Using a highlight compilation from 3 seasons ago as if that confirms your point
Listen, I don't know whats so funny mister as I told you very clear I could point you to specific games if you were to request that. You then choose to laugh because I posted a video, which wasn't aimed at you. I don't know how you dare to call anyone else lazy with that attitude.
That's form he's never reached again by the way and even in that season we were set up extremely defensively under LVG.
That is debatable. We were "defensive" in the way of having a lot of meaningless possession without committing numbers in attack yes, but the style of which we used to defend weren't actually a defensive low block. The times we did get exposed were often higher up the pitch with lofted balls or counter attacks and Smalling had a lot of defending to do in these situations. Due to the lack of pace and height of Blind he did most of the legwork dropping deep when exposed, as well as staying aggressive higher up the pitch when attacking. I can't believe you don't remember this. I also remember him slowly passing the ball around our own half and back to De Gea, with the rest of our team. Not a great memory.
Smalling is fine when he's set up in a defensive team but it's in set ups we're expected to be on the front foot and push high (ie our current set up) he comes up short.
I feel you are underestimating his flexibility here. In what way specifically has him being on the front foot defending caused a problem for us?
How many times did we do this under LVG and Mourinho? Not many.
So how would you know? You laugh at me posting a video from 3 seasons ago, but now you have to go quite a while back in time yourself to back up your own point here. If we're going by your own observations at least.
Although we have actually played on the front foot, at least in certain games these last few years, so you are wrong here, but maybe thats fine anyways.
Again that's not even mentioning his ability (or lack of) on the ball which is extremely problematic when we need to move the ball accurately and at pace.
That is because it wasn't what we were talking about at all. He isn't great on the ball, but it isn't the be all end all for a defender, even for a team trying to attack you know.