Going to be a top class defender at the very least. Glad he chose us over Arsenal
How good is Chris Smalling?
- Thread starter Plechazunga
- Start date
I'm so confused right now. I know only one of Smalling and Evans can be a really regular starter this season alongside either Rio or Vidic, and I honestly don't know which I'd prefer. Both are excellent. I guess it's probably Evans right now, but I'm never a bit worried to see Smalling in there too!
I agree with Pexbo that Smalling and Evans together are the future and will dominate! I can't really see how anyone can put Jones in ahead of either of these two on current showings.
I agree with Pexbo that Smalling and Evans together are the future and will dominate! I can't really see how anyone can put Jones in ahead of either of these two on current showings.
My preferred CB pairing would be Vidic and Smalling. Rio has too many mistakes in his game these days and although Evans is very good at bringing the ball out of defence, Smalling just has that solid look about him and that presence in the air.
Evans is edging it over Smalling for me, and again alongside a fit Vidic I think we could bring that solidity back and go on a great run of clean sheets. If we were to put up 7-8 straight clean sheets I think we'd win the League.
For me it's not that hard to choose Smalling over Evans.
Glad we have both but I know who I prefer, not to mention I still think Jones and Smalling will be our long term pairing. (it'll take a while though).
Glad we have both but I know who I prefer, not to mention I still think Jones and Smalling will be our long term pairing. (it'll take a while though).
Smalling's needed for his aerial presence when Rio's playing but when we've got Vidic there I probably favour Evans just slightly.
Smalling hasn't really had an extended run in the first team, so it's difficult to compare him to Evans. However, I feel like Evans is more susceptible to horror shows than Smalling is. I'm not yet entirely convinced that Evans will be anything other than a decent Premier League CB, and I feel like Smalling is going to be top, top class in a few years time. But I might be wrong.
Jonny's already much more than just a good prem CB. He's class.
Evans has proved his class so many times that it is amazing some United fans still don't rate him highly.
He's just destined to be one of those players that's never loved my the great unwashed masses and is only ever as good as his last mistake.
So has a player like Clichy. But he still has a few matches every season where he goes completely off the boil and has mistakes in him. Thats the worry with Evans imo. Not that he isnt good enough at his best, but that he'll have a shocker in one off matches and we'll pay for it
That's the same for any defender.They all have days off, to expect them not to is unrealistic.It's the nature of the game, Smalling has made many mistakes and has had days off too.They're young defenders, it's absolutely normal.
Evans was an important part of a record clean sheet for United, I still don't understand the unfair critcism he's always received
Evans was an important part of a record clean sheet for United, I still don't understand the unfair critcism he's always received
Agreed. And when Evans is bad, he's really bad.
I'm not claiming that he's a shit defender or that he isn't fit to play for United, I'm only saying that I'm not so sure he'll become a top European class defender, which is what we need if we're to challenge for the Champions League regularly in the future.
I think that Smalling, given time, is going to be the better player. I've high hopes for Jones in a few years as well.
You can count Smalling's mistakes in a United shirt on one hand. When Evans has an off day he makes that many in one game.
This is pretty much where I am right now too. Although I think Jones will be a very worthy 3rd choice, get loads and loads of games, and very much keep the other two on their toes.
I was actually just starting to think that maybe the answer to the current situation was to start the pair of them over Ferdinand. But then he started to play brilliantly again!
Then again, it's not just a nice problem to have but an important problem to have because of our terrible injury record at CB. I can't think of many managers in the world who could provide such depth of quality at CB that the sort of injury troubles we have there so rarely force us to field anything other than a top-class defender.
Smallings got the physical attributes, mentality and determination to really reach the top end of the game. I've not seen many more rounded defenders, my only criticism is that his passing isn't as good as other facets of his game but thats being harsh. The only thing that will stop him is if he gets injuries.
Evans I don't think has the same raw potential but he's more experienced and more composed on the ball. Not a slight on Evans as I really think Smalling is nailed on to our next great centre back.
Evans I don't think has the same raw potential but he's more experienced and more composed on the ball. Not a slight on Evans as I really think Smalling is nailed on to our next great centre back.
Because he hasn't played as much as Evans since he's been at United duh !
Simple mathematics but why are you turning this into a direct comparison between the two ?
You'll find you did that yourself when you named him as another player who makes as many mistakes as Evans. He doesnt. Thats the best part about him. He's probably the least likely to let us down of all our defenders in the squad. He just copes with everything.
I forgot to add Vidic and Rio in my previous posts as players who have made mistakes during seasons, my bad on that one.I think Evans and Smalling will be a top class CB partnership for United for many years.They can complete each other's like Vidic and Rio have for so many seasons.Very happy to have them both
They can complete each other's like Vidic and Rio have for so many seasons.Very happy to have them both
Hope so.
Buy this man a drink!
Bollocks
Definitely am very impressed by Smalling and although I think when he first came he was seen more as Rio's successor I think he could take over from Vidic where he can be the physically dominant one where as Evans is more the ball player. In those two and Jones we have some great centrebacks for the next 10 years or so.
So am I the only one that thought Smalling should have picked up Campbell?
Smalling was doddling a bit in nowhere's land in between Johnson (?) and Campbell and could've done a bit more but at the same time it wasn't his fault. The team's organisation from crosses is the problem.
I think this tendency to see players as 'the successor' to Rio and Vidic is a bit overstated. There's nothing wrong with having one centre-half who's hard as feck and one who's cultured, but there's also nothing wrong with having two with mixed attributes.
I doubt Smalling will ever have Vida's hardness. He's not nasty in that way, he just happens to be big. He can play with aggression, no doubt, but he's not really much like Vidic.
And just because Evans is great on the ball doesn't mean we have to start regarding Smalling as not-so-great. Smalling's absolutely excellent on the ball, he's got really nice touch. He's just a natural footballer.
Evans is a better passer, that much is true. And he reads the game better... it's true he's been playing a lot longer, though it's also true he read the game brilliantly at 18.
Also, Evans is pretty hard.
Basically, it's football, not Top Trumps.
I doubt Smalling will ever have Vida's hardness. He's not nasty in that way, he just happens to be big. He can play with aggression, no doubt, but he's not really much like Vidic.
And just because Evans is great on the ball doesn't mean we have to start regarding Smalling as not-so-great. Smalling's absolutely excellent on the ball, he's got really nice touch. He's just a natural footballer.
Evans is a better passer, that much is true. And he reads the game better... it's true he's been playing a lot longer, though it's also true he read the game brilliantly at 18.
Also, Evans is pretty hard.
Basically, it's football, not Top Trumps.
Brwned, you can bet if it was Evans he'd be getting nailed for it on here, and used as another example of his proneness to errors and dozyness.
I thought he might have realised that campbell was in a dangerous position and made a bit more of an effort. As you say though, he shouldn't have been left having to choose between two players in the first place.
Proclaiming one to be better than the other in certain areas is only natural; it
doesn't imply that the other is shit in that department.
If you consider Smalling vs Evans, my take on it would be:
Pace: Smalling
Strength: Smalling
Header: Smalling
Reading the game: Evans
Technique: Evans
Passing: Evans
Tackling: Smalling
On on one against attackers: Smalling
Looking at that, it still wouldn't be decisive who the better footballer is; Evans may be the better reader of the game, but Smalling is quite close. I consider Smalling the better tackler, but that too is close.
What Smalling has is terrific pace and great strength, which are two attributes I think Evans lack somewhat. You don't need either to succeed; Vidic is quite slow and Ronny Johnsen was never the strongest, but both of them had one or the other.
Also, while I do think that Evans making terrible mistakes time and time again is somewhat exaggerated, I never feel safe about what he might do next. Smalling, as all defenders, make mistakes, but he doesn't seem to lose his head as often or make rash challenges. Those rash challenges of Evans can be match winning, but they can also cause penalties and/or a sending off.
All things considered, I think both are really good defenders, but I think only Smalling has the potential to be a truly great defender. I hope I am wrong and both will be.
Smalling-Evans ought to be an excellent pair. It would need one of them, probably Evans, to be able to take a strong leadership role on the field.
I'd more or less agree with you, except I'd probably go with Smalling in terms of reading the game.
Evans is a quality player, but I just think Smalling is a wonderful talent. He plays as if he's played for years, and he just seems wise enough when not to go in for a challenge and when to go in for one. Personally, Smalling seems like the type who'd only receive a red card when he "takes one for the team".
One of my favourite players at United. Great personality too - seems like a really down to earth guy which is quite rare for a lad of his age these days (for what it's worth, I'm younger than him so calling him a lad makes me look an absolute dick I know
With that being said, I'm not going to call him "mister" or "Sir".)Right enough re:red cards - in 39 league and CL starts (54 apps) for us he's gotten just two yellows.
I assume there's something I'm missing, some finer point of defending where Smalling falls short, because he seems really fantastic to me, reminds me a lot of Rio.
Hard to believe he could barely get a game for Fulham. Whoever among the scouts spotted Smalling has really done his job.
Hard to believe he could barely get a game for Fulham. Whoever among the scouts spotted Smalling has really done his job.
we all agree that Chris is great.
From
...to...
in 3/4 seasons. As gooDevil said, which ever scout picked up out deserves a massive amount of credit. I actually remember him scoring an own goal that basically secured Chelsea a win on route to their last title
...to...
in 3/4 seasons. As gooDevil said, which ever scout picked up out deserves a massive amount of credit. I actually remember him scoring an own goal that basically secured Chelsea a win on route to their last title
I agree. It's the 'new Rio/Vidic' stuff that I think is a bit pointless. Neither Evans nor Smalling is that much like either Rio or Vidic. Also, Vidic is only 31 - right in his prime, if he recovers fully. He could be playing at the top level for another half-decade!
Rossa said:
I'd agree with that. Also, Smalling is generally a fantastic athlete, and Jonny isn't.
The other thing is that both are, as MikeUpNorth would say, 'winners'. I have no evidence for this, but I think the arrival of Smalling was one reason for Evans' dip. He'd been talked of in glowing terms for years, he'd been on two highly successful loan spells, had performed great next to Vidic for half a season, and was generally the heir apparent, on the cusp of challenging Rio for his place.
Then we sign this Rolls Royce of a player who's much bigger, quicker, stronger and in my view had better natural touch than him. Evans goes through a bit of a crisis of confidence, and then what does he do? Work to improve those attributes he does have, bringing his touch and passing up several notches and becoming probably better than Rio ever was at bringing the ball out of defence. Now he's looking mint. And I bet Smalling starts developing his passing etc.
I only wish we had this sort of competition in midfield.
I would not say that.
Don't lie.
Cleverly should've. He glanced around at him twice and still didn't bother actually trying to mark him.
I think the bigger problem was that Sessegnon had half an hour to pick out his cross.