Chris Smalling takes a little time to warm up, but when he really starts talking he’s engaging and open, a man who got three Bs at A level and had the confidence to move to Rome when it would have been easier not to.
He reflects on the reasons behind his switch, how he hopes it will lead to an England recall, Manchester United’s “false” league position and the death of his father, when he was just five.
“I started to think about playing away from United quite late in the transfer window,” he says of his move to Italy. “I’d signed a new (United) contract six months before and was playing regularly when Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer) came in.
“Then there was talk of a new centre-back all summer. That was no problem to me, it’s part of the challenge and United have signed Victor (Lindelof) and Eric (Bailly) in recent seasons. I welcomed them, I welcomed the challenge, worked hard and by the end of the season I’d played more than many in the squad.”
This season was looking different, though. “Ole went with Victor and Harry (Maguire) in the first couple of games and put Axel (Tuanzebe) on the bench for some experience which is fair enough. If I hadn’t played so much in previous years, I might have been happy playing Europa League games and coming into other games depending on form and fitness, but late in the window, I felt I needed a clear picture of where I was at.
“I was in constant dialogue with Ole and he told me that I would play a fair amount of games. I would’ve played 20-25 games, maybe more, but then Roma made their offer. It was put to me and I felt I could play 40-50 games with Roma, maybe twice what I’d play at United.”
Staying at United would have been the easy option for the new dad. “I could have picked up my wages, I’ve just become a father to a little boy of five months, I was settled in Manchester with my family. Coming to Rome was a challenge that I liked, a big club with big expectations. The manager doesn’t just want to get back in the top four, he wants to win a trophy. Roma have had some great Champions League nights recently, but the Europa League is important here this season.”
After 323 games for United (52nd in the club’s all-time appearance table with more United games than Nemanja Vidic or Cristiano Ronaldo) Smalling had the backing of those closest to him.
“My wife has always been supportive. She said: ‘If you want to move, we’ll all move. We’ll do what’s best for your football.’ I knew she’d say that, which I appreciated. So I moved. I lived in a hotel for a month and we moved into a beautiful house last week. It’s 700 hundred years old, just outside Rome. It’s surrounded by greenery which is important with our dogs. Everyone is here now and that feels good. I’ve had to change my wardrobe because I’ve been living in shorts and t-shirts. It was 28 degrees at the end of October – that’s a perk.”
Through 10 games last year, we had conceded 17 goals and were even on goal differential. Through 10 games this year, we've conceded 10 and have a +3 diff.