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2014-15 Performances


View full 2014-15 profile

4.7 Season Average Rating
Appearances
17
Clean sheets
9
Goals
0
Assists
0
Yellow cards
1
I'm not into statistics. My eyes confirm Evans easily being better on the ball than Smalling. Smalling being better at defending both in the air and ground.
 
If I had to choose who our best central defender purely on passing merits and taking the ball out of defence I'd say it would be close between Paddy McNair and Rojo. In the Premiership, I think John Stones ranks pretty high up.
 
I'm not into statistics. My eyes confirm Evans easily being better on the ball than Smalling. Smalling being better at defending both in the air and ground.
He might be more comfortable on both feet and can run better with it, but that means nothing to me if you are as solid as a wet sponge.

It's no coincidence that everytime he has played recently (cambridge aside) that we have looked very nervous and unsure of ourselves in defense. He just doesn't have any presence.
 
I'm not into statistics. My eyes confirm Evans easily being better on the ball than Smalling. Smalling being better at defending both in the air and ground.

He might be better but Evans is as clumsy as any other of our central defenders with the ball at his feet.
 
He might be more comfortable on both feet and can run better with it, but that means nothing to me if you are as solid as a wet sponge.

It's no coincidence that everytime he has played recently (cambridge aside) that we have looked very nervous and unsure of ourselves in defense. He just doesn't have any presence.

Smalling was all over the place against Burnley. Ings ran him ragged and how can anyone forget that miskick which led to the best chance of the game. That said, Evans was equally woeful.
 
If I had to choose who our best central defender purely on passing merits and taking the ball out of defence I'd say it would be close between Paddy McNair and Rojo. In the Premiership, I think John Stones ranks pretty high up.
John Stones is an excellent defender. Only 20 I guess. Amazing how good he has been everytime I have seen him play for Everton. Compare that to the jokers we have in our CB pairing.
 
I'm not into statistics. My eyes confirm Evans easily being better on the ball than Smalling. Smalling being better at defending both in the air and ground.
But both prone to stupid errors. Sigh.
 
But both prone to stupid errors. Sigh.
To me, Smalling looks a lot more composed. Better at actual defending, in the air and ground as Sultan has said. He also doesn't look like he's going to shit himself constantly.
 
To me, Smalling looks a lot more composed. Better at actual defending, in the air and ground as Sultan has said. He also doesn't look like he's going to shit himself constantly.

Fair enough, but it's a bit like saying I'll have the Snickers over the Milky Way when really I want a Mars.
 
Smalling was all over the place against Burnley. Ings ran him ragged and how can anyone forget that miskick which led to the best chance of the game. That said, Evans was equally woeful.
Yeah IMO the tempo of the game caught him out, coming on as a sub like that without warming up can take you a while to get into the game. It was a very quick tempo and he just didn't look settled until the 2nd half.

It definitely wasn't Smallings best game ever, but I would choose him every time over Evans, he just doesn't fill me with any confidence.
 
Yeah IMO the tempo of the game caught him out, coming on as a sub like that without warming up can take you a while to get into the game. It was a very quick tempo and he just didn't look settled until the 2nd half.

It definitely wasn't Smallings best game ever, but I would choose him every time over Evans, he just doesn't fill me with any confidence.
He was all over the shop throughout the game. We didn't look settled defensively at all. Anyway, I really liked Evans and had hoped he would now take the mantle of leadership at the back since both Rio and Vidic are gone but for some inexplicable reason he has just regressed a lot this season.
 
Fair enough, but it's a bit like saying I'll have the Snickers over the Milky Way when really I want a Mars.
Agreed. I'd trust Smalling over Evans for now. Once we get another defender, I'm hoping Smalling will either improve from having a great leader beside him, or will be good enough to act as a backup. Which I feel he is.
Evans I wouldn't trust with a gun if you put him in a knife fight.
 
I think a few posters have misunderstood my post. Smalling is absolutely a better defender at this moment in time. Evans is a better passer.

Evans seems to have lost it at the moment.
 
I think a few posters have misunderstood my post. Smalling is absolutely a better defender at this moment in time. Evans is a better passer.

Evans seems to have lost it at the moment.

Agreed. I think Smalling probably has passed the ball better than Evans this season but only because every aspect of Evans' game has completely fallen apart. To be fair to Smalling, he does seem to have improved slightly on the ball but he's still a long way from looking comfortable. As Michael Owen said, he doesn't have "pass appreciation". Might hit his target but doesn't get it to them in their stride, or in space to run onto. So often he's just hit it a little too hard, or a little behind them. Really fecks with the flow of our football.
 
Ladies, ladies. Listen up, I can settle all for you and you can put away your guccis..........

Both Evans and Smalling are mediocre CBs, not good enough for United. Evans especially.

I don't know why they're wasting their time arguing over these two anyway. They'll both be gone this summer. Evans has only himself to blame and Smalling just isn't his type of defender.
 
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Agreed. I think Smalling probably has passed the ball better than Evans this season but only because every aspect of Evans' game has completely fallen apart. To be fair to Smalling, he does seem to have improved slightly on the ball but he's still a long way from looking comfortable. As Michael Owen said, he doesn't have "pass appreciation". Might hit his target but doesn't get it to them in their stride, or in space to run onto. So often he's just hit it a little too hard, or a little behind them. Really fecks with the flow of our football.

The absolute worst for "pass appreciation" and I meant to comment about it in his thread, is Rooney.

It's like he has to stylise everything. 10 yard passes are done with a sand wedge and arrive at knee height, 30 yard passes come with check side Ronnie O'Sullivan would be proud of. Just pass the ball either to their feet or slightly in front of them for God sake. The extra half second it takes to use an extra touch, to wait for it to arrive or push it back in the right direction is such a momentum killer.
 
The absolute worst for "pass appreciation" and I meant to comment about it in his thread, is Rooney.

It's like he has to stylise everything. 10 yard passes are done with a sand wedge and arrive at knee height, 30 yard passes come with check side Ronnie O'Sullivan would be proud of. Just pass the ball either to their feet or slightly in front of them for God sake. The extra half second it takes to use an extra touch, to wait for it to arrive or push it back in the right direction is such a momentum killer.
Couldn't agree more. Especially with the point in bold. Never understand them.
 
The absolute worst for "pass appreciation" and I meant to comment about it in his thread, is Rooney.

It's like he has to stylise everything. 10 yard passes are done with a sand wedge and arrive at knee height, 30 yard passes come with check side Ronnie O'Sullivan would be proud of. Just pass the ball either to their feet or slightly in front of them for God sake. The extra half second it takes to use an extra touch, to wait for it to arrive or push it back in the right direction is such a momentum killer.

Unsurprisingly, I disagree. His passing (and his whole game) has been a bit off recently but in terms of "pass appreciation" he's actually one of the best in our squad. Usually gets the weight of pass absolutely spot on. That little reverse to Di Maria leading up to our second goal being an example.
 
He needs a good strong phsyical presence beside him I think.

He's certainly not the player for experimental, 3 men at the back, set ups. None of our CB's are.
 
The absolute worst for "pass appreciation" and I meant to comment about it in his thread, is Rooney.

It's like he has to stylise everything. 10 yard passes are done with a sand wedge and arrive at knee height, 30 yard passes come with check side Ronnie O'Sullivan would be proud of. Just pass the ball either to their feet or slightly in front of them for God sake. The extra half second it takes to use an extra touch, to wait for it to arrive or push it back in the right direction is such a momentum killer.

Yep.

The importance of pass appreciation shouldn't be understated. So many of our passes are either 1/2 yards to the wrong side (or behind), or even hinder the player in their stride. It kills our momentum.
 
I don't know why they're wasting their time arguing over these two anyway. They'll both be gone this summer. Evans has only himself to blame and Smalling just isn't his type of defender.

Smalling isn't going anywhere.
 
Yes. I called you out on your 'I don't care about stats' bullshit
Are you seriously that fecking deluded. Stats only tell part of the story, being a United fan you'd think you'd know that. We are currently third having played some of the most mundane football I've seen us play in years, looking at our stats alone you could argue that we have had a fantastic season, however most fans tend to use their eyes to gauge an opinion. Further, Smallings passing stats are probably impressive as he knows how to pass a ball in a general direction, stats don't show how he under or over hits the pass or plays the ball behind the player or not in his line of play. It's not fecking rocket science.

You're boring me now.
 
Are you seriously that fecking deluded. Stats only tell part of the story, being a United fan you'd think you'd know that. We are currently third having played some of the most mundane football I've seen us play in years, looking at our stats alone you could argue that we have had a fantastic season, however most fans tend to use their eyes to gauge an opinion. Further, Smallings passing stats are probably impressive as he knows how to pass a ball in a general direction, stats don't show how he under or over hits the pass or plays the ball behind the player or not in his line of play. It's not fecking rocket science.

You're boring me now.

If stats dont matter then why did you bring up the comparison matrix stats in support of Evans? Sorry but you're full of shit. More examples of your one sided BS. @Dumat12 posted this in response to your Evans stats

These stats can make Demba Ba look like Messi, but it ain't so. It's proven countless times that they are misleading and inaccurate. You can judge him with your own eyes.

This was your response:

Ah ok, stats are only acceptable when they work in your favour, gotcha, I'll remember that for next time shall I :lol:

You, one page back:

I don't care what stats you use to back it up it's common knowledge. Best passer, do you actually watch games?

I'll again quote your original post with the Evans stats


You, just now:

looking at our stats alone you could argue that we have had a fantastic season, however most fans tend to use their eyes to gauge an opinion

You're a walking goddamn contradiction. I don't even need to waste my time with you anymore. No integrity, no credibility :wenger:
 
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I think a few posters have misunderstood my post. Smalling is absolutely a better defender at this moment in time. Evans is a better passer.

Evans seems to have lost it at the moment.

His confidence looks completely shot.
 
His confidence looks completely shot.

I feel sorry for him. He really has regressed in the past year or so and it's hard to fathom why. It wasn't so long ago that he was pretty much a certainty to take over Rio's spot in the team when he retired. Now he looks bereft of ideas and, as you say, his confidence has evaporated. Pity.
 
If stats dont matter then why did you bring up the comparison matrix stats in support of Evans? Sorry but you're full of shit. More examples of your one sided BS. @Dumat12 posted this in response to your Evans stats

These stats can make Demba Ba look like Messi, but it ain't so. It's proven countless times that they are misleading and inaccurate. You can judge him with your own eyes.

This was your response:



You, one page back:

I don't care what stats you use to back it up it's common knowledge. Best passer, do you actually watch games?

I'll again quote your original post with the Evans stats



You, just now:

looking at our stats alone you could argue that we have had a fantastic season, however most fans tend to use their eyes to gauge an opinion

You're a walking goddamn contradiction. I don't even need to waste my time with you anymore. No integrity, no credibility :wenger:

:lol:

Getsme Evans has been schooled!
 
If stats dont matter then why did you bring up the comparison matrix stats in support of Evans? Sorry but you're full of shit. More examples of your one sided BS. @Dumat12 posted this in response to your Evans stats

These stats can make Demba Ba look like Messi, but it ain't so. It's proven countless times that they are misleading and inaccurate. You can judge him with your own eyes.

This was your response:



You, one page back:

I don't care what stats you use to back it up it's common knowledge. Best passer, do you actually watch games?

I'll again quote your original post with the Evans stats



You, just now:

looking at our stats alone you could argue that we have had a fantastic season, however most fans tend to use their eyes to gauge an opinion

You're a walking goddamn contradiction. I don't even need to waste my time with you anymore. No integrity, no credibility :wenger:

Are you for real? I haven't said stats don't matter, show me where I said that? You have a very bad habit of making things up, again the actions of a child.

Stats only tell part of the story, you can use them when assessing the ability of a player and to back up your belief in that player’s ability, it's not black and white, surely you're not so stupid that you believe they tell the full picture, no one can be that fecking stupid.

Again, back to the Smalling stats, you completely ignored when I said that his passing stats may be high but his passing ability is terrible, I've been able to arrive at that opinion simply by watching the game, you see, stats say one thing but any fan can tell you that passing is his biggest weakness.


As for bringing up my previous posts (in which I posted the stats), I was replying to this post from you

The only funny thing is your defense of his crap performances. We know he's your fellow countryman, its understandable. Tell me when he last had a notably good performance. It wasn't last season. He only featured in two games out of 8 against the top four. Furthermore, like I said he only managed 5 consecutive games and we only kept a clean sheet in one against Arsenal. The stats are there
 
Are you for real? I haven't said stats don't matter, show me where I said that? You have a very bad habit of making things up, again the actions of a child.

Stats only tell part of the story, you can use them when assessing the ability of a player and to back up your belief in that player’s ability, it's not black and white, surely you're not so stupid that you believe they tell the full picture, no one can be that fecking stupid.

Again, back to the Smalling stats, you completely ignored when I said that his passing stats may be high but his passing ability is terrible, I've been able to arrive at that opinion simply by watching the game, you see, stats say one thing but any fan can tell you that passing is his biggest weakness.


As for bringing up my previous posts (in which I posted the stats), I was replying to this post from you

Now you're just embarrassing yourself, the fact remains that stats are only good in your eyes when they suit or help back up your argument. When I said the 'stats are there' why didn't you say then that you don't give a shit about stats?

Good for you, you dug out some stats in the matrix that favored Evans and you posted them. You took the time to actually create them because they helped you raise a point against me, yet you don't believe in them because as you say, most fans tend to use their eyes to gauge an opinion. Fvck outta with your contradictions.
 
Now you're just embarrassing yourself, the fact remains that stats are only good in your eyes when they suit or help back up your argument. When I said the 'stats are there' why didn't you say then that you don't give a shit about stats?

Good for you, you dug out some stats in the matrix that favored Evans and you posted them. You took the time to actually create them because they helped you raise a point against me, yet you don't believe in them because as you say, most fans tend to use their eyes to gauge an opinion. Fvck outta with your contradictions.
fecking hell, are you really that fecking stupid? :lol:

He's more Evans than Evans himself :lol:
Again with the childish remarks, well done. Im done with you.
 
fecking hell, are you really that fecking stupid? :lol:


Again with the childish remarks, well done. Im done with you.

I've proven that you're full of shit. You can call me anything you want, I don't give a fvck
 
He was all over the shop throughout the game. We didn't look settled defensively at all. Anyway, I really liked Evans and had hoped he would now take the mantle of leadership at the back since both Rio and Vidic are gone but for some inexplicable reason he has just regressed a lot this season.
Smalling >>> Evans vs Burnley. For the goal Smalling was at least trying to get to the ball - Evans was marking no one on the penalty spot will his man was also in behind. And Smalling single-handedly stopped them scoring an equaliser on at least 4 separate occsassions 2nd half when it was 2-1, and was our best defender overall despite his first half.
 
Feck me guys keep it clean and less of the low blows!