I think up until November he looked top class which gave some the false hope that he can be up there with the very best (maybe the second tier of defenders). I'm not say he can't reach that level, but he'll have to start performing far more consistently in order to do so.
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Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 36
- Clean sheets
- 18
- Goals
- 2
- Assists
- 2
- Yellow cards
- 0
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What is this thread about? Smalling and Bailly delt with everything Feyenoord had with ease 
only 1 crappy offside call and a lack of midfield effort cost us the goal.
I prefer Smalling on the right side of the defence but I guess he feels more comfortable than Bailly on the left.
only 1 crappy offside call and a lack of midfield effort cost us the goal. I prefer Smalling on the right side of the defence but I guess he feels more comfortable than Bailly on the left.
Watford 3:1 Man Utd
For once I would like to see Smalling try to clear the ball down the pitch when he is close to the corner flag rather than just put the ball out of play.
What is he doing there for the second?
Being strong and pacy with good tackling. Apparently that is all a CB needs to be world class.
As I keep saying again and again and again he is not good enough for where we want to be. He has a mistake in him in every game that nearly always costs us. How he is a caf darling on here I will never know.
He was far better than Bailly today and probably our best defender, altough I don't think our defenders deserve much criticism today anyway.
Anyone blaming him for the second goal is really clutching at straws.
He is where he should be, Fellaini got drawn to a ball and left a open space for a backpass.....
He takes way too much time on the ball, considering he ends up passing it wide to Shaw in most cases. Really infuriates me sometimes, how amateurish his technique looks.
Nothing wrong. A midfielder should pick up that run.
He does take too long on the ball. No question there. Problem is, he does, Pogba does, Rooney does and fellaini does. That's a few too many.
It takes him 20 seconds to get the ball out of his feet.
He is so shit and overrated. We need an experienced CB, as long as we dont get that, we will stay shit. No communication and leadership at the back, shambles
We should have just stayed with the same back 4. Don't know why Mourinho changed it when we were so solid before.
Lacks composure in general. Overall Blind is a better option, even if he didn't cover himself in glory against City.
Please stop trying to disrobe opposition players.
Can't stand him.
Whatever CB pairing we put now it's a problem.
Carthorse
Absolutely zero technique. A player for Manchester United should not boot the ball into touch as much as he does.
Stones is blasted for trying to be progressive yet you have a fairly experienced player that's unable to keep the ball under the slightest bit of pressure. That's the real embarrassment.
Stones is blasted for trying to be progressive yet you have a fairly experienced player that's unable to keep the ball under the slightest bit of pressure. That's the real embarrassment.
He needs to be playing beside someone with a calm head. Both him and Bailly are rash so it was an accident waiting to happen. Also all the shirt tugging annoys me. Thick as they come.
^This... both goals occurred because we had no midfielders where they were supposed to be. Heck the 2nd goal it is Mata our right wing coming in late because Pogba nor Fellaini iso anywhere to be found.
One of the most overrated players on here by a distance. There was a huge clamour to have him back in the staring eleven and I honestly don't know why. feck me, the days of a prime Rio and Vidic really were a treat.
Didn't we have this problem on Thursday with Morgan not picking up his man and a goal resulting? Are they being coached properly to defend or are they just not capable of it?
He's a good player and probably our best CB but he is massively overrated on here. Last season Blind got dogs abuse all season and you'd think Smalling could turn water to wine the way he apparantly carried him despite Daley doing his fair share. Smalling needs to earn his place like everyone else.
He's a bit of an idiot, isn't he? I thought he was a far more intelligent defender when he first came to the club. Now he just hacks down attackers like an average mid-table stopper.
I just don't rate him at all. If he continues to play he's going to pick up lots of penalties for shirt pulling . He even brought down Ibra today pulling his shirt .
Was always overrated.
But his form has fallen off a cliff since the new year. His needless fouls are annoying and the way he ponders on the ball and his general technique on the ball are infuriating.
But his form has fallen off a cliff since the new year. His needless fouls are annoying and the way he ponders on the ball and his general technique on the ball are infuriating.
I can't quite get how he can be overrated when 20 people in a row here are saying he is overrated.
He's nowhere near as bad as he's being made out to be. Bailly was much worse today imo
dunno where did all the criticism came out from
some posters here are joke, rating Bailly and Blind over him, like they forgot that he was one of our best players last season and one of the best performers past years in the first half of the season for defence... dunno why he's not very likeable, maybe because he's English and wasnt bought for 30million, and looks just a bit clumsy on the ball, he's no-nonsense defender and by far the best one in the team with Shaw...and it was his first game of the season with erratic Bailly next to him..
Can we stop with this kind of defenses? X was even worse.it's the Roonites modus operandi.
It's a Smalling thread discussing his perfomances.
That's fair enough, but Bailly was his direct CB partner, so if Bailly was shite it won't help Smalling. He has played two games this season and the criticism is massively exaggerated.
There were threads last season debating if Smaling was the best CB in England, now he's being slaughtered when he wasn't near being the worst performer.
Valencia and Blind have finally won some reprieve. Bailly and Shaw apparently can do no wrong. So who is left for Cafe abuse? Simple.
I don't think he played badly at all. It is just I don't believe in similar CBs pairing. You need different type. It looks worse that he can't really pass forward and it puts so much pressure on whoever he is passing who will have to stay back within 5 yards of him.
So many times today, both of he and bailly passed to our FBs who was staying pretty deep and they immediately got pressed and lost the ball a few times or just had to turned back and passed the ball to keepers.
At least with blind, shaw can stay a bit higher to make sure the other team has to worry behind their line and blind would beat the line 8 out of 10 times.
So many times today, both of he and bailly passed to our FBs who was staying pretty deep and they immediately got pressed and lost the ball a few times or just had to turned back and passed the ball to keepers.
At least with blind, shaw can stay a bit higher to make sure the other team has to worry behind their line and blind would beat the line 8 out of 10 times.
I can't remember now. Pretty sure he had two shirts in hand and they may have been both united shirts. One was certainly Ibra. If they really start implementing the rule he's in trouble .
When did the Ibra thing happen?
Completely missed it.
Some of us always thought he was cack.
I said last season he's basically Gary Cahill. Everyone was shite today though
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