He’s not good enough for a side trying to win the league. Decent defender but has far too many mistakes in him. We should implode if he’s ever given the captains armband again as well as he’s an absolute fanny.
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Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 45
- Clean sheets
- 20
- Goals
- 4
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 4
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
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Give you head a fecking wobble
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Not even remotely a similar scenario.
That was when Chelsea were down to 9 men.
It was the opposite today. Smalling should have laid on the ground the moment he pulled up. Lindelof or even Matic should have gone in the centre. We had so many possibilities to change it.
Only issue I have with Jose is that he made the most pointless sub bringing on Mkhitaryan.
What mistake did he make today? Did you see his recovery pace to get to Mahrez only to be let down by Jones who jogged back and failed to do the same to Vardy?
You pull your groin and you feel like you can do straight lines no problem. However, you pull your groin and there's no way you're twisting and jumping for a header... He should have come off.
Did you not watch the second goal?
He was limping FFS. Should've never been back there. Why aren't you also blaming De Gea for not being aggressive and coming out? He usually claims those balls easily
Injured. Did you not watch the game?
Guy actually gutted it out for the team. He couldn't get there for the 2nd goal and I guess you could blame him for trying to be a hero but I won't.
It sucked dropping points in that match and there's a lot to be upset about but if players in midfield and attack had been mature and held possession in extra time instead of hunting for goals and turning the ball over it wouldn't have been an issue. I'm not going to slander a player for playing through an injury when we had no subs left. Gimme a break.
It sucked dropping points in that match and there's a lot to be upset about but if players in midfield and attack had been mature and held possession in extra time instead of hunting for goals and turning the ball over it wouldn't have been an issue. I'm not going to slander a player for playing through an injury when we had no subs left. Gimme a break.
Player is injured and we concede a goal. All his fault we lost the game. Sell him!
Player follows striker into midfield, gets turned and jogs back, we concede a goal. Hardly mentioned.
Redcafe logic.
Player follows striker into midfield, gets turned and jogs back, we concede a goal. Hardly mentioned.
Redcafe logic.
You mean the same Rojo who kept Costa in his back pocket last season?
I have to agree with Jaybomb, it's truly astonishing the length some of our fans resort to in defending him. As much as I like him, Smalling is simply not good enough to be in our starting eleven.
Not saying we should sell him by any means, just think he'd be better off as a sub...
Injury has nothing to do with it. He didn't even know Maguire was there until the ball was in the back of the net.
Rojo has been here for four seasons now and the jury is still out. Four seasons and he hasn't managed to surpass the 22 league appearances he had in his first season. He's not reliable
Totally agree. I was really disappointed in him when he did that and I think it was a pivotal moment.
It broke the game up and gave Leicester time to push Maguire forward and set for one last onslaught. It also forced him off the pitch and he had to come back on from half way when defending the box, leaving a disorganised defence. In fact, Smalling being in the position he was (left of the defence) was due to him going off.
If he'd battled on for the last 90 seconds he could have just stood right in the middle with Lindelof and Jones on either side and headed the ball away like he'd been doing for the 10 minutes previously.
As others have said, that's exactly what he did. It ended up being a costly decision. I'm a big fan of Smalling but Mourinho will see his lack of bravery as having cost his team the game and it's hard to argue.
He just look like a pathetic little boy that hurt himself falling over. He was red faced and look sorry for himself. TBH, it would have been better him just going off and playing like we had 10 men given they only had the same. There is something very wrong with this team and it's beyond how they play. Mentally we are showing how week we are this week...
Yes he’s pretty essential in premier league games.
Hope he’s not out too long as we’be An awful lot of games during the next few weeks.
Should've shown Mahrez on his weaker side for the first goal. Would've also likely cut out the passing avenue to Vardy.
As for the injury he shouldn't have been on the pitch if he could barely walk. Created unnecessary confusion and hindrance which resulted in a goal. Not sure if it was Smalling himself or Mourinho wad pretty dumb to keep him on the pitch.
As for the injury he shouldn't have been on the pitch if he could barely walk. Created unnecessary confusion and hindrance which resulted in a goal. Not sure if it was Smalling himself or Mourinho wad pretty dumb to keep him on the pitch.
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How exactly? Those two goals were down to both him and Jones.
I don’t wish injury on the man but like some fans were saying when Zlatan got injured last season, it’s a “blessing in disguise” (and that was our top scorer!)
Last season when he was out injured, we were playing much better with Bailly, Rojo and Jones. And that will be the case again.
Hopefully this will force us into the market for a replacement in January. The sooner we buy more top quality defenders, the better.
Because Bailly Rojo and Jones cannot stay fit. The first goal was nothing to do with him, he held Mahrez up as the last man. The second he was injured, sure Mourinho will find out just who moved him back into CB after Jones seemed to move him out. And if it was Mour himself, more fool him.
We get it, you don't rate him, but last night wasn't on him.
What a pathetic post.
If he had gone off and we then conceded, you'd be here complaining about how soft he is and why didn't he just come on and be another body to help out. He was injured and yet still did his best to help out at a time we were struggling. Would we have been better off with him not coming back on? Possibly, possibly not. But that's certainly not a decision for him, it's up to the management and medical team if we put him back on or not. He made himself available to do what he could despite the injury, and they decided to put him back on.
He came back on the pitch literally as that move was developing. He arrives int he box pretty much just as Albrighton was hitting the ball, and immediately moves to go for the ball. If he hadn't been there, then yes, Young was in the ideal position to go for it, and hopefully would have done. If he hadn't then surely De Gea would have come, with no defender at all going for the ball. Or in an ideal world, they'd have decided 2 minutes earlier to leave Smalling in the centre circle, and one of Lukaku or Pogba would have been playing centre-back.
Just a shambles all round, and totally inexcusable at this level. I've no idea why our coaching staff weren't out on the sidelines telling them exactly what to do, especially once Jones and Herrera started disagreeing.
This result is partly to do with the mentality of the team. When under pressure we defend very deep but against 10 men we should have had the composure to retain the ball and pass them to death. Also Jose expects players to walk through brick wall for him and thats what Smalling tried to do but he should have found a "wall" further up the pitch.
I'm no Smalling fan but I find it hard to blame him for the equaliser. He should have been off the field or stuck somewhere less essential than CB after he injured himself. Unless he's telling the bench he's fine but I didn't see that.
Totally agree with you mate.
If you look at this thread and others in previous seasons there’s people always making excuses for Smalling. It’s just goes to show he’s not United quality and should not be here at all.
The general consensus is that we must settle for him being and important team player because the rest of the better defenders cannot all stay fit, well no, just get rid and bring someone with more quality and reliability in.
If Mourinho doesn’t bring a solid centre back in his tactics of closing up shop and soaking up the pressure will not work and we will continue to ship goals willy nilly therefore struggling to challenge for trophies.
“Chris Smalling, not good enough for Manchester United since 2010” should be his official thread slogan and maybe his epitaph if he doesn’t achieve anything else more notable for the rest of his life.
The general consensus is that we must settle for him being and important team player because the rest of the better defenders cannot all stay fit, well no, just get rid and bring someone with more quality and reliability in.
If Mourinho doesn’t bring a solid centre back in his tactics of closing up shop and soaking up the pressure will not work and we will continue to ship goals willy nilly therefore struggling to challenge for trophies.
“Chris Smalling, not good enough for Manchester United since 2010” should be his official thread slogan and maybe his epitaph if he doesn’t achieve anything else more notable for the rest of his life.
The fact that so many people question if he’s good enough or not gives you the answer.
Nobody ever doubted Rio or Vidic or Evra. Not in their prime years anyway. There was some questions asked during the start of their United career but Smalling has been here since 2010.
He attempted to jump for the ball but couldn't cause of his hamstring, if he could jump then he'd have won the ball, I'd say injury played a good part of the 2nd goal.
You've worded it a bit more harshly than I would but there was definitely an element of feeling sorry for himself.
He was still winning plenty of headers in the box even after his injury so he definitely wasn't better off the pitch. He was better in the centre of defence where he was until he inexplicably decided to go down and had to go off the pitch. The confusion for the goal was created because he was just getting back into defence as the cross was in the air.
I agree that the team is mentally fragile. It's a very un-Mourinho team and even the talismanic players in the team like Pogba and Lukaku are quite flaky and unreliable. Jose definitely prefers the mentality of Jones over Smalling, even though Smalling is a better defender.
That said, I think there is a very good spirit in the squad and that is a key element to getting that winning mentality.
Going down was the opportunity for the rest of team to come together and have absolute certainty over what the plan was. It should not have caused confusion, the rest should have been aware that if he came back on he was a passenger who could not be put into a dangerous position. That is on De Gea, Jones, Pogba and Matic, they are the senior figures through the spine of the team, should have been worked out.
Are you serious? Evra's defending was regularly criticised all through his United career. Vidic somehow got a reputation that he was consistently skinned by Torres despite it only happening once and he being the best defender in the world.
As for Rio, he got criticised far less than the other 2 because he was part of the "Golden Generation". He deserved ctiticism far more though. Letting Maguire sneak in unopposed from that deep cross was actually Rio-esque.
'Inexplicably'
Maybe because he was injured? He very well could have reached the point where he didn't think he could continue, and hoped some treatment might give him the ability to finish the match. Also allowed us to waste some time (referees never include the full amount of time that they should for stoppages). And also should have given our players a chance to reorganise to cover his injury.
Unfortunately it didn't work out, but it's hardly 'inexplicably'. The fact that other posters in here are saying he should have gone down more and wasted more time should show you that.
The issue wasn't how they set up. It was that they weren't set up because Smalling was out of position off the pitch. Watch the goal again, especially the side on shot from the edge of the area.
Young is there right next to Maguire. Smalling is coming back on from half way. He arrives with the cross already in the air. Young passes Maguire on to Smalling who couldn't react to the ball going over his head or judge the flight of the ball because he'd run from half way rather than being in the area in line with the cross.
Why should what other posters say show me that?
Smalling had played for 5-10 minutes with the injury at that stage. If he'd battled on he'd have had to defend in a 20 metre radius at low pace with Lindelof and Jones on either side for 90 seconds. He would have had to defend maybe 2 more crosses into the box.
Going off meant he still had to play the same amount of time, but sprint back into the defensive line from half way and he ended up arriving too late for the only meaningful piece of action left in the game.
Yes, he was injured but if he'd battled on he would have had less strenuous activity and it's far less likely United would have dropped 2 points.
My point was it should have nothing to do with Smalling. Passing a player on to him should not even have been an option. You treat it as if you are down to 10, someone else does his job and at best he is there to be hit by the ball. He is not a part of the defensive plan at that point, or should not be.
I can't believe people are criticizing him for the second goal personally. It was a feck up on someone else's part to leave him stranded in such an important position when he's clearly not capable of moving freely. Ridiculous.
Lol.
You need to provide receipts, sir.
I would love to know who, if anybody, ever said this.
Why would he? Lindelof and Jones were at CB, Maguire runs off Young who doesnt track him. And De Gea sees this all and doesnt come out even though its 6 yards from his goal line.
And you want to blame the guy who cant even jump because hes injured. What a fan.
If he wasn't fit enough to play, he should have gone off. If he was ok to stay on, he needed to be in the centre of the backline where he had to move as little as possible and use his height.
It was working fine (he made some good defensive contributions after his injury) and then he sat down. I just cannot understand why he did it if he was able to come back on after.
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