He could costs us a penalty earlier. Don’t act like he only made one mistake and everyone blaming him for that single occasion. His overall performance was poor.
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Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 45
- Clean sheets
- 20
- Goals
- 4
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 4
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) was joined by comedian Ali Woods to look back at the best and worst moments of a rollercoaster season with the annual United Hour Awards.
Has Ten Hag been sacked yet? We're not sure and we hope not, but it's looking more likely as the days pass.
Who should replace him and why is it taking so long to make a decision?
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Yeah he did (foul in the box) and it wasnt his best game this season. But defending the set piece he wasnt at fault and neither was it his fault we missed several good oppertunities
This is an individual Smalling thread. Shouldn’t we talk about his individual performance instead of the team performance and strikers missed their chances?
Defending the set piece wasn’t his fault? First header was not his fault, but when the ball down to the ground, he missed the second ball once again. Very similar to the goal conceded against Spurs. Someone could still mention he is a good defender. Good defender should cover the second ball and clear it away.
First JM doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing playing Smalling over Lindeloff. But then you agree Jose understands defense, and he knows Smalling is shite? Funny that Jose, defending Smalling today after the game, defending the dive too, even though he knows Mike is shite. Doesn’t he have the balls to bash Mike, like he did with Mikhi?
The penalty that wasn’t given was the only mistake. Giving away a foul near midfield can’t be considered a serious mistake. It’s not his fault we conceded from that set piece, we were once again negligent defending the first ball.
No. He plays as part of a team, what everyone does around him is very important. The better other people do their job, the less he has to worry about.
Smalling was goalside of his man so he couldnt shoot. Thats how you defend. Newcastle player played it back with a good flick nothing Smalling could do about it unless you want him to dive through the player and give away a penalty
He had his man covered goalside to prevent him from scoring, he defended well. Someone else (Valencia) should have been covering Ritchie. It’s a team sport.
This is the Chris Smalling performance thread why do you keep insisting in talking about the rest of the players and teams performance? However anyone else or the team performed, it doesn’t justify the fact that Chris Smalling is not good enough to be at Manchester United. Two or more wronguns will never make a right.
Smalling has started in 17 games with clean sheets in all comps, 14 in the league, more than any other defender in England, he's played a pivotal role in United having the aforementioned record whether you like it or not.
This @Offside fella himself said Lindelof looks like a Liverpool player earlier this season. I guess he likes shifting goalposts.
Exactly. He keeps bringing other players in as a way to defend Smalling because everyone knows deep down he is crap but this guy is deluded
I know He played as part of the team, but he made mistakes to costs the team as well. Thats the reason we are talking about Smalling individually. Thats why it should create a thread of the player individually. Its not about the result. Its about his own performance was bad. Although strikers scored these chances won’t hide the fact that Smalling made those mistakes.
If you are talking about average defender, like Smalling. Those statements you made was correct. But top defender would not only goalside the player he’s marking. He will find a way to clears the ball before the second ball down to the Newcastle player easily made a touch to Ritchie. Thats the difference between average and top defender. Is that a mistake of Smalling? It might not because he was always average. But for a United standard CB? Its clearly a mistake. No doubt about that.
Haha nah can't be me. My last copy of FIFA was Fifa16.
We’ve lost to 3 out of 6 against the other teams in the big 6 with Smalling in the team and kept clean sheets in just 2 out of 6 games having conceded 7 goals and picked up 7 points out of 18. You can’t do that if you arento mount a serious challenge. I don’t care about clean sheets against the likes of Brighton or Stoke or Palace. It’s the big games where it counts. Even in his best season at this club we came fifth got dumped out of the Champions League in the group stage and out of the Europa League in the round of 16. The only mildly difficult team we played in Europe was Liverpool and we faltered.
He has been at least directly responsible for 5 points dropped 2 v leicester and 3 v Newcastle now through his inability to judge the game. Sure he can head a few balls away, it’s not that difficult to do that when you’re a head taller than everyone else but anything waist level and below and he’s absolutely useless. He is a unique brand of footballer who cannot play with the football and he is most definitely nowhere near good enough to have any sort of role at Manchester United IF we are to challenge for major trophies.
In certain situations yes I agree but most other times you should be ball side not goal side.
He was very poor yesterday. I only watched the last 30 mins or so, but he was poor. However, the state of this forum is embarrassing! He's our own player, and he has had a good season. Some of our so called "supporters" need a proper reality check. "I support the team" - well, what the hell do you think a team consists of? First of all, eleven outfield players, a manager, some coaches and the other players on the bench or in the reserves. Support them, if you support the team. FFS!
The dive was stupid, and a correct yellow card. However, if the ref has eagle eyes, then why the feck did not Atsu get a yellow for a blatant dive when he had a heavy first touch and the ball went between two United players for a throw in?
Moreover, I think his assist for Lukaku's disallowed goal was a terribly soft free kick. No way would the same ref have given a penalty for the same if that was a Newcastle player doing the same to Smalling. Smalling also should have had an assist to Martial, where Martial was even awarded two chances and still managed not to score.
It's all good to criticise a player who is partly responsible for a conceded goal, but we should always score a minimum of two goals against a team like Newcastle - the attackers and the midfield are far more to blame than Smalling is.
As for the goal, yes, Smalling didn't defend well enough and actually gave the assist for the goal, but who tracked Ritchie? How can a player be allowed to get a free run on the penalty spot? It's terrible.
The dive was stupid, and a correct yellow card. However, if the ref has eagle eyes, then why the feck did not Atsu get a yellow for a blatant dive when he had a heavy first touch and the ball went between two United players for a throw in?
Moreover, I think his assist for Lukaku's disallowed goal was a terribly soft free kick. No way would the same ref have given a penalty for the same if that was a Newcastle player doing the same to Smalling. Smalling also should have had an assist to Martial, where Martial was even awarded two chances and still managed not to score.
It's all good to criticise a player who is partly responsible for a conceded goal, but we should always score a minimum of two goals against a team like Newcastle - the attackers and the midfield are far more to blame than Smalling is.
As for the goal, yes, Smalling didn't defend well enough and actually gave the assist for the goal, but who tracked Ritchie? How can a player be allowed to get a free run on the penalty spot? It's terrible.
Did you not see Mourinho's press conference? We lost pretty much every dual.
You must not have watched the match neither. He was useless, almost as bad as Jones vs Spurs. He hasn't been voted worst player of the match and had a roasting off the pundits for a laugh. How can you say he had a good game? He effectively cost us the match!
Newcastle won everything in the air near enough, Mourinho pretty much said so himself.
I think its you who needs a reality check mate. This is the Smalling performance thread so we discuss his performances and not the attackers or the team as a whole. The teams performance doesn't exclude the poor performance of individual players. Rightly criticising a player for his poor performance and general lack of ability on a football forum has absolutely no bearing on whether one supports the team or not.
Imagine the state of the team losing from a free kick conceded because the center back dived. He should take a good look at himself and where his career is going. He's a major drag on build up play with his crappy distribution so unless he is defending extremely well and popping in with a few goals off set pieces, there is no place for him.
Of course it does. When you read some, well many, of the comments here, it has little to do with discussing his performance at all. It is downright harassment of our own player. He was poor, but that's about it, I think. When he plays well, this thread is hardly active at all. When he makes a mistake, people want him more or less shot out of the club with a cannon, I believe I read.
A version of this wording should be stickied to the top of every thread in the Football Forum
I think Smalling's fans have a point in that at present he is the best and most consistent pure defender at the club, and that from that standpoint his performance was ok yesterday. He headed the ball away well and his defending in the box for the goal, rightly goalside and done by an instinctive flick, wasn't an issue for us.
However in my view his detractors have a point in that his lack of ballplaying skills will hold him back at United. No-one's asking him to be a Pirlo-style DLP in our backline but the freekick he conceded was embarrassing and came about because of his well below-average ability to judge time and space on the ball.
We're not in a position to jettison our best 'lightning rod' defender but can even his staunchest fan see him surviving in a successful United backline long-term? He isn't a young player anymore but still looks like a schoolboy on the deck.
People who don't support the team wouldn't give two shits about Smallings performance.
- fecking dogshit
- How dare you insult dog shit like that.
- I long for the day that this oaf makes his last game for this club
- I swear. Sell this piece of shit
All of these quotes - none of them have anything with criticising the player; it's straight up harassment. I'm all up for a good discussion, but stuff like that has nothing to do on a United forum on one of our own players. He was really poor yesterday, but at least show some respect to one of our own players. If the same players could say something positive, then fair enough. But stuff like that is just childish.
He'll have the odd decent patch of games and then revert to crap. Just not consistent enough.
8 years and he's not proven he's good enough to be a top level defender.
Let's hope Wenger saves us from him the same way he did with Welbeck.
8 years and he's not proven he's good enough to be a top level defender.
Let's hope Wenger saves us from him the same way he did with Welbeck.
We always concede soft goals in tougher games when Smalling plays. When Baillys there beside Jones we look much less likely to concede and the whole defense looks more solid.
When a player improves massively ?
Again like I said, people care so they get angry and vent their frustration. Not everyone can keep a cool head in a highly emotional situation.
Genuine question, how often are players booked for diving in their own half?
He simply wouldn't be in the professional game if he was 4 inches smaller. All he can do is head a ball. It's scary how some people still defend him as if he ever was, or will ever be good enough for the world's richest club.
He simply wouldn't be in the professional game if he was 4 inches smaller. All he can do is head a ball. It's scary how some people still defend him as if he ever was, or will ever be good enough for the world's richest club.
Hate being on player backs but he's not good enough. He's just not.
He would do very well for a midtable team like Everton or Burnley. Definitely not made for United.
Awful awful footballer.
Awful awful footballer.
He needs to be sold in summer. We can go with Bailly, Jones, Lindelof, Rojo into new season and have Tuanzebe as backup.
People underestimate the effect he has on the entire team.
When he has the ball, our opponents press and our midfield drop deeper because he's dogshite with the ball at his feet. That inturn create a chasm between midfield and attack.
How many times has a midfielder or attacker had to pick the ball up from very deep because this guy can venture any where with the ball at his feet...it's hard to watch.
Even when he has a bit of space, all it takes is for one player to press and it's back to our keeper.
There was a sequence of play when he ventured about 10 yards with the ball, he was still in space but decided to pass to Valencia, 5 yards behind him.
I'm tired of him.
When he has the ball, our opponents press and our midfield drop deeper because he's dogshite with the ball at his feet. That inturn create a chasm between midfield and attack.
How many times has a midfielder or attacker had to pick the ball up from very deep because this guy can venture any where with the ball at his feet...it's hard to watch.
Even when he has a bit of space, all it takes is for one player to press and it's back to our keeper.
There was a sequence of play when he ventured about 10 yards with the ball, he was still in space but decided to pass to Valencia, 5 yards behind him.
I'm tired of him.
Pep came into the City side and immediately banished Joe Hart and in the end its proven to be a great decision. He would have transfer listed Smalling before signing the contract if he ever became our manager.
8 years here and his ability on the ball is more atrocious than when he joined. People laughed at how Jose's tactics exposed Davinson Sanchez in the EL final but how Spurs did it to Smalling the other night was completely embarrassing. They exposed all his flaws for the world to see and punished us for it.
If he's not replaced this summer Jose needs his head checked.
8 years here and his ability on the ball is more atrocious than when he joined. People laughed at how Jose's tactics exposed Davinson Sanchez in the EL final but how Spurs did it to Smalling the other night was completely embarrassing. They exposed all his flaws for the world to see and punished us for it.
If he's not replaced this summer Jose needs his head checked.
This 100%. All the other top teams use their CBs to open up the field and draw the opposition out of position. Azpi, vertoghen, Koscielny, Otamendi amd a fit VVD can do this all day long. They are comfortable in starting attacks. Smalling gets a nose bleed once he's close to the half way line and panics and often makes a decision to worsen our attack. Yesterday was a perfect example, he shat himself and decided to dive because he can't play football.
If Jose puts up with him next season its clear he's perfectly happy with inferior technical players and doesn't care for a passing game.
So he completed just 79% of his passes yesterday. Acceptable for a tricky winger but really piss poor for a central defender at a team like United who invariably have %'s in the 90s because they make so many straightforward passes around the back. Jones was 90%. For City, La Porte and Ottamendi completed 90% and 91% respectively against Leicester. Vertonghen and Sanchez were 89% and 90% against Arsenal. Mustafi and Koscielny completed 81% and 90% in the same game.
To put these stats in context, my memory of Smalling and Jones was that they were extremely risk averse with their passing. I don't remember any attempts to pas through the lines, lofted through balls, or long passes into the channels. It was all strictly vanilla, from start to finish. Which makes these completion stats all the more unacceptable.
To put these stats in context, my memory of Smalling and Jones was that they were extremely risk averse with their passing. I don't remember any attempts to pas through the lines, lofted through balls, or long passes into the channels. It was all strictly vanilla, from start to finish. Which makes these completion stats all the more unacceptable.
Nail on head.
Smalling has one thing over all of those, in that he is reliably fit nearly all of the time. If you take out Smalling, you'd need to add to it.
Jones is still a question mark, but his fitness has been pretty decent this season, though I think it would be foolish to rely on him until he proves it long term. Bailly has had a few niggles and one lengthy absence, he just can't see to get going properly. Lindelof looks far from being ready and seemingly Mourinho doesn't have faith in him yet. Rojo has looked nowhere near as good as he was prior to his ACL injury. I don't see Tuanzebe being thrown in as first choice as soon as next season.
If Smalling is out, a reliable replacement definitely needs to come in.
If you want to participate on a forum and have any sort of meaningful discussion, the same posters should at least be reasonable enough to post something when he plays well; they don't. It's childish behaviour. One thing is saying it out loud, but when you write, you have time to think.
It goes to prove that he was really poor yesterday, even passing wise by his standards. He normally is well above 90% for his pass completion stats. He plays it safe, which is fine as long as we have others that can bring the ball out from defense, but sadly, we don't.
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