So would you keep Smalling?

[davidmichael]

At worst Smalling is our third best centre back and in my opinion actually second and probably the most ideal partner for Maguire, what Smalling does well actually covers Maguire’s main flaws.

Problem is though that Smalling is like a rabbit in the headlights with the ball at his feet and Ole wants to play out from the back and also of all our other centre backs Smalling is the only one we can get decent money for.

No one wants Jones or Rojo which is why both men should be made available on free transfers just so they’re off the wage bill whilst Bailly can’t stay fit which means no clubs want to take a gamble on him, Smalling whilst better than the others is sellable and we’re trying to improve the starting 11 and squad during a global pandemic.

It’s a similar thing with Lingard and Mata as between the two Lingard is actually sellable although he’d be the better of the two to stay in my opinion, we could maybe get £15-£20 million for Lingard whereas we’d be lucky to get a fee for Mata but then whoever stayed would be back up anyway.

 

[Number32]

That red card on Final was ridiculous. Mark Clattenburg. But the SF own goal is a fair point, and I admit I forgot about this.

My initial question was if this mentality is permanent or just temporary. Smalling made that Cup mistake, and that's it for him.

Regarding their ages, safe to say Smalling's mentality is permanent, but Maguire-Lindelof's are temporary.

Anyway their error in both semifinal this year are not the mentality problem. They didn't defend as a unit and had poor communication, that's a coaching problem. We need a good defensive coach if you want to fix that.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

No, I'll sell him if good offers are made.

Thing is, we need to get rid of him eventually, even if there are plenty other players that we should get rid first priority wise. Better let him go sooner than later, then we'll just start thinking of getting a good long term solution for the CB problems.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

The fact that he really wants to go to Roma (understandably so) alone means we shouldn't want to keep him.

 

[A-man]

If Maguire is injured, Smalling is the best backup.

 

[JJ12]

he’s our 2nd best CB and he’s not good enough.

CB seems to be a position a lot of Prem clubs struggle with. City have been trying for years to sort it out.

 

[Valuedrug]

Doesn't make any sense to me really. He's had his time at the club. Much wiser to move him on, since that's what he obviously wants, and there is an interested buyer. If it's a matter of a couple of million that they can't agree on, it just a bit petty really for a club of Uniteds size. Sure, we're not in the charity business, but hopefully we're still in the club development business, and Smalling sticking around doesn't develop the club or squad at all in my opinion. Getting a reasonable fee, removing his wages from our bill and signalling to the rest of the defenders at the club that he isn't sticking around seems much more sensible to me.

Also what is this talk about Smalling being the ideal partner for Maguire - somehow compensating for his weaknesses? Smalling isn't fast, so he won't offer any recovery pace of note, and he has always been a ponderous passer of the ball. Yeah, he wins headers, but that's about the only thing Maguire already excels at. Granted I haven't seen Smalling at Roma at all, so I suppose it's possible that he has added new strings to his bow, but I doubt he somehow became a fast with excellent reading of the game all of a sudden.

The only reason to keep Smalling that I can think would be if the club is worried about Maguire ending up in jail and needing a fall back option

 

[Nikelesh Reddy]

Seen a lot of people suggest we should keep him. Premier league proven, suitable partner for Maguire or Lindelof and arguably our best defender but can't play out from the back. Keep or sell?

It’s a tough one this because obviously the ideal scenario would be to sign an upgrade on Smalling/Lindelof....But if we can’t sign a top CB,then it would make sense to keep Smalling at the club.Jones and Rojo need to be offloaded,Bailly is too injury prone,Tuanzebe is still on the fringes....If we fail to sign a new CB then I would keep Smalling...If we do sign someone like a Upamecano then I would sell him...

 

[BorisManUtd]

If I was choosing who to keep between Smalling, Jones and Rojo then Smalling is obvious choice but he seems to really want to go back to Roma and it looks like a done deal. Hopefully it means we're gonna get a new CB this month.

 

[red4ever 79]

No not at all. Need to start shifting out players. We are terrible at selling players right.

Jones, Rojo, Smalling, Lingard, Perriera, Mata

All should go

 

[Bilbo]

If it's a matter of a couple of million that they can't agree on, it just a bit petty really for a club of Uniteds size

That couple of million could end up helping us get some traction on the supposed agent fee issue with Sancho

 

[LawCharltonBest]

If we sell him and don't replace him, I promise we will enter a defensive crisis this season.

Tuanzebe and Bailly are always injured. Jones is miles away from the first team. It'll all be on Maguire and Lindelof again. And it's simply not enough.

If I were Mengi, I'd be seriously preparing to play a lot of minutes this season. He looks to have something, but you can't put all expectation on someone fast-tracked to the first XI

 

[flappyjay]

It’s a tough one this because obviously the ideal scenario would be to sign an upgrade on Smalling/Lindelof....But if we can’t sign a top CB,then it would make sense to keep Smalling at the club.Jones and Rojo need to be offloaded,Bailly is too injury prone,Tuanzebe is still on the fringes....If we fail to sign a new CB then I would keep Smalling...If we do sign someone like a Upamecano then I would sell him...

The feeling is that some people are just hoping for a new cb. But from the cb's we are being linked with only Upamecano is good enough to be a starter. I wouldn't trust Badiashile to start 10-15 games in row if we have a serious injury to the starting cb's. He will be comfortable on the ball but will make errors that could be detrimental to our season. We should have 3 starting quality cb's and a 4th who would start the occasional pl game and cup game like Jones/Smalling used to in the Fergie years. That kind of spot would be perfect for a Mengi/Tuanzebe.

 

[Maticmaker]

Think its time Smalling, (and a few others) moved on now. Chris was never as good as Rio at coming out with the ball and never as fierce as Vidic defending in the box.

For me Smalling's best spell was under LvG when he did start to come out from the back with the ball a few times, in so doing causing havoc in the opposition defense because it was previously only once every 'Halley's Comet' that Chris ventured over the halfway line; during the same period he began to lose that look of 'about to sh** my pants' every time he had to receive the ball under pressure. LvG was good for Smalling.

Especially in his last season or two, Chris got away with lots of pushing and shirt pull backs etc. in the box that these days with VAR would make him vulnerable.

Good servant for the club, but now its time to move. Highlight for me was the third and winning goal he scored against City when we came back from 2-0 down and Pogba and Sanchez had put on what was to be their one and only 'top player' performances.

Wish Chris luck at Roma or wherever he finishes up... as long as its not back at OT.

 

[ghagua]

Absolutely yes. Until we can sign a top-class partner for Maguire, Smalling would be my choice. He is far better than any of the players who we currently have to partner Maguire. He is not great on the ball, but none of the others are any great shake. It's not like they are setting up chances with their ability on the ball. I still see the defenders pass the ball to the nearest deep midfielder or fullbacks, meaning short passes to players with who can launch an attack.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Especially in his last season or two, Chris got away with lots of pushing and shirt pull backs etc. in the box that these days with VAR would make him vulnerable.

Italy has VAR, how many pens for shirt pulling or pushing did he give away?

He did give away a pen for getting the ball smashed into his face mind.

 

[Maticmaker]

Italy has VAR, how many pens for shirt pulling or pushing did he give away?

He's wasn't playing for United then, so not on any Ref's radar, besides pushing and pulling in the box is all part of the 'Dark Arts' of Italian defending, VAR will not change that!

 

[Valuedrug]

That couple of million could end up helping us get some traction on the supposed agent fee issue with Sancho

Sure, true in theory. But if our bid for Sancho really hinges on details like that, I think we would do well to offload Smalling as soon as possible, and throw a Jones or Lingard out at super discount rate to make up the rest to just get Sancho over the line as quickly as possible. I realise it's often not so simple to sell players, but surely a club of Uniteds size could find that amount of money somewhere, if they really wanted to.

Unfortunately, I suspect the Sancho deal is quite a bit further off than that. And the longer we wait, the more reason Dortmund have to be intransigent, since they will need him for the next season.

 

[Okey]

If we sell him and don't replace him, I promise we will enter a defensive crisis this season.

Tuanzebe and Bailly are always injured. Jones is miles away from the first team. It'll all be on Maguire and Lindelof again. And it's simply not enough.

If I were Mengi, I'd be seriously preparing to play a lot of minutes this season. He looks to have something, but you can't put all expectation on someone fast-tracked to the first XI

Erm...Smalling wasn't here last season. We did ok. With even better attacking play now, I'm sure we'll do ok again.

 

[flappyjay]

Erm...Smalling wasn't here last season. We did ok. With even better attacking play now, I'm sure we'll do ok again.

Luckily the 2 starting cb's were fit for most of the season with Maguire playing the most minutes in the top 5 leagues. In case of an injury to the starting 2 could you say with certainty that Bailly/Tuanzebe can keep them selves fit enough to help?

 

[LawCharltonBest]

Erm...Smalling wasn't here last season. We did ok. With even better attacking play now, I'm sure we'll do ok again.

Think we got fortunate that Maguire played every minute and Lindelof played so many matches. It won't happen again.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

He's wasn't playing for United then, so not on any Ref's radar, besides pushing and pulling in the box is all part of the 'Dark Arts' of Italian defending, VAR will not change that!

So you are saying he will only get done for shirt pulling via VAR when he’s playing for Utd? But when playing for another team, he mysteriously goes under the radar?

You know that sounds nuts don’t you?

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

Maybe we should make him captain? Suitable now with Maguire causing problems.
He has leadership qualities no doubt about it. Also it might make him want to stay.

 

[devips]

He's wasn't playing for United then, so not on any Ref's radar, besides pushing and pulling in the box is all part of the 'Dark Arts' of Italian defending, VAR will not change that!

This one entertained me!

 

[devips]

Let Smalling leave. Apparently, he doesn't miss "deadwood" United fans.

 

[Relevated]

Let Smalling leave. Apparently, he doesn't miss "deadwood" United fans.

??

 

[Okey]

Think we got fortunate that Maguire played every minute and Lindelof played so many matches. It won't happen again.

You could say that for any side. Citeh were said to be a mess with Laporte injured. They coped somehow. Where would Liverpool be if Van Dijk got injured? We're not that much worse off in the same scenario. Those sides would cope better cos other parts of their play are much better developed. We're slowly doing that too. The law of probabilities says we'll likely be fine again next season without Smalling.

 

[lysglimt]

He is our best defender (in terms of defending only) - but if we start playing Smalling we can forget about playing out from the back. Attacking teams would simply put a man on Maguire and we would need to use Smalling to play out from the back - not ideal.

Sell him - and find a player who can actually defend and play the ball instead

 

[Maticmaker]

So you are saying he will only get done for shirt pulling via VAR when he’s playing for Utd? But when playing for another team, he mysteriously goes under the radar?

You know that sounds nuts don’t you?

No, I am saying that in Italy shirt pulling and other such niggles in the box are given more leeway than in the PL, less likely to be blown up for by refs and hence referred to VAR. If he were back in the PL now his tendency to commit niggles in the box would be more exposed with the aid of VAR (than previously) and with our refs who when they do spot such actions (which isn't all that often) they would refer to VAR., regardless of the team.

I was simply making the point that back again with Utd he would be more of a liability

 

[James Peril]

There’s always a past and a future, he falls into the former category together with Rojo, Lingard, Mata and so on. Not in a way that I hate him and want him to leave the club, but he’ll have it better at Roma. He isn’t any worse than Maguire and Lindelöf, it just goes to show the incredibly low level of central defenders in the world right now.

 

[Isotope]

He is our best defender (in terms of defending only) - but if we start playing Smalling we can forget about playing out from the back. Attacking teams would simply put a man on Maguire and we would need to use Smalling to play out from the back - not ideal.

Sell him - and find a player who can actually defend and play the ball instead

I think everyone in here agreed if we get this kind of CB this window, we don't need Smalling. The reality is...

 

[MattyB1986]

Maguire certainly is. Lindelof is a useful player to have, but should be a squad player If we are to challenge for the league.



Personally I think that’s more to do with him being the only one that could be loaned out.

It would have been ridiculous to have 6 senior CBs in the squad. It was a monetary decision.



Smalling wasn’t and never will be a great player. But he’s not mediocre, that’s poor from you. He’s played in the PL and now Italy and been a first team player for a long time. He deserves more respect.

With that same reasoning is why he was done. He was the only we could loan to find a suitor and demand a decent fee for.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

With that same reasoning is why he was done. He was the only we could loan to find a suitor and demand a decent fee for.

I agree with you. In an ideal world, Bailly, Jones and Rojo would be first out the door.

Unfortunately, no one wants them, and we are probably stuck with them until their contracts end or we offer a Sanchez type payoff. The cost of those three for what they’ve given us is absolutely shocking.

 

[Al-T]

Think we got fortunate that Maguire played every minute and Lindelof played so many matches. It won't happen again.

I agree. If we are not signing a CB then Smalling (who appears to have resolved his fitness issues) at least offers an option at CB.

Jones, Rojo and Bailly are as physically robust as Christmas ornaments. If something happens to Maguire or Lindelof then Smalling is the only one who might actually be fit and ready to play.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Nope.

 

[Eplel]

I would, I don't think he's a bad defender. He's bad at carrying the ball, but it's not his job to create chances for us, if our midfielders dropped back and did their job properly he'd be much better for us.

I think the problem here is that we don't show any faith to our players when they have a bad streak, and defenders especially are impossible to be in form if they don't get games regularly. SAF hardly ever dropped a player for underperforming in 1-2 games, or after a blunder.

 

[roseguy64]

I agree. If we are not signing a CB then Smalling (who appears to have resolved his fitness issues) at least offers an option at CB.

Jones, Rojo and Bailly are as physically robust as Christmas ornaments. If something happens to Maguire or Lindelof then Smalling is the only one who might actually be fit and ready to play.

What do you mean appears to have resolved? Excepting last year, he's played the most games as a CB for us for the last few years. And I don't even need to look that up it's been so obvious.

 

[Al-T]

What do you mean appears to have resolved? Excepting last year, he's played the most games as a CB for us for the last few years. And I don't even need to look that up it's been so obvious.

Looking back a few years Smalling, (like Jones and Evans at the time) was beset by injuries which led to our annual CB injury crisis.

That's not now the case with Smalling. He appears, therefore, to have resolved his injury issues. In the absence of a new CB recruit, this is why I would retain him. If we rely on Jones/Rojo/Bailley as back up to Maguire and Lindelof we leave ourselves short of genuine options.

 

[AshRK]

It's strange considering he was somewhat underrated when he was here but since he left people are overrating his ability and act as if he is Stamesque defender.

 

[dev1l]

It's strange considering he was somewhat underrated when he was here but since he left people are overrating his ability and act as if he is Stamesque defender.

Grass is always greener on the other side