Good CB, will never be top class. Again an overhyped player on here. He is the only one who is anywhere close to a CB in our squad though.
12
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 55
- Clean sheets
- 24
- Goals
- 2
- Assists
- 1
- Yellow cards
- 13
- Red cards
- 1
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
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I thought blind handled caroll better on a few occasions when he had to. Smalling improved a lot no doubt but he gave me a new scare that every time he has to defend in the box, i feel like we will give a penalty, set pieces or not. Gotta learn when to mark tightly and when to ease off. Rio was excellent at that.
He was supposed to clean every ball from our box, and people criticise him. Great stuff.
Was he supposed to go wandering into the oppo half trying to play a ball he had no chance of getting leaving his man in 30 yards of space ?
Is he supposed to be completely unable to give passes IN FRONT of his man instead of directly to where they are standing ?
No, but then Blind wasn't supposed to be 30 yards behind his defence either.
As for the passing, our midfielders were probably even worse than him.
Chris Smalling at times has to defend for the entire team, yet he still gets criticized? Rojo and Valencia can't position themselves and Blind wanders on the ball constantly. During freekicks and corners, he is the only one heading the ball away and for some reason the 1 mistake he makes that didn't even cost us is entirely his fault. Besides, when he went up Blind should have gone up too and Carroll would have been offside.
That people portray him as some sort of Forrest Gump type character, exempt from blame due to his obliviousness to the world around him and unable to participate in any sense really doesn't speak much about him.
He made 0 tackles tonight and conceded 3 fouls.
He made 0 tackles tonight and conceded 3 fouls.
Only criticism I have for him is that set-piece wrestling he always gets involved in. He's constantly doing his best Martin Skrtel impersonation. Track the man, attack the ball. Don't attack the man and ignore the ball.
Awful
He couldn't organise a Filofax
He's had a pretty average second half of the season, which I'd say still makes him our third best player. He hasn't been perfect but he's so far away from being a problem.
Good defender but I think he needs a proper leader next to him Somebody like Rio/Vidic. I dont see him as a leader which is a bit sad.
He is our most over rated player by absolute miles.
People treat him as if he's world class on here.
He's nowhere near that, he's not in top 5 cbs in the league, let alone top 10.
People treat him as if he's world class on here.
He's nowhere near that, he's not in top 5 cbs in the league, let alone top 10.
Was shocking tonight. Got pulled all over the shop.
Been average since Christmas and how he got club player of the year I don't know.
However he is probably the least of our problems, atleast he can stay fit.
Phil Jones on the other hand is stealing a wage, all he has done all season is pull a couple of faces, get injured and piss around with his mobile phone on the bus floor tonight.
However he is probably the least of our problems, atleast he can stay fit.
Phil Jones on the other hand is stealing a wage, all he has done all season is pull a couple of faces, get injured and piss around with his mobile phone on the bus floor tonight.
Bloody hell, I don't know what's more shocking, the result or this thread. He's the only defender that can come out of that game with his head held high. Blind was at fault for all 3 goals and could have been at fault for more.
Showed no leadership yesterday and was part of a horrible back 4
I don't expect him from the level of leadership like gray or keane or vidic or rio.
But, at least fecking communicate a bit better. He is at this club forever and know the league well. At least talk to your defenders around.
But, at least fecking communicate a bit better. He is at this club forever and know the league well. At least talk to your defenders around.
Did not have a bad game but these unnecessary physical combats he gets involved in does not help the team. Blind did not have a good game either but I believe Smalling made it all chaotic for everyone and allow West Ham to keep getting back into the game through Carroll win fouls.
I actually like to see smalling vs carroll duels.
Carroll had so much time to build up their play. He is known to be good at heading the ball so it is ok to say smalling didn't get the better of it. But, he didn't do well enough to shut Carroll out on the ground.
Somehow wasn't our worst defender today, despite that it was a genuinely 1/10 display.
Made Carroll look like Adriano.
Made Carroll look like Adriano.
So, I am too lazy to check that kind of stats atm.
But overall whoscored gave both of blind and smalling 6.25 despite blind's 'faults' with 3 goals. While carroll got 2nd highest rating in their team whose main marker was smalling.
So....
But overall whoscored gave both of blind and smalling 6.25 despite blind's 'faults' with 3 goals. While carroll got 2nd highest rating in their team whose main marker was smalling.
So....
He isn't overrated. Few people have been praising him recently. He was genuinely world class in the autumn. I don't know what happened. He was first to every ball, stood his ground, made great tackles. He just doesn't now.
His form has dropped off something fierce since the start of the season.
He really is. People were calling him the best defender in the league after he performed well for two matches. Even a month ago, there were people who were calling him great, best CB in the league, etc etc.
I said quite early on the season, that I don't see him as a starter on a top team that regularly competes for trophies. Obviously, we have more concerns at the moment (upgrades on striker, right winger, central midfield, and arguably right back position and left center back), but eventually his position needs to be upgraded too if we ever hope of reaching top level.
He's good enough to be our third center back though, but that's it. Too limited technique, bad positioning, and acts like a headless chicken at least twice per match.
But half the time he was behind Carroll yet trying to wrestling him off a ball he was never getting to. It's not only Carroll this, he does it with all big striker.
You'll notice in the second half they stopped feeding Carroll on goal and started using him as link to win fouls or drag Smalling out of position.
He absolutely did have a bad game.
Shocking display at the most crucial of times. He's had a good season but has gone awol in our two biggest games this season. Wolfsburg and last night.
Well, it is why smalling has a way to go to be 'top class' defenders. He needs to be able to handle big strikers a bit better especially EPL has plenty.
He has almost all attributes but I think he has to be a tad clever with how he does things like Rio did when he couldn't use brute force only to do the job.
Blind in fact handled Carroll well at one moment and Carroll fouled him from behind and got a card. Blind is good at handling against brute force strikers usually. Just not against fast ones who smalling does against better.
The balance isn't right and he ends up trying to overcompensate for Blind's physical shortcomings, particularly on the aerial ball.
Blind is ace but he cannot continue long-term as a CB and almost certainly won't under a manager like Mourinho. I actually want to see him in midfield again, am sure he would do at least ten times better then the performance Schneiderlin produced yesterday.
Blind is ace but he cannot continue long-term as a CB and almost certainly won't under a manager like Mourinho. I actually want to see him in midfield again, am sure he would do at least ten times better then the performance Schneiderlin produced yesterday.
He was the best defender in the league in the first half of the season and that's when people were calling him that. Just because he has been shit since then doesn't mean he wasn't great at the time. It wasn't two matches he performed in. I haven't had the impression that people were heaping praise on him a month ago. I'm sure there was some but far from a significant number.
Blind should not be long term cb true.
But, smalling's hype. I think he is a good defender. But what does blind's weakness have anything to do with smalling's sometimes being shit at passing the ball 10 yards or not being able to get the ball on the ground from his main man, trying to take off their shirts, using wrong foot to block off shots only to score own goals, leaving his man to press someone else into the other team's half and wrestling them to the ground etc?
It is all about one vs one defending, He usually does well against pacey strikers which he has to cover for blind but what about the other areas?
He's surrounded by mediocrity. Get a proper full on CB next to him and he can spend a bit more time working on his ball playing skills and less on how to cover the failings of the man next to him.
Just like Skrtel he can't help himself but to use arms and pull people shirts all the time, he could be gulity of giving away penalty every match if refs weren't so incompetent.
His ball playing is the last he should worry atm.
His defending not even as a pair but individual level has been a bit meh lately. So he should improve on that first.
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I think it has something to do with lack of awareness with the whole thing. He has to touch/pull someone to feel where his marker is to defend instead of using positioning, calculating and pure instinct to be at places and sniff out the ball/danger before it puts you in bad positions. IF you have to pull someone that much, your balance will always be off for the ball because your body is adjusting the other player, not for the ball.
He was being called the best defender in the league in August, after literally two great games.
He wasn't the best defender in the league in the first half of the season considering that he was crap in December which counts as first half of the season. However, he was very good (probably even the best in the league) from August to November.
He was rubbish yesterday, he was amongst many in fairness to him. The whole defence was pretty much poor bar Valencia who I thought was reasonable. I still don't get this complete lack of any blame he gets for anything though, when he makes a mistake it's brushed off as it being because Blind is next to him which is ridiculous. He's a good defender, he's not a great one unfortunately. In these kinds of matches he should be stepping up and being an absolute force, instead he went missing and nearly set up a couple of goals himself. Ive been an advocate of Blind saying he's a good centre back (I still think he is) but after watching Smalling for the last few months it's clear he needs someone much better than him next to him. Someone who can actually get a defence organised and can stand up and be counted for when we're having a hard time of it.
It's a shame because at the start of the season he was really good, but he's been just good for a while now, you can't just be good at Manchester United.
It's a shame because at the start of the season he was really good, but he's been just good for a while now, you can't just be good at Manchester United.
ffs, he's highlighted too much by commentators, the thing is everybody, EVERYBODY does it, pushes, pulls in the box is just part of the game. he was punished for that once and since that he hasnt commited other penalty, Evans has been getting away with it his whole career..starts to get annoying like everyone is getting on the back of our best players just out of frustration, smalling is least of our problems..
the only problem I have with him that he can climb really high to get to the header but he cant finish, and he's the only header of the ball when comes to defensive headers so give him a break..
I stand by it
Couldn't have said it better myself. Have him stop babysitting somebody who can't defend inside the box and is prone to going running off into no mans land to do god knows what and get someone who can defend and he can share his role and develop a partnership with. This whole Smalling-Blind partnership has been pretty excruciating to watch, that sequence today where Blind was on the touch line was just awe inspiring. Smalling has a bit of a scan around and doesn't even know where Daley is and just charges after the ball. Ugly.
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