Chris Smalling | Roma player

marktan

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He was largely good for them last season, especially in the first half of that season. However, since then, he's been either injured or poor. And today he was calamitous. I credit Smalling for seeking a new challenge and opportunity in Roma rather than sit on the United bench for the rest of his career, however, he was no great loss for us at his age and fitness record.

Totally different scenario to Luke Shaw, who was a young player physically and mentally recovering from a potentially career-ending injury.
Shaw was fit and benched and slagged of by Mourinho. When he played a game once a month he was slagged off by this forum for being finished, just go back and see his thread.

I agree Smalling isn't right for us but everyone coming in here and using 1 game after him returning from a long injury as justification is incredibly harsh. There's a reason Roma were so desperate to sign him - he was great last season for them.
 

GifLord

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Shaw was fit and benched and slagged of by Mourinho. When he played a game once a month he was slagged off by this forum for being finished, just go back and see the thread.

I agree Smalling isn't right for us but everyone coming in here and using 1 game after him returning from a long injury as justification is incredibly harsh. There's a reason Roma were so desperate to sign him - he was great last season for them.
It's not just 1 game he's been pretty wank for Roma but then again Roma have been utter wank themselves
 

marktan

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It's not just 1 game he's been pretty wank for Roma but then again Roma have been utter wank themselves
That's not true at all - this is his second game back after a couple months out. He's only played 15 games this season and even that was with injuries in between.

Last season he was their best defender by a mile, which is why they spent £20m on him.
 
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Surprise surprise the critics are out in force re-writing history.

Smalling was our best defender (both in terms of peak performances and average level of performance) for most of the seasons since Rio and Vidic left. Not great (bar most of 15/16), but certainly the best of what we had. However in his last season with us he was already showing signs of losing some speed and physicality, and another two years have passed since then. Now this season has been ravaged by injury, particularly to his knee, and just two weeks ago he and his family were held at gunpoint while being robbed. Is it really surprising that he struggled in only his second full 90 minute match he's played in over three months?

I was disappointed we didn't attempt the Maguire-Smalling combo before letting him go, but with his deterioration the previous season there were question marks over him. It appears it's another thing that Ole got spot on.
Smalling may have been the best defender at the club after Rio and Vidic - but don't kid yourself, that was by default not exceptional performance. Who would he be compared with from that period Jones and Rojo ffs.

Smalling had nearly a decade to show his worth and cement a start place but he couldn't. He has nobody to blame but himself.
 

Cnaiür urs Skiötha

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While he was poor yesterday our own two CBs were not that great either. They just had not much to do. Not saying I want him back or he is the answer to any of our questions, but swap him and either Maguire or Lindelöf and the outcome would have not been that much different.
 

GifLord

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That's not true at all - this is his second game back after a couple months out. He's only played 15 games this season and even that was with injuries in between.

Last season he was their best defender by a mile, which is why they spent £20m on him.
Last season he was good for the first 3 months and then started making silly mistakes. I even posted a few of them.
He's a decent defender but thats it. Some of the lot on here were trying to make it like he was still our best defender.
 

dove

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While he was poor yesterday our own two CBs were not that great either. They just had not much to do. Not saying I want him back or he is the answer to any of our questions, but swap him and either Maguire or Lindelöf and the outcome would have not been that much different.
I disagree. Having defenders that are calm on the ball and don't hoof it every single time makes a big difference.
 

Lay

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Well there will always be one or two loons. But it's hardly comparable thinking that Ravel Morrison could do a job at United if he can't even find a club. And someone thinking Smalling would still be handy to have in the squad considering he did that very job at United for a long time. Even when we still won league titles and got to European cup finals. Smalling was and is a good player.
I think he was a decent/good player. His lack of ability with the ball was infuriating though and was a common stick to beat him with on here. His pointless hoofing of the ball hindered the play. As a pure defender, he was good but we needed more.
 

gajender

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That's not true at all - this is his second game back after a couple months out. He's only played 15 games this season and even that was with injuries in between.

Last season he was their best defender by a mile, which is why they spent £20m on him.
More like €15 m and that too after lot of haggling and actually Bringing in another defender for higher price before him as well.
 

stevoc

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I think he was a decent/good player. His lack of ability with the ball was infuriating though and was a common stick to beat him with on here. His pointless hoofing of the ball hindered the play. As a pure defender, he was good but we needed more.
I agree good defender, good servant for the club. We needed better, we still do to be honest.
 

SadlerMUFC

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We tend to romanticize about how good players on other teams are. Hopefully these two games vs Roma has put an end to the idea that Smalling would be our best defender. He was horrible for both games. Our boys didn't do great either, but were head and shoulders above Smalling. he was sold for a reason...
 

Acole9

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We tend to romanticize about how good players on other teams are. Hopefully these two games vs Roma has put an end to the idea that Smalling would be our best defender. He was horrible for both games. Our boys didn't do great either, but were head and shoulders above Smalling. he was sold for a reason...
Yep! He looked really uneasy with the ball at his feet yesterday.
 

SAFMUTD

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From starring in Serie A ideal XI a couple of years ago to barely playing nowadays, what happened to him?
 

SAFMUTD

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Injuries as usual
Look it up, he missed 30 games last season due to injuries and has already missed 11 this season. Hard to sustain an starting place missing so many games. Such a shame, I was happy he was doing well in italy.
 

RUCK4444

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From starring in Serie A ideal XI a couple of years ago to barely playing nowadays, what happened to him?
Yeah injuries, he’s much better than many claimed and proved it in Italy before these injuries recently.

Imo he was every bit as good as Lindelof, not top tier but solid, quick and good one v one.
 

Gandalf

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Yeah injuries, he’s much better than many claimed and proved it in Italy before these injuries recently.

Imo he was every bit as good as Lindelof, not top tier but solid, quick and good one v one.
Funnily enough has been their best player in their last couple of games but that is not saying much as they are a fairly average side. Still give him credit for not dicking about when he lost his place here and getting on with his career in another country, plenty of crap clogging up our bench who I wish had shown the same attitude.
 

Devil_forever

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He is a no vax, fear of get injured by the jab


What a fecking brain dead moron. Why does our club seem to attract these dickheads in alarmingly high numbers? Lowest vaccinated group in the prem right now and even former players seem like anti vax morons. I’m almost glad he got bullied by Mourinho now.
 
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90 + 5min

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Sorry, what? Understanding the basics of vaccines and looking at the data of unvaxxed vs vaxxed in terms of intensive care patients and deaths makes people scientists now?
I said lots of people are suddenly scientist. Let us concentrate on our own work and let scientist do what they are supposed to do. If vaccines help according to doctors who are we to disagree. I'm for that people choose what they want to do without being forced. But I am also for consenquences whatever you choose without people moaning later about things.
 

Gums

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Seems a correlation between vegans and anti vax (see Novak Djokovic )
We‘re vegan and are active in different vegan groups. Within my contacts, I‘d say there isn‘t a higher percentage of anti vaxers than in any other group of people.

I do however see a correlation between vegans and a dislike for ignorant humans. Like mass-produced meat consumption, not getting vaccinated seems to have more to do with not wanting to be inconvenienced than doing what‘s right and/or sensible based upon measurable data.
 

Wolf1992

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What a fecking brain dead moron. Why does our club seem to attract these dickheads in alarmingly high numbers? Lowest vaccinated group in the prem right now and even former players seem like anti vax morons. I’m almost glad he got bullied by Mourinho now.
Let the people be anti vaxx if they want, they have the right tbh, with all the shit big pharma do and gets away with it thanks to bribing the judicial system as much as they please i can't blame some people for being antivaxx, even if i don't agree with them.
 

Andersonson

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We‘re vegan and are active in different vegan groups. Within my contacts, I‘d say there isn‘t a higher percentage of anti vaxers than in any other group of people.

I do however see a correlation between vegans and a dislike for ignorant humans. Like mass-produced meat consumption, not getting vaccinated seems to have more to do with not wanting to be inconvenienced than doing what‘s right and/or sensible based upon measurable data.
So vegans generally dislike anti vaxxers then?
 

Andy_Cole

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We‘re vegan and are active in different vegan groups. Within my contacts, I‘d say there isn‘t a higher percentage of anti vaxers than in any other group of people.

I do however see a correlation between vegans and a dislike for ignorant humans. Like mass-produced meat consumption, not getting vaccinated seems to have more to do with not wanting to be inconvenienced than doing what‘s right and/or sensible based upon measurable data.
My mistake. I know an anti vax guy and he attempted being vegan for similar motivations of being anti vax. A huge conspiracy theorist who believes the farm industry has brainwashed the public into thinking they need meat and dairy. The theory with anti vax is related to the pharma industry profiting on the vax and controlling the media/ government.
 

Relevated

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If, with the vaccine, this thing is still transmissible but it lessens the effect for the one vaccinated, then who is he harming except for himself? You guys need to chill out being angry by everything and go get a booster shot.

I am fully vaccinated before anyone calls me vegan or whatever.
 

Carl

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What a fecking brain dead moron. Why does our club seem to attract these dickheads in alarmingly high numbers? Lowest vaccinated group in the prem right now and even former players seem like anti vax morons. I’m almost glad he got bullied by Mourinho now.
Is that true?
 

r3idy

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He's better than Maguire in everything except passing
He really isn't. I get it Maguire going through a bad patch but it's pure fantasy to suggest Smalling was / is the better defender. The guy could not head a ball for shit, clumsy in the tackle and positionaly awful
 

Carl

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He really isn't. I get it Maguire going through a bad patch but it's pure fantasy to suggest Smalling was / is the better defender. The guy could not head a ball for shit, clumsy in the tackle and positionaly awful
There are several legitimate things to criticise Smalling for but choosing heading is a bit of a weird one given its one of his strongest attributes.
 

BestRed

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What a fecking brain dead moron. Why does our club seem to attract these dickheads in alarmingly high numbers? Lowest vaccinated group in the prem right now and even former players seem like anti vax morons. I’m almost glad he got bullied by Mourinho now.
Is that true?
No, apparently we're above the league average.