Very good again last night. He's keeping good form this season and in usually rated higher (post-match) than any of the other defenders he's being paired with.
12
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 45
- Clean sheets
- 20
- Goals
- 4
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 4
- Status
He's been excellent lately, but for some reason, people just don't trust him. Yes, he looks awkward at times, but so what? His passing isn't great, but it's not terrible either, and he hardly makes mistakes, yet people remembember the four or five he has made. He certainly helped Bailly out yesterday with a terrific tackle that somehow seems to go unnoticed.
Smalling won many over under LVG but since then fans treat him the way they did before. If he makes one mistake he'll be hammered for days, if he plays well he'll hardly get a mention. He's been our best CB these last 6 or so games and actually he hasn't had a single bad game this season. The rest have.
Good last night, out of all our defenders he's definitely the best at organising and leading.
Feck Southgate, he's been our player of the month.
Don't understand the exclusion but I hope it doesn't affect his confidence as he's just in the process of rebuilding it..
Southgate's comments were unusually candid, weird way for the manager to go on.
You'd think Smalling and Stones would be a great partnership for England.
If I was him I wouldn't feel too bad about it. It can push him on to prove the doubters wrong or he can let these comments get to his head and start affecting his game. There's something satisfying about proving people wrong and it's a challenge that Smalling should embrace not run away from.
What an absolute muppet Southgate is. Smalling is a great defender. Aerially he’s one of the very best around. Pair him with a ball playing centre half and you are good to go.
Hope he manages to use this in his favour.
Going away to Chelsea where he had a mare last season (albeit with a broken toe) and being left out of the England squad... He's got a point to prove and I reckon he has it in him to brick wall Morata.
He's in as good a form as anyone in our squad right now.
Going away to Chelsea where he had a mare last season (albeit with a broken toe) and being left out of the England squad... He's got a point to prove and I reckon he has it in him to brick wall Morata.
He's in as good a form as anyone in our squad right now.
Not his biggest fan but surprised at his omission as I think he's been great lately.
Think Southgate also mentioned that he wanted to use the friendlies to try out other players. He knows what Smalling is good at/not good at. It's no wonder England are cra*p when there is so much dispute over Chris Smalling not making the squad.
Was last season the one where Valencia and Mata Just let hazard walk in to a massive space and Smalling had to come across then Hazard turned him inside out? Or was that the season before?
If this is what Southgate really meant, then I can give him benefit of doubt. However, with track record of British coaches in recent history, I have feeling he meant what he said which may eventually show how inept Southgate is. To die hard playing a certain style, you would need to master that style, or you have to have plan B or C. That means having different profile of players than second rate quality with same profile as first choice. So the reason England was so crap, is because they are lukeswarm in their approach. Not idealist enough to go all the way, nor adaptive.
Last edited:
Smalling would be nowhere near my England squad tbh.
He’s been ok for us of late but that’s all ‘ok’. He’s a very average defender and at times a liability.
He’s been ok for us of late but that’s all ‘ok’. He’s a very average defender and at times a liability.
And you are very agenda driven so thank God you'll never be a manager.
No I just say what I see on the pitch and that’s a very average defender.
Glad you're no scout as well. Sorry if he was an average defender we'd have offloaded him by now just like we did with Evans.
I believe that’s why we signed Lindelof to keep Smallings games to a minimum, sadly our scouts cocked that up too.
So you'd honestly say that one of the other CB's have been better this season, whilst all of our CB's have made mistskes which directly resulted in goals and or pens except for Smalling. Yet he is the average one.
Every player makes mistakes. Jones and Bailly have both made mistakes but have also played significantly more minutes. In addition they have both had a handful of games where you would class their performance’s as 8/10 or above. When was the last time Smalling had that type of game?
This, he’s been back to his very best lately. Seems to work really well in a back three and boy can he defend when on top form.
He's clearly a very good defender, it's just his lack of ball skills that hold him back. We suffer with getting the ball forward when he plays as he takes so long to shape his body and pass.
In terms of being a pure defender though he's 1 of the best in a 1v1 situation.
I'd sack Southgate tomorrow because he's a shite manager, but he's spot on with Smalling.
When Smalling has the ball, he either passes it square or backwards. He offers nothing as a player aside from his (not even brilliant) defending. Football has moved on from that kind of defender imo.
When Smalling has the ball, he either passes it square or backwards. He offers nothing as a player aside from his (not even brilliant) defending. Football has moved on from that kind of defender imo.
Southgate will need his ball playing cbs to kick start attacks when they are 1 2 or 3 nil down because none of them can defend
Been solid so far. That said, there isn't a defender that I fully trust. It feels like we've had to have 6 of them when previously we had all their attributes together in a couple.
Smalling has been involved in most of Uniteds games this season, which so happens to ha e the best defensive record in the whole of europe this season, league and CL combined. He is also better than Harry Maguire who happened to get in the squad.
I find it crazy that he’s not in the squad and I think the using the ball excuse was a way of Southgate including Cahill despite him being average for a very long time now.
Use of the ball but you have Henderson and delph in the squad who will be receiving these balls from the cb’s. Better off hoofing the ball to Kane and By-pass them.
Use of the ball but you have Henderson and delph in the squad who will be receiving these balls from the cb’s. Better off hoofing the ball to Kane and By-pass them.
I'm very surprised if that's the case. Smalling is a gun.
Football has moved on from defenders who can defend? I guess you're Lindelof's biggest fan
Bailly and Jones have both been better than him. He's not out first choice, thats been made clear, and rightly so.
I think we can all admit that Smalling is not the best at bringing the ball out of defence, making that pass that can lead to an attack. He isn't a Ferdinand. Southgate, whatever you think of him as a manager, is wanting that so I can see he wants to pursue that option and look around to see what he can develop with that in mind. Smalling is an average defender, not bad, not great. I would certainly take him along to the World Cup since what is going for him is that he's part of a defence that is pretty much the meanest in the PL and if your backs are to the wall..that is really useful to have.
I was one of Smalling's harshest critics, but even I have to say that while Bailly and Jones have had their odd bad game, Smalling hasn't put a foot wrong this season. Even covered up for Lindelof at times. Easily our best defender so far.
Bailly really hasnt, he has been shakey in multiple games and some of his supposed ball playing qualities result in mistakes. Really overrated on here.
Good. I don't want him near that overrated crap team, and any other United English players at that. Smalling has been Uniteds most consistent CB this season
Oh I don’t know. Maybe literally every game his played this season.
He’s been good this season, challenge for him is to keep it up for the rest of the season.
I still can’t believe that Southgate has dropped him because he can’t play the ball out.
The fact that he’s probably the best DEFENDER that England has is obviously less important than being able to hit a 30 yard pass to feet.
If it’s the dying minutes of a World Cup final and you're Defending a 1-0 lead who do you bring on, Smalling, Keane or Maguire?
I know who I’d chose.
The fact that he’s probably the best DEFENDER that England has is obviously less important than being able to hit a 30 yard pass to feet.
If it’s the dying minutes of a World Cup final and you're Defending a 1-0 lead who do you bring on, Smalling, Keane or Maguire?
I know who I’d chose.
Take the red tinted glasses off mate!
- Status