Ditto Evans and Jones.
12
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 29
- Clean sheets
- 8
- Goals
- 4
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 3
- Red cards
- 1
His performance today was excellent, can't remember him making any mistake at all. Great positioning, calm on the ball and some really good passes from the back, which surprised me most.
He looks like our most natural CB. Not the most talented, but the most natural ...
He looks like our most natural CB. Not the most talented, but the most natural ...
Needs to actually stay fit now. Until he can do that, then he'll get nowhere.
He still scares the shit out of me, it's just that Rojo is even worse.
I want to believe
So don't get yourself fecking injured again please.
So don't get yourself fecking injured again please.
He looked pretty good, give him a run of matches and I'm sure he'll be the same player that awed us in his first year.
You've done it now...
Brilliant today. Our best centre half option at this moment in time.
His pace and size really is hard to beat.
When Willian was going through 1 on 1 everybody feared the worst; but he just glided over and intercepted like Rio in his prime.
How anybody can say he isn't our best defender I have no idea.
When Willian was going through 1 on 1 everybody feared the worst; but he just glided over and intercepted like Rio in his prime.
How anybody can say he isn't our best defender I have no idea.
I still don't understand how Jones is more highly rated tbh.
He's virtually unbeatable in a flat-out one-on-one. Welbeck mentioned this in an interview, also. I remember in pre-season (I know) but Sterling tried to take him with a burst of pace on the edge of the box but Smalling was more than quick enough and stopped it. I've said it so many times, but I don't think there's a CB in the league better at defending in a single one-on-one situtation against a forward.
He looks so clumsy and nervy on the ball, but he is a talented defender. Its the same as with Jones, can he stay fit? He's a beast physically and 1 on 1 defensively he is quality. Just needs to be calmer when he has the ball, though there was nothing wrong with it today. He just doesn't instill confidence when passing it around.
Anyone else think that we are much more solid and composed with Smalling in the side? Rio esque today.
I think a lot of the criticism he got in the past was based on performances at right back, where he is quite simply tripe.
Hopefully we keep the same side with Rooney involved and falcao in for januzaj!
I think a lot of the criticism he got in the past was based on performances at right back, where he is quite simply tripe.
Hopefully we keep the same side with Rooney involved and falcao in for januzaj!
Feel much more comfortable with him defensively than with Jonesy in the side to be honest. Jones needs to calm the feck down
I've always thought that the critisisms against him and especially his ability on the ball have been slightly ott. I can't remember the last time he was really poor for us. And I think his ability on the ball, while limited, has never been as bad as the general conception of it.
Yep, the right back stint really left a sour memory to a lot of people, which was completely unfair really. Just because he has the physical attributes, it doesn't mean he will be good there.
If he can just stay fit for a season it would make him so much more confident and better.
Agreed. He played an absolute peach of a pass to Di Maria in the game, his issues are more composure and weak foot based, not on his actual passing ability.
Smalling was brilliant today. Hopefully he can stay fit for a few more games so that we can go on a decent run.
I've always thought he was very good but I won't let one good game convince me that he's our CB solution. If he can string 10+ fit and competent games together; Hallelujah, I'm a believer.
When Willian went through, did anyone think that Smalling wasn't going to catch him?
He simply needs to stay fit, which is obviously easier said than done.
As a pure defender he's fantastic, his passing and composure on the ball may be lacking but in terms of positioning and tackling and anticipation he's really good.
As a pure defender he's fantastic, his passing and composure on the ball may be lacking but in terms of positioning and tackling and anticipation he's really good.
Smalling tends to get bullied against lesser opposition who often have monster forwards. Funnily enough he seems to raise his game for bigger games. He needs to shout more. He needs to be a little more aggressive. But whether he can find consistency and stay fit remains to be seen
I think he played two or three really penetrating balls to the front players today. Terrific performance defensively as well, other than the Ivanovic incident.
His distribution was top notch against Chelsea. He didn't look clumsy even once. I remember an excellent long ball he played to Shaw right on the money. I think he'll build from this. We'll need a repeat performance against City
Gave Rojo a right rollicking after he lost the ball to Willian for the one on one he saved.
Yea but lets not forget missing Costa. So while it was a good game today was not the test it could be... Lets hope its the start of him being confident enough to play to his full potential for when Costa is there.
Purely on defending and natural positioning. I might argue McNair is more naturally gifted. But he was good today so lets not split hairs. Had a bumpy ride of late deserves his day in the sun. I'm happy for him
Totally agree with this but about all our defenders in general. They are only human and were severely criticized for the shambolic defending we have seen over the pat few months. All coming form mounting pressure of many bad displays where none of them shone and it becomes a vicious circle. They are at times too afraid to play ball in fear of messing up and being the one on the back page ridiculed from all sides. If we have any luck at all. Some of them will get a good run in the team and give us the solidity we know is there but could never just grasp it. A clean bill of health for a four or five games and we might get things even better.
As I've said since his first season: give him 1 or 2 full seasons without any serious injuries, in the CB position(!), and we have one of the best centerbacks in the world. I've always believed in Smalling, and I'll continue to do so.
Having said that, it's hopeless to improve when you're injured 50% of the time...
Having said that, it's hopeless to improve when you're injured 50% of the time...
Yeah, like I said, there was nothing wrong with it today at all, he just comes across as clumsy when he has the ball at his feet. More of just the feeling I get when he has the ball rather then anything.
For me, he's comfortably better than Jones. I wouldn't even contemplate selling him, despite his injury record when Evans and Jones are both poor on that regard also and Smalling is our most naturally gifted defender with further scope for improvement.
Immense today, but nothing we haven't already seen from him.
Needs to stay fit. If he wasn't so injury prone who knows how big a player for us he might have been by now?
Needs to stay fit. If he wasn't so injury prone who knows how big a player for us he might have been by now?
Forgot about him. I'd like to see them to get a run together. Both are just natural defenders with good heading, and might reduce that '10 cm' LvG talked about.
Soild game from him today, bar the wrestling in the box that the commentators kept harping on about.
Would really like to see him go the rest of the season injury free and show what he can do over a long period of time. He has always been the best defensivily of the trio, but was a bit lacking on the ball compared to them (why he was a horrible RB most of the time).
Would really like to see him go the rest of the season injury free and show what he can do over a long period of time. He has always been the best defensivily of the trio, but was a bit lacking on the ball compared to them (why he was a horrible RB most of the time).
Might be at the other end he meant....Forgot about him. I'd like to see them to get a run together. Both are just natural defenders with good heading, and might reduce that '10 cm' LvG talked about.
Because it's natural for people to rate a player who puts himself about more. Smalling is clearly the better defender, I don't have to worry about him being out of position anytime he plays, something Jones is guilty of all the time.
I think it has to do with Phil Jones' more aggressive, no nonsense nature, he's the one who's going to produce the hard crunching tackles not Smalling, and therefore it becomes easier for people to identify that he's doing something. Where as Smalling is more of an interceptor, that reads the game and breaks up play and this is a lot more underrated, similarly to Carrick & Blind and this is something that is harder to identify in the heat of the moment, it's only really praised afterwards.
Plus like someone said - his RB days have erased a lot of people's memory of him when he first came here and partnered Vida/Evans and played excellently.
I've said before that Smalling is our best defender, and against a very good Chelsea side i'm glad he's reminded people of his quality.
I have always said that he's our best defender. He was great yesterday, even his passing was good. Unlike Jones, he knows how to physically impose himself. Let's just hope he stays fit for gods sake!
Was made easy for him but was a great piece of defending when he went one on one with Willian.
There's more to it than that. Jones is much better on the ball too.
Well said, I agree. Smalling is the pro-active guy, doing enough to prevent danger with his positioning and reading of the game (not world class in that matter, sure, but ahead of the rest of our CBs). Jones is reactive, the “last ditch” tackle guy.
At this point I can see a solid defence build around Smalling in the middle, I really rate him. Guys like Jones are needed too, but I don’t trust him (and Rojo).
Jones is much better at bringing the ball out of the defence though.
True that, but he does feck up a lot more. When Blind positions himself so close to the centre backs as he does, Smalling can easily find an output these days. I have to admit though, that every time Rojo gave the ball to Smalling, I was kind of like thinking "now why would you go and do THAT?". Funny thing is, Smalling's passing appeared better than that of Rojo, which was supposedly Rojo's biggest asset, along with his pace, I think.