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2016-17 Performances


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5.6 Season Average Rating
Appearances
36
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18
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Pace Abuser

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Did someone hypnotise him into believing the ball is actually a bomb he must get rid of immediately in a blind panic?
 

Web of Bissaka

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For a defender who is tall and strong like Smalling, I'm surprised he's not that good in handling set-piece and crosses.

It's just not this time against Spurs those happens, many times already this season.

Oh well, I can't expect perfection, and every players have their own limitations.

And we don't have much of a choice for CB anyway.
 

Acole9

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If Jones' injury record wasn't so bad I'd be looking to sell Smalling. Like some of the other posters have said he looks so uncomfortable with the ball at his feet and makes panic clearances. I think he should've done better on the Kane goal as well.
 

Eddy_JukeZ

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He is diabolical when in possession. A complete calamity.

I'd get rid. I just hate a CB who's not assured and commanding and he never gives off that vibe.
 

Obiorahking_

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Anybody see when Baily threw his arms up at smalling when he booted it out of play when he could have passed
 

Amar__

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Also has to be said that Mourinho has a great record for getting top class performances out of central defenders and Smalling is conspicuous as our only CB not to impress at all this season. The rest of them have all put together some decent runs of form.
Except that period around end of January till around march where we were winning games mostly by defending well and scoring little, with Smalling being only defender that was playing entire time during that period and other defenders rotating like crazy due to injuries. I think we had around 11 games in which he started and we kept clean sheet in 7 or 8.
 
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Except that period around end of January till around march where we were winning games mostly by defending well and scoring little, with Smalling being only defender that was playing entire time during that period and other defenders rotating like crazy due to injuries. I think we had around 11 games in which he started and we kept clean sheet in 7 or 8.
Hmm....

Didn't play in 1-1 v Liverpool.
Played in 1-1 v Stoke.
Played in 2-1 loss to Hull.
Played in 4-0 win vs Wigan.

Didn't play in 0-0 vs. Hull.
Played in 3-0 vs. Leicester.

So he had what? a good few weeks in Feb you mean? against giants like Hull, Watford, St Etienne & Blackburn.

Wow. :eek: With all due respect Amir, it does appear like you're seriously clutching here, Pogue was bang on about Smalling having no sustained period of top form this season.
 
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izec

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We will probably get 15m for him, get rid. Once his legs are gone and his bit of pace, he will be totally useless. It can only go downhill from here, he isnt a defender that will thrive later on, he has not the IQ and injury record/body for that. He has learnt nothing since arriving at United and still makes basic mistakes while looking like Pinocchio on the ball.
 

Amar__

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Hmm....

Didn't play in 1-1 v Liverpool.
Played in 1-1 v Stoke.
Played in 2-1 loss to Hull.
Played in 4-0 win vs Wigan.

Didn't play in 0-0 vs. Hull.
Played in 3-0 vs. Leicester.

So he had what? a good few weeks in Feb you mean? against giants like Hull, Watford, St Etienne & Blackburn.

Wow. :eek:
Hull twice, Leicester, Reading, Wigan, Watford, St. Ettiene twice. Not great teams by any means, but our defence was in a mess at that time due to injuries and he was the only consistent part of it during that time, but we were winning lot of games during that time, which is the most important thing. I am not sure any of our other players had great record against big sides either so I am don't really think that should count only against him. As a team our record against big sides is terrible this year.
 

meninred

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I agree with the above conment. I am bit amazed with progress of smalling as well as jones .SAF used to play them alongside rio or vidic so they learn.If they cannot learm from the very best that means they have reached their highest level long before their move to manutd. Thus selling them if necessary wont be a loss.
 

VanGaalEra

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That goal isn't an error. It's a ridiculous cross into a really tough area that only needs a tiny flick to hit the net. Giving away the free kick was the problem.

Blame our players when they make genuine mistakes, but this fascination with pretending as if every conceded goal is a glaring error is just petulant and petty. Letting Welbeck go free last week was an error. That Kane goal certainly wasn't. It's just really good from Eriksen and Kane.

We could win this game if we score three goals, by the way. Smalling isn't at fault for that. Neither is Jones, or Bailly, or Blind.
Why has he allowed Kame goalside of him? Regardless how good the cross is, that's an amateurish mistake.
 
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Hull twice, Leicester, Reading, Wigan, Watford, St. Ettiene twice.
With all due respect @Amar__, it does appear like you're seriously clutching here, @Pogue Mahone was bang on about Smalling having no sustained period of top form this season. If this is the best you can offer, it tells you everything you need to know, I mean...

• One of the Hull games was the horrific cluster feck away, in which Smalling was rubbish
• You've included Reading from the start of Jan, and Wigan from the end of Jan. 2 Championship sides.
• You've skipped Stoke away (1-1) in mid Jan.
• You've skipped him missing the Liverpool game in mid Jan.

7-Jan: MUFC 4 - 0 Reading
10-Jan: MUFC 2 - 0 Hull

15-Jan: MUFC 1 - 1 Liverpool
21-Jan: Stoke 1 - 1 MUFC
26-Jan: Hull 2 - 1 MUFC

29-Jan: MUFC 4 - 0 Wigan


Surely the means his Jan "form" is off the table right? At what point in Jan was he in form for a number of games?

And when his Feb "form" included him being pretty wank and losing a runner versus bloody Blackburn and an poor game versus Southampton in the League Cup final... well, you can see where I'm going with this.
 
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VanGaalEra

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Hull twice, Leicester, Reading, Wigan, Watford, St. Ettiene twice. Not great teams by any means, but our defence was in a mess at that time due to injuries and he was the only consistent part of it during that time, but we were winning lot of games during that time, which is the most important thing. I am not sure any of our other players had great record against big sides either so I am don't really think that should count only against him. As a team our record against big sides is terrible this year.
He's been between terrible and average at best at all times this season.

Just hasn't stepped up for us, which is a shame because I thought under Jose he might be a consistently good CB.

Just hope he can give us one game of 'Mike' in the final.
 

Frank Grimes

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We will probably get 15m for him, get rid. Once his legs are gone and his bit of pace, he will be totally useless. It can only go downhill from here, he isnt a defender that will thrive later on, he has not the IQ and injury record/body for that. He has learnt nothing since arriving at United and still makes basic mistakes while looking like Pinocchio on the ball.
To be fair to him I've yet to see his nose grow whilst looking like an uncoordinated nervous mess.
 

G-manc

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He looks nervous every time i see him now and actually looks like he's regressed in terms of his defending which partially compensated for how dire he is on the ball. I've never seen someone so incapable of moving on the simplest pass without having to set himself for a second touch.

One of him and Jones has to go. I'd say both if we weren't crying out for players in other positions.
 

pghcc

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He probably looks more nervous than before because he is being asked to do more in Jose's setup.
 

Brophs

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He probably looks more nervous than before because he is being asked to do more in Jose's setup.
Conversely, it's becoming apparent that his 6 months of good form under LVG had plenty to do with how much protection he got in that system. He's been an accident waiting to happen for too long now and I'd wager that Jose well and truly has his number. He might well start next season with us - largely due to the numbers of players we might end up turning over - but I reckon he'll be fourth choice at best and will get no more than one more season with us.
 

jesperjaap

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He has actually been one of the biggest let downs for me this season, in a similar way to Rafael. Rafaels last season under Ferguson he was one of the most improved players at the club, finally looked ready to fulfill the potential he had and not be so naive defensively....then under Moyes he instantly reverted back to the full back diving in foolishly and went backwards again. Last season Smalling was one of hte highlights of a dismal season, was finally starting to look like a proper centre back...this season he has looked awful on the ball and lost the experience and domnace he was starting to show last year. Time to go
 

Jaybomb

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We can stick with him and Jones if we want to stick to finishing 4th-7th. If we want to challenge for the title we have to get some quality in.
This is what I've been saying since at least the Moyes season.

It was the same with Cleverley and Welbeck and to a lesser extent Jonny Evans. These players are not good enough to compete with the Real Madrid's and Barcelona's of the world. They're lower table quality players that wouldn't even stand out in a Stoke or West Brom side.

Look at Cleverley for example, we persisted with him for years and it turns out Watford is his level. Welbeck? Same thing. Not good enough and his form at Arsenal proves that. He won't be there long I reckon.

Evans was probably the best of the lot. He had some good games alongside Ferdinand back in 12/13. I would go as far to say that he properly contributed to our league title win that year.

Although they all won the league with us, it doesn't prove that they're good enough to be starting games regularly for a team that has aspirations of winning it. Their time is up and it's time to move on and sign somebody with more quality.

My first choice would be Varane and I think we should just splash the cash on him. He would probably enjoy working under Mourinho again.
 

Jaybomb

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He has actually been one of the biggest let downs for me this season, in a similar way to Rafael. Rafaels last season under Ferguson he was one of the most improved players at the club, finally looked ready to fulfill the potential he had and not be so naive defensively....then under Moyes he instantly reverted back to the full back diving in foolishly and went backwards again. Last season Smalling was one of hte highlights of a dismal season, was finally starting to look like a proper centre back...this season he has looked awful on the ball and lost the experience and domnace he was starting to show last year. Time to go
The calmness of Blind beside him last season helped him a lot. LVG's side was very rigid and possession based. Smalling hadn't got a lot to do whereas Mourinho invites opponents to attack which makes Smalling a nervous mess. The absolute opposite of what you want your CB to be.

The fact that people were calling him "Smalldini" at one point was honestly cringeworthy. It would be like calling Fellaini "Marouzidane Fellaini"... you get the point.
 

Kag

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Conversely, it's becoming apparent that his 6 months of good form under LVG had plenty to do with how much protection he got in that system. He's been an accident waiting to happen for too long now and I'd wager that Jose well and truly has his number. He might well start next season with us - largely due to the numbers of players we might end up turning over - but I reckon he'll be fourth choice at best and will get no more than one more season with us.
So how does that explain his apparently terrible form given that Mourinho's current system is arguably more negative (certainly more reactive) than Van Gaal's? Our starting position defensively is a lot lower than the high line Van Gaal would often play. If anything, Smalling should be better given the greater protection we have under Mourinho. Five other defenders, in more recent games.
 

sizzling sausages

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This is what I've been saying since at least the Moyes season.

It was the same with Cleverley and Welbeck and to a lesser extent Jonny Evans. These players are not good enough to compete with the Real Madrid's and Barcelona's of the world. They're lower table quality players that wouldn't even stand out in a Stoke or West Brom side.

Look at Cleverley for example, we persisted with him for years and it turns out Watford is his level. Welbeck? Same thing. Not good enough and his form at Arsenal proves that. He won't be there long I reckon.

Evans was probably the best of the lot. He had some good games alongside Ferdinand back in 12/13. I would go as far to say that he properly contributed to our league title win that year.

Although they all won the league with us, it doesn't prove that they're good enough to be starting games regularly for a team that has aspirations of winning it. Their time is up and it's time to move on and sign somebody with more quality.

My first choice would be Varane and I think we should just splash the cash on him. He would probably enjoy working under Mourinho again.
Varane has been very error prone this season too. He's way better on the ball but he wouldn't be that much of an upgrade on Smalling defensively at this point of time. Would be very much a long term project imo and we already have Bailly for that.
 

Nanotron

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This is what I've been saying since at least the Moyes season.

It was the same with Cleverley and Welbeck and to a lesser extent Jonny Evans. These players are not good enough to compete with the Real Madrid's and Barcelona's of the world. They're lower table quality players that wouldn't even stand out in a Stoke or West Brom side.

Look at Cleverley for example, we persisted with him for years and it turns out Watford is his level. Welbeck? Same thing. Not good enough and his form at Arsenal proves that. He won't be there long I reckon.

Evans was probably the best of the lot. He had some good games alongside Ferdinand back in 12/13. I would go as far to say that he properly contributed to our league title win that year.

Although they all won the league with us, it doesn't prove that they're good enough to be starting games regularly for a team that has aspirations of winning it. Their time is up and it's time to move on and sign somebody with more quality.

My first choice would be Varane and I think we should just splash the cash on him. He would probably enjoy working under Mourinho again.
Exactly my points about lingard, smalling etc. Good squad players apparantly is the normal resonse, well there not really are they.

Good sqaud players are chico, park, oshea, fletcher, evans you get the picture. With all those you could see them putting in performances worthy of regular starters. In fact some went on to do that. They had potential. These guys dont, time to movr on and get fresh blood in with potential to add to the squad players
 

Jaybomb

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Exactly my points about lingard, smalling etc. Good squad players apparantly is the normal resonse, well there not really are they.

Good sqaud players are chico, park, oshea, fletcher, evans you get the picture. With all those you could see them putting in performances worthy of regular starters. In fact some went on to do that. They had potential. These guys dont, time to movr on and get fresh blood in with potential to add to the squad players
Our squad players of old were proper United players. They knew what it meant to play for the badge and they often ran their guts out for Sir Alex.

Look at our squad players now and how many can you say that about? Blind is a good player to have and Fellaini gives his all every game but sometimes that's just not enough.

Like you said, the likes of Park, O'Shea, Brown, Fletcher, Hernandez, etc rarely ever let us down. They were proper "United" lads and that's why we still sing some of their names to this day.
 

jesperjaap

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The calmness of Blind beside him last season helped him a lot. LVG's side was very rigid and possession based. Smalling hadn't got a lot to do whereas Mourinho invites opponents to attack which makes Smalling a nervous mess. The absolute opposite of what you want your CB to be.

The fact that people were calling him "Smalldini" at one point was honestly cringeworthy. It would be like calling Fellaini "Marouzidane Fellaini"... you get the point.
Yes get the point, and agree to a degree. Blind for me is a good squad player, best as a central midfielder (where we never play him?), an average LB and personally not a particularly good centre back, he has too mahny weaknesses with crosses, flick ons, strength and pace, I find it strange he gets most games in the one position he is weakest in
 

Pace Abuser

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Anybody see when Baily threw his arms up at smalling when he booted it out of play when he could have passed
Yes, it summed it up really. A simple pass to take the attacker out and set Bailly up to begin an attack and he hoofs it out of play in a panic.
 

togg

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That's a fair point actually.

Even Jones had that run pre Xmas where he was pretty good.

Smalling has looked a nervous wreck all season.
I really think that if Jones wasn't so injury prone, missing huge chunks of the seasons, he would have developed into a very good player. He really fights and tries hard, a real worker with a lot of energy. Sometimes that energy makes him take risks that mostly end up with him being on the treatment table.
 

TheReligion

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I really wouldn't play him in the final.

Seems a very nervous player. He was poor in the EFL final this year and is prone to absolute howlers. Also his distribution can invite pressure.

Id go with Jones and Blind.
 

Alabaster Codify7

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We've waited long enough for Smalling and Jones to show they can cut it for United. We've given way too many mediocre players way too much time and money before eventually losing faith in them - this pair, Anderson, Cleverly.

We need to ship at least one of this pair out, this summer. If I'm Jose, I'm saying behind the scenes:

"Right you pair - youve got from now until the 90th minute of the EL final (should you be selected, for that game), to prove you belong at United even as a substitute. The worst performer is out in the summer."
 

Blind

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The way Ajax press I'd be keeping him well away from the starting line up, people forget Jones has actually had a pretty decent season albeit another with constant injuries.
 

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From F355:

* Jones, while poor and surely without a future at the club, at least has the excuse of a career interrupted by injuries. Not so for Smalling, whose decline over the last season has been alarming.

The 27-year-old impressed at the heart of a Louis van Gaal side that bored opposition strikers to death, but without the comfort blanket of a midfield that will sit in front of him and a defence built to mask his flaws, he is mercifully exposed all too often.

It was his mistake that almost let Eriksen in, his sloppiness that allowed Tottenham dominance to become the norm, and his abhorrent marking which facilitated Kane’s goal. Form, as they say, is temporary; it appears as though Smalling has returned to average permanence.
 
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