Rate our centre backs

[sosolid4u09]

I dont think there's a right or wrong answer. Weve never had everybody fit, many of our cbs haven't had long enough in the prem to make a definitive judgement on. But I'll start us off;

Bailly
Jones
Rojo
Smalling
Lindelof

I think we should cut Smalling. Terrible on the ball and despite having had a consistent run over the last 5 years hes never really convinced. Rash and makes high profile mistakes.

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

I think at the moment:

Jones
Bailly
Smalling
Rojo
Lindelof

but I hope the Swede will rise toward the very top and I think one or both of Smalling and Rojo would then be shown the door. This is of course assuming Jones stays fit and Bailly hits the ground on his return.

 

[AgentP]

Jones
Bailly
Smalling
Rojo
Lindelof

 

[Pexbo]

In terms of current ability:

1. Jones
2. Bailly
3. Smalling
4. Rojo
5. Lindelof


In terms of potential:

1. Bailly
2. Jones
3. Lindelof
4. Smalling
5. Rojo


Smalling/Rojo is perhaps the controversial point and some might argue that Rojo showed a very high level of ability last season before his injury. I think some might have forgotten Smalling's form under Van Gaal which lasted even longer.

 

[sosolid4u09]

I think rojo is versatile and his big match temperament seems better than smallings. Thats why i would keep him over smalling, who really is the worst on the ball defender in the top 10

 

[The Cat]

If they all stayed mostly fit for 3 seasons:

Jones
Bailly
Smalling
Lindelof
Rojo

 

[Ødegaard]

1-2: Bailly - Jones
3: Smalling
4-5: Rojo - Lindelöf
6: Blind

 

[balaks]

Jones is probably your best centre-back.

 

[Fraud]

Rojo is so underrated. He has more personality than any other defender who isn't Bailly.

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

Rojo is so underrated. He has more personality than any other defender who isn't Bailly.

I think it's a sign of our strength there that most people have him near the bottom of our CB list. There's no doubt he looked great last season (when he wasn't leaping in two-footed!).

 

[ivaldo]

Rojo is so underrated. He has more personality than any other defender who isn't Bailly.

This isn’t a talent show

 

[SpyLuke10]

At their best (imo):

1. Bailly
2. Rojo
3. Jones
4. Smalling
5. Lindelof

Right now (with injuries, current form):

1. Jones
2. Smalling
3. Rojo
4. Lindelof
5. Bailly

 

[Robbie Boy]

This isn’t a talent show

Man United's got talent.

 

[Cutch]

I dont think there's a right or wrong answer. Weve never had everybody fit, many of our cbs haven't had long enough in the prem to make a definitive judgement on. But I'll start us off;

Bailly
Jones
Rojo
Smalling
Lindelof

I think we should cut Smalling. Terrible on the ball and despite having had a consistent run over the last 5 years hes never really convinced. Rash and makes high profile mistakes.

Rash? He's the least rash of all the others you've mentioned

 

[dannyrhinos89]

I think People are far too harsh on smalling

Yeah he’s terrible with the ball at his feet, he looks so uncoordinated like bambi On Ice.

as for actual defending though (heading, tackling and blocking etc) I think he’s very good.

Lindaloff and Rojo are dead last.

 

[Canagel]

1. Jones. 2. Bailly 3. Lindelof 4. Smalling 5. Rojo

 

[DannyCAFC]

1. Jones - least flawed + best leader but fitness problems.

2. Bailly - great on the front foot, needs to up concentration levels, possibly fitness problems?

3. Lindelof - great ball-playing CB, good at covering, feel he can be bullied by more physical opponents though and will affect him mentally.

4. Smalling - generally good defending 1v1 with pace and size and United’s only aerially dominant CB, but poor on the ball and issues with defending space in behind him IMO.

5. Rojo - don’t really feel he adds much, decent in most aspects and aggressive but often overly rash which can lead to big errors. If United are gonna sell one I think it should be him. (Possible fitness concerns too).

 

[glazed]

At their best (imo):

1. Bailly
2. Rojo
3. Jones
4. Smalling
5. Lindelof

Right now (with injuries, current form):

1. Jones
2. Smalling
3. Rojo
4. Lindelof
5. Bailly

This. Maybe Jones above Rojo

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

1. Jones - least flawed + best leader but fitness problems.

2. Bailly - great on the front foot, needs to up concentration levels, possibly fitness problems?

3. Lindelof - great ball-playing CB, good at covering, feel he can be bullied by more physical opponents though and will affect him mentally.

4. Smalling - generally good defending 1v1 with pace and size and United’s only aerially dominant CB, but poor on the ball and issues with defending space in behind him IMO.

5. Rojo - don’t really feel he adds much, decent in most aspects and aggressive but often overly rash which can lead to big errors. If United are gonna sell one I think it should be him. (Possible fitness concerns too).

I like the list and the reasoning but have seen similar statements to the bolded about Smalling and have to disagree. I think Jones is fine in the air and his reputation has suffered, in my opinion unjustly so, due to a few eye-catchingly bad mistakes such as against Stoke earlier in the season.

 

[Organic Potatoes]

I don’t see much distance between Bailly, Jones, and Rojo currently.

Lindelof had some growing pains, but has improved. Would be a useful asset in a back three with his ability on the ball.

Smalling is an odd duck. Better in the air than his cohorts and one of the best 1v1 defenders in the league. But deficient in key areas which will hold him back from ever being a top class defender in the modern game.

 

[bosnian_red]

1. Bailly
2. Jones
3. Smalling
4. Lindelof
5. Rojo

Not much between lindelof and Smalling, though lindelof will hopefully improve loads with experience. Rojo is too rash. Jones and bailly when fit are class, but are always injured.

 

[George Owen]

Jones
Bailly
Smalling
Rojo
Lindelof

 

[Andycoleno9]

1.Baily- class player, united level . By far our best defender. But i have a feeling that he would be excellent with some leader defender like vidic or bonucci
2. Phil jones- at his best he is united level but in perfect conditions he would be 3rd option .
3.Blind. Ball playing defender with good game reading and good positioning( i know that many of you will disagree with this)

All others are solid defenders. Imo not united level defenders. Good for cover but i don't trust them in big matches. If i must rate them:
1. Rojo
2.lindelof
3. Smalling- i don't trust this guy. Sorry but i don't. Too often he loses his player, can't play with the ball, too many stupid fouls.

 

[Coxy]

All of our centre backs seem ridiculously injury prone with the exception of Lindelof.

Bailly
Jones
Rojo
Smalling
Lindelof (for now)

 

[red4ever 79]

All of our centre backs seem ridiculously injury prone with the exception of Lindelof.

Bailly
Jones
Rojo
Smalling
Lindelof (for now)

This. Massively dissappointed in the fitness of Bailly this season

 

[El Jefe]

Anyone with Lindelof or Rojo ahead of Smalling deserves a . In my opinion obviously

 

[Von Mistelroum]

Bailly
Rojo
Jones
Mike
Linda
Blind

 

[11101]

Right now:

Bailly
Jones
Smalling
Rojo

At their best:

Bailly - has everything except fitness it seems
Jones - also has everything but can be abit brainless and even worse at fitness
Rojo - rash but aggressive and competent all round
Smalling - good aerially and 1v1 but poor awareness and atrocious on the ball

Leaving Lindelof out as we have no real idea on him yet.

 

[Infra-red]

I dont think there's a right or wrong answer. Weve never had everybody fit, many of our cbs haven't had long enough in the prem to make a definitive judgement on. But I'll start us off;

Bailly
Jones
Rojo
Smalling
Lindelof

I think we should cut Smalling. Terrible on the ball and despite having had a consistent run over the last 5 years hes never really convinced. Rash and makes high profile mistakes.

I don't neccessarly disagree, although he's the only one who's any good in the air (which is something we'd really need to replace).

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

On current form (this season), it's Jones - then a gap - then Smalling - then an even bigger gap - then the rest of them on the same level. Rojo, Bailly and Lindelof have pretty much either been injured, had a stinker, or just not featured at all this season.


I'm not completely on the Bailly hype train that everyone else seems to be on yet. There was glimpses last season, but he's still got a great deal to work on. His heading is poor, especially for a CB. His jumps seem to always be mistimed and he ends up having to head downwards, and he never seems to make true connection. He looks decent on the ball and good in the tackle, but I'm far from convinced he is far and away our best centre back, yet.

When everyone is 100% fit, I think Jones is our best all round defender. Smalling is the best pure defender but has clear limitations. Rojo and Bailly don't seem to get a run in the side long enough to make the position their own, despite having ability to do so. And I'm beginning to forget what Lindelof even looks like.

 

[Vadim T.]

If they all stayed mostly fit for 3 seasons:

Jones
Bailly
Smalling
Lindelof
Rojo

That's a pretty big if, especially for Jones hahaha! No, if we're going to rate centerbacks, a huge aspect of a successful team is a centerback pairing that is constant and stable. That knows each other like the back of their hand and plays together essentially all season. Ie. Rio and Vidic, Bruce and Pallister. Because of that, injuries and lack thereof are a huge component in determining the overall strength of a CB, more so than potential. Because of that, I would have sold Jones ages ago, because he might play brilliant for a couple of games but he will ALWAYS get injured when you need him most.
So, based on current form, future potential, injury factors, etc, my list is:
1. Bailly
2. Rojo
3. Lindelof
4. Smalling
5. Jones

In all honesty, there's a huge gap between Bailly and the rest. While Lindelof COULD, MAYBE reach that level after some time, he isn't there yet. Bailly is the only one that in a couple of years time can be one of the best in the world.

 

[settembrini]

1. Smalling
2. Bailly
3. Rojo
4. Jones
5. Lindelof

 

[PieCrust]

Rojo is over rated by many. Outside of one nice run of form last year, he's been pretty awful for United. I rate Lindelof over him and if we were looking to bring in another CB or let one go, Rojo would top that list quite easily for me.

Smalling gets too much stick. He's been our most consistent defender for the past couple of years and is pretty solid. He can at times, take opponent attackers completely out of the match and can also dominate aerially. I'd rate Jones over him if he could ever stay healthy for more than 2 months at a time but he just can't seem to get over that hurdle.

I like Bailly the most, but he needs to improve his aerial game and quite honestly looks like a red card waiting to happen on too many challenges.

Bailly
Jones / Smalling
Lindelof
Rojo

 

[Ikon]

1.Baily- class player, united level . By far our best defender. But i have a feeling that he would be excellent with some leader defender like vidic or bonucci
2. Phil jones- at his best he is united level but in perfect conditions he would be 3rd option .
3.Blind. Ball playing defender with good game reading and good positioning( i know that many of you will disagree with this)

All others are solid defenders. Imo not united level defenders. Good for cover but i don't trust them in big matches. If i must rate them:
1. Rojo
2.lindelof
3. Smalling- i don't trust this guy. Sorry but i don't. Too often he loses his player, can't play with the ball, too many stupid fouls.

I'd pretty much agree with that assessment, except for Blind.
Absolutely not a CB in my opinion. Not for this team, not in this league.

I wouldn't lose any sleep in moving along Rojo, Lindelof or Smalling.
None of them are in the 'outstanding player' category, and that's what we want, right?
Yes I know Lindelof has only been here 5 minutes, and deserves time to develop, but after seeing him at Benfica, I thought he was the wrong signing for us in the first place.

 

[Revan]

Right now, probably I would go with:

1. Jones
2. Bailly
3. Smalling
4. Rojo
5. Lindelof

If you had asked me at the end of last season, I would have gone with:

1. Rojo
2. Bailly
3. Blind
4. Smalling
5. Jones

And the season before that:

1. Blind
2. Smalling
3. Rojo
4. Jones

So, I guess that next season, it will be Lindelof in the first place.

 

[el3mel]

Bailly
Jones
Smalling
Rojo
Lindelof

 

[simplyared]

I think our CB's look in good shape and can compete with the best in the PL. With the exception of Lindelöf who I just don't believe is up for the task.

Smalling is the eldest at 28 so we have a relativaly young group of players. Bailly is only 23. Jones who you may think would be older is still only 25 and Rojo 27.
Great pity Bailly was put on the list of long term injured as for me he was one of the best buys pre season 2016-2017. Definately first choice and can't get him back quick enough. Phil Jones is one of the best CB's in the PL and cannot think of anyone better than him. Him being prone to injury looks like has been addressed by the coaching staff and hopefully he will play an important part for club and country in the coming years. Smalling imo is grossly underrated and seems to get unecessary amounts of critisism which I just don't get. Rojo is a personal favourite. Love his attitude and passion out on the field. Also appreciated the way he as a substitute, after not taking part, threw his arms round Lukaku coming off the pitch at Burnley. However must be played at LCB to get the best out of him. Definately not LB. If we were to get further cover in this area then I would more than welcome Lascelles from Newcastle.

 

[charlenefan]

Smalling, Jones and Rojo are all much of a muchness, all capable to looking top class on their day while the next they'll have brain farts

Bailly is clearly the best CB we have while Lindelof appears to be the best on the ball so providing he settles (which he appeared to be doing until Jose dropped him completely) that should be our long term partnership. Bailly is starting to look a bit like a fitness crock though

 

[Class of 63]

• Jones
• Tuanzebe
• Lindelof
• Bailly
• Blind
• Rojo
• Fred the Red
• Smalling

 

[Bastian]

Hard to figure how good Lindelof will become.

The most consistent centre back IMV is Bailly. Jones and Smalling can be great, but Jones has major injury problems and Smalling sometimes has issues with concentration. Rojo when he's playing well is a rock, but that's too infrequent. His partnership with Jones last season was great. He's also the most combative of those four and most likely to make reckless fouls.

Bailly is the only one I think fits into a great team. If Jones wasn't so injury prone he'd maybe be there too.

We'll likely sell one in the summer. But I wouldn't be averse to selling two and signing a partner for Bailly.