Amen. We might need to sign a RB then since Rafael misses games from time to time.
How good is Chris Smalling?
- Thread starter Plechazunga
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Amen. We might need to sign a RB then since Rafael misses games from time to time.
Brilliant yesterday. Reminiscent of a young Wes Brown the way he flew into a couple of challenges.
Even improved on his usually erratic passing last few matches.
Even improved on his usually erratic passing last few matches.
What's with that Varela guy?
We should look at another RB otherwise we'll see Jones/Smalling playing there everytime Rafael gets injured.
He's wonderful in the air. I know he's tall, but he always seems to be first for every aerial ball. He times his leaps well, and has some serious hangtime up here. Almost Ronaldo-esque, but not quite as freakishly ridiculous.
Just keep him off the right flank, forever and ever.
Just keep him off the right flank, forever and ever.
Don't know too much about Varela but I'd guess that he's still too young. Someone else can answer that better though.
It's frustrating having Smalling right back though. So bloody frustrating.
Seeing Smalling, Jones or whoever plays there and isn't RB.
You can see them trying but it's plain obvious it's not working well for the team, really hope we sort it out this summer!
don't think we are going to spend on a RB anytime soon. moyes is most likely to be looking at a LB, CB and probably a couple of CMs this summer. as much as we don't like seeing smalling and jones at RB, i'm afraid that is going to be the scenario when rafael is injured.
Varela has what it takes, and below the first team it seems they are investing a lot in developing Janko too, so I think we'll be sorted for RB cover.
I sincerely hope Rafael is done being injury prone...If we are to move away from the "CB at RB" model (and we definitely should) we might need someone of a certain quality for backup: If Rafael goes and gets himself injured for a longer spell, it won't do to play Smalling or Jones there. Nor Valencia. But the latter could do a job as backup if Rafael stays reasonably injury free: For resting him - against lesser opponents - Valencia is a decent alternative, I think.
I stand by my comments, although they were a bit intense. He is a good defender, and on occasion a very good one. Straws shouldn't be clutched after a decent performance against the divisions bottom team. I maintain the view that on the ball, he is an absolute shambles. Will / has been found out against the better strikers.
A coward or shocking footballer he is not, and I regret saying that. Had been a long day
Thanks for retracting the coward and shocking footballer remarks. Anything else is personal opinion and fine by me even is I disagree with you!!
I still prefer Evans but the way Smalling patrols the air when paired with Evans is simply wonderful to watch. He somehow is the one to attack pretty much everything and wins pretty much everything. The one where he put it out for a corner in the second half by backing into his man and then standing his ground was great.
Yea, he had a few very good interceptions (hate using that term in football but you know what I mean) in the second half as well. Seemed to snatch the ball away from the attackers with ease. I think he could really benefit from a seriously good footballing centre half next to him. Evans is good in that regard, but always has a mistake in him. Hummels would be perfect IMO, although he's gone off the boil a bit the last 12 months.
I'd much rather have Jones than Smalling as a RB but he isn't a natural RB either.
Evans is better with the ball at his feet, but Smalling is a better defender. Better in the air, quicker across the ground, and a bit more aggressive.
Aye well its all subjective but I see smalling as better in the air, Evans as better at the rest.
Spot on. The only thing evans has on smalling is his distribution out of defence.. Smalling is a much much better defender. Evans is very overrated on here.
Leadership, reading the game, tackling, attacking, distribution, Evans is superior in them all. There's a reason moyes and Fergie preferred him.
Not true. Only attacking and distribution. Maybe leadership but I wouldn't even consider him a good leader. Everything else you want in a defender, you know like defending, smalling is better. Fergie and moyes prefer evans because he has more experience and because smalling has had to cover at right back.
Right, and moyes too. Evans is one of the few leaders we have where as smalling is quiet on the pitch. That's not even up for debate surely.
Irwinwastheking" post: 14972268 said:
Im not even debating with that though. Im saying smalling is a better defender, does all the things you want a defender to do better than evans.
Not this line of reasoning again. I'm sure there are reasons for why both prefer playing Valencia on the right, doesn't mean they're right. Also, I disagree about their reading the game and tackling - Smalling is an incredible tackler. Attacking and distribution fall under the same bracket, ie,offensive qualities, which I've already mentioned Evans is superior in.
No they don't. Distribution is passing, attacking is much more than that.
Also, comparing a right winger with a centre half is comparing apples and oranges.
I'm questioning the decision making of the managers, not the players, obviously.
Distribution/passing facilitates attack. What you've done is list a number of things that could be grouped together to extend your list of 'wins' for Evans.
Smalling is also in that catch 22 where hes not amazingly experienced and Evans is. But Smalling will never get that experience unless you play him regularly at Cb. The only way to fix any issues with Smalling is play him all the time and give him the chance to prove you right
Would you guys play Smalling alongside Vidic against Stoke? I think they are better in the air than Evans, and I do not want to sacrifice Rafael on the right back to accomodate a tall figure.
Distribution and attacking are two separate things. Attacking encompasses dribbling, playing slide rule passes, scoring goals. Distribution from a centre back normally means finding your midfielder or partner centre back.
I'm saying that the decision making of the managers with regards a right wing position and a centre back position are incomparable and as such your point was void. At centre back you play your best pair as their skills should more or less be equatable where as with wingers it's more of a tactical decision who to play.
Evans is the better player at the moment. You might say that's only because he's more experienced and maybe it's true but it doesn't change the fact that's right now he's a superior all round footballer and will on average do a better job than Smalling.
That may well change as Smalling gets more games though and that's fair enough. I'm a big Smalling fan and I hope he fulfils his full potential.
He's still suspended.
Evans is the better player in that he contributes to a more fluid game - he carries the ball better and his technique and distribution are better also. However, for pure defending skills, I would put Smalling above Evans - the comparison thus resembles that of who is better than Vidic and Rio...
He's better in the air. That's probably about all he has significantly over Evans.
I think this too. Interestingly, Evans has won 33/45 headers (73%) while Smalling has won 34/54 (62%) in the Premier League.
When the two of them play Smalling is the one who attacks the ball while Evans drops. That's obviously the pre designated roles and it works well for them. However what it also does is makes Smalling look like the player who was marauding in defence winning everything while Evans was quieter.
He also looks like an absolute tank, but I doubt that really matters.
As for Evans, I like it when he bursts forward with the ball, by far our most comfortable CB on the ball.
Would be more interesting to see who wins the ball more often in the air at CB rather than overall. As a right back you're not going to need to do it anywhere near as often.
When they have played together there have been games when Smalling took the initiative to attack the ball and win more headers and clearances and there have been other games where Evans has been the one keeping the ball out of our box more often. Thats largely down to who we're playing against and the fact that Evans is the senior man but also to do with the fact that Smalling sometimes isnt as aggressive in the air as you'd expect of someone his size.
Seniority. By the summer Jones signed, Smalling had just finished a great first season where he was first choice back up, started the derby etc, and the strong feeling was that Evans could be in his way iut after a poor season.
Logically, things would have continued from there, but by the time we played West Brom in the first game of the following season, Rio and Vidic were both injured but Fergie played Evans in the middle with Jones, instead of Jones and Smalling who at the time were considered better than Evans and England's future pair. For me, Smalling should have been allowed to continue his previous good season, but my guess is that having lost the two seniors, the boss didn't want the less experienced pair. Also, Rafael also got injured against West Brom and Evans can't play right back. This is how his run began, and credit to him for taking it. He's never been a better defender than Smalling though, I just think Smalling has been unfortunate to be overlooked often enough. His performances have rarely let him down.
#SmallingPlusOne
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Seniority 
We should get Steve Bruce back then.
We should get Steve Bruce back then.
Well up our goals from defence stat.Seniority
We should get Steve Bruce back then.
He's physically better in every department. Height/jumping, Accel and outright speed, strength too. Evans makes up for it with good positioning, But smalling is definitely the better athlete IMO.
This, pretty much. Everything related to physical attributes Smalling wins hands down. Evans is still a little light weight and still lacks a little pace compared to Smalling and Jones, although he has improved in that respect. If stats tell you that Evans has better heading stats than Smalling, then that tells you that stats only tell part of the truth. I would put Smalling up there with Vidic and Kompany in the air; Evans would fall slightly below Rio - gets the job done, but not dominant.
I would say it's because usually Smalling is tasked with challenging the bigger man. He will challenge Benteke or Crouch for example, where as Evans will mark the number 10 or the winger coming off the wing challenging the header.
Watch the Cardiff game to see how dominant Smalling was in the air, it was Vidic-esque.
That was basically my point also. He was terrific in the air against Cardiff, and arguably even better against Sunderland. Also, the way he is able to outpace players like Campbell, Sturridge, and even keep up with Agbonlahor gives him such a massive repertoire to his defending. Players as big, strong and dominant in the air as him don't tend to be as fast. Physically, he's probably overall the finest CB in the league.