[11101]

When he was a 20 yo kid, 10 months removed from Maidenstone? Shocker that.

He had 4 years with them. He is 1 year younger than Evans and 3 years older than Jones. His final year under SAF was actually the one in which he made the least starts.

Fair enough players like Rio and Vidic are a distant memory and we'd even take a young Jonny Evans now, but lets not pretend Smalling has become a starter for any other reason than we have nobody else.

 

[MikeKing]

When he was a 20 yo kid, 10 months removed from Maidenstone? Shocker that.

I know. 20 year old defender hasn't improved in 8 years because he wasn't first choice 8 years ago. Makes sense

 

[villain]

No they aren't. They just confirm how deluded some United fans are. Smalling has been here for about 9 years now and we're still having these discussions about how good he is. If we have any player, and I'm not just talking about Smalling that would not walk into any of the top 6, then something is wrong, especially if that applies to a good part of the team.

You can look at the top 6 teams and reel off a list of players that you would happily take at United. How many of ours can we honestly say that about. Smalling is certainly not one of them. He may be a decent defender but the fact that so many are happy to accept him as the standard that we should be striving for is just baffling.

I was praying that Fulham would have come in for him when they came back up but no such luck. Still waiting for rival fans to prove me wrong.

Making fun of Smalling and Jones is banter that has turned into confirmation bias for opposition fans. They joke about how crap they are for the lols, because Jones makes funny faces and Smalling is lanky and awkward - then any mistake they do will get highlighted as reasoning for them being crap. They don’t actually care about any good performances they have, because they’ve already made up in their mind and can’t be objective.

Like someone said earlier - De Gea needed a solid 3 years of exceptional performances before he was universally considered to be better than Joe Hart.
Carrick didn’t get the recognition he deserves. Scholes was dropped for England in favour of Gerard and Scholes, Pogba was seen as worse than or comparable to Jordan Henderson etc.
Beckham, Cole, Neville went through long periods of being unappreciated by oppo’s. Even Ronaldo.

Opposition fans are a terrible metric and I can’t see why anyone would care what they think, they want to see us fail for years to come and won’t compliment us until we’re no longer a possibility for competition.

 

[Minimalist]

Smalling is our strongest CB for 1 main reason HES THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN HEAD A BALL!!!

I’m getting sick saying this to United fans. He’s the last CB that should be shown the door until they are replaced with quality

Every week I hear or read someone saying that Bailly - lindelof should be the partnership. This would not be suitable for PL football and would result in us having to play fellaini every game to protect them at set plays etc

Open your eyes people!

This.

He does the basics very well and he's also rarely injured. That makes him the last centre-back to be worried about.

Other posters misinterpret this as some sort of declaration that he's world class.

 

[Foxbatt]

He has played well recently. My biggest problem with him is his lack of leadership at the back. We see too many times Smalling going for a header along with another of his team mates. There is no call so we have two United players going for the same ball and the rebound picked up by the opposing team. Too many basic mistakes happening in defence.

 

[Red_toad]

Why is this the most recently active player thread?

As we didn’t concede a goal and couldn’t score, it’s obviously Smallings fault! Get with the program...

 

[RedSky]

As we didn’t concede a goal and couldn’t score, it’s obviously Smallings fault! Get with the program...

Yeah jeez @villain . Pick up that pitchfork and go for him.

 

[villain]

As we didn’t concede a goal and couldn’t score, it’s obviously Smallings fault! Get with the program...

Yeah jeez @villain . Pick up that pitchfork and go for him.

Ahhhh yes, pass me a spare pitchfork

 

[MikeKing]

lets not pretend Smalling has become a starter for any other reason than we have nobody else.

Well, he has become a starter because he has won it against his competition by putting in performances. He managed to get rid of his injuries or are playing through them more often, either way he stays fit to play for large periods of time which has given him more opportunities to prove himself, and in return his consistency has improved to that of a top CB. If you have talent, getting that consistency and reliability is what makes you. For a player like Smalling who lacks a few of the qualities that a modern CB is expected to have, to have that consistency in his defensive performances is what separate him from midtable run of the mill CB's. Does that make him top of the line world class? Not necessarily, but it makes him capable. It makes him valuable to big clubs, even if he is a defenders defender more than a Ramos type.

Hypothetical situation; If we get two worldclass CB's in and Smalling is second fiddle I don't think anyone would complain. I think however if Smalling won his place against one of them, it wouldn't be about how Smalling improved and won his place, but about how that other player wasn't really world class to begin with and we're back to "mid-table" level with Smalling, no matter how he plays.

 

[villain]

Well, he has become a starter because he has won it against his competition by putting in performances. He managed to get rid of his injuries or are playing through them more often, either way he stays fit to play for large periods of time which has given him more opportunities to prove himself, and in return his consistency has improved to that of a top CB. If you have talent, getting that consistency and reliability is what makes you. For a player like Smalling who lacks a few of the qualities that a modern CB is expected to have, to have that consistency in his defensive performances is what separate him from midtable run of the mill CB's. Does that make him top of the line world class? Not necessarily, but it makes him capable. It makes him valuable to big clubs, even if he is a defenders defender more than a Ramos type.

Hypothetical situation; If we get two worldclass CB's in and Smalling is second fiddle I don't think anyone would complain. I think however if Smalling won his place against one of them, it wouldn't be about how Smalling improved and won his place, but about how that other player wasn't really world class to begin with and we're back to "mid-table" level with Smalling, no matter how he plays.

Great post, especially the last point.

 

[11101]

Well, he has become a starter because he has won it against his competition by putting in performances. He managed to get rid of his injuries or are playing through them more often, either way he stays fit to play for large periods of time which has given him more opportunities to prove himself, and in return his consistency has improved to that of a top CB. If you have talent, getting that consistency and reliability is what makes you. For a player like Smalling who lacks a few of the qualities that a modern CB is expected to have, to have that consistency in his defensive performances is what separate him from midtable run of the mill CB's. Does that make him top of the line world class? Not necessarily, but it makes him capable. It makes him valuable to big clubs, even if he is a defenders defender more than a Ramos type.

Hypothetical situation; If we get two worldclass CB's in and Smalling is second fiddle I don't think anyone would complain. I think however if Smalling won his place against one of them, it wouldn't be about how Smalling improved and won his place, but about how that other player wasn't really world class to begin with and we're back to "mid-table" level with Smalling, no matter how he plays.

And that's exactly what he is. Capable. He's not useless just as he's not great. He's got more faults than simply on the ball skill but he's always fit and you know what you're getting from him. Personally, i think its settling for mediocrity. Just because he's playing most games for us doesn't mean he's good enough and its frustrating watching him at times.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

Smalling is our strongest CB for 1 main reason HES THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN HEAD A BALL!!!

I’m getting sick saying this to United fans. He’s the last CB that should be shown the door until they are replaced with quality

Every week I hear or read someone saying that Bailly - lindelof should be the partnership. This would not be suitable for PL football and would result in us having to play fellaini every game to protect them at set plays etc

Open your eyes people!

Yep.

I don't think even his biggest fans will say Smalling isn't able to be upgraded on, but even if we bought two world class centre backs in January (unlikely), neither of them are Smalling replacements. First and foremost they'd be Rojo and Jones replacements. If the two new signings perform as expected, Smalling would go down to 3rd/4th choice.

We are 3 or 4 quality centre back signings away from Smalling being ousted, purely because we have 5 centre backs and Smalling is significantly better than at least 3 of them, with Lindelof being close to his equal based on his much improved form (though he still needs to do it over a longer period, as Smalling has)

Smalling is always the one named who supposedly needs to be axed, which makes zero sense when he is currently the best we have. At least 3 of the 5 need replacing before Smalling. It'd be like saying we need to improve the midfield by replacing Pogba but keeping Fellaini and Matic. Obviously Pogba is a world class player, and Smalling isn't, but the difference between Pogba's quality and the other midfielders in relation to Smalling's quality and the other defenders is relatively comparable.

You replace your deadwood before your current starters, that's a no-brainer.

 

[Loublaze]

I don't. Just adding some perspective. And you're foolish to think that United aren't watched by mi!!ions of other fans week in, week out. Where do you think the PL revenue comes from?

Smalling reminds me of the Emperor's New Clothes scenario.

The majority of opposition fans don't watch us enough to make to educated opinions about our players. Their analysis is mostly biased and based on small samples taken from the few full games they'll watch us play, usually against their teams and other big teams. Most opposition fans will not watch a full United game against a minnow unless they tuning in and out in hopes of an upset. I tune in to a Crystal Palace-Liverpool game and the score is 2-0 to Liverpool im not wasting my time. Do you watch any of our opponents week in week out? Full games?

 

[automaticflare]

Cannot pass the ball big round house 10 yard slow passes behind his team mates. If no one else sees how bad this is you need to go get your eyes tested. He has some of the simplest passes on the pitch to full backs and he continually passes them behind them. I mean always. Every feckin time like. He is such a bad footballer. Even hai dumb fouls. I was done with him after the city game when he got red carded and he keeps making the same dumb fouls, barging in when there is no need. He is terrible.

 

[RedPed]

The majority of opposition fans don't watch us enough to make to educated opinions about our players. Their analysis is mostly biased and based on small samples taken from the few full games they'll watch us play, usually against their teams and other big teams. Most opposition fans will not watch a full United game against a minnow unless they tuning in and out in hopes of an upset. I tune in to a Crystal Palace-Liverpool game and the score is 2-0 to Liverpool im not wasting my time. Do you watch any of our opponents week in week out? Full games?

I watched Spurs v Chelsea yesterday and just finished watching Bournemouth v Arsenal and will be watching Wolves v Huddersfield shortly. Also caught most of the United Women's game earlier. Opposition fans watch us when we play them. They watch our players during internationals. Over the years that is more than enough to form an opinion on a player. During transfer season, we all have opinions about who we want to bring to the club. And what is that based on??

You really are a piece of work!

 

[FootyGirl88]

Smalling is our strongest CB for 1 main reason HES THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN HEAD A BALL!!!

I’m getting sick saying this to United fans. He’s the last CB that should be shown the door until they are replaced with quality

Every week I hear or read someone saying that Bailly - lindelof should be the partnership. This would not be suitable for PL football and would result in us having to play fellaini every game to protect them at set plays etc

Open your eyes people!

I agree - Smalling and Bailly can stay the rest need to leave

 

[MikeKing]

During transfer season, we all have opinions about who we want to bring to the club. And what is that based on??

Often word of mouth, youtube clips etc. Generally some sort of hype from football fans. And you should know that hyped up players doesn't always work out despite the thousands of "youtube scouts " opinion. I think you put too much value on the opinion of others, and also seek validation on your view in here from other clubs fans. Why are you on a United-forum if you don't think our opinion matter?

Also sometimes the hype during a transfer window can take a players reputation from unknown to famous just like that. Often totally unwarranted and normally these things happens because fans of other clubs want that player to be better than he is in the hope he can come to their club and solve their problems, and they fall for it easily because they haven't watched them enough. Countless examples of this

 

[Kag]

Why is this the most recently active player thread?

Speaks volumes about the intelligence levels of some of those who frequent the player threads. In defence, a lot of the posts are quite rightly praising Smalling.

@golden_blunder touches on it and it’s true. By virtue of being able to head the ball, Smalling is our best central defender. It’s always been the case.

 

[RedPed]

Often word of mouth, youtube clips etc. Generally some sort of hype from football fans. And you should know that hyped up players doesn't always work out despite the thousands of "youtube scouts " opinion. I think you put too much value on the opinion of others, and also seek validation on your view in here from other clubs fans. Why are you on a United-forum if you don't think our opinion matter?

Also sometimes the hype during a transfer window can take a players reputation from unknown to famous just like that. Often totally unwarranted and normally these things happens because fans of other clubs want that player to be better than he is in the hope he can come to their club and solve their problems, and they fall for it easily because they haven't watched them enough. Countless examples of this

Would you take him at Bournemouth? And who would he replace?

 

[Loublaze]

I watched Spurs v Chelsea yesterday and just finished watching Bournemouth v Arsenal and will be watching Wolves v Huddersfield shortly. Also caught most of the United Women's game earlier. Opposition fans watch us when we play them. They watch our players during internationals. Over the years that is more than enough to form an opinion on a player. During transfer season, we all have opinions about who we want to bring to the club. And what is that based on??

You really are a piece of work!

No sir, you are a piece work for giving credence to the opinions of mostly ABU scum who tend to be biased against United players, the same opposition fans who who are usually bereft of objectivity in their views of United players, even the better ones. Again, why do you give a feck what they think?

 

[golden_blunder]

Let’s keep it civil peeps

 

[R'hllor]

Have a question, my memory probably went full gold fish mode but did we have more solid/balanced CB partnership then Blind and Smalling or that was because DDG was on Godlike mode or us having tones of possession so they never were exposed as much.

 

[MikeKing]

Would you take him at Bournemouth? And who would he replace?

I am a delusional United-fan first and I support Bournemouth more in the ways of a second team than anything, so according to you my opinion doesn't matter. Oh how I wish I supported another club more so my opinion had more weight. Sillyness aside, Bournemouth would be even more of a force with Smalling in their side, just as David Luiz would be considered a heavyweight for a lesser team than Chelsea.

 

[Oldyella]

Have a question, my memory probably went full gold fish mode but did we have more solid/balanced CB partnership then Blind and Smalling or that was because DDG was on Godlike mode or us having tones of possession so they never were exposed as much.

Little bit of all of the above. Smalling and Blind were a pretty useful partnership and did well together, but we did tend to hog a lot of the ball limiting how much teams attacked us.

 

[Ekeke]

Have a question, my memory probably went full gold fish mode but did we have more solid/balanced CB partnership then Blind and Smalling or that was because DDG was on Godlike mode or us having tones of possession so they never were exposed as much.

By the end it was a decent partnership, but when Blind first went to CB it wasnt working that well and there were plenty of questions asked about it

 

[Frank Grimes]

So what major honour did Southgate win without Smalling?

I said even Southgate. I have not praised Southgate.

 

[villain]

Speaks volumes about the intelligence levels of some of those who frequent the player threads. In defence, a lot of the posts are quite rightly praising Smalling.

@golden_blunder touches on it and it’s true. By virtue of being able to head the ball, Smalling is our best central defender. It’s always been the case.

I think the problem is that a lot of people who defend him, feel obligated to do so because otherwise his performance threads end up being incredibly inaccurate otherwise.
He's obviously a polarising figure but it feels like some people actively want him to make mistakes just so they can say he's shite, rather than be objective or actually say nice things about him.

The only way general opinion about him will change is if he goes through an extended period of making basically no errors - you have people blaming him for Lindelof not being able to handle Kouyaté, being pushed and inadvertently handling the ball in the box, and slipping while running.
Even then, I don't think most would be happy.

 

[limerickcitykid]

Smalling is our strongest CB for 1 main reason HES THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN HEAD A BALL!!!

I’m getting sick saying this to United fans. He’s the last CB that should be shown the door until they are replaced with quality

Every week I hear or read someone saying that Bailly - lindelof should be the partnership. This would not be suitable for PL football and would result in us having to play fellaini every game to protect them at set plays etc

Open your eyes people!

Don't forget to pair Bailly - Lindelof with a Pogba - Andreas - Fred midfield too because you know, who the feck needs any balance or actual ability to defend.

 

[Leftback99]

Don't forget to pair Bailly - Lindelof with a Pogba - Andreas - Fred midfield too because you know, who the feck needs any balance or actual ability to defend.

It's worrying how many think that 5 would be our best combination of CB and CM and that we'd be top 4 even title challenging material with it.

 

[Murray3007]

he's never going to be a top CB but he's certainly not the worse CB about, he will have rash moments but that happens with the best as well, his best season since SAF left was with Blind beside him as he was clearly constantly talking to him, which is where the rest of our CB's lack leadership skills as well.

 

[Rossa]

Great performance tonight and at times excellent passing! Great pace to prevent a player clean through.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

MOTM... Looked way more comfortable with Jones next to him... I suspect because he is less worried about babysitting Jones so he can play his own game, but that's just a guess

 

[MikeKing]

One of a few truly worldclass performances since his LVG days. If he could play to his absolute top level like this every game, oh my

 

[Rossa]

MOTM... Looked way more comfortable with Jones next to him... I suspect because he is less worried about babysitting Jones so he can play his own game, but that's just a guess

Could be. Jones can handle himself in physical duels, so Smalling leaves him to it. With Lindelof, you can see that Smalling is more apprehensive.

 

[BrianMcClair'sBarnet]

Did well again tonight.
Also showcased his skillzz.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Yeah easily MOTM, seriously tho some of his passing tonight was incredible and he backed it up with another solid defensive display.

 

[AltiUn]

He was superb tonight, looked much better next to Jones than he ever has with anyone else, if Jones weren't made of glass I'd hope they could keep this partnership up. For me, that was Smalling's best performance in ages, he was calm in possession and dealt with everything so easily. His attacking headers leave a lot to be desired though.

 

[Bobski]

Poor old Mike will be suffering from PTSD after this season, probably be a rotating door alongside him for the rest of the season. Wakes up in a cold sweat on certain nights with flashbacks to McTominay and Herrera partnering him.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Didn't put a foot wrong today. Felt his some of his passing was excellent tonight, too.

 

[WR10]

Can we get a compilation of his passing in the first half? Absolute joy to watch that was.

He’s enjoying his football