[Andersons Dietician]

But when you go to games you can see he hardly communicates

See this is something I don’t think is true at all. You see him speaking and gesturing all the time. He takes ownership of situations as well.
I think at his best it was with Blind and he really stepped up and covered Blinds weaknesses. Knew what he could and couldn’t handle and adjusted appropriately.
Also not sure where this poor marking on set pieces thing has come from. got beat by Kompany because Kompany is just good in the air and good at attacking. Smalling was touch tight to him the whole way. Just so happens Kompany is a guy who can take advantage of half a seconds adjustment.

One on one was something he was lauded for when LVG was here and he was fast enough if the ball is played in behind he could deal with it. A few weeks ago he burned Rondon from a standing start when the ball was played inbehind him.

Anyway a lot of people say he isn’t a leader but he looks like the only leader in the team.

Also his supposed lack of ability on the ball is something that has been blown wildly out of proportion just so people have something to complain about. Gets ball, gives ball, he moves the ball on quicker than Matic and Pogba. He’s looked solid with the ball. If people expect a CB to skip past 3 then dink a delicate ball over the top then fair enough but that isn’t good defending. You’ve risked losing the ball and leaving the defence wide open by being out of position and to be honest the lack of movement within our team what are the CB’s supposed to do.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

When OT is particularly quiet, it's always Smalling's screeching voice you can hear. Reminds me of quiet home games from many years ago when Phil Neville was on the pitch. That voice, man. It could strip paint.

More seriously, Smalling always seems to be communicating. The quality of the communication can only be speculated on, but he's not a silent passenger.


The ones in the backline who need to work on their communication more than Smalling are Valencia and De Gea.

 

[criticalanalysis]

More seriously, Smalling always seems to be communicating. The quality of the communication can only be speculated on, but he's not a silent passenger.

I don't want this to be another Smalling bashing post but the gall of him pointing to Matic and others where to run/receive or pass the ball when he's absolutely dreadful in this respect is painful.

 

[MadDogg]

I don't want this to be another Smalling bashing post but the gall of him pointing to Matic and others where to run/receive or pass the ball when he's absolutely dreadful in this respect is painful.

Not really. As a centreback he often has a better view of the entire game and the position of everyone (us and opposition) than what Matic of somebody else coming back do. Giving his opinion on the best person to pass it to is a good thing. The fact that he's not a good passer himself doesn't mean anything.

 

[roonster09]

I don't want this to be another Smalling bashing post but the gall of him pointing to Matic and others where to run/receive or pass the ball when he's absolutely dreadful in this respect is painful.

Yeah in that case Goal Keepers should also stop shouting at defenders as GKs are not as good defenders as actual defenders.

 

[Acole9]

With a world class player alongside him I can definitely see a future for him. He's just not very good as the main guy/leader.

 

[yardieUnited]

I must be the only one to notice how often he gets dragged out of position

 

[el3mel]

Had a shocker tonight. Looked like a disaster waiting to happen but glad nothing happened.

 

[Bwuk]

Hands all over Arnautovic in the box.

 

[MadDogg]

Had a shocker tonight. Looked like a disaster waiting to happen but glad nothing happened.

First half yeah, he was struggling heavily. Second half he seemed to get himself (and Arnautovic) under control.

Pretty much the opposite of the rest of our team.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

There was a moment in the second half that summed up him and Lindelof a bit for me...

There was a ball pretty much exactly half way between the two, and instead of either just dealing with it, both pointed to the other to sort it.

It DID get sorted, but yeah, it seems like neither of them actually enjoy defending, and both would prefer it if someone else did the work instead of them. When Smalling does the work it's generally decent, but he dissent give you the sense that he's enjoying dealing with problems in the same way say Vidic would in the past.

 

[Bwuk]

There was a moment in the second half that summed up him and Lindelof a bit for me...

There was a ball pretty much exactly half way between the two, and instead of either just dealing with it, both pointed to the other to sort it.

It DID get sorted, but yeah, it seems like neither of them actually enjoy defending, and both would prefer it if someone else did the work instead of them. When Smalling does the work it's generally decent, but he dissent give you the sense that he's enjoying dealing with problems in the same way say Vidic would in the past.

Smalling made the shout and got a throw in by hitting it off the player. He should of let Lindelof knock it back to De Gea.

 

[Bobski]

Poor performance and I think it has been coming. Rotate the guy Mourinho, that was his 45th game of the season, and considering he did not start the season in the team most of them have come in a row. Give him a rest, freshen it up ahead of the Cup final.

 

[SteveW]

Poor tonight. Couldn't handle Arnautovic at all. Was due a bad game.

 

[Nytram Shakes]

i'll never understand how he doesn't get sent off every game.

 

[haram]

Didn’t deal with Arnautovic well, but was a bit more aggressive when Carroll came on.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Shaky first half vs Arnautovic but got to grips with it 2nd half and improved.

 

[wythyred]

He was crap.. Arnautovic had him on toast.

 

[Ekeke]

Had a shocker tonight. Looked like a disaster waiting to happen but glad nothing happened.

So what you're saying is, he wasnt a disaster waiting to happen?

 

[MikeKing]

i'll never understand how he doesn't get sent off every game.

Sent off for what? And also, why would you want that to happen?

Smalling looked very tired and slow against Arnautovic, who was the opposite and looked in great form. He won a few important duels but it's time to rest him now. We can't go into the final with him this tired, then we're fecked.

 

[kundalini]

Almost comically terrible. Arnautovic destroyed him.

 

[SteveW]

i'll never understand how he doesn't get sent off every game.

Sick of hearing this crap. He has 4 yellow cards this season. His career average is less than one yellow card in every 10 games. He is not a sending off risk, he does not consistently give away free kicks. He's a physical defender who knows exactly how much he can get away with and he does it well.

 

[Amar__]

Mourinho is afraid to start any game without him. Ridiculous how much he plays.

 

[#07]

Smalling made Arnautovic look like Leo Messi tonight. It may have been a mostly meaningless match but after handling Harry Kane its incredible how he managed to look like bambi on ice today.

 

[RonaldoVII]

Struggled in the first half when 1v1 against Arnautovic but the others did too. Looked far more comfortable against Caroll and didn't lose a header against him

 

[Bobski]

Smalling made Arnautovic look like Leo Messi tonight. It may have been a mostly meaningless match but after handling Harry Kane its incredible how he managed to look like bambi on ice today.

He looked tired to me, just not sharp in his movements. It is an excuse but there might be some validity to it, no need for him to play tonight, give the other guys a chance and keep one of Rashford and Martial in the team. Felt like the selection was as much about punishing that pair for Brighton as playing the game tonight.

 

[Devil may care]

Could have done with a rest in this game.

 

[Nytram Shakes]

Sick of hearing this crap. He has 4 yellow cards this season. His career average is less than one yellow card in every 10 games. He is not a sending off risk, he does not consistently give away free kicks. He's a physical defender who knows exactly how much he can get away with and he does it well.

Maybe your right, but I watch him and he is constantly all over players pulling shirts holding players. His game is so heavily reliant on this it is scary. By the letter of law he should basically be giving a foul away every time a player comes near him.

But maybe your right maybe he just know RS what he is doing. But it’s scary to watch invade the referee does decide to implement the rules.

 

[Micky Targaryen]

Maybe your right, but I watch him and he is constantly all over players pulling shirts holding players. His game is so heavily reliant on this it is scary. By the letter of law he should basically be giving a foul away every time a player comes near him.

But maybe your right maybe he just know RS what he is doing. But it’s scary to watch invade the referee does decide to implement the rules.

Agreed. I just can't understand how he could always get away with the constant shirt pulling and handling of opponents (No, I don't want him to concede penalties, in case anyone misuderstands), but yeah, I've seen penalties given for way less than that but somehow Smalling almost always gets away with it. Like in today's game when he was handling Arnautovic in the box when the ball was in the air, it was obvious for all to see but I don't know how the ref missed that.

 

[roonster09]

Maybe your right, but I watch him and he is constantly all over players pulling shirts holding players. His game is so heavily reliant on this it is scary. By the letter of law he should basically be giving a foul away every time a player comes near him.

But maybe your right maybe he just know RS what he is doing. But it’s scary to watch invade the referee does decide to implement the rules.

It's because it's very common especially when it comes to defending set pieces. Every defender do that and attacker too.

 

[redpatron]

mediocre like always, had a ok run of games when everyone was out. But his true form is showing. Needs to sit down, he ain't making the world cup. Shouldn't be in the FA final, Giroud going to eat him alive.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

mediocre like always, had a ok run of games when everyone was available. But his true form is showing. Needs to sit down, he ain't making the world cup. Shouldn't be in the FA final, Giroud going to eat him alive.

 

[Loublaze]

mediocre like always, had a ok run of games when everyone was out. But his true form is showing. Needs to sit down, he ain't making the world cup. Shouldn't be in the FA final, Giroud going to eat him alive.

Yes, the same way Salah and Kane ate him alive when they both played him twice this season AMIRITE

 

[Bobski]

How many pens has Smalling given away in his Utd career? For all that people panic about his shirt pulling it has been much less of an issue than some make it out to be. I remember that Newcastle game a couple of years back when he wrestled Mitrovic, but apart from that I can't recall any, maybe one at Chelsea against that Russian left wing back right at the start of his Utd career?

Others?

 

[Nytram Shakes]

It's because it's very common especially when it comes to defending set pieces. Every defender do that and attacker too.

I would definitely say Smalling does it more than most, both at set pieces and in open play

Agreed. I just can't understand how he could always get away with the constant shirt pulling and handling of opponents (No, I don't want him to concede penalties, in case anyone misunderstands), but yeah, I've seen penalties given for way less than that but somehow Smalling almost always gets away with it. Like in today's game when he was handling Arnautovic in the box when the ball was in the air, it was obvious for all to see but I don't know how the ref missed that.

yeah I don't want him to give away penalties either, but watching him defend is just scary he basically just grabs people when they try to get past him. I suppose it doesn't matter as long as he gets away with it, but my heart is in my mouth when I watch him defend.

 

[Ekeke]

I remember years ago defenders playing in Italy were hyped up and the most respected. They were all getting tight and holding shirts too. Smalling obviously needs to be careful and its better when both his opponent and himself are both jostling with hands on each other but I'm sure if it suddenly wasnt okay to defend that way and Smalling was punished for it, he'd stop doing it.

 

[Ashley R1+O]

Chuffed for him and DDG to get the bulk of the praise for golden gloves. What an absolute monster of a season for those two. The future is bright, Smalling+1 for the next five years until we bring Bailly and Lindelof through with Axel and Fosu getting even more time to develop. Big praise for Smalling, he's in a serious vein of form right now.

 

[Litch]

He always worries me when on the ball but in fairness to him, probably been our most consistent defender since Rio and Vidic left. Like said elsewhere, some players underrated by us cause we see them every week in a forensic way whilst other teams players, we just see the highlight reels. I think he heads the ball better than any defender at the club and definitely the most likely to score a goal out of all the defenders too. On forums we tend to focus on people's weaknesses and not their strengths. I think the question mark is too those who are next to him. I think England will be stupid not to take him to the World Cup....

 

[arnie_ni]

mediocre like always, had a ok run of games when everyone was out. But his true form is showing. Needs to sit down, he ain't making the world cup. Shouldn't be in the FA final, Giroud going to eat him alive.

A player like giroud is his bread and butter.

 

[Acole9]

I thought he was good overall but there was a few moments where he really struggled to deal with Arnautovic.