Probably actually the best pair. Smalling is our only (sort of) leader and Lindelof is our only ball-player.
Best CB pairing
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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?
They did well, it's a tough place to go to is Burnley, didn't really notice Smalling which is a good thing.
Smalling and Fellaini by the looks of things. Lindelof does not really count.
Smalling is our best centre back by an absolute mile. The fact that Bailly seems to get more love genuinely baffles me. He's reliable, stays injury free, is great in the air & pops up with the odd goal.
Sure, he's not world class, but he is BY FAR the best we have. If he wasn't English he'd get far more respect.
Smalling & Lindelof anyway, not because Lindelof is particularly good, just that he's the only one of the other four who can stay fit for more than 3 games at a time.
Sure, he's not world class, but he is BY FAR the best we have. If he wasn't English he'd get far more respect.
Smalling & Lindelof anyway, not because Lindelof is particularly good, just that he's the only one of the other four who can stay fit for more than 3 games at a time.
I like this Smalling and Lindelof pairing and I think Bailly and Lindelof is the future. I don't understand why so many of you don't want Lindelof on the field. His only drawback is he does not have a physical presence but a player can make up for that with positioning and smarts. I think he is learning and is going to get better and better. I also like his comfort on the ball, his reading for interceptions and, some of you might not recognize this, his leadership. He is not shy about organizing players and does this naturally. Smalling does this but it's not natural and looks like weak leadership.
Tbh I'm not convinced by Lindelof at all. He looks the most likely of our centre backs to turn over the ball and cause a really bad counter attack. He looks nervy any time he gets near it. Put Bailly in for Lindelof Jose.
I think you are the one that just want it to look that way. Lindelof is pretty cool on the ball.
Bailly and Smalling is probably the most unconvincing and unbalanced partnership.
If Smalling wasnt English he'd be lauded by most of our fanbase
Our best centre-back for a good few years now
Our best centre-back for a good few years now
Bailly looks like he will give a penalty away with every challenge at the moment.
You need to see the light mate. Bailly is not good enough. No idea how many times he needs to have absolute nightmares before the penny finally drops with most people.
Which is a worry in of itself, as Smalling is mediocre and shouldn't be playing for a club like United.
I really don't know what the best partnership is; none of them are cutting it at the moment. Bailly looked terrific initially but hasn't been the same since returning from injury. The centre backs are a major problem.
Current one until we lose.
I think Smalling and Lindelof should be given more time. The last two matches were against more physical strikers which basically try to bully the defence, I want to see how they defend against a more technical, faster and nimble strikers and see how they deal with them.
I don’t really think we can judge smalling-lindelof as a partnership with Fellaini doing a lot of the work and covering for their inadequacies
I'm not sure I do.
Lindelöf’s.
Smalling + (Lindelof/Bailly) is fine for now. Need Smalling in every match. Rojo can provide backup.
Jones can fcuk off.
Jones can fcuk off.
Smalling plus one.
Personally, I still think Bailly is that 'plus one' but he needs to fight his way back into the team then consistently perform to stay there. I dont rate Lindelöf in the slightest but he hasn't really put a foot wrong in the past two starts so I dont mind him retaining his spot alongside Smalling for now. I just have no confidence in Victor, he's like an accident waiting to happen - there will be a nightmare coming up soon and he'll be dropped again.
Jones and Rojo need selling in the summer with a world-class CB coming in to give us Smalling, new CB, Bailly and Lindelöf (Axel as backup).
Personally, I still think Bailly is that 'plus one' but he needs to fight his way back into the team then consistently perform to stay there. I dont rate Lindelöf in the slightest but he hasn't really put a foot wrong in the past two starts so I dont mind him retaining his spot alongside Smalling for now. I just have no confidence in Victor, he's like an accident waiting to happen - there will be a nightmare coming up soon and he'll be dropped again.
Jones and Rojo need selling in the summer with a world-class CB coming in to give us Smalling, new CB, Bailly and Lindelöf (Axel as backup).
It's a disgrace we still need to have this conversation. A club of United's stature should have two world class centre backs every game, with quality back up players who would walk in to most other teams. In fact we haven't got a world class centre back at the club. The summer transfer window was a total mess.
Smalling and lindelof
I was trying to be subtle because in other threads I’ve been as subtle as a brick when discussing VL. He’s just not a good defender as evidenced by the fact we now need to play fellaini there. Would SAF have had to do that with any of his cb partnerships? No, because they could all defend first and foremost. This just shows that we don’t trust our cbs
I'm trying not to be too harsh, but Fellaini having to essentially hold Lindelofs hand and make sure he is ok is rather pathetic. I hope I'm wrong but the first game we play without Fellaini will be telling.
It’s mainly that VL is pathetic in the air. So basically, that part of his job has been given to Fellaini. The issue is, that’s a third of his job description.
I’m not sure. That game will likely be a game against a team that poses a different type of threat. Fellaini is essentially there to do his heading for him.
I agree - I think Bailly can work his way back into team. His stats in comparison to Lindelof are not bad - sorry for the long link!
http://www2.squawka.com/comparison-...e_errors/errors_leading_to_goal/clearances#90
It’s crazy. We have to sacrifice a midfielder or attacking outlet because a cb isn’t capable of heading a fecking ball. Bonkers
Lindelof is just not good enough. I'd drop him for the next game for Bailly or Rojo if I was Jose.
Who are all these world class centre backs we are supposed to have?
Yes and no. Fellaini playing that deep may actually allow our fullbacks to attack more, which may actually make us more attacking overall since our actual wingers don't keep the width. Matic also ends up pushing up a bit further, and ultimately if this continues either Fred or Pereira may be better in that role.
Fellaini also gives us a fairly good ball player at the back. Obviously that's a weakness of his compared to many midfielders, but compared to most central defenders he's quite good (especially compared to ours). There were a number of times against Watford where he picked up the ball from the back and played a good ball forward that got us straight onto the front foot.
If we can truly utilise our fullbacks like this, it may kind of end up a modified 3-4-3 formation.
Manchester United shouldn't be relying on players of the calibre of Smalling and Lindelof. They wouldn't be near the starting eleven of comparable clubs. The fact we seemed to be chasing every half decent centre back in Europe during the last transfer window, yet failed to get any of them, is evidence that we know there's a problem. We need big reform in that area. For example, Liverpool identified Van Dijk then paid whatever was required to get him. We seem to be scratching around, uncertain of what to do.
Bailly has all the tools to be a great defender. He's strong, quick, tall, agile, has good feet and he plays with his heart (he puts his body out there and sometimes get hurt). Lastly, he is 24 years old. Do you really want to write him off so quickly? I think it's too early for that and I think Mou believe this too as he has been bringing him back slowly.
I miss Blind, he's a much better second foil to Smalling than anyone else we got right now.
Agreed.
Having all the physical attributes isn't even half of the battle. He's demonstrated plenty of times that he doesn't have the intelligence or mentality for it.
Smalling is definitely the best out and out defender at this club.Yes,he’s prone to the odd shocking mistake....Yes,his distribution under or even without pressure leaves a lot to be desired...But when it comes to just raw defensive skills,the lads very very good.Smalling has to be the first defender on the team sheet and we need to zero in on a partner alongside him...Lindelofs had a couple of decent games so he deserves a few more games to establish himself.Hopefully Bailly will get another look in soon because he’s got huge potential..l
It's funny because at various times over the past few years I have thought Smalling, Bailly, Jones and Rojo have looked 'United quality' and hit some amazing form! I went to the United V Chelsea game a few years back and Rojo looked like the second coming of feckin Maldini! All of them seem to be made of glass though and as soon as they get into their rhythm they get injured and go back to looking crap again!
If (and it's a big if) two centre backs out of the 5 can stay fit and start to build and actual partnership, then I think we may change our minds on needing reinforcements come the next transfer window!
If (and it's a big if) two centre backs out of the 5 can stay fit and start to build and actual partnership, then I think we may change our minds on needing reinforcements come the next transfer window!
Smalling is not injury prone, he has an excellent fitness record for a CB. Don't lump him with the others, that's just lazy argumentation.
Utd have only ever had 2 world class CB's together for about 5/6 years in the history of the club. Rio and Vidic obviously. Not going to pretend that Bruce and Pallister were close to that level or Johnsen and Berg when they alternated as partners for Stam, or any of the Brown/Silvestre/Evans crowd were among the very best in the game.
People should have switched on to the truth by now, that is not as easy to replace people like Smalling and Jones with higher quality as it is made out to be. The depth of talent in the position is not great.