12
I'd sooner be a Prem player than Smalling reaching Ferdinand's level. The way he gave up on that fourth goal was pathetic. I'd feck him off the club just for that.
I never said he is a pub level player or that he has to be sold because he is too shit for the squad.
Yup.
That's what I said pre-match. We looked very solid with Valencia/Bailly/Blind/Shaw at the start of the season. Soon as Mourinho brought him back in to the team we started to look ropey again. He should not be a starter and certainly not the captain. Would rather Tony V get the armband. He really is an average player.
DDG expected Smalling to collect the ball? DDG comes out of his box and CALLS for Smalling to leave it (watch the replay, it's clear. Smalling steps aside to let DDG clear it from DDG's call). If DDG is expecting Smalling to collect the ball, he doesn't come out of his box. Infact, if DDG doesn't come for that at all, Smalling probably clears it with ease, or pokes it back to DDG to clear. Blind should't be expecting anything of Smalling there. Pedro is Blind's man, he plays him onside to even allow it to happen by being deeper than Smalling and Valencia (the most significant error of this comedy or errors), he doesn't communicate with Smalling about Pedro (Smalling doesn't know he is there, he is leaving the ball for DDG who has claimed it), he doesn't continue to follow Pedro's run and at least try to make it difficult for him. Smalling is caught between poor communication from DDG and no communication from Blind. Blind drops a bollock 3 times in one piece of play there.
Agreed. He wasn't tight on Cahill from before the ball came in. Very poor. The one goal that was entirely his fault.
Hazard will sell most centre backs down the river in the penalty area. He shouldn't have been allowed to stroll in unmarked. The damage was done before Smalling was involved.
Also agreed. Poor, but still not the most at fault from that goal, even though he was one of the three that were. Pogba just watched it happen and Blind goes rogue and leaves the whole left centre back position completely empty to chase Pedro who has his back to goal. The kind of thing David Luiz would always get lambasted for, losing his head and chasing the ball. Watch what Blind does when Pedro lays it off. He just flaps his hands and stands still. Smalling has to shift over to cover the gap. But Smalling definitely shoudn't let Kante get across him the way he did. Very poor, and knowing what Smalling is capable of he could have prevented it, but bigger errors made in the lead up to that goal.
You will. Today wasn't one. He was poor, I'm not suggesting otherwise, but he was at fault for 2 goals, which has been exaggerated to 4. The way the kneejerking was panning out in the match day thread, Courtois could have scored from a goal kick and it would have been Smalling's fault.
plus Bailly played better with Blind bizarrely enough.
I agree. I'd argue all our goals came from successive individual mistakes. A modern team is after all designed to fix one error, since there are safeties everywhere (in theory at least).
Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
