[ti vu]

Basically replay his short coming vs Kompany then the goal in the Community Shield game under SAF in one game

 

[MikeKing]

It was not a case of strength to strength header, but more of a positioning issue.

It wasn't really a positional error neither. He was actually pushed off balance hard before the run up, but managed to hang on to Kompany's shirt and followed through just a step behind. Without the smart pushing trick from Kompany it would have been a clean duel at least.

I really can't understand why Smalling gets so much hate on here. Probably have people going overboard with the online moaning during the game and when it's finished they feel they can't go back on what's been said. Seriously think about it. He is our modern go-to scapegoat for the general moaner. The way Lingard turned a lot of people, goals like this should realistically help his rep. We are doing pretty well this season and Smalling has played almost every game, yet some how when we're doing well defensively often people here say it is despite of him, and when we are conceding and defend bad, he is the culprit. Even when we attack bad he is the culprit. I don't get why the defender is the one who needs to be graceful with great vision for a pass. Chris is all about safety and rarely makes a dangerous pass, that is not always a bad thing for a defender you know. Vidic was a bit more risky with his passing but with about the same composure on the ball. General technical ability Smalling is much better than Vidic. On defending, Vidic is a legend but Smalling is not that far behind for it to be something to be embarrassed about.

It must have something to do with fm/fifa/social circles. You know, all United-players doesn't have to be universally recognised as a brand for you to appreciate him. Smalling have to be the most unappreciated player i've seen at this club, considering all his contributions and moments. Which is probably a reason i love him so much. I'll tell ya, if he never cut his hair he would be cult legend material by now. Such is the superficial fickleness of football fans today.

 

[Giant Midget]

Need a better CB who can be composed and allow us to build up play. He's not good enough defensively to justify his abysmal overall play.

 

[MadDogg]

General technical ability Smalling is much better than Vidic.

Err, no. I'm a big Smalling fan, but that's not even close to true. People seem to hugely under-rate how good Vidic was with the ball. Sure, it wasn't something that is really remembered as a strength and he wasn't up there with Rio at his best, but he was still well above average. Particularly in his later years. He'd be easily up there with Lindelof (what we've seen of him so far, hopefully he'll become better as he gets more comfortable) and Bailly as our best at the moment.

 

[Ashley R1+O]

Chuffed for him to get the winner. Less said about the general performance the better, not surprising the entire line was all at sea. Big game against probably the most technically proficient moving attack. There is work to be done, and they all know it. Smalling especially given the exceptionally high standard he's performed at over the last three seasons, he needs to continue and bring on Bailly and Lindelof to reach that standard.

 

[M Bison]

Delighted with the goal, he needed it after getting bullied by kompany for their goal.

Him and Bailly were all over the place in the first half but had a better second half.

 

[Lawman]

His marking in the box has been suspect for years. Happy to have Smalling as back up but we need a better centre back imo in the first 11.

 

[Isotope]

Judging from this game alone, looks like we need two better centerbacks. And a better DM too. Also fullbacks, right winger, and a striker.

If it was based on 1st half, we might need to get the better players for the whole starting XI. And the manager also.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

His marking in the box has been suspect for years. Happy to have Smalling as back up but we need a better centre back imo in the first 11.

VAR is going to kill him, he’s proper handsy.

 

[Loublaze]

Really poor on the first goal, he's terrible at marking on set pieces, can't mark a player unless it involves grabbing the shirt.

Second half much better, didn't shrink and rose to the challenge. Long term I don't want to see him at United, we need to reshape the defence and I'll stand by my comment in the match day thread, he can't get in the England squad so why should he be starting for us long term.

United over England every time. England is a team of losers. Do you think Maguire will achieve anything in Russia?

 

[togg]

I would be willing to put quite a lot of money down on the table that Smalling will be sold this summer. He is not good at bringing the ball out from defense and launching attacks or utilising the midfield. He's not the type of defender Mourinho likes. Great goal..but it doesn't change my opinions about him.

 

[Loublaze]

I would be willing to put quite a lot of money down on the table that Smalling will be sold this summer. He is not good at bringing the ball out from defense and launching attacks or utilising the midfield. He's not the type of defender Mourinho likes. Great goal..but it doesn't change my opinions about him.

If this is the case then why is Smalling one of the first names on the team sheet? Smalling has started 38 games this season. All our CBs are fit at the moment and Jones seems to be frozen out. Mourinho also just recently dropped Bailly for Lindelof against Swansea (missing out on an opportunity to pair the two CBs he bought against weak opposition). If you're really a gambling man we can wager over Smalling's future this summer. What say you?

 

[Mr Smith]

His celebration made me love him again. He'll never be one of our best defenders, but he loves this club.

 

[Havak]

One big mistake, but massive redemption and won us the game against a side undefeated at home all season. Bar the mistake, he was decent as well to be honest, it was just a case of when City went 1-0 up every player on our team had a performance dip and he was unfortunately the catalyst of that for failing to deal with Kompany.

Showed his personality though. Massive nuts and sprayed their contents all over City's parade. Loved it.

 

[Ekeke]

Put anyone else in his position and they would score as well , it was perfect ball from Sanchez. Smalling still can't play football , He is liability for our build up play. He saw opposition player came pressing him and shits himself all the time , it's not just against City , it's also against anyone else. I will only use him as squad player next season when we need to see the game out which Jose planning to do since he is gonna buy a CB

Nonsense. Plenty of our players miss chances like those

 

[villain]

For some people, there is literally nothing he can do to endear him to them, it’s pathetic.

Mourinho clearly rates him though so that’s all that matters.

 

[settembrini]

Smalling is our 1st choice CB and the least likely of the lot to be sold.

He's also having another very good season despite some of the nonsense in this thread.

 

[Darkhorsez]

I really can't understand why Smalling gets so much hate on here. Probably have people going overboard with the online moaning during the game and when it's finished they feel they can't go back on what's been said. Seriously think about it. He is our modern go-to scapegoat for the general moaner. The way Lingard turned a lot of people, goals like this should realistically help his rep. We are doing pretty well this season and Smalling has played almost every game, yet some how when we're doing well defensively often people here say it is despite of him, and when we are conceding and defend bad, he is the culprit. Even when we attack bad he is the culprit.

Good post although a bit long. I do think he gets some ott reaction and I am not a big fan of him. He is and has been a good servant to the club and deserves more respect than he gets from us.

 

[Oldyella]

For some people, there is literally nothing he can do to endear him to them, it’s pathetic.

Mourinho clearly rates him though so that’s all that matters.

It's bizarre, if people don't love him like a Rio or Vidic then fair enough, but surely grudging respect has been earnt? He's one of our longer serving players now and aside from the odd brain fart, like yesterday, rarely let's us down.

 

[Trophy Room]

Smalling's weakness is his ability on the ball but he has been our most consistent defender over the past 3 seasons - remember his exploits as Mike?

 

[Di Maria's angel]

What really pissed me off about the Kompany goal was that he was too busy trying to strip the Belgian down than mark him properly. Shambolic defending but I thought he was comfortable throughout the rest of the game bar that 20 minute period where the entire team broke down. And, to be fair, when we were on top, Otamendi and Kompany looked like school kids for the rest of the game - that's just the nature of football. Upgrade the full backs to actual defenders and our defence will be the meanest around.

 

[villain]

It's bizarre, if people don't love him like a Rio or Vidic then fair enough, but surely grudging respect has been earnt? He's one of our longer serving players now and aside from the odd brain fart, like yesterday, rarely let's us down.

Exactly, as fans we have to know that we have been blessed to have some of the greatest ever CB’s ever, at our club in the last 30 years or so.
Smalling isn’t that calibre, but he deserves respect.
Since he’s been dropped by Southgate for his lack of ball playing ability, he hasn’t cowered, hasn’t let it affect his game and has shown great character (Crystal Palace & City)

No defender is perfect, and as fans we lovingly look at other fancier options as if they don’t make mistakes, Smalling clearly takes pride playing for us and that should be respected.

 

[AP88]

Perpetual scapegoat, regardless of what he does. Kompany lost him yesterday, but he’s physically dominant against every player, even Van Dijk. Overall he’s been solid this season and beyond, despite being under more constant pressure compared to the other top 4 club’s defenders.

Look at the state of City’s centrebacks when they actually have to defend - they’re a shambles; Kompany completely missing Herrera’s chest pass for the first goal yesterday with a weird attempted interception, and Otamendi neglecting his duty to track Pogba and Smalling runs for the others - at least Smalling was in touching distance of his many for his ‘mistake’. £50m Stones has been benched since January because he’s a liability too.

Even at United, Bailly is garbage most of the time (and that includes the Liverpool game at home, because that own goal was unacceptable) but is some kind of chaotic cult hero because he occaisionally looks decent on the ball - and that’s the only attribute of his you could argue he eclipses Smalling with.

Put Smalling in a defence with proper fullbacks and a more composed reader/distributor of the game/ball, like Alderweireld and he’ll be fine, just as he was with Blind.

Jones, Bailly and Lindelof have all made more notable mistakes this season despite playing much less, yet Smalling is constantly lynched by those unwilling to subjectively accept that he isn’t/hasn’t been that bad.

 

[MadDogg]

I would be willing to put quite a lot of money down on the table that Smalling will be sold this summer.

lol, I hope you've got plenty to cover it then, because it's extremely unlikely. He's literally the only central defender we have who is somewhat reliable. How anyone can think he'll be sold ahead of the likes of Jones and Rojo blows my mind. We need people who can be fit to actually play the damn games, both in the starting line-up and their backup. Even when those players are fit Smalling normally out-performs them and is chosen ahead of them.

The only way Smalling is sold is if we sign one or two undisputed first choice central defenders and he then asks to be sold. Which I find unlikely until he's been sitting on the bench for a season after trying to break back into the team.

 

[Acole9]

United over England every time. England is a team of losers. Do you think Maguire will achieve anything in Russia?

I agree with that but I'm saying if he's not good enough for England then he's not good enough for us. I don't think Maguire will achieve anything no, he's decent but that's as far as I would go, overrated by many.

 

[Red_toad]

What really pissed me off about the Kompany goal was that he was too busy trying to strip the Belgian down than mark him properly. Shambolic defending but I thought he was comfortable throughout the rest of the game bar that 20 minute period where the entire team broke down. And, to be fair, when we were on top, Otamendi and Kompany looked like school kids for the rest of the game - that's just the nature of football. Upgrade the full backs to actual defenders and our defence will be the meanest around.

What great appreciation of the game you have. Fouled by Vincent in the lead up to the goal to gain an advantage which he exploited. Yet you completely missed it and moaned about our match winner in a derby game. Fecking shameful.

 

[cyberman]

He and Otamendi gets into my team of the season.

 

[11101]

Consistency is an underrated thing, hes not perfect but Mourinho knows exactly what hes getting from him. 88 good minutes, 1 great minute and 1 terrible minute. It's a fairly standard day for him this season.

 

[togg]

If this is the case then why is Smalling one of the first names on the team sheet? Smalling has started 38 games this season. All our CBs are fit at the moment and Jones seems to be frozen out. Mourinho also just recently dropped Bailly for Lindelof against Swansea (missing out on an opportunity to pair the two CBs he bought against weak opposition). If you're really a gambling man we can wager over Smalling's future this summer. What say you?

Yeah, I get all that, but I still think Mourinho will overhaul our defence this summer, he wants more link play between defence and midfield which Smalling doesn't do, or not well at any least. Also, I'm not sure Smalling will be happy to sit on the bench a lot of the time, certainly not having spent so much time on the pitch this season, so he'd probably look at his options. In my opinion, we need better quality, a player better on the ball in that position. But hey, let's wait and see, admittedly I could be completely wrong since anything said on here is pure speculation. Hence my gambling is a figure of speech rather than a reality!!

 

[Di Maria's angel]

What great appreciation of the game you have. Fouled by Vincent in the lead up to the goal to gain an advantage which he exploited. Yet you completely missed it and moaned about our match winner in a derby game. Fecking shameful.

I havent moaned about Smalling anywhere in my post. The defending for the goal was awful. And, as I said in my previous post, he was comfortable all game.

 

[Kapardin]

He's very good at scoring crucial goals. Always expect around 4 league goals from him per season.

But unfortunately, his overall skillset is not enough to be a regular starter. If he wants to stay on as a squad player, I am fine with it.

 

[Oldyella]

I agree with that but I'm saying if he's not good enough for England then he's not good enough for us. I don't think Maguire will achieve anything no, he's decent but that's as far as I would go, overrated by many.

Was Andy Cole good enough for us? He barely got a sniff for England either.

 

[devips]

It wasn't really a positional error neither. He was actually pushed off balance hard before the run up, but managed to hang on to Kompany's shirt and followed through just a step behind. Without the smart pushing trick from Kompany it would have been a clean duel at least.

I really can't understand why Smalling gets so much hate on here. Probably have people going overboard with the online moaning during the game and when it's finished they feel they can't go back on what's been said. Seriously think about it. He is our modern go-to scapegoat for the general moaner. The way Lingard turned a lot of people, goals like this should realistically help his rep. We are doing pretty well this season and Smalling has played almost every game, yet some how when we're doing well defensively often people here say it is despite of him, and when we are conceding and defend bad, he is the culprit. Even when we attack bad he is the culprit. I don't get why the defender is the one who needs to be graceful with great vision for a pass. Chris is all about safety and rarely makes a dangerous pass, that is not always a bad thing for a defender you know. Vidic was a bit more risky with his passing but with about the same composure on the ball. General technical ability Smalling is much better than Vidic. On defending, Vidic is a legend but Smalling is not that far behind for it to be something to be embarrassed about.

It must have something to do with fm/fifa/social circles. You know, all United-players doesn't have to be universally recognised as a brand for you to appreciate him. Smalling have to be the most unappreciated player i've seen at this club, considering all his contributions and moments. Which is probably a reason i love him so much. I'll tell ya, if he never cut his hair he would be cult legend material by now. Such is the superficial fickleness of football fans today.

Can't agree more.

 

[RedPed]

It's great that he scored a goal in the opposition's box, but doing the job he's supposed to be doing in his own box is sadly where he is still lacking. He'll still be upgraded in the summer. He has to be.

He can bang in the odd goal for Fulham again when they come back up. That's his level.

 

[Varun]

I understand that different posters would rate him differently but the clamour to get rid absolutely astounds me. Even at worst, he's a better squad player to have than say Jones?

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Happy for him he got the winner
But taking out any heat of the moment stuff And now being reflective, he needs to be upgraded on

Don't mind him being in the squad but he should not be a starter for us next season. Don't think he is good enough to be starting majority of our games if we wanna win the league and challenge for champions league

Over the season I feel as if he has shown that he is our best defender currently. Maybe Bailly or Lindelof can step up but looking around who out there that we could realisticly pry away would be an instant improvement?

Not necessarily disagreeing that we probably need to upgrade but I would still have him in the squad. Would rather part with Jones and Rojo before Smalling but back on the main point who? Umtiti really seems like he is just using the name for a pay bump. Johnathan Tah? Is he better, Varane, is he actually available? There aren’t many top class CB’s out there that are available.

Edit: there is Alderweireld but again if he gets his pay bump he wants will he leave? If he’s available he’d be the one I’d go for but I’d imagine he’d again just be Smalling CB partner for next season.

 

[RedPed]

I understand that different posters would rate him differently but the clamour to get rid absolutely astounds me. Even at worst, he's a better squad player to have than say Jones?

Serious question: Could you REALLY see Smalling playing in a Spurs, Liverpool, City or Chelsea team?? I think only Arsenal would consider him...and that says it all really.

 

[sizzling sausages]

I understand that different posters would rate him differently but the clamour to get rid absolutely astounds me. Even at worst, he's a better squad player to have than say Jones?

It's wishful thinking on the part of the posters that have never rated him. We had 4 centre backs in the squad yesterday and Smalling still started, yet he'll be the first out the door? No chance. He'll be here into his 30s I reckon.

 

[izec]

I dislike him at times. It is his on the ball ability, passing it sideways or to De Gea all the time while making mistakes here and there that i just cant stand. On the other hand i would be sad to see him sold. It is just weird. For someone his age and experience he should be better on the ball and cut out the mistakes. I hope he can cut them out, i dont think he will go this summer anyway. He is a good squad player

 

[Varun]

Serious question: Could you REALLY see Smalling playing in a Spurs, Liverpool, City or Chelsea team?? I think only Arsenal would consider him...and that says it all really.

Read the post again.