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2018-19 Performances


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5.6 Season Average Rating
Appearances
34
Clean sheets
8
Goals
1
Assists
0
Yellow cards
2
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Our best defender and seems to be the best partner for every other player.
 
If people think he is great in the air. I give up.

Great game Smalling, keep it up.
 
He has always been bad in the air. We dont have a single player I can say is great in the air defensively.
Probably the best defensive header of a ball we've had bar Vidic in the last 10 years. But somehow he's bad in the air. Every player lose headers now and again especially against the likes of Burnley. He along with Fellaini cleared 90% of the balls that came in.
 
Played fairly well today although Burnley didn't pressure either of the defenders much and he was uncharacteristically dodgy in the air.

If he can play passes like that to Sanchez why does he spend the rest of the game passing sideways to Lindelof or Valencia?
 
What will be the next line of attack. Shit on the ball, handsy, shit in the air. Is he slow as well?
 
Should have started the season and we might have avoided the Brighton mess.
 
Smalling is the ying for Lindeloff yang. Those two should be our main pair, until we get a better centerback(s).
 
He's not world class but sure as hell he's the best defender from the bunch we have. Should always play as long as he's fit.
 
He was okay, just hate how much he grabs opposition strikers. I understand you need to be physical but the grabbing is gonna cost us some day.
 
One game where he's uncharacteristically poor at his best attribute and it suddenly becomes a weakness he's always had? Come on people
Yeh. Alderweirld(?) missed a header today and cost Spurs. Guess he's not good in the air also.
 
Theres an astounding amount of weird opinions when it comes to discussing his performances. If he plays a fabulous pass, he is shit in the air. If he wins a lot of duels, his time will be up when VAR is introduced. When he plays it calm he is passive, if he is aggressive he is brainless. He can't play in a high line against top teams, he can't play against Burnley because he is weak in the air:lol:

I do like that silly hairstyle actually. I think he has done pretty decent these two games, but we depend on him hitting some serious form soon. I'm not sure why but he looks a little fatigued and slow in his turns, which is weird as it also looks like he has lost some weight. I thought he would be a bit quicker, but it could be lack of match fitness.
 
He was okay, just hate how much he grabs opposition strikers. I understand you need to be physical but the grabbing is gonna cost us some day.

It's been only 4 years I've been hearing that. Maybe in the next 4 he'll get pulled up on it once and then everyone will go "SEE, I TOLD YOU". As if gettinng pulled up on it only once in a blue moon is not a justification to keep doing it.
 
If people think he is great in the air. I give up.

Great game Smalling, keep it up.

Did you start your football watching today? Ever seen Smalling play before?
You'll be saying he's "Immobile" and "lacks pace" next
 
The defence had great protection today.

Yep, we can mask Lindelöf's massive aerial weakness when slotting in Smalling, Fellaini, Matic and Pogba round him for sure.
 
Chris Smalling. Bad in the air. Smalling. Bad. In the air.

Jesus Christ, it's literally one of his better attributes. Also much better in the air than our other CB's, so god knows how shite in the air the rest of them must be.
 
I don't like the haircut. :nervous:

He has always been bad in the air. We dont have a single player I can say is great in the air defensively.
He's literally one of the best aerial central defenders in the league. Probably top 3, certainly top 5. At open play anyway; he's not quite so good when it's a set piece but he's still our best there too. Calling him bad in the air is as ridiculous as the poster who was claiming he was slow a few weeks ago.
 
He was okay, just hate how much he grabs opposition strikers. I understand you need to be physical but the grabbing is gonna cost us some day.

Heard the same thing for 4 years already and still not happening. Let's give it up.
 
He was okay, just hate how much he grabs opposition strikers. I understand you need to be physical but the grabbing is gonna cost us some day.
Maybe but as long as he gets away with it I'm fine with it. The amount of times he's been called on it while in the league can be counted on one hand. Meh.
 
Solid today. Jose needs to buy a solid left sided centre back to compliment him.

@GifLord

Can you get a clip of when Smaling played that gorgeous ball to Sanchez, please?

52.25

Thanks
 
How often have we seen Bailly and Smalling play together? My memory is failing me.
 


Funnily enough, in Van Gaal's first season I remember he'd developed a pretty decent cross field ball out to the left back. Then he lost all confidence in it after a while, and since Mourinho's been he's never really developed it back (he's been moved around repeatedly from RCB to LCB)
 
Funnily enough, in Van Gaal's first season I remember he'd developed a pretty decent cross field ball out to the left back. Then he lost all confidence in it after a while, and since Mourinho's been he's never really developed it back (he's been moved around repeatedly from RCB to LCB)

Yeah, he was more confident on the ball

 
He was a rock yesterday. Once again, it's looking like our starting CBs for the season should be Smalling + 1.
 
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