Michael fecking Owen couldn't analyse his ass from his nose. If ever there was a commentator who couldn't smell his own bullshit, then that's Michael Owen.
There are plenty of times when Smalling is marshalling the defence. When he's dominating opposition in the air. When he diffuses situations before it even happens.
Does the system have something to do with how many chances we concede? Sure. But, to take away all the merit that Smalling has achieved this season and put it solely on him playing in a defensive system is ludicrous.
How many attackers have made good pundits? Shearer? Shit. Owen? Shit. Henry? Mostly Shit. Ian Wright? Mostly Shit.
Strikers have never been great analysers of the game. Very few of them can do it well because their involvement in the defensive aspects of a game and the build up and control of a game is minimal. This is why so many defenders and some sensible midfielders understand the game far better. Gary Neville, Carragher, Alan Hansen, Paul Parker, Martin Keown (biased, but he has his points)... let's go into management shall we? Guardiola, Van Gaal, Diego Simeone, Bill Shankly, Bob Paisely, Carlo Ancellotti, Klopp (striker first, then became defender), Arrigo Sacchi, Allegri... the list is endless.
I am not for once saying that strikers haven't made great coaches. Look at Sir Alex and Heynckes are examples that defy that rule. But, they are few and far between.
Much like goalkeepers, strikers are individualistic players whose skills bring less to the team in terms of defence, build-up, hold-up, counters... they rely on midfielders to do work with them. The midfielders see it best and so do the defenders who have to analyse the entirety of the game to understand how best to defend or attack.
So Michael Owen's comments are par for the course. They're those of a myopic bird brain who can't fully see the game for what it is. Feck off you toad.
There are plenty of times when Smalling is marshalling the defence. When he's dominating opposition in the air. When he diffuses situations before it even happens.
Does the system have something to do with how many chances we concede? Sure. But, to take away all the merit that Smalling has achieved this season and put it solely on him playing in a defensive system is ludicrous.
How many attackers have made good pundits? Shearer? Shit. Owen? Shit. Henry? Mostly Shit. Ian Wright? Mostly Shit.
Strikers have never been great analysers of the game. Very few of them can do it well because their involvement in the defensive aspects of a game and the build up and control of a game is minimal. This is why so many defenders and some sensible midfielders understand the game far better. Gary Neville, Carragher, Alan Hansen, Paul Parker, Martin Keown (biased, but he has his points)... let's go into management shall we? Guardiola, Van Gaal, Diego Simeone, Bill Shankly, Bob Paisely, Carlo Ancellotti, Klopp (striker first, then became defender), Arrigo Sacchi, Allegri... the list is endless.
I am not for once saying that strikers haven't made great coaches. Look at Sir Alex and Heynckes are examples that defy that rule. But, they are few and far between.
Much like goalkeepers, strikers are individualistic players whose skills bring less to the team in terms of defence, build-up, hold-up, counters... they rely on midfielders to do work with them. The midfielders see it best and so do the defenders who have to analyse the entirety of the game to understand how best to defend or attack.
So Michael Owen's comments are par for the course. They're those of a myopic bird brain who can't fully see the game for what it is. Feck off you toad.