
But he looks awkward when he passes so we need to sell him.
The narrative around him is ridiculous.
After Sunday's game one would think he was the reason we lost to city. So many negative comments about him after the game in this thread
I think it's same in every thread. All our players are shit and should be sold, wonder how we are still in 2nd place.
If we were in the position of Man City people would still be bad.
feck just 2-1 against a Moyes side. Sell all our defenders they can't defend any set pieces. Delph is shit, Walker has no goals and barely any assists going forward we neeed something better. Managala just shit and Kompany always injured. Not to mention Ederson that error against Shaktar is just shit. We need to try to get in De Gea and some defenders from Man United.
Also our bench is shit we have no depth. Silva and De Bruyne carry us we are nothing without them. Sane so much hot and cold. Sterling not that great we need an uppgrade. Aguero in clear decline he is not the world class striker he once was. I know we are 11 points clear, but that is due to the rest being totally shit in this league. We need to buy 10 world class players to get going.
The reason for this is our lack of money. Pep has not got enough to go for Neymar, Sanchez and Mbappe. Need more funds next window or we will soon fall apart.
I think it's simple when judging Smalling. He can defend, he won't get out paced by many forwards, he rarely gets beaten in the air, plus he doesn't get injured like the rest. I honestly couldn't give a shit if he can pass the ball forwards - that's why we spent nearly 200 million on midfielders over the last four years. I doubted him as a defender when he had the really good period in late 2015; but since Bailly got injured this season, Smalling has come in and not disappointed. He's our best defender, simple as.
What is extremely frustrating to me is this whole narrative that "he's the problem". That because he's doesn't drive forward with the ball and take risks with his passing, he's the reason a team of 10 outfield players can't fecking pass the ball round and maintain possession.
In the meantime, removing him from the starting XI seems to not remedy that problem in the slightest and under LVG we had all this possession with him in the line up. So much scapegoating going on for what is clearly a whole team/coaching issue.
So little patience with fans these days and such keenness to point the finger to an individual player and yell "get rid". Like you say endemic of all the other player threads too.
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People stopped judging players by their roles and started rating them based on the extra qualities rather than main qualities for particualr roles. CBs are rated based on their passing ability when it's good to have passing ability but even more important is to know how to defend.
Smalling won't pass like Hummels, Pique but he won't lose the ball going for fancy passes. He just passes it to nearest midfielder and focuses on his role.
I’m quite perceptive then. Who would have thought. Also, didn’t Smalling play on the right side? So when he switched off, did he cover for Shaw and Jones?
According to Squawka:
Shots on our goal with Smalling - 3.6 per game.
Shots on our goal without Smalling - 2.2 per game.
He's a solid defender when others are injured but no-one should be saying he's our best defender. With all others fit he's last in the pecking order (ignoring Lindelof as he's just started), but still a very good backup to have.
I could add that he's started 17 games in a row and we've only conceded 11 goals, having played everyone in the top 6 in this period, whilst keeping 8 clean sheets.
You mean the first 5 easy games in the season against Swansea, Leicester, West Ham, Stoke and Everton (the only games he didn't play) versus the next 12 that contained all the games against the top 6 and no Pogba?
That's an atrocious use of stats. Shameful, almost.
The absence of Pogba also played a part in those stats too because we haven't been able to control games when he was injured
We "scraped past Bournemouth" which showed we are struggling. City scored a heroic 97th minute winner to prove they're the best team ever. Remember how crap we were when we last won the league...
If you look at the performances, rather than just the result, it's night and day.
City completely dominated Bournemouth and were constantly putting pressure on their defence (away). United sat back, lacked any form of creativity and only mustered two shots on target at home...
Drew this fixture last year. Midweek game after tough loss, big game at weekend, lots of injuries.
Great result. Will take ten more of those this season if needs be.
Great result. Will take ten more of those this season if needs be.
Plus the game against Arsenal where they shot whenever they were within 40 yards of our goal probably skews that stat.
Look at last season, the results are the same. De Gea is always busier when Smalling plays.
I'm not saying he's a bad defender, hes reliable backup, but as soon as the others can stay fit he will be a squad player.
Yeah, I’ve had a similar sort of debate with a guy on talking reds going on for about 2years. Apparently the sign of a good defender is crunching tackles and last ditch tackles. Being able to snuff out danger before you have to commit to something like that supposedly isn’t all that great.
The funny thing is Smalling does make last ditch tackles and blocks but only when he has to. Criminally underrated, most people would still probably rather sell him, even tho he’s been the most consistent and available player.
Also I keep seeing people talking about how his best performances aren’t in line with Jones, Bailly and Rojo. Probably agreed tho as he’s been a lot better than that lot. It’s just the way people perceive defenders, 1 good tackle or block now equals a good game.
When we win you've gotta look at the performance, when we don't though, the only thing that matters is the result.
This has been said to death since LVG became manager actually and it hasnt come to fruition. Smalling is the CB with the most minutes since Fergie left. I guess you think he'll be gone in January too
West Brom 1:2 Man Utd
Chris "Yeah sure I'll let you bring it down and turn without any challenge" Smalling.
Two great and important tackles in the span of 5 minutes.
Best defender in the team.
Best defender in the team.
Best 30 minutes of his season so far. Looks far more confident today.
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