[Steven Seagull]

Yet historical eveidence of this occurring when he's played in games where VAR is present is none existant. Complete bulls that's circulated as a truth...

How many games has he played with VAR?

 

[Oldyella]

Glad that we won't have to see him so often but we sell him at our peril. If Lindelof or Maguire get injured we will still need Smalling. None of Jones, Bailly or Rojo have shown they can be relied on to be fit when needed.

I think he may well be moved on. I would imagine Ole has been told that we have to move at least one cb on, and I think Smalling is the one we would actually have interest in.

 

[arnie_ni]

The way I see it, £80m not to have him starting is money well spent. He's a cup player now thank goodness but he should probably move back to Fulham or a top Championship side. It's going to be Maguire/Lindelof/Tuanzebe and Bailly (when fit) this season. Jones has been decent pre-season.

Bailly and Jones ahead of smalling? What planet are you on.

Smalling willl be our main back up and i wont be surprised if he is back starting regularly come xmas

 

[Ekeke]

Yep wont surprise me that our defense is exposed at the beginning of next season and we concede too many goals again, probably not as many as the beginning of last season but too many all the same and costing points.

We havent and it doesnt look like we will replace Ander with another big ball winner in front of the defense. Wan Bissaka should slightly relieve that because hes a big ball winner but he'll be on one side of the pitch not in the middle.

At that point will we fall back on Smalling like every previous season or stick it out with Lindelof with Ole risking his job? We'll see. One thing is for sure, Maguire wont be the one dropped with that pricetag.

 

[SteveW]

Wouldn't place much stock in anything Luckhurst says. He's an idiot who slates Smalling at ever opportunity.

 

[Jacob]

Smalling can't be good with us signing McGuiver. Ideally, his game time will be reduced to less important games.

 

[Ekeke]

Wouldn't place much stock in anything Luckhurst says. He's an idiot who slates Smalling at ever opportunity.

Besides its been at least the last 3 or 4 seasons where there have been rumors linking Smalling with leaving. He's still here

 

[RedPed]

Bailly and Jones ahead of smalling? What planet are you on.

Smalling willl be our main back up and i wont be surprised if he is back starting regularly come xmas

What planet are you on? Seriously you Smalling fanboys just need to let it go. This obsession for such an average player is just baffling. We conceded 54 goals last season. We need to move on.

 

[RedPed]

I think he may well be moved on. I would imagine Ole has been told that we have to move at least one cb on, and I think Smalling is the one we would actually have interest in.

How much do you think he would go for?

 

[arnie_ni]

What planet are you on? Seriously you Smalling fanboys just need to let it go. This obsession for such an average player is just baffling. We conceded 54 goals last season. We need to move on.

He's our best defender at defending. Every manager since fergie has started the season without him and everyone ends up relying on him because the others can't defend.

Lindeloff was also part of that 54 goals conceded as you are aware.

Id love him and Maguire to form a partnership, that can play from the back and all that, but if we start shipping goals lindeloff will be benched and it will be smalling back in, not jones or bailly.

 

[Amar__]

He will either be a third choice or starter in maximum two months. Selling him makes sense if we wan't to make profit, but leaving Phil Jones and Bailly as our backup option is a suicide.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Rojo is clearly the first one who should be out of the door, closely follow by Bailly (he’s injury is unfortunate, not because we can’t play him, but because we can’t sell him).

Smalling for all his supposed faults has been our best defender over the past 5 years.

 

[Adisa]

No chance he accepts going to Newcastle. I am not his biggest fan but he's better than that.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

He’s probably the only one that would command any real interest and fetch a decent fee not including Tuanzebe but surely you try and sell one of Bailly, Jones or Rojo first. The fact that Smalling has been our best defender for the last 5 years is by itself a tragedy but he’d be a great back up option to have over any of those guys and in all honesty I wouldn’t be surprised like many have said if he ends up first choice with Maguire at a point in the season.

Gets so much stick but he’s our best 1 on 1 defender.

 

[11101]

He's our best defender at defending. Every manager since fergie has started the season without him and everyone ends up relying on him because the others can't defend.

Lindeloff was also part of that 54 goals conceded as you are aware.

Id love him and Maguire to form a partnership, that can play from the back and all that, but if we start shipping goals lindeloff will be benched and it will be smalling back in, not jones or bailly.

Smalling doesn't come back in because he's this mythical brick wall of a defender, he comes back because the others can't stay fit. Hardly a ringing endorsement.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Smalling doesn't come back in because he's this mythical brick wall of a defender, he comes back because the others can't stay fit. Hardly a ringing endorsement.

What about all those times throughout the season when they were all fit and he still kept them out of the team?

 

[Oldyella]

How much do you think he would go for?

Depends how desperate we are to clear some squad space but surely hes worth 25mill.

 

[11101]

What about all those times throughout the season when they were all fit and he still kept them out of the team?

Because he's reliable. That's very different than being our best defender. But, it should be enough for us to keep him considering the rest are so unreliable.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

He's likely to be the other teams would actually buy, and could demand a decent fee, so it's understandable he might go, the only other one would be Tuanzebe, but even if he proves inferior to Smalling, I'd rather we give him a chance this season.

 

[RedPed]

He's our best defender at defending. Every manager since fergie has started the season without him and everyone ends up relying on him because the others can't defend.

Lindeloff was also part of that 54 goals conceded as you are aware.

Id love him and Maguire to form a partnership, that can play from the back and all that, but if we start shipping goals lindeloff will be benched and it will be smalling back in, not jones or bailly.

He plays because he's all we have. That's not very encouraging. No other top 6 side would go near him. Yet we're crying out to have him as a starter. I just don't get it. We should be looking to have top quality throughout the team not players that can do a job. Smalling may be 'decent' but he shouldn't be in a Man Utd starting XI.

 

[Havak]

I still think Chris will be finding his way into match day squads more than people are expecting here. I'd wager that at least in the Premier League, this will be the most often selected cop of defensive players:

de Gea
Wan-Bissaka Lindelof Maguire Shaw
---
Bench: Romero; Young, Smalling​

This will hopefully change towards the end of the season and going into the one after. Dalot will replace Young on the bench (he will leave on a free next Summer) and maybe/hopefully Tuanzebe develops well enough this season to become third choice for the next one. Ideally, Bailly and Rojo would be sold by then and a 5th choice Phil Jones would be looking for a move.

 

[Red_toad]

How many games has he played with VAR?

All FA cup, League cup and Europa Leagues he appeared in last season. How many penaities have been awarded by VAR against him is a more sensible question, I'd say zero, as it's an untruth.

 

[FromTheBench]

I would sell bailly and Rojo ahead of him.

 

[Mcking]

Rojo and Bailly should be the ones out the door. They are both injury prone and frankly terrible defenders. If Solskjaer is really looking to play like Pep Guardiola, then Smalling should be the fifth man IMO.

 

[Red_toad]

He plays because he's all we have. That's not very encouraging. No other top 6 side would go near him. Yet we're crying out to have him as a starter. I just don't get it. We should be looking to have top quality throughout the team not players that can do a job. Smalling may be 'decent' but he shouldn't be in a Man Utd starting XI.

Yet another lie, Arsenal have had a long term interest in him. He plays for United, so that 2 of the top 6. I fail to see anyone 'crying out for him as a starter' I see people who state he's a good defender and a limited footballer, which is an honest appraisal of him.

 

[RedPed]

Depends how desperate we are to clear some squad space but surely hes worth 25mill.

So our 'best' CB is worth up to half the amount that BURNLEY and BRIGHTON (let that sink in for a minute) defenders are being touted at? Even a Bristol City CB has gone for £20m.

 

[LawCharltonBest]

Smalling’s weaknesses have been obvious since Sir Alex. I don’t get why he doesn’t even try to improve.

Every time he has the ball I’ll say ‘side pass’ (because I’m sad) and he will 95% of the time.

Just try to progress the play ffs. It’s worse than Bale not even trying to learn Spanish

 

[Oldyella]

So our 'best' CB is worth up to half the amount that BURNLEY and BRIGHTON (let that sink in for a minute) defenders are being touted at? Even a Bristol City CB has gone for £20m.

They dont want to sell though. We really need someone off the books. Personally I wouldnt sell him at all, but I just cant see anyone wanting Jones or Rojo

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

So our 'best' CB is worth up to half the amount that BURNLEY and BRIGHTON (let that sink in for a minute) defenders are being touted at? Even a Bristol City CB has gone for £20m.

I love how condescending the phrase ‘let that sink in’ is.

Transfer fees are only one element of the cost of a player, wages are often equal or even more - you don’t just look at the transfer fee as a barometer of how good a player in, these are potential fees as well.

The cost of Smalling over Dunk or the City lad is likely higher over a 3-4 year period, and then he would have little residual value due to his age - let that sink in!

 

[RedPed]

Yet another lie, Arsenal have had a long term interest in him. He plays for United, so that 2 of the top 6. I fail to see anyone 'crying out for him as a starter' I see people who state he's a good defender and a limited footballer, which is an honest appraisal of him.

I said 'no other top 6' side so was excluding us already. And you only mentioned Arsenal (that interest was years ago under Wenger by the way) because they're arguably the worst from the top 6 at the moment. So that says it all really. And they would only go for him if they were desperate but the fans would go into meltdown because they all think he is shit. You wouldn't even dare link him with City, Liverpool, Chelsea or Spurs. Read the posts again. People are saying that he'll be in the starting XI within a few months.

 

[tonnas]

Rojo - Jones - Bailly should leave BEFORE smalling. TBHm Id keep lindelof and maguire as starters with smalling and tuanzeba as backups, sell the others

 

[-Supreme-]

I expect there'd be a few clubs interested in him, and he's reportedly on 80k a week so definitely affordable for most PL clubs.

Although he turns 30 this year but we should get £25m for him

 

[RedPed]

I love how condescending the phrase ‘let that sink in’ is.

Transfer fees are only one element of the cost of a player, wages are often equal or even more - you don’t just look at the transfer fee as a barometer of how good a player in, these are potential fees as well.

The cost of Smalling over Dunk or the City lad is likely higher over a 3-4 year period, and then he would have little residual value due to his age - let that sink in!

Transfer fees are a barometer of how desirable players are and their potential value to a team. That value comes from a perception of how good that player is. That's why United paid £80m for Maguire but NOBODY would pay £80m for Smalling. I would be surprised if he even went for £25m.

 

[Red_toad]

I said 'no other top 6' side so was excluding us already. And you only mentioned Arsenal (that interest was years ago under Wenger by the way) because they're arguably the worst from the top 6 at the moment. So that says it all really. And they would only go for him if they were desperate but the fans would go into meltdown because they all think he is shit. You wouldn't even dare link him with City, Liverpool, Chelsea or Spurs. Read the posts again. People are saying that he'll be in the starting XI within a few months.

Look historically how many times he's been written off and replaced by x player, only to end up back in the team as he's actually very good at defending and heading the ball. Or do you prefer to ignore history and focus on what he can't do. I can see why people whink he'll be back in. Hopefully Maguires heading ability will reduce the need for Smalling to play as much, but who knows, it's all gravy until proven.

 

[Red_toad]

Transfer fees are a barometer of how desirable players are and their potential value to a team. That value comes from a perception of how good that player is. That's why United paid £80m for Maguire but NOBODY would pay £80m for Smalling. I would be surprised if he even went for £25m.

In a world where Longstaff is 50 million and Dunk is 40 million, Smalling is certainly worth over 20 million. He'd be a very good addition to many Premier League squads.

 

[Revan]

Never been a fan of him and still think that he is an okayish player with many defects, but selling him while keeping Rojo, Jones and Bailly would be madness. If I was manager, I would have been tempted to sell both Rojo and Jones, make Tuanzabe fourth choice CB and then sell Bailly when he recovers. All three of Lindelof, Smalling and Maguire have good injury records, so I don't think that we'll need to have many defenders. At the very worst case we should now get rid of the useless Rojo, and then in January to sell one of Jones/Bailly.

 

[Ekeke]

Because he's reliable. That's very different than being our best defender. But, it should be enough for us to keep him considering the rest are so unreliable.

Actually being reliable on the pitch is the most important part of being a defender. Someone who messes up a lot is never going to be a top CB

 

[arthurka]

There are at least 3 that should go before him.
Bailly, Rojo and Jones.

 

[-Supreme-]

Never been a fan of him and still think that he is an okayish player with many defects, but selling him while keeping Rojo, Jones and Bailly would be madness. If I was manager, I would have been tempted to sell both Rojo and Jones, make Tuanzabe fourth choice CB and then sell Bailly when he recovers. All three of Lindelof, Smalling and Maguire have good injury records, so I don't think that we'll need to have many defenders. At the very worst case we should now get rid of the useless Rojo, and then in January to sell one of Jones/Bailly.

I hear this a lot on here where people are mad at the club selling certain players over the others...

It's not as easy to say you want and can get this player sold over the others, if there isn't any clubs willing to buy this player then there really isn't anything that can be done about it.

 

[flappyjay]

Smalling can't be good with us signing McGuiver. Ideally, his game time will be reduced to less important games.

He has successfully won his spot against everyone, I am sure he will fancy his chances