Is Smalling the best defender in the league?

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I'm not sure he is the best, but I'm struggling to find five cbs better than him. Terry considering his reputation and last season has probably warranted being considered the best centre back in the league. I'm a big fan of Koscielny; very fast, very tough and good on the ball. They are arguably the only two that can claim being better at this point. I also think both Jagielka and Cahill are probably on par with Smalling at this stage, but Smalling has improved a lot and is still improving and will almost certainly eclipse them quite soon. Skrtel is a decent defender, but I just dislike him too much. Verthongen is also probably up there with Smalling, but not better.

Summing up, I would have him as a top five defender in the league, arguably top three. He certainly has all the attributes to become the best though.
 
...aka Las Cortinas said:
So you're saying we should all be creating a thread every time we think one of our players is great?

The thread title isn't my cup of tea but I've been a big fan of Smalling for much longer than the past two games. I was sat in the pub last season saying that Smalling could end up held in the same regard as Rio and got laughed at. I've no idea where this 'two game' shite has come from, injuries aside he's looked good for us for a while now.
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That's not what I'm saying at all. It just feels funny that this thread gets started now after two very good games from Smalling and we're being told it's not the case and that he was supposedly playing at this level for a while now even though no thread was made about him.
 
Eckers99 said:
This is a ridiculous thread. The guy was, at best, unreliable and, at worst, a liability until the tail end of 2014. Many on here would've sold him after his idiocy in the derby.
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Rubbish. One thing Smalling has seldom been questioned about is his actual defending. Lots of criticism surrounding his passing and his performances at right back, but defending was never a real issue. Liability? That's nonsense.

If old player performance threads exist then take a look back through them. Defending has never, ever, ever been a widespread bone of contention with regards to Smalling.

Only a prat would have sold him after the derby.
 
Sky1981 said:
He's not even considered safe options one month ago, otamendi? Ramos? Why would we want them if he's the best in the league?

He's solid lately, but let's not make it as if he's a prime rio yet. Hotspur and villa is not a good benchmark. Try playing against messi then we can get back to this
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Rio and Vidic couldn't handle Messi in their prime.
 
Not the best yet, i rate Terry ahead of him even at his age. Can't think of another pure defender i would take over him though. Kompany is a leader, but i don't think he is better defensively. He just needs to avoid those stupid injuries and he could have a very successful United career.
 
Kag said:
Rubbish. One thing Smalling has seldom been questioned about is his actual defending. Lots of criticism surrounding his passing and his performances at right back, but defending was never a real issue. Liability? That's nonsense.

If old player performance threads exist then take a look back through them. Defending has never, ever, ever been a widespread bone of contention with regards to Smalling.

Only a prat would have sold him after the derby.
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That's something i don't understand either. From the very first game he has played as a center back for United, he has not let the team down any way at all. Even when he played right back, he was solid defensively. His problems have always been injuries and his passing.
 
sizzling sausages said:
:lol: Are you people serious? It's NOT just the two games on which we're judging him. It's closer to two years than two games.
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God forbid he has a bad game in December this year and then has a superb 2nd half of the season, poor guy will have to start all over again next season as people seem to have their memories reset to 0 start of the season.
 
ghagua said:
That's something i don't understand either. From the very first game he has played as a center back for United, he has not let the team down any way at all. Even when he played right back, he was solid defensively. His problems have always been injuries and his passing.
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I agree. At centre back, defensively, Smalling has been very good at United. All of a sudden in this thread there seems to be some rabid need to formulate mistakes that Smalling has made over the years that in all actuality don't even exist.

Ferguson would play him at right back because he could defend. This was part of his (flawed) thought process. The criticism Smalling would attract after his games at right back was because he couldn't pass water, not because he was the cause of all our goals.
 
Koscielny's the only CB since the start of 2015 I think that's been at the same level in the PL and he's a player that is notorious for having horrific performances when he plays poorly. Terry was excellent last season, but I think Matic is more important to their defensive record than any of their defender are individually. Kompany was class, but he was really poor last season and wasn't very good for his standards in 13/14 either.

At worst I'd say Smalling is a top-3 CB in the league and is arguably be the most athletic of the lot.
 
Defensive wise I would say Smalling is as good as anyone in our league. Its things like his passing that lets him down and stops him being seen as on of the best.
 
His athleticism is amazing, helps him hugely to deal with some players, hope he scores some goals this season too.. top 3 center back in the league for me.. and there are some great footballers out there.
 
Smalling and Blind have the advantage of having a very solid midfield to shield them a large part of the time, making them look better. Just like schneiderlin/wanyama were able to do for southampton last season. I guarantee you that without Schneidy, Southampton will concede many, many more goals this season.
Smalling is very solid right now, but let's not be so audacious as to claim him to be the best, or one of the best in the league just yet
 
Nothing audacious to claim he is one of the best in the league and nothing rawkish about the thread. What's rawkish? There are a couple names of better defenders than him - Terry and Konscielny but, that's it. He is even becoming a leader on the field. Actually prefer if he doesn't get much recognition except from LVG.

Speaking of - I know it seemed like Jones / Blind would have started the season if not for the thrombosis but, wonder if that was more of a case that LVG playing Jones/Blind in preseason because he needed Smalling's defensive ability and leadership for the 2nd units and he really was planning on starting Smalling/Jones all along.
 
He can be very solid and he definitely has it in him to be a monster defender.

His passing though...
 
Last year was good, needs a great season under his belt as an undisputed starter before this can be a serious conversation. Think he's on his way though.
 
Solid defender and has good physical attributes which has always been the case but he tries some mental long balls at times and does things that he does not have the ability for which undermines his overall quality.

I've always said to non utd fans he's very good but has such low quality technique when it comes to anything non defensive.
 
Kag said:
Rubbish. One thing Smalling has seldom been questioned about is his actual defending. Lots of criticism surrounding his passing and his performances at right back, but defending was never a real issue. Liability? That's nonsense.

If old player performance threads exist then take a look back through them. Defending has never, ever, ever been a widespread bone of contention with regards to Smalling.

Only a prat would have sold him after the derby.
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I don't need to look through the threads to remember that, until the last 8/9 months, it was a commonly held opinion was that neither Smalling nor Jones had improved enough to justify being the long term replacement for either Vidic and Ferdinand. They'd both been at United for a few years but had only shown consistency in patches. Smalling was hampered by injuries inconsitency and a lack of passing ability and Jones was either injured, rash or both.

Smalling has improved a lot and is now our best out and out defender but he needs to maintain his current form to be considered one of the best in the league. And I'm pretty sure that a fair number of people had lost faith in him after the derby. It was widely reported that van Gaal had spent the week prior to the game emphasising the importance of staying calm and not lunging into reckless tackles but Smalling was a total liability that day, hence the red card.

That seems to have changed. Which I'm pretty pleased about.
 
We should seriously consider off-loading him next summer; his performances against Spurs and Villa were absolutely shocking to say the least.

We honestly cannot depend on him for 25-30 goals this season.

Sad thing is, Van Gaal will not go against his word and drop him for poor performances because he's our captain. It's only going to hinder us.
 
GE said:
We should seriously consider off-loading him next summer; his performances against Spurs and Villa were absolutely shocking to say the least.

We honestly cannot depend on him for 25-30 goals this season.

Sad thing is, Van Gaal will not go against his word and drop him for poor performances because he's our captain. It's only going to hinder us.
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This is a thread about Smalling. :lol:
 
He isn't, however if he stays fit he'll easily be recognised as one of the best by the end of the season. I reckon he'll become first choice for England at the very least.
 
His passing is awful. It's what lets him down majorly.
 
GE said:
We should seriously consider off-loading him next summer; his performances against Spurs and Villa were absolutely shocking to say the least.

We honestly cannot depend on him for 25-30 goals this season.

Sad thing is, Van Gaal will not go against his word and drop him for poor performances because he's our captain. It's only going to hinder us.
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:lol:
Rooney's thread is that way ->
 
Is this thread serious? I can't tell. I guess I will answer. No. He has been very good of late..but no..no..
 
Sandikan said:
a few weeks ago, he wasn't even rated as being worth a starting spot.
now best in the league
our fans :lol:
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Well to be fair, it was absolutely baffling that LVG wasn't playing him, given how well he played last season. The guy has been excellent during this calendar year.
 
Sereques said:
No, he's not. You guys should stop this nonsense after two games.
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But it's not just after 2 games. It's the past 2 games along with the majority of last season. He's not at the level of Rio/Vidic yet, but I can't think of too many better CBs in the league at the moment.
 
This is absurd. Smalling has been good yes and is showing the potential most United fans knew he had. But best in the league? Come on. Koscielny and Terry for me are the two best in the league in either of the broad categories CBs fit (ball playing vs old school).
 
This thread is premature to say the least. Our fans don't half go over the top after two good performances.
 
LexiRed said:
Smalling and Blind have the advantage of having a very solid midfield to shield them a large part of the time, making them look better. Just like schneiderlin/wanyama were able to do for southampton last season. I guarantee you that without Schneidy, Southampton will concede many, many more goals this season.
Smalling is very solid right now, but let's not be so audacious as to claim him to be the best, or one of the best in the league just yet
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Without matic terry will also look worse.
 
Andy_Cole said:
I really wouldn't swap him with anyone. He's an absolute beast. His reputation with neutrals is poor but he really is damn good.

Right now I think he's the best. He's way better than Kompany. John Terry perhaps with his experience may edge it but I think by the end of the season Smalling will surpass him.
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:lol:
 
my opinion of him is that defensively he can match anyone in the League. He is good in the air, he reads the game well, he is quick and he has started to use his strength better.

What he needs to improve is his leadership (which he seems to do) - and his distribution. He still is poor at passing - which is a bit strange because he looks solid enough with the ball at his feet when he is going forward
 
Best player in his position in the league arguments are pointless. Only thing that matters is who's winning the league. It's a slippery slope to think of football in these terms. Soon you'd find yourselves making player to player comparisons ala RAWK.

Suarez was arguably the best player in the league 2 seasons ago. Did he win the league for Liverpool? Did he feck.
 
Smalling has been very good since the final months of last season, he's picked up right where he left off.

It also helps massively that he has a competent RB next to him in Darmian. When Valencia was in there last season Smalling was practically trying to cover two positions at once - Tony left him exposed all of the time. With Darmian it has been the exact opposite.

Best in the league? No. But he has been fantastic for us for quite some time and is definitely in the upper echelon of Premier League CBs.
 
Bebe said:
This is absurd. Smalling has been good yes and is showing the potential most United fans knew he had. But best in the league? Come on. Koscielny and Terry for me are the two best in the league in either of the broad categories CBs fit (ball playing vs old school).
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How is it absurd when you only come up with two other names?
 
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