Missing out on the world cup will ensure he keeps his place in the starting 11 when the season begins. Good for Chris!
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Season Average Rating
- Appearances
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- Clean sheets
- 8
- Goals
- 1
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 2
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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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England would not have got out of the group if he was playing...
VAR would have a field day with him
VAR would have a field day with him
Excellent post!
If you look at the CB’s Mourinho has signed and used at every club, you would notice the players are comfortable on the ball...
Luke Shaw says hi. You could say the same for him. Look how that has turned out...
No, I was obviously being a bit hyperbolic to make my point. No one knows how Stones would have turned out if Mourinho got his hands on him earlier in his career. For someone that watched all of this years WC on Russian TV with Mourinho as pundit I will say this though: He didnt love Stones and Kyle Walker as centerbacks playing the way they do... Its just how he is.
Yeah, I actually agree and I didnt mean to overinterpret your post. I was talking about the basics of Mourinhos system.
Its completely true that Mourinhos CBs are allowed and maybe even encouraged to play in the CF, No9 or whatever you want to call Lukaku. As long as the CMS are on the "right" side of the first pressing line. Its one of Mourinhos axioms that IMO; to try to find the No9 as early as possible. Its different than building play via midfield though.
That said I would place as much blame on Lukakus feet as on our CBs, DMs or whoever for this not working, especially the first half of last season. The ball bounced off Lukaku as he was an old 80s pinball game and I dont believe that was just because of lack of quality passing forward.
He did step his hold-up play up tremendously in the second part of the season and it looked good in the WC as well. I think that improving that even more is essential for Mourinhos gameplan to work. More than who we have as CBs.
Yeah, I agree with this. Its become one of those tiresome narratives up there with "Fellainis elbows" and "Rojos rash tackling". When both of the latter ones also has cut down on that part of their games.
What Smalling is doing is nothing compared to Colombias wrestling approach or whatever Lovren is upto as soon he sets foot on a pitch. Smalling is getting way too much crap for this.
I understand. Dont worry about it.
Lukakus hold up play is horrible. Facing his own goal he is less than average. So maybe we need players who is able to play a more difficult pass; a lower ball in behind the oppositions defence?
I think Lukaku is great facing the oppositions goal. Furthermore, many teams press high, and there is a lot of space in behind their defence. The Spurs defenders looked confident when they could challenge Lukaku for the long ball when he was facing his own goal, just giving him enough contact to make a poor first touch even worse. Let us see how they cope if they have to chase him for good passes in behind.
And I do not think Smallig, Jones or Rojo will be able to play those passes. Toby and Maguire? Certainly Toby would.
Lukaku isn’t a long ball player, at all. Never has been, and that isn’t what has made him excel.
Also the idea that he can’t play with his back to goal is false too, if anything that allows him to use his strength to overpower any defender, it allows him to control the ball and roll the defender quite easily. He especially used to do this often for Everton, unfortunately we didn’t play to those strengths last season.
The long pass over the top is possibly an option too, but frankly he operates best when he receives the ball to feet when he’s on the last shoulder of the defence. Whether back to goal, or running in behind on the receiving end of a quick pass.
That’s what we saw at the World Cup; him, hazard, KDB & Meunier playing triangular through balls to feet.
So this idea that getting someone like Toby to spray passes to Lukaku isn’t what’s going to happen, Toby didn’t even do that for him at the WC.
Sure, Toby would whip pretty crosses to hazard and start play from there - but we have Pogba in midfield, so why would we just bypass him as part of our build up play?
Twice he's sold his teammates short now. First Bailly's header and now Tuanzebe's runner. Forget the ball playing skills, as a defender he just has no concept of what is happening around him. As the senior defender in our back line he should have been aware and commanding both of them.
If referees behave the same way as they did during the World Cup around set pieces, Smalling becomes a total liability overnight.
I've seen a few people say this and I don't get it.
Of the penalties that were given, there was one soft one latter in the tournament, but otherwise the rest were all ridiculously over-the-top fouls, far worse than Smalling ever does. And there were many, many others that were also significantly worse than his grabbing which the referee and VAR didn't care about.
Now if that one soft one goes on to become the norm, he might have a problem. But as of now that seemed to be a definite outlier, and taking the rest of the World Cup as a whole he won't have anything to worry about. Let alone become 'a total liability'.
Smalling has conceded one penalty for shirt pulling in his entire Utd career, away to Newcastle, as far as I can remember. As ever the issue is absurdly overblown. Are players incapable of adapting to changes in how the game is officiated? If he starts to get pens given against him why could he not stop doing it, as is it there has been little motivation for him to do so.
Every CB pulls and grapples at set pieces, but it is Smalling and people hate him, partly for his aesthetics, partly because of the contempt that familiarity brings.
Every CB pulls and grapples at set pieces, but it is Smalling and people hate him, partly for his aesthetics, partly because of the contempt that familiarity brings.
This. Of course he would be able to adapt if officiating changes. This is obvious. So obvious that it shouldn't even need to be said. The most basic level of obviousness imaginable. Yet you still needed to say it.
It's amazing what player dislike can do to a person's cognitive ability. It's almost worrying.
True. Here's Paolo Montero
Would people say no to a young Montero? because based on what he did on his career, he'd get red-carded every game in nowadays rule.
That was pretty crazy. I wouldn't want that guy in the team. Smalling isn't like that or anything, he is a very clean defender, he's just though physically.
Another myth about Smalling is that he isn't very vocal or communicate well, which is obviously horseshit. His infamous pussy voice is heard all over the pitch, even through the telly
Best center back at United. Behave
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You don't want a young Paolo Montero? I wish Smalling has his aggressiveness.
That 2nd goal by Liverpool was all Smalling’s fault.
Did Jose get asked what Smalling got pulled from the squad?
He was injured in the warm up.
And we heard Jones is on the way back to the rescue. 
Every fecking season this injury curse with our defenders...
Every fecking season this injury curse with our defenders...
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I am physically sick every time I watch this.
Let's not forget his key mistakes and own goals. He needs to leave.
What a random bump.
Exactly. You see there how deep Matic, Mata and Fellaini are coming to get the ball because our defence can't play it forward.
Decent defender but you kid yourself of you don't think he hurts us in possession.
Tears of joy if he moves.
No other tier 1 club of world football would want him. Unbelievabley overrated!
No other tier 1 club of world football would want him. Unbelievabley overrated!
Wolves doing us a favour
I rate him. Would be stupid to let him go.
Smalling has never been good enough for us, and I'll happily see him go, but we have bigger issues this summer, so it's rather alarming that all the talk atm is about CB's.
Any rumours of a fee?
Our Gk is shit in passing. I'm sick of seeing missed-kick after missed-kick, easily giving away possession to opponent. Maybe we should get rid of him, too. *sarcasm*
Smalling would be a fantastic back-up CB option. Selling him before Jones is madness, absolute madness. If we replace him with say, Mina, we're downgrading. Maguire would be a like for like, to be honest, so no upgrade.
If we bought Alderweireld and Maguire, then we might be talking a genuine upgrade on our CB options.
If we bought Alderweireld and Maguire, then we might be talking a genuine upgrade on our CB options.
amen brother. i subscribed just so i can read all the ridiculous comments from the Smalling fanboys in the next coming days. Going to be like a high school funeral, can't wait.
Maguire is definitely an upgrade on Smalling, mainly because he can actually play football. Smalling is a pure defender, but lord knows he can't do anything with the ball. It hurts us. I don't have a problem keeping him as a backup.
Selling our most consistent centre back from last season before Jones and Rojo would be silly imo.
For me, Smalling is an example of a decent defender, with decent positioning and tackling ability, hindered by an absolutely awful on the ball ability. Unfortunately these days you have to be confident on the ball to be a top level defender.
He’s also rather brain dead
We are not selling him. Rojo is first. Then maybe Jones. Smalling no chance this summer
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