I remember it differently. Still lots of talk in summer about needing 2 centre halfs on here and in media.
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Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 55
- Clean sheets
- 24
- Goals
- 2
- Assists
- 1
- Yellow cards
- 13
- Red cards
- 1
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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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Man of the year our Smalling
Strong.
If he can stay fit all season, I think he'll be recognised as one of the top three CB's in the league. Right now, I'd have nobody else in the league.
There was literally no talk about replacing Smalling, it was all about finding him a suitable,long term partner.
I think that was more to do with concerns over his injury record, rather than his ability when fit.
Absolute monster, if we afford the same patience to Jones who is similarly talented just a bit less ...shall we say "refined" then we are sorted.
Every fan from other teams thinks Smalling has only been good this season, completely forgetting that ever since the Man city game, he has been one of the best centre backs in the league, maybe even the world.
Superb, keep it up Mike.
He and Cahill have pretty much solidified themselves as the first choice partnership now. Jagielka, Stones and Jones will be competing for the remaining 2 CB slots in the squad for the Euro's next year.
An absolute revelation since he changed his name. Mike > Chris. Best centre half in the leadgue for me rght now. Bosses his way through games. I think him and Jones (if he stays fit) can give is a Bruce/Pallister Ferdinand/Vidic pairing. They are still both relatively young and definitely have the talent.
He's our lowest rated CB on fifa 
Tbh I thought he was doing very well last season as well, and before that was mostly affected by injuries. But under LVG he's thriving. Long may it continue.
Tbh I thought he was doing very well last season as well, and before that was mostly affected by injuries. But under LVG he's thriving. Long may it continue.
I have been his fanboy for years and been laughed at by my mates.. This is just so great to see him boss players week in week out. Our best player this season always one of our top three players every game.
And under Moyes, he did very well. Which tends to get overlooked IMO. Definitely one of our best players in that horrible season, and it can easily be argued that he was our best CB that season despite not playing consistently in his best position. Obviously he's on a completely different level now where even his composure on the ball has significantly improved and he's being mentioned as one of the best CBs in the PL (definitely up there with Koscielny), but I think some people downplay his performances pre-Van Gaal a bit too much.
I don't think there was a single United fan watching the game who was at any point concerned when Lukaku went up against Smalling. Pretty much everyone knew he was going to win the contest easily.
That is why you shouldn't judge players based on fifa rating...He's our lowest rated CB on fifa
Tbh I thought he was doing very well last season as well, and before that was mostly affected by injuries. But under LVG he's thriving. Long may it continue.
edit: many people do this unfortunately.
Of course they do, especially non United fans and the media.
This narrative that Smalling has been rubbish up until now, and this season has suddenly been a revelation, is just such utter nonsense. Its clear he's had all the tools to be a great defender from the first game he played for us. He's just been held back by injuries, being played at right back and Rio/Vidic.
LVG has made a massive contribution to his play on the ball, no doubt about it, but his defensive game has always been there. He just needed to put it all together consistently.
I remember being laughed at last year when I said to a colleague, who is a United fan, that Smalling was our best defender and, actually, wasn't total shite.
Then again the same guy told me that he thought De Gea was 'dodgy' at the start of last season.
His passing is class IMO for the player he physically is. In all honesty, i dont think this league can host ball playing defenders all that easily & smalling has the ability to find the right pass out of trouble atleast.
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I'm struggling to think of any defender who has been as good or efffective as him over the past 9-12 months.
He is turning into a great united defender, a trusted leader at the back. I said before the season started that I had lots of faith in Smalling.
I wonder if LvG was trying to buy Hummels to replace Smalling, it's not that LvG can't see he is a good defender, but he just rates ball playing defenders very high and defending becomes the second most important thing or so it seems at times.
He has been our best defender the last 3 seasons imo, right now i wouldn't have anyone over him and that isn't overrating, he sweeps up everything that comes at him.
I'm not sure he will ever be a CB who can ping accurate long balls consistently, but with the right partner that shouldn't be a problem, although sometimes it does hinder your team in a possession style of football if your CB can't make those passes.
He has been our best defender the last 3 seasons imo, right now i wouldn't have anyone over him and that isn't overrating, he sweeps up everything that comes at him.
I'm not sure he will ever be a CB who can ping accurate long balls consistently, but with the right partner that shouldn't be a problem, although sometimes it does hinder your team in a possession style of football if your CB can't make those passes.
He's added a lot more aggression to his game in the last year/18 months. He reads the game well and snuffs out danger early, a bit like Rio in that respect.
Quite underrated by non-United fans it seems, not that I could give a shite.
Quite underrated by non-United fans it seems, not that I could give a shite.
Thanks for that.
What do your friends say now? I have a Smalling shirt and im proud of it
I always rated Jones ahead of Smalling, especially in terms of talent, but Smalling puts in the kind of performances only a true world class player can do consistently. He's not just been doing few mistakes and kept it simple, he has dominated the game and that isn't easy to do as a centre back. If he continues on this form, which I wouldn't count on, then I think he's good enough to be labeled world class.
You basically couldn't ask for more of a beast physically at the back. Thankfully he's finally gotten past the injuries like we all said he needed to do. Honestly think Jones can make a similar improvement once he stays fit, as he's also an excellent defender at his best and is only 23. That's a big reason why I think Van Gaal hasn't been too keen on buying a center back. He knows we have a top class one in Smalling, and a potentially world class one in Jones, and both are still a few years from their prime probably.
Ever since that red card a year ago, Smalling has cut out all the things that usually hold back young defenders, like the lapses in concentration, silly mistakes, and injuries, and over the past year, he's been as good as any center back around really. Not just the premier league. Definitely the best in the league overall though. This season he's finally started to get the recognition he deserves and he's been thriving since the start. You can see how confident he is in every game, basically dominating every player and bullying opposition players. He looks a lot more confident on the ball as well these days, and it'll only get better. Hopefully Jones stays fit and can form a partnership alongside him, because if so, then those 2, with Shaw at left back, should be 3 of the back 4 for England for a long time. Maybe Stones rotating in there as he has huge potential as well.
Ever since that red card a year ago, Smalling has cut out all the things that usually hold back young defenders, like the lapses in concentration, silly mistakes, and injuries, and over the past year, he's been as good as any center back around really. Not just the premier league. Definitely the best in the league overall though. This season he's finally started to get the recognition he deserves and he's been thriving since the start. You can see how confident he is in every game, basically dominating every player and bullying opposition players. He looks a lot more confident on the ball as well these days, and it'll only get better. Hopefully Jones stays fit and can form a partnership alongside him, because if so, then those 2, with Shaw at left back, should be 3 of the back 4 for England for a long time. Maybe Stones rotating in there as he has huge potential as well.
In general (unlike Jones) he hasn't shown any big defensive weaknesses, even when playing RB. He was good backup to Rio and Vidic, maybe he didn't stand out like Jones and Evans did at some points, but he's always been at least a good defender. Since the City red card though, he's gone up a level.
The last part isn't even hyperbole
He was made one of the captains. It's clear that LvG rates him very highly and wouldn't replace him. He has even played every game this season.
Yeah I think Hummels and Ramos were both targeted for the right side of central defence. Think his belief is if you have the ball, the opposition can't score.
Smalling has sort of made himself undroppable though. What with Jones playing ahead of Blind as well it looks like he may be stopping this left footer with a right footer at the back.
The thing with Jones for me is, he's always just one unfortunate tackle away from getting injured. I've always liked him though. Just hope he could stay fit and less injury prone.
Bang on.
I've grown tired of trying to convince people that there was no 'post-City turning point' at all, but given that even many of our own fans seem to think so, then I doubt there is hope. The media never got it with him, but I have maintained that he is our best centre-half for a few years, even in the latter years of our legendary pair.
From his very first season he has been outstanding at centre-half, pretty much every single time he's played there. He's had big games against big teams, and apart from Benteke once where he pushed him over to set up a goal, I've never seen a centre-forward get the better of him in a game. He's unbeatable on the deck and in the air, and has been since he was proving it against Drogba in a Fulham shirt. People are just getting it because the media are absolute idiots, and also because United have been shite for most of his time in the first team here, which means all of our players except the ones who have performed at 'big international tournaments' are not good enough either.
From his very first season he has been outstanding at centre-half, pretty much every single time he's played there. He's had big games against big teams, and apart from Benteke once where he pushed him over to set up a goal, I've never seen a centre-forward get the better of him in a game. He's unbeatable on the deck and in the air, and has been since he was proving it against Drogba in a Fulham shirt. People are just getting it because the media are absolute idiots, and also because United have been shite for most of his time in the first team here, which means all of our players except the ones who have performed at 'big international tournaments' are not good enough either.
Well it´s very difficult to have anything bad to say on Smalling these days. So they never talk about him, in other words they just shut the feck up!
I think that Duncan Edwards tag given to Jones put the idea that he would have some sort of meteoric rise, and because of the comparisons made - a lot of fans at United at rival clubs automatically assumed Jones to be better than Smalling straight away - that's just my theory.
I can't speak for everyone, but I've rated Smalling over Jones since the first season they had together, Jones has always had more raw potential, but Smalling is a different kind of defender, in the same way i've always preferred Rio to Vidic - he has certain attributes that are natural and you can't teach.
I can't speak for everyone, but I've rated Smalling over Jones since the first season they had together, Jones has always had more raw potential, but Smalling is a different kind of defender, in the same way i've always preferred Rio to Vidic - he has certain attributes that are natural and you can't teach.
I don't even understand this tbh and its said a lot. I always thought Smalling looked more polished than Jones in defence, and that Jones was just more of an old fashioned English CB who threw himself at everything. Why exactly does Jones have more 'raw' potential (then and/or now?)
His man-marking jobs on Fellaini and Ronaldo, while playing in midfield, were pretty clear evidence that he's more than just an old fashioned English CB. As is the fact he played in midfield under every manager he's played under at club and international level.
O'shea did a job for us in midfield as well, even more than Jones. Midfield is not Jones' natural and best position and not one you expect to seem him play in anytime soon so what does it add to the argument that he has more potential than Smalling?
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