Did well against Huddersfield. Now he needs to not go back into hiding against the next half decent opposition we face.
12
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 45
- Clean sheets
- 20
- Goals
- 4
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 4
- Status
He wasn't as bad yesterday. But the problems were still there to be seen. His passing was wayward as usual, and his plan A is to give it a hoof rather than play on the ground to midfielders who have made themselves available to him.
On top of that he had his usual calamity moment with his hand and could have given away a penalty.
I think people really want him to be this huge reliable defender, I do too. His mishaps and lack of overall skill mean he won't ever be good enough though, sure he has good runs of form but much like with Jones you're just waiting for that run of nonsense defending that costs us the big titles and trophies.
On top of that he had his usual calamity moment with his hand and could have given away a penalty.
I think people really want him to be this huge reliable defender, I do too. His mishaps and lack of overall skill mean he won't ever be good enough though, sure he has good runs of form but much like with Jones you're just waiting for that run of nonsense defending that costs us the big titles and trophies.
Now the midfield needs to not go back into hiding against the next half decent opposition we face.
Closer to the truth if we are real about the true problems in this team.
According to jose today , Rojo & jones are injured , that's the only reason why he played , same with all those games. god knows why he is the only injury free this season
Rojo is fit for more than two months now.
Despite the fact that he played him in almost every game for couple of months now?
3-0 vs Basel - Smalling played full 90 minutes
4-0 vs Burton - Smalling played full 90 minutes
4-0 vs CSKA - Smalling played full 90 minutes
4-0 vs Crystal Palace - full 90 minutes fir Smalling
4-1 vs Newcastle - Smalling played full 90 minutes
What a load of shite, you should just stop posting im this thread completely because you are constantly talking shite.
@Damien and other mods, can you ban these posters like him from this thread? This thread is turned into a worst thread on the forum because of @Antonedwin and people like him.
It seems Rojo's contract talks with United have stalled and some tabloids are linking him with a summer move to PSG (I don't believe this for the record). So Rojo is injured again? This just even further shows how much more valuable Smalling is to the team than the sicknotes Jones and Rojo at this crucial time just before the Sevilla game. Jones and Rojo are constantly on the sidelines when it really matters.
Wow, that's just a pure ignorance from you at this point. You do realise you are literally imagining things post after post just because you don't like Smalling?
Rojo is ready for selection for two months now, he's been playing in some games and he is on the bench in pretty much every game because of his form.
Also, Mourinho confirming they are injured again doesn't go well with your argument that he played him just because he doesn't want to play him against Sevilla, doesn't it?
Don't give yourself that hope. Either him or Jones will let us down the moment we need them the most, it's just the way it is.
When Rojo and Bailly went down injured before the EL final Smalling came through and kept Dolberg in his pocket. He's come through for United in crucial games way more times than the rest of our CBs
I don't really care about him handling a 19 year old striker or how is he compared to other bottlers in our team. They have all let us down on many occasions and should be told to feck off because of that. They are all about the same level (Rojo, Jones and Smalling) and we need better.
Who?
Easy to call them out, but actually finding top level defenders with high level ball playing ability is not simple.
Come on now, we are calling on upgrades on Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo not on Vidic and Rio.
And it's not that they are bad players they are just bottlers, they will always find a way to let us down one way or another. We know what they can offer and what not, and what they bring to the table isn't good enough for this club. I don't care if we give Tuanzebe a chance, or we go and splash 100m for a CB in the summer, we just need better CB than those 3.
You are calling for an upgrade to the best defense in the league. Some perspective needs to be had from quite a few on these threads.
They might not be great on the eye but our defenders actually do a pretty good job as the statistics constantly indicate. Our problem is getting our attackers signed for hundred of millions to function properly.
Smalling, Jones and Rojo are much better, even with their flaws, than most are willing to give them credit for. Look at the defenders who have been moving for substantial fees this year and there are issues with all of them, Van Dyjk has a mistake in him, Laporte is slow, Lindelof is soft.
No defenders will look great with a dysfunctional midfield in front of them. I am not saying do not replace the ones we have but we have to temper expectations on what we expect from a CB. They will make mistakes, even Bailly who most would pick out as our number 1 has issues with his game.
Smalling is the No. 1 defender in the best defensive set up in the league. And he never goes into hiding in any match (somebody actually wrote that!). He makes the least mistake of all our defenders. But agenda posters unfortunately don't watch actual matches.
The real problem is our midfield which shirks responsibility in crucial moments. The problem is also with our attackers like Martial who don't give their hundred percent all the time.
The real problem is our midfield which shirks responsibility in crucial moments. The problem is also with our attackers like Martial who don't give their hundred percent all the time.
I gave them enough credit up till now. You can check my posts on Smalling and Jones before the Spurs match, I rate both of them much higher than most on here, (Rojo not so much) but eventually they are not good enough. The goal they conceded in 10 seconds had nothing to do with the midfield or the tactics, fecking pathetic how hey were bullied by Kane. Than you have that stupid dive by Smalling vs Newcastle, and how he could have given away that stupid penalty if the referee did his job properly. There are countless examples when they have made appalling errors and I overlooked thinking they might get better with a manager like Jose, but that's not the case.
Bailly unlike these three has had a lot less time at the club and is much younger, no point comparing them as of yet. There is every chance of United fans hoping Bailly will improve, with Jones and Smalling you know this is the best from them.
The fact that we don't have a constant CB partnership and we are still the team with fewest amount of goals conceded, it's making me believe it more to do with the way we set out as a team, rather than the quality of the CBs. And as I said in the previous post, I rate them much higher than most on here, but I think we could do better and we should do better.
I don't think anyone would would deny that would do better and that goes for all areas in the team except the GK. The problem is that our defense gets a disproportionate amount of criticism when in fact it is best performing aspect of our team if you look at it objectively.
That first goal was on Jones and Young. Jones missed a basic header against Kane on the edge of the box that led to the goal. Young failed to track Eriksen and showed zero awareness. Kane had nothing on Smalling in that game. As a matter of fact, Smalling and Kane had a total of five aerial duels against each other and Smalling won every single one of them. If it was Smalling in Jone's position the first goal wouldn't have gone in.
LVG set up his team very differently, but Smalling played his best football there.
What annoys me is when posters such as you, above, go on about the situations and mistakes that COULD have led to either goals or penalties. If they don't, who the hell cares? It's not like other defenders get away with nothing, is it? I seriously doubt that Smalling gets away with more than other defenders - I just don't see it. I can understand why we, as United supporters, would get on Skrtel's back when it came to shirt pulling, but as long as Smalling gets away with it and he defends the box well, I really don't care.
Also, seeing as this is Smalling's thread, the first goal against Tottenham was Jones' fault and then whoever was ball watching when Eriksson ran through, so maybe not exactly Smalling's fault?
That being said, he was poor against Newcastle.
Spot on mate - but you, and me, know that there are a few posters who have agendas when it comes to Smalling, which I fail to understand seeing as he is a United player. He is blamed for other players' mistakes quite often. The thread is buzzing when he makes a mistake or there is a situation when something could have happened, but the same posters remain completely silent when he bosses a game. It's ridiculous.
If this is 100% true then the quality of CBs is not a major factor and we don't need to spend more money on quality CBs since anyone can probably play back there and look half decent in our system right? Why don't we sign Evans back for 30M or see if Shawcross is available this summer.
Indeed. None of his biggest detractors where here after his last performance. They hid in their holes and showed up a day later. No doubt that game has been removed from their memory for they will remind us how useless Smalling has been in every match this season.
Let's keep the perspective real, seeing as a lot of stats are being quoted here.
We have the best GK in the league, not the best defence. De Gea has made more saves this season than any other keeper. He saved our ass against Arsenal and in countless other games when he was MOTM.
Nothing to do with the defence.
Smalling has strikers like Kane is his pocket 9/10 times. These performances like Huddersfield are normal for Smalling; he was developed in the lower leagues and it shows with how well he deals with certain types of players and tactics.
However, as a top club we really shouldnt have to settle for someone that thrives in only one situation. For example, defenders like Chiellini and Bonnuci are fantastic classic defenders, but they are also very competent with the ball. Ramos and Pepe are another example; very difficult to beat in physical battles and 1v1s, but are also cultured with the ball.
What I do find amusing, is that some fans claim that Smalling isn't here on merit ('only plays when others are injured' for example). When IMO he is there because he provides attributes that are missing because our other options aren't very good. I think Bailly is the only one here based on his overall quality, whereas every other defender is used for specific situations.
However, as a top club we really shouldnt have to settle for someone that thrives in only one situation. For example, defenders like Chiellini and Bonnuci are fantastic classic defenders, but they are also very competent with the ball. Ramos and Pepe are another example; very difficult to beat in physical battles and 1v1s, but are also cultured with the ball.
What I do find amusing, is that some fans claim that Smalling isn't here on merit ('only plays when others are injured' for example). When IMO he is there because he provides attributes that are missing because our other options aren't very good. I think Bailly is the only one here based on his overall quality, whereas every other defender is used for specific situations.
Totally made up. Fabianski and Butland have to be up there.
Our defenders get criticism whenever they don't do their job properly. Giving away a goal in 10 seconds is one of those situations. As is a dive to win a free kick by a 1.95 physical monster.
I agree with that. How Kane handled both of them can't be described by the aerial duels won by Smalling. They were all over the place, panicking and generally reeked of insecurity for 90 minutes, zero organizations and command in that defense. In all honesty Smalling has handled Kane much better in the past, which adds to the disappointment.
And you know what annoys me with posters like you? The thing that you think because once or thrice we don't pay for stupid mistakes it won't come back to bite us on the ass one day. Because it does. That stupid challenge on the edge of the box would have been such a brain dead penalty given away. It makes you wonder why would a defender go to challenge there. It was a poor decision by Smalling, so was the dive. There are lots of other examples by either Smalling or Jones that could be described as the problem you are masking. You want another? Phil Jones scored an own goal against Chelsea away also, luckily it was ruled as a foul back then, why care about that when it could have happened but it didn't? Well this time it did happen. Or how about conceding a goal in the first minute against Chelsea last season, orchestrated by Chris Smalling and Bailly. Bailly is young and dumb, what was Chris excuse? Oh yeah injured.
Why couldn't you just say you checked the stats rather than making out as if you just plucked those names out of the air??
Yeah, so they are #1 and #2 now but De Gea is still at joint #2 with Butland. That's still disgraceful, whichever way you look at it.
So much for the fantastic defence!
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I said it several times, I rate Chris Smalling and Phil Jones higher than most guys on this forum and generally swept mistakes under the carpet up till that Spurs match. If I rank our CBs now I would still put Jones and Smalling as our best options, but eventually you and me know that they are not good enough. Take a look at the goals conceded, half of them are terrible defending and from set pieces. We had Rio and Vidic not long ago and now we put up with some circus defending, and people on here are preaching, how we can't upgrade on players like Smalling, Jones and Rojo.
Last one; have you ever broken your toe? I have - it hurts like hell, and I have no idea how Smalling was able to play at all - I could barely walk. No wonder he played badly!
Smalling doesn't make more mistakes than other defenders, at all - you, and some others, just seem to really pay attention to his. There was this debacle about Smalling making mistakes and getting red cards against the biggest teams, and then reminiscing about Vidic. So I did some stats checking, and lo and behold, Vidic' stats against Liverpool for instance are appalling, and yet Vidic was an absolutely brilliant defender. Smalling has made mistakes, for sure, but he's mostly solid apart from his below par passing.
His shirt pulling, for instance, is not something I'm concerned about as long as it is not punished and most other defenders also do it. The filming was stupid, but there is so much "defensive filming" where the ref buys into it that I'm not that concerned. Also, that was a free kick on the half way line - what was the issue? We should be able to deal with that. Why was Ritchie allowed to just run through on goal like that? Our midfielders are poor at tracking players.
The handball incident - there was VAR available, and still it was not punished, so what is the deal of bringing it back up?
Most of the shots de gea saves come from outside the box though don’t they?
It’s not like we’re carved open and he has to stop one on one situations 6 times a match.
Some of them were in here pulling some sh*t when Smalling made a small mistake, then went completely quiet as the game progressed and Smalling was bossing it. Hypocrisy.
You realize that's usually the case? Not just with defenders but all signings. You buy someone because they're a good player - if they succeed hinges a lot on how you play compared to where they came from (Falcao, Lovren, Pogba etc)
In Smalling's POTY case - we played with an ultra low risk possession based strategy. Conceded very few goals despite having Blind and Smalling as our CB pairing + plus DDG was there. It seemed a very micromanaged system and maybe that suits Smalling given he had quite a limited role and we kept the ball so much teams rarely countered us (we just never scored). FYI I don't think he's useless, he's actually a half decent out and out defender, I just think his overall ability is nowhere near elite level.
We concede the most shots against our goal from the top 6 and overall 9th in the league with 318. Concerning shots on goal against us, we are again the worst from the top teams and 8th in the league with 108.
Arsenal are a fecking shambles in defense and their stats are way better, but Cech has had a bad season so far.
I think it's insulting to our best player - David de Gea - in the last almost 5 years to say he has not had much to do this season, because we would be around the place Arsenal are right now if we didn't have him in the club.
I don't really care if he played with a broken toe or rib, if he wasn't in condition he should have been ruled out. Instead we were a goal down in a minute, and a game plan went out the window
He doesn't make any more mistakes than others. The thing is I don't want a regular CB quality at this club, I want the best. A CB that will bring assurance to the backline. A CB that will intimidate strikers with aura same as theirs. Vidic had that, Smalling will never have it. I would give 10 like Smalling for one Rio or Vidic.
I wasn't referring to that. Smalling made a clumsy challenge vs Newcastle on the age of the box that luckily for us wasn't given as penalty. The attacker was going nowhere just passing on the edge of the box and it was very stupid play.
I wasn't even blaming Smalling individually for any goal, just the lack of brain and quality among the three (Smalling, Jones and Rojo). I said we need an upgrade, and to say it again I've always rated Jones and Smalling.
Not long ago I was arguing that Smalling is better defensively that VVD, that should be a testament of how I rate him higher than most, but still I want better for this club.
You mean like in the Arsenal game? Don't want to derail thread as this is about Smalling performances but of course he has made loads of crucial one on one saves this season. I'll leave it there.
Imagine going to work and everyday your performance is analysed by millions of experts, most of which are calling you shit!
I’d refuse to have a smartphone or WiFi connection if I was a footballer.
I’d refuse to have a smartphone or WiFi connection if I was a footballer.
Okay, but are the shots inside or box or outside the box?
That’s all I’m trying to find out.
But that’s one game, it’s hardly representative of every game we play.
I can't find out any reputable sites for breaking down the GK saves depending on the area of the pitch the shooting occurs from. I remember a poster gave such statistics some weeks ago in one of the many threads we have on the Caf these days and DDG was on top for every single one, including shots inside the box and even in the 6-yard GK area.
DDG was on top for every single statistic?
I find that incredibly hard to believe, if you find the stats let me know
It was a comparison between the other GKs from the top teams. Obviously he wouldn't be number 1 in each aspect if compared to every other goalkeeper in the league, because there are teams that get absolutely demolished in defense.
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