How good is Chris Smalling?

He loves playing Arsenal, doesn't he?

He was immense at Old Trafford against them and very good again tonight.

Great to see! Most natural defender at the club, he's only going to get better the more he plays. The news of Vidic's and Rio's departures should spur him on no end.
 
Defensively as solid as ever when at centre half, even had a decent cameo in a position where (for me at least) he is wasted.

A run of games in one position will improve his composure on the ball but I don't think its as bad as some make it out to be.
 
It still amazes me that some people doesn't think he's United standard. At this rate, he's more than United-standard; he's going to be world-class and he's not far from it in terms of defending.

An absolute rock, and even dominated in the right back role at times tonight. He's a gem.

Touching up still needs to be made on his passing, but I'm not worried about that.
 
He was also very good on the ball against Fulham - not just today. He's steadily improved over the course of the season.
 
Hernandez - BFA said:
It still amazes me that some people doesn't think he's United standard. At this rate, he's more than United-standard; he's going to be world-class and he's not far from it in terms of defending.

An absolute rock, and even dominated in the right back role at times tonight. He's a gem.

Touching up still needs to be made on his passing, but I'm not worried about that.
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Good post. He's an excellent defender, he really is.
 
Alock1 said:
He was also very good on the ball against Fulham - not just today. He's steadily improved over the course of the season.
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The perks of a player playing in his position for a few games. Imagine how good he, and Jones, would be if they played in their best positions on a weekly basis?

And still, there's a shower of clowns that would rather sanction multi-million pound bids on players that may or may not be better. These guys are the bollocks.
 
Moyes may be right about our 'next Vidic' but seriously Chris needs to fully stabilize his position in the defense and it's up to manager and no one else to guarantee him a solid run of games as CB.
 
He seems to have a new found on-the-ball confidence recently. He's always had the ability, as shown in his first season, but it's only really now that he's looking a lot more comfortable at bringing the ball forward.
 
nahealai said:
He loves playing Arsenal, doesn't he?

He was immense at Old Trafford against them and very good again tonight.

Great to see! Most natural defender at the club, he's only going to get better the more he plays. The news of Vidic's and Rio's departures should spur him on no end.
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Not just Arsenal, he's been very good lately when played in central defence. Was immense against Cardiff as well. I'd really like to see him given a proper run in central defence.

I might not have noticed this previously, but I thought he seemed more vocal today than he usually is (?) - if so, good signs!
 
Joemo said:
He seems to have a new found on-the-ball confidence recently. He's always had the ability, as shown in his first season, but it's only really now that he's looking a lot more comfortable at bringing the ball forward.
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Its cos his confidence has been on the floor until Moyes gave him a run at centre-half. Unsurprisingly with a little faith shown in him, Smalling has remembered to believe in himself. Imperious tonight.
 
Extremely impressive today. I still think we have to sign a quality centre back with Vidic leaving at the end of the season and Rio's tenure inevitably going to end.

That said, Smalling is an excellent defender and his ability on the ball, touch and distribution will improve exponentially with an extended run in the team. I have the utmost belief in his ability and he could be our mainstay, first choice centre back next season.
 
Smelling has been our best player over the last few weeks.

For all our defensive woes this season, I think all we need is one centre half and the unit of Evans, Smalling, Jones plus one is a very promising one.
 
Joemo said:
He seems to have a new found on-the-ball confidence recently. He's always had the ability, as shown in his first season, but it's only really now that he's looking a lot more comfortable at bringing the ball forward.
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Absolutely. I like his runs forwards. Evans carry the ball better and is more composed, but Smalling just has so much power that opposition players seem to just stand aside.

Also, at this stage, I think his our best header of the ball and arguably our best defender. Even at right back, players like Gibbs, Cazorla and Özil could get nothing from him - he is excellent one on one.
 
Our best defender this season...
Hope Moyes doesn´t waste him in RB..
I remember watching him vs Sunderland and thinking he´s just great at this defending stuff..
Since then he has been massive.
 
Normally smalling jones and evans would be fine to cover the 2 cb roles but evans and jones are so injury prone. Keane is a good backup but needs more experience. Its really hard to say...we may end up buying a cb and then evans and jones will be ever present
 
Excellent, very good in the air but also solid in 1v1s even against tricky players. Was really good both in the center and out right last night, really solid performance. Should definitely be starting for us on a regular basis, he's the future.
 
Anyone else a bit worried about his ability with the ball? It is becoming easy to see that he was playing in non league football not long ago.

I think he is an absolutely top central defender from a defensive point of view. However, I think in football these days you need your centre backs to be comfortable in position and able to bring the ball out of defence. Definitely got a place in our squad but I just don't think its as nailed down that he will be our future top choice centre back.
 
I mean as Vidic has shown over the years you dont need to be that good on the ball to be a top CB. Thats just something nice on top of your actual defending. Having said that I think he's improved his dribbling but still has that dodgy touch every couple of times he gets the ball
 
Ekeke said:
I mean as Vidic has shown over the years you dont need to be that good on the ball to be a top CB. Thats just something nice on top of your actual defending. Having said that I think he's improved his dribbling but still has that dodgy touch every couple of times he gets the ball
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Vidic was perfectly assured on the ball during his prime, rarely phased and kept it simple. Smalling tries to do the latter but has terrible composure
 
DanNistelrooy said:
Vidic was perfectly assured on the ball during his prime, rarely phased and kept it simple. Smalling tries to do the latter but has terrible composure
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He got flustered plenty of the time but just about found a teammate. Its not beyond Smalling at all
 
If you go back to his debut season in 2011 you'd find posts gushing over his composure on the ball. No idea how he's managed to decline in that area whilst being here.

He's still not bad on the ball when played at centre back, from what I can tell. People just perceive it as such due to the perception they've gained from watching him at right back where he's hopelessly out of his comfort zone.
 
Dominos said:
I reckon if you go back to his debut season in 2011 you'd find posts gushing over his composure on the ball.

He's still not bad on the ball when played at centre back, from what I can tell. People just perceive it as such due to the perception they've gained from watching him at right back where he's hopelessly out of his comfort zone.
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I should have mentioned that in my post. When he first came through he was brimming with confidence on the ball, seems to have regressed in that sense but I agree that being played out of position doesn't help at all.

He could do with investing in some studded football boots too.
 
DanNistelrooy said:
Anyone else a bit worried about his ability with the ball? It is becoming easy to see that he was playing in non league football not long ago.

I think he is an absolutely top central defender from a defensive point of view. However, I think in football these days you need your centre backs to be comfortable in position and able to bring the ball out of defence. Definitely got a place in our squad but I just don't think its as nailed down that he will be our future top choice centre back.
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Not particularly. I think he's better at bringing the ball out when he's at centre back. He will have a bigger space to bring the ball into and more options to direct his runs towards. On the flank, you're very limited as to where you can take the ball without running into touch, and his average at best dribbling certainly restricts that. It is a clear reason why he shouldn't be playing as a full back. He's a top defender, but he's not a top quality dribbler. He's good enough at it to be able to play the ball in central areas to a reasonable standard. He just doesn't have the tricky feet to retain the ball outwide when pressed. I think in the past 3 seasons, that aspect of his game has certainly improved though. He's still young for a CB, so I think that can improve more so.

As ropey as he has been at right back, I think playing there has certainly improved his ball-playing overall. It's gone from godawful to okay. I just hope we can get another right back so we can stop playing him there, and start giving him more games in the middle. Same goes for Jones. Buy a proper midfielder so we can let him play in his actual position.
 
DanNistelrooy said:
Anyone else a bit worried about his ability with the ball? It is becoming easy to see that he was playing in non league football not long ago.

I think he is an absolutely top central defender from a defensive point of view. However, I think in football these days you need your centre backs to be comfortable in position and able to bring the ball out of defence. Definitely got a place in our squad but I just don't think its as nailed down that he will be our future top choice centre back.
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I'm not worried about his technical ability. He's a poor right back, but I wouldn't use it against him. As a centre-back, if he has Evans/Jones next to him, I'm not too worried about his distribution, and as stated above, he's better running with the ball from a centre-back position. At right back, tight spaces aren't ideal for him and he lets himself down. His defending, however, has been excellent when he's started as a centre-back. You could make a case that he's a better defender than Evans: more athletic, faster, and stronger aerially. We need competition for Rafael because IMO we're not doing much for Smalling starting him at right back.
 
Dominos said:
If you go back to his debut season in 2011 you'd find posts gushing over his composure on the ball. No idea how he's managed to decline in that area whilst being here.

He's still not bad on the ball when played at centre back, from what I can tell. People just perceive it as such due to the perception they've gained from watching him at right back where he's hopelessly out of his comfort zone.
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Well the first thing to note is that it was pretty good composure for a youngster which is not the same as good composure. Standards are just different when the player is 20 years old having barely played any first team football. But the important part is that he gets nervous sometimes and has a bad touch now. Most likely because at 23 he knows that if he messes up there will be consequences. He's not a kid anymore, the recklessness of youth wont carry him. And at the same time because he's 23 he'll be feeling the situation as much as any other player in the squad. Unlike say Januzaj who still out to impress and make his name, not feeling the weight.
 
He's every bit as good at full back as Gary Pallister would have been...

Quality centre back IMO. Keep him there. Same with Jones.
 
sincher said:
He's every bit as good at full back as Gary Pallister would have been...

Quality centre back IMO. Keep him there. Same with Jones.
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:lol: Aye. If not better.

We have a problem, though. We have three young/youngish centre halves - Evans, Jones, Smalling - and we could have a partnership among 'em that's the dog's bollocks (with a first rate back-up to spare), but in the cold light of reason we don't know this. The ceiling (I hate that word but there you go) of both Smalling and Jones could be right where Jonny is now. And that isn't world class - it just isn't. We need something more than that if we're to sport a first rate defense going forward. We might have what we need - but it ain't certain.
 
Jury is truly out on both Smalling & Jones as top-class center-halfs. Both need a top-class center-half beside them to take instructions & even then, i'm not convinced in the slightest that they're good enough to win us honours. Gotta bite the bullet this summer & get 2 world class center-halfs in. I'd love Hummels & Thiago Silva if it were possible...
 
Chesterlestreet said:
:lol: Aye. If not better.

We have a problem, though. We have three young/youngish centre halves - Evans, Jones, Smalling - and we could have a partnership among 'em that's the dog's bollocks (with a first rate back-up to spare), but in the cold light of reason we don't know this. The ceiling (I hate that word but there you go) of both Smalling and Jones could be right where Jonny is now. And that isn't world class - it just isn't. We need something more than that if we're to sport a first rate defense going forward. We might have what we need - but it ain't certain.
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They're all injury-prone & will never be a patch on Vida & Rio in their prime - thats the standard we need again if we want to win important trophies. At this stage - Everton have more chance of winning a major trophy than we have.. Sunderland also. Still rippin about that & dont get me started on Swansea either... Pathetic season so far & also pre-season too - which people forget about. The signs were there in the summer!
 
There is risk but sometimes all you have to do is play them and they can get there. I think they have the quality... but that we will be looking to bring a more experienced centre back in the summer and rightly so

Full backs are more of a problem though.
 
Sorry for the quality in the second video (Vimeo only allows you to upload one HD video a week which is stupid). Two videos showing Smalling's composure when playing as a centre-back:


 
sincher said:
There is risk but sometimes all you have to do is play them and they can get there. I think they have the quality... but that we will be looking to bring a more experienced centre back in the summer and rightly so

Full backs are more of a problem though.
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The bolded part is essential for any young central defender coming up into the game. All of today's great central defenders were given a chance at younger ages at some level of first-team football. Smalling, Jones, and Evans all must get their regular match time at this stage of their career for them to be effective for us. You can't just dispose of them because their peak levels are uncertain. If young players show promise, they must be given time to develop and see if they progress.

From what I've seen of Smalling, he's definitely been progressing in all facets of his game. Sure, injuries have disrupted his progress in the past couple of years, but this season, when he hasn't suffered as many injuries, he's been great, defensively, and much improved, on the ball, due to his experiences at the right back role (even if they were uncomfortable for him).

However, just because Sir Alex played him there doesn't mean that Moyes should. Moyes has to realise, at some point, that Smalling is unnatural at that role. He needs to get a more natural right back either from within or outside so that Smalling can establish himself as a proper central defender for many years to come (hopefully).
 
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