The day we see captain Chris Smalling with vice captain Luke Shaw is going to be a beautiful day
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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 and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
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Always knew his class and quality would come through.
Just need Jones to come out of the red zone and he'll be the same.
Just need Jones to come out of the red zone and he'll be the same.
Michelangelo Smalling is brilliant. So dominant, don't think he lost any duels yesterday?
Just seen the highlights after i missed the game. Chris fecking Smalling. Enough said.
Imagine we had done that rumoured swap deal for Vermaelen.
Him beside Koscielny would probably the best CB pairing in the world.
After the City red card.
The optimist in me insists on pointing out that the first and last options there effectively split the 'sane' vote, while the 'moronic twat' vote only had one outlet for their rage.
I like how no one wanted him fined with one week's wages but 6% were fine with two weeks' wages.
Someone posted this on one of the football threads on the Guardian. I think we've cracked it.
Aha!Someone posted this on one of the football threads on the Guardian. I think we've cracked it.
#smallingplus10
Even BFS is calling him Mike now 
Completely off topic but how the feck is Thiago not in this?
Would he start for every premier league team we think?
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Can't think of any team that wouldn't start him. Maybe City if Otamendi and Kompany are both playing well?
So Finn did not become a Jedi after all?
He's better than Otamendi so I think he would start in my opinion.
Of course, any of us here would have done the same.
Comfortably.
I'm struggling to think of a team in the world in which he wouldn't start in going on current form
Athletic Bilbao.
Fergie knew how to spot a defender.
So who is actually better than him in his current form, that he has almost had a season of under his belt now? Ramos? Ceillini? Thiago Silva? maybe Boateng? the difference is marginal.
Shout out Buttner.
Which is no surprise given he would rotate everyone but Evra. Evra played until his legs fell off.
In all seriousness, I don't either.
Though he's been performing at such an incredibly high level for so long I think it's safe to say that it isn't just form, it's that he's actually become a world-class CB.
Head onto RAWK and they think Sakho is the best CB in the league.
Exactly. At some point we will all have to stop tacking 'how he's playing now' onto the end of these observations. This has gone beyond just a purple patch.
And yep, you can find a place for him in any team in the world. He'd start for Bayern ahead of Benatia or Martinez. He'd start for Madrid ahead of Pepe or Varane. He'd start for Barca ahead of... well, arguably any of their CBs given some of Pique's dodgy games this season.
Obviously some will disagree because it offends their sensibilities and determination that English players and English teams always be worse than everyone else no exceptions, or because I've just mentioned their team. But Smalling has been all-but-flawless this season.
Definitely going to have to use this one at some point
Man Utd 2:0 West Brom
Involved twice so far and doing both actions in a decisive, commanding fashion. Loving this new side of his game. Much more authority about his work so far.
Yep. He's a monster.
Dribbles more than anyone else in the team.
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