Smalling was alright yesterday. His form this season is pretty ropey though, he's so poor on the ball the opposition just let him have it.
12
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Smalling decides to come to the striker because he is playing him onside by falling back more than he needs to. He is quite clearly Rojo's man and Smalling shouldn't close the gap on the striker but he should be looking to the acres of space he is leaving behind him. He then doesn't close Markovic down enough and allows him to fire off a shot. Quite rightly De Gea is livid with him.
His positioning is absolutely terrible and he gets lucky that Huddlestone plays a sloppy pass across to Markovic otherwise he'd have been dead and buried and we would be 1-0 down with 5 mins to go. And even with the sloppy pass he still doesn't do enough to stop Markovic from having a crack while completely blocking De Gea's view.
that's nonsense, in a stuation like this, if smalling stepped out and played striker offside, the passer of the ball could thread through the pass to Markovic either from from the outside or as a through ball, plenty of space to execute that pass and than Markovic would be have been one on one with degea. degea is livid as every goalkeeper in situation like that, there were few little mistakes made in trying to break up the play. Rooney lost an easy header. Blind not anticipating that quicker, tracking back really slow, Herrera tryna cut the early pass, failing to recover, rojo hasitating to get back with the striker which is like you said is his player, probably expecting the passer to have a heavy touch before the pass to markovic, but it's perfect and Smalling failing to turn quickly enough to cut the pass, the rest is described above.Smalling decides to come to the striker because he is playing him onside by falling back more than he needs to. He is quite clearly Rojo's man and Smalling shouldn't close the gap on the striker but he should be looking to the acres of space he is leaving behind him. He then doesn't close Markovic down enough and allows him to fire off a shot. Quite rightly De Gea is livid with him.
His positioning is absolutely terrible and he gets lucky that Huddlestone plays a sloppy pass across to Markovic otherwise he'd have been dead and buried and we would be 1-0 down with 5 mins to go. And even with the sloppy pass he still doesn't do enough to stop Markovic from having a crack while completely blocking De Gea's view.
It would be extremely harsh to blame only Smalling for this, something like "his positioning is absolutely terrible" only sums up how this forum is full plain thinking hyperbole using attention seekers who has to blame anyone before actually thinking of some of the situations. That's clear bias
He doesn't need to get that involved with that player when Rojo is there. If you've ever played football you'll known that running with the ball is tougher and slower than without it so Rojo would be able to easily cover Hernandez even if he were to get the ball. If Smalling makes the decision to stay between Markovic and Hernandez then that gives Huddlestone a dilemma of where to send the ball so a delay could mean that Herrwra gets across him and makes the tackle. By leaving acres of space he makes the decision for Tom and creates problems for us. Yes a few things went wrong before that but Smalling is the defender and ultimately responsible for Hulls best chance of the game. That is another point about Smalling being crap when he's exposed because he doesn't know what to do in a panic and I've said that so many times.
Both our centre backs were solid before he came on and he was the poorest out of the 3 and rightly on the bench.
Why is it called bias when you call things for what they are. Smalling is just too clumsy and has always got a mistake in him and this is the reason why if you read this forum no one has any confidence in him. The reasons aren't because people are biased, because this forum was calling him the second coming of Rio last year, its because he constantly finds himself in the middle of situations like this in games.
Both our centre backs were solid before he came on and he was the poorest out of the 3 and rightly on the bench.
Why is it called bias when you call things for what they are. Smalling is just too clumsy and has always got a mistake in him and this is the reason why if you read this forum no one has any confidence in him. The reasons aren't because people are biased, because this forum was calling him the second coming of Rio last year, its because he constantly finds himself in the middle of situations like this in games.
I just read this and I have to disagree. In my opinion in that situation Smalling had two choices, first choice is go take the ball from Markovic's feet but you might end up giving a foul away if Markovic decided to go down easily (remember Fellaini's penalty vs Everton) or the second one is stay calm and don't let Markovic get past you. He made the right choice to stay calm and positioning himself in the right spot to make it difficult for Markovic to cut inside or goes to his left side. Because of this, Markovic had no choice but to tried his luck which was shooting.
By this point (after essentially leaving his man), you're correct he should stand and not dive in, however he should have been one hell of a lot closer to Markovic, not standing 2 yards off the ball inside his own bloody box.
alternative facts about him are very apparent.
This post was from January 1st, as I said he never closes down the attackers, which gives them a lot of space to maneuver making it much more difficult to defend against.
IMO he should be 4th choice with occasional appearances, since he's the least capable defender tactical and awareness-wise at our disposal, and both qualities are crucial for the CB. Also, the less is said around his actual footballing abilities the better.
So you're saying Smalling should move to the left of screen towards Markovic? Look at Rojo's body position. If Smalling doesn't cover as he has there's an easy through ball to put the striker clean through.Smalling decides to come to the striker because he is playing him onside by falling back more than he needs to. He is quite clearly Rojo's man and Smalling shouldn't close the gap on the striker but he should be looking to the acres of space he is leaving behind him. He then doesn't close Markovic down enough and allows him to fire off a shot. Quite rightly De Gea is livid with him.
His positioning is absolutely terrible and he gets lucky that Huddlestone plays a sloppy pass across to Markovic otherwise he'd have been dead and buried and we would be 1-0 down with 5 mins to go. And even with the sloppy pass he still doesn't do enough to stop Markovic from having a crack while completely blocking De Gea's view.
As correctly noted above, if he steps up Markovic can be slid through for a one on one.
Added to all of this, De Gea was more at fault than Smalling for the shot hitting the post. Smalling was blocking the shot to the far post. The only place Markovic could shoot was near post yet De Gea moved across his goal leaving a big gap at his near post.
I've seen some utter nonsense on defensive positioning, a lot of it on this thread and your post is right up there.
Rojo was on the wrong side of his man, if Smalling had left the space and gone to mark Markovic then Huddlestone gets an easy pass to Hernandez and he's through on goal with only De Gea to beat because Rojo was already behind Hernandez and would have to adjust his entire body then try and catch him up.
In fact you can see in the video that @MannyB posted:
By the time Huddlestone plays the pass to Markovic, Hernandez is already a few yards ahead of Rojo and he's only jogging, Rojo takes a few seconds to catch up to him. Now imagine the situation if Huddlestone had played the pass to Hernandez instead and Smalling wasn't there to cover?
Hernandez is 1-on-1 with De Gea, and Rojo would probably have to make a last ditch tackle in the penalty box. Or maybe you would have blamed Smalling for not covering.
Also why are you taking the opinions of what people say on this forum seriously? Most people on here are 25-50 with no professional footballing experience. Who cares what people on this forum have to say? And why should what everyone say dictate your opinion on a player?
You don't have to take my opinion seriously either.
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I felt that Smalling did very well in this situation. Why would he suddenly push right and leave more space through the middle, he kept an eye on Markovic and covered it well.
Smalling had it spot on here, just gave Markovic the option to go for the far post which DDG would save with his positioning. Markovic went near post but if his shot is any more central than it was it hits Smalling and doesn't go towards the goal.
I can't be bothered to discuss Smalling any longer nor quote everyone's post when they fail to see that this was a situation of Smalling's making.
These points are easily evident when watching the video.
1. Smalling falls too far back playing Hernandez on side.
2. This means that he needs to be closer to him as Rojo is level and then ahead of the attacker which Smalling could have also done to leave him in an offside positon.
3. He does not need to get as close as he does however because he is leaving acres of space for Markovic who with a betyer ball would have an even better fhance to score. The second reason he shouldn't be so close is because Huddlestone and Hernandez are in line so the striker would have to recieve the ball to feet or on either side making it difficult for him to run with it and easier for both defenders to intercept.
4. He does not get close enough to Markovic allowing him to take a shot which could have easily ended up on the back of the net and that would have been Smalling's fault and in no way De Geas as he cannot save what he cannot see. If anyone suggest De Gea should have moved more to the left that would be ludicrous as with a little move to the right Markovic would have had an almost open goal to aim for.
5. He was our worst defender on the night which is why in my opinion he's not even worthy to be a backup and we should cash in on him while he can still attract a decent fee otherwise we will risk getting Welbeck money for him.
These points are easily evident when watching the video.
1. Smalling falls too far back playing Hernandez on side.
2. This means that he needs to be closer to him as Rojo is level and then ahead of the attacker which Smalling could have also done to leave him in an offside positon.
3. He does not need to get as close as he does however because he is leaving acres of space for Markovic who with a betyer ball would have an even better fhance to score. The second reason he shouldn't be so close is because Huddlestone and Hernandez are in line so the striker would have to recieve the ball to feet or on either side making it difficult for him to run with it and easier for both defenders to intercept.
4. He does not get close enough to Markovic allowing him to take a shot which could have easily ended up on the back of the net and that would have been Smalling's fault and in no way De Geas as he cannot save what he cannot see. If anyone suggest De Gea should have moved more to the left that would be ludicrous as with a little move to the right Markovic would have had an almost open goal to aim for.
5. He was our worst defender on the night which is why in my opinion he's not even worthy to be a backup and we should cash in on him while he can still attract a decent fee otherwise we will risk getting Welbeck money for him.
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No, for the sake of caf, Smalling (and Lingard) should stay. It will be hard to find better scapegoat replacements.
Try his luck? He was close to goal and had the option of shooting in the left or right corner. There was no reason to get any closer because it was a good chance. Smalling's position covered neither corner and he only blocked De Gea which is why De Gea was livid with him. How often do you see De Gea mad?
Smalling's posititioning made sure that shooting was Markovic "only" option because he couldn't get past Smalling or cut inside to score goal.
So you came to conclusion it was Smalling's fault just because De Gea was being mad? De Gea was mad that he couldn't see the ball, it's not like Smalling would have time to check his back whether he's blocking the keeper or no. How often do you see a defender blocking the keeper's view?
Shooting was the best option because he was close to goal and had little blocks.
If Smalling knew where he was standing he would know what he was blocking. When a player is in a chance to shoot you either try not to give him that chance by closing him down (which he should have done) or you cover one corner more than the other to give the keeper a chance. De Gea was mad because Smalling positioned him in a way that he could neither block a shot or give De Gea a chance to respond. It's the same concept as when a keeper sets up a wall. He can't cover the whole goal so he tries to minimize the chances of a good shot in one corner and covers the middle and the other corner himself.
What? He's outpaced the lot of them, so where did that come from? He excels against fast players because they think they can past him, but they can't.
I'm far from his biggest fan but can't blame Smalling solely for that.
He should be closer to Markovic, but Rojo is the wrong side of Hernandez so he's helping cover there. Just poor from all parties involved.
He should be closer to Markovic, but Rojo is the wrong side of Hernandez so he's helping cover there. Just poor from all parties involved.
Excels against fast players? He let Kante mug him off!
Based on that video, even De Gea had a go at him after Markovic hit the post. Smallings positioning and lack of aggressivity could have given Hull 3 points. Just standing and watching like he did was ridiculous.
He is a good defender, but far too injury prone and inconsistent to lead the back 4 in a side who aspires to win the title. Can't wait until Bailly is back and I think Rojo will complement him in a very good way.
Imagine this thread if Markovic scored and Hull got 3 points.
He is a good defender, but far too injury prone and inconsistent to lead the back 4 in a side who aspires to win the title. Can't wait until Bailly is back and I think Rojo will complement him in a very good way.
Imagine this thread if Markovic scored and Hull got 3 points.
This is why in my own post analyzing this incident I said that it's not about a single player doing badly, it's more about Smalling is on a different wave length to Rojo (arguably other CBs, too). RoJones individually still not as good in some aspect as Bailly (more about potential) or Smalling (physical prowess which showed when defending deep or playing man marking) or Blind (his passing, long ball, play making ability from the back & intelligence), but their mutual understanding make their partnership above any of the other CB partnerships ATM.
With a broken foot FFS. Welbeck, Vardy, Sanchez and Willian among others have failed to get past him
Ask Willian, Ribery, Vardy, Lukaku and Agbonlahor amongst many others if he normally lets fast players get the better of him. Critique him for many things, but you are in the wrong there mate.
He may struggle with an Aguero type player who has great agility and balance but not the sprinters.
Pedro might have something to say about that...
Yes, the game he played where he was injured. Picking agenda's against Smalling seems to be the norm at the minute, but feck me attacking Smalling for not being fast is ridiculous. He's very fast.
With a broken foot. The agenda of hate continues
In the first 30 seconds of the game just as he had injections he should have been in good shape.
If it was last minute ok but the game hadn't even started for Smalling.
But yeah sure let's make excuses when it's convenient.
If it was last minute ok but the game hadn't even started for Smalling.
But yeah sure let's make excuses when it's convenient.
Never saw the Chelsea match. Did Pedro run past him? William is much faster but didn't stand a chance even when Smalling had to turn.
Saying he lacks pace is beyond ridiculous. Rashford doesn't always manage to run past his defender. Does that make him slow?
Have you seen him play? He's fast as feck. Welbeck said he was impossible to get past because of his speed and strength.
I personally don't think Smalling was much at fault for Markovic hitting the post. However, Smalling's form has been woeful since the end of last season. He is particularly bad when he has time to think. A ball at his feet basically has Smalling thinking he is carrying a timeb**b.
Indeed. He's up there with Rashford and Martial and
He shouldn't have even played and you know this. Mourinho was at fault the same way he was when he selected unfit players in Lingard and Mkhitaryan against City earlier in the season. Mourinho had Rojo, Jones and Blind all available but he went with (injured) Smalling-Bailly which further illustrates my point from our debate a few days ago about how determined he was to make those two his main central pairing. You didn't even respond to my last post because I proved you were totally wrong about Smalling only playing because of Shaw being injured and Blind being 'forced' out left. Never happened that way but keep up the agenda with the alternative facts
I have no time to waste with your clearly deluded outlook based on nothing factual that's why I decided to give it a rest and use my time for other purposes.
Just to indulge you Rojo was the only player on the bench for that game. And he had just played the previous game with Bailly in the second half and they didn't compliment each other so well. Even conceded that goal from RVP so he decided to play Smalling, just as he did previously on the back of last season. Rojo did not have the chance to prove himself yet and Jones wasn't available till November.
Smalling was absolutely woeful during the minutes he had this season and only came back again into the team to provide relief and because other players were injured. If everyone was fit he would rightly be on the bench and the rest of this season will prove it.
But yeah sure let's call it alternative facts to indulge your delusion that Smalling is somehow a very good defender who deserves to be in our starting 11 ahead of the others.
Just to indulge you Rojo was the only player on the bench for that game. And he had just played the previous game with Bailly in the second half and they didn't compliment each other so well. Even conceded that goal from RVP so he decided to play Smalling, just as he did previously on the back of last season. Rojo did not have the chance to prove himself yet and Jones wasn't available till November.
Smalling was absolutely woeful during the minutes he had this season and only came back again into the team to provide relief and because other players were injured. If everyone was fit he would rightly be on the bench and the rest of this season will prove it.
But yeah sure let's call it alternative facts to indulge your delusion that Smalling is somehow a very good defender who deserves to be in our starting 11 ahead of the others.
You still haven't explained by Mourinho persisted with Smalling-Bailly for 8 consecutive (bar one game where Smalling-Blind played together) matches until they both got injured before Jones and Rojo got their chance, and you still haven't admitted you were wrong about Smalling only coming in when Shaw got injured. Your blind hatred and fake facts are boring now. Have fun with the on-going agenda in this thread
Leicester 0:3 Man Utd
I have missed some bits, but from what I have seen he's been ridiculously dominant, especially in the air. Won us a header before Mkhi's goal too. Assist. 
Ok to make a positive bump? Been very good
He has been Mike Smalling in the first half, bossing it in the air and played an important part in the opener. Also played a couple of nice forward passes.
Damn you. Beat me to it!!I have missed some bits, but from what I have seen he's been ridiculously dominant, especially in the air. Won us a header before Mkhi's goal too. Assist.
Yeah, he played a great first time pass to Rashford too when the ball was still coming down from the air at one point
Agreed, he's been good today as well. Aggressive in the first half, more of the "old" good version of him.
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