He doesn't want the ball. He knows that round thing makes his legs go all spaghetti.
12
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 36
- Clean sheets
- 18
- Goals
- 2
- Assists
- 2
- Yellow cards
- 0
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
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Played well enough tonight, looks to be getting a bit of match sharpness back. Good to see ahead of the final.
With the ball, he looks like a conference player. Which kinda makes sense cos that was his level at that young age where he should have been developing that skill.
When the ball is put into the box hes solid however.
When the ball is put into the box hes solid however.
Did ok. Usual nervousness with ball at feet, but positioned and defended well mostly. I reckon he might start the final. It's not like there are many options anyway.
If it's between one of Jones or Smalling to start then I think Jones will. He's been better since they've both came back into the team.
I think it may be both of them though, Mourinho doesn't seem to see Blind as more than an emergency CB.
I thought Jones was better today, but in the last couple of games there wasn't much between them. I reckon they will both start.
Blind might be an intelligent player but his lack of significant height, strength and pace can be easily exposed. He was horrendous against Celta at OT. He might play as LB ahead of Darmian if Mou wants someone with a natural left foot to help a bit more the down the left wing.
Overall poor today for me, well to be more kind, just okay.
But still have to give Smalling credit
that one driving forward run that almost lead to our goal in the second half ~ Smalling intercept pass, one-twos with Mkhi, through ball to Rooney, Rooney hold and lay off pass to Mata, Mata pressured and shot sky high.
But still have to give Smalling credit
that one driving forward run that almost lead to our goal in the second half ~ Smalling intercept pass, one-twos with Mkhi, through ball to Rooney, Rooney hold and lay off pass to Mata, Mata pressured and shot sky high.Based on José's comments it'll be Blind+1 in the final. If it was against West Brom, Smalling might be the right partner, but I'll be worried if he starts against the quick, high-pressing Ajax attack.
He seems to think the ball has an electric current running through it, hell of a challenge on Tuanzebe though.
I wasnt surprised by that. He just doesnt seem to communicate at all on the pitch.
That's basically it.
Under LVG when he had a midfield protecting him, he was "okay" and to be fair had some good performances.
But the moment we are not parking the bus and he has to defend, he needs to rely on the GK to bail us out. He cannot defend.
He is powerful in the air, though. He even scored some headers for us.
In any case, although Smalling is an average player, I feel our worst problem is in attack.
I'd look to sort out our non scoring attackers, before shifting attention to defence. Scoring 0.5 goals/game is a serious issue.
You need protection from the midfield dude. Without that any CB would look average when it's always open. Thats why people here say's a DM should be our priority this summer
Sell him, sign the guy from Southampton Van Dijk
I don't think he was too bad tonight, he's getting match sharpness back.
Only issue for him is the final will be Blind + 1 and Jones has been the better out of the two.
Only issue for him is the final will be Blind + 1 and Jones has been the better out of the two.
And apparently we parked the bus last season... lol.
No offence but I can't take people seriously who think good defenders don't need midfielders helping them.
It is ridiculous.
He can't continue being a regular starter for us. He's just too bad on the ball. Takes him weeks and weeks to get up to speed and show any kind of confidence and it's detrimental to the whole team. I've had enough of seeing it now and I hope Jose finds an improvement on him
Players like Smalling and Fellaini will always hold us back for as long as they are here. The sooner we sell them the better.
I understand people wanting a better ball playing defender, but saying he isn't good at defending is rubbish. Vardy said he was the toughest cb in the PL to play against; Welbeck said Smalling was the toughest to get past, and he showcases this in that he is rarely dribbled past, run past or loses headers. Therefore, if Ajax has a quick attack and people would rather have Blind in there, then they are, well, blind.
Smalling looked much better yesterday than against Tottenham. He looked much faster, and he was more proactive in his defending. The same guys who would want us to give Blind time to gel after a couple of horrific displays, only for him to improve, will not give Smalling that same leeway. Blind did improve, and then he was rubbish against Celta. Smalling is a better defender than Blind is, but Blind is a better footballer.
Smalling looked much better yesterday than against Tottenham. He looked much faster, and he was more proactive in his defending. The same guys who would want us to give Blind time to gel after a couple of horrific displays, only for him to improve, will not give Smalling that same leeway. Blind did improve, and then he was rubbish against Celta. Smalling is a better defender than Blind is, but Blind is a better footballer.
I bet he starts the Europa league final. He did look sharper against Southampton, no wonder there's not much activity in this thread. Not much hate to spill after that performance. Rooney also denied him an assist after that driving run and pass
I can't stomach the thought of him starting the final.
He WILL cost us and if Mourinho doesn't see this then he deserves what's coming to him.
Valencia - Jones - Blind - Darmian
Was really tempted to just throw Tuanzebe in there over Jones but it might be too risky even though most of Ajaxs team are around Tuanzebes age or even younger.
He WILL cost us and if Mourinho doesn't see this then he deserves what's coming to him.
Valencia - Jones - Blind - Darmian
Was really tempted to just throw Tuanzebe in there over Jones but it might be too risky even though most of Ajaxs team are around Tuanzebes age or even younger.
Smalling isnt good at defending; the only way he is good at defending is if you use a definition of defender that is old fashioned and english. Smalling is good in the air and at 1-on-1s, but when it comes to reading of the game he is abysmal, and his passing is non existent. He is average at defending, because he only has half of the qualities expected of a defender.
Bailly is tough to beat 1-on-1, wins aerial battles, reads the game well, has a good pass on him. Smalling is on the back foot most of time because he is slow at reading the game, and passes sideways most of the time because he is scared of the ball. We do not live in an age where top defenders are played as battering rams and hoof it everytime they get the ball; they are expected to contribute more to the team.
After the Southampton game you use Bailly as the yardstick?
However you think Smalling played he didn't give away the most ridiculous penalty of the season.
Smalling and Jones will both start the final if fit.
If your evaluation of a player is affected by one game then i don't know what to say, nevermind that it wasnt even a penalty and was an attempt to control a high ball (Pogba's handball was actually a penalty and he managed to dab while giving the handball
). Notice i'm not criticizing Smalling for his shambolic performance against Chelsea or Arsenal because using single games to assess a player is moronic. As for the last sentence, im not sure if that is supposed to be some sort of vindication for what you've said, but it's a nothing statement. Bailly and Rojo have gotten the most starts and minutes at centre back and both of them would be even further ahead in the pecking order had it not been for AFCON + injuries. The only reason Smalling even gets a sniff for the final is because Bailly and Rojo can't play in the final
Bailly is an extremely talented player but is inexperienced and error prone. He is also not very good in the air. He's no yardstick to hold anyone else against just yet. Hopefully over time with a top class manager and a settled defensive partner he will become top class but he is nowhere near that yet.If your evaluation of a player is affected by one game then i don't know what to say, nevermind that it wasnt even a penalty and was an attempt to control a high ball (Pogba's handball was actually a penalty and he managed to dab while giving the handball
As for the last sentence, im not sure if that is supposed to be some sort of vindication for what you've said, but it's a nothing statement. Bailly and Rojo have gotten the most starts and minutes at centre back and both of them would be even further ahead in the pecking order had it not been for AFCON + injuries. The only reason Smalling even gets a sniff for the final is because Bailly and Rojo can't play in the final
The last line was not a vindication at all just a statement in a thread mentioning Blind as an option at centre back for the final. Jose will play Smalling and Jones at centre back in the final as they are the only fit centre backs he has.
Exactly. I can understand the love/hate to players and but this is ridiculous. Put in Matic and Kante in front of Smalling nothing will go past him.
This year we had one of Herrera/Fellaini/Carrick as our holding mid fielder. Frankly I thought our defense would be more fragile but somehow it turned out wrong and credit to Jose for that. That's why I believe CB should be our last priority this summer .
A CDM , A right Winger, A striker : this should be our priority and in that order .
Note : No offese to Keane but hope we don't spend on him. He is not better than what we have .
I agree Bailly is inexperienced, but an inexperienced Bailly is better than an experienced Smalling. He's a yardstick because he is Chris Smalling's competition, and Bailly has more in his locker than Smalling and is also performing better.
Bailly is good enough in the air, whereas someone like Blind is not, you do not see teams exploiting Bailly physically because he cant be pushed around.
Smalling is fast and strong but you rarely see him use these attributes to anticipate and prevent an attack, whereas every other defender (including Jones) does anticipate. Just have a look at how many interceptions he has per game and its shocking. Smalling isnt a bad defender, but we can do better.
At his best when his confidence is high, I rate Smalling as the best defender at the club. When he lacks confidence he becomes very timid and ineffective.
Either way, Bailly isn't competition for Smalling in the final because (not for the first time this season) he did something completely brainless.
Nobody even seemed to mention that run down the right flank with a good pass as well. He did well against Southampton, but every time he clears the ball now, people are aware of it. A little like me every time Blind is skinned. We all have our prejudices.
Baily is not good enough in the air, the City game against Iheanacho he let the ball go and Blind got the heat for it for not clearing his mistake. Even the day Smalling missed the ball when attempting to kick it right before that Baily had failed to clear what seemed a simple header, at the end Smalling made the bigger error and we remember that one. He has gotten better in the air but good enough he isn't yet
Has Smalling cost United a game this season bar the Chelsea game which was revealed he played with a fractured foot? He could've done better for Welbecks goal against Arsenal but that game was lost already, played like a dead rubber.
True. No doubt if Jones or a fit Rojo made that run people would be screaming about their desire to win even a pointless game
Ajax 0:2 Man Utd
Well you were wrong on this occasion.
Played very well tonight.
Heavily criticised on here in recent weeks but every credit to him for tonight's performance.
Heavily criticised on here in recent weeks but every credit to him for tonight's performance.
Him or darmian motm
Very good and showed class alongside Blind. Both been superb, great defence.
All his good games have been next to Blind, haven't they?
Top performance
Can't believe I doubted him, I'm a disgrace to the Caf.
So Smalling is not shit after all. Shock horror. The match day thread was embarrassing before kick off.
Dominant performance.
Agreed. Silenced a lot of critics tonight.
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