Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2015 Mod Note Post #2331

The_Kew_Tour

bangkok wrote: »

that is the bare minimum of a professional footballer. Tom Cleverly put in 100% effort and he got slated left right and centre. If 100% effort is the required standard of a club of our size we are in serious trouble.
.

He did in his bollocks

homerjay2005

Pro. F wrote: »

It's hilarious that there are still people blaming the players at this stage.

last night was an eye opener for sure....but we were playing one of the worst teams in the league who didnt put 11 behind the ball.

its hard to know, but lets be fair here - several players are playing nowhere near the level required, there were many poor performances and individual mistakes last night. this happens of course, but collectively the players need to step up.

great to see Rooney in form though again.

Flint Fredstone

castletownman wrote: »

Without sounding like I am banging on the same drum (certainly not to the same extent Bangkok does towards Fellaini), I still have my reservations about Smalling being a top-bracket centre-half. A few brain-farts again last night, to mirror the Wolfsburg game, the last time United conceded three.

I just think that he looks very good when the team as a whole is set up defensively, but doesn't possess the natural ability to single-handedly grab the game from the scruff of the neck when things are slightly more pear-shaped (or the game is a little bit more open in front of him), ALA Vidic, John Terry or Richard Dunne in an Irish jersey. Have never seen him emerge from a game that United threw away with his reputation enhanced (though I suppose that's the life of a defender).

Perhaps, he's the poster boy of the dour LVG style.

Smalling has been brilliant in a poor defence. Silly mistakes last night but they are few and far between. He can't be expected to do it all on his own, he was flanked by Blind who isn't a CB and Young who isn't a RB.

The fact that he has looked so good in such a makeshift defence is a credit to him and his improvement.

Liam O

Coat22 wrote: »

Well I certainly didn't say his form was a blip but I do think his form has been somewhat exaggerated by our style of play and the quality of the 2 DMs in front of him.

Rooney on the other hand is having his usual "4 or 5 goals in 3 or 4 games which makes him look great" period. Expect that to end Sunday.

Yeah his close to 1 in 2 record in his United career were all in 3 or 4 game bursts surrounded by not scoring for ages. You're right.

homerjay2005

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

He did in his bollocks

hmmm dunno, was never a huge fan of Cleverly myself but i think the criticism of him was completely OTT, as it was of Evans also.

The_Kew_Tour

homerjay2005 wrote: »

hmmm dunno, was never a huge fan of Cleverly myself but i think the criticism of him was completely OTT, as it was of Evans also.

I'm talking about him giving 100% every game.

Criticism is one thing, to say he gave it everything in every game is incorrect, and by distance

thebigredone

[/quote=TheDoc

It was being banded around and shared last night across the internet. And it's totally moronic that people were using it to push an agenda.

You have just drawn a line under Fellaini. And it's the type of snobby elitism that sickens me from sections of the fanbase, that would paint a player "not United standard" based on selective performances, or just his style of play.Fellaini does nothing but put in 100% for me, and has rarely to never complained from what is in my view piss poor treatment he has received from fans and the manager in terms of his deployment. /quote]

I'm sure the opinions on Fellaini aren't solely based on a few "selective performances". Also if we can't base an opinion of a footballer on performances and style of play what can we base our opinions on? Ability? Which reflects on the former. There's a long list of players who gave 100% and weren't good enough!

TheDoc

Pro. F wrote: »

It's hilarious that there are still people blaming the players at this stage.

I thought Van Gaal's changes were well prepared and...well good.

Conceding possession to Newcastle (who had fired blanks in like 4 of 5 games), to hit them and their slow, lacklustre defence on the break, was clever in my eyes.

Newcastle at home tend to just lose all their shape, pressured by fans demanding goals and attacking football, they tend to just all bomb forward in this ridiculous fashion. So many times last night they left two defenders to deal with Rooney and Martial who started to linger.

There appeared to be targeted, prepared pressure and closing down on Newcastle when they stepped into our half. Even Blind tackling and pressuring into the midfield area. And each time we were getting the ball and turning possession, Newcastle fullbacks were ahead of the play.

I thought the gameplan was good, and looked like it was going to be executed to perfection. That we had some defensive lapses, individual mistakes, and failed to convert guilt edge chances, I think is harsh to blame Van Gaal.

And then the team just getting rattled was just one of those things? he was animated and shouting instruction towards the end as I guess he was seeing something he wanted to change.

Like, and I hate giving him ****, Memphis had another defensive brain fart. He should have just kicked that ball out instead of trying to be clever and shuttling it out. Led to the NEwcastle goal. For such a tanky looking fella, he seems to get knocked around a fair bit.

homerjay2005

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

I'm talking about him giving 100% every game.

Criticism is one thing, to say he gave it everything in every game is incorrect, and by distance

do you think any player not giving 100% would have been played by Ferguson? he played 32 games in Ferguson last season when Fergie had Carrick, Scholes, Anderson, Giggs as options in there also.

homerjay2005

TheDoc wrote: »

Like, and I hate giving him ****, Memphis had another defensive brain fart. He should have just kicked that ball out instead of trying to be clever and shuttling it out. Led to the NEwcastle goal. For such a tanky looking fella, he seems to get knocked around a fair bit.

hmmm dunno, wasnt it Darmian who messed up the clearance first and then a weak header from Smalling?

think Daley Blind was poor in the run up to the goal also and several players were out of position.

Maximus Alexander

Pro. F wrote: »

It's hilarious that there are still people blaming the players at this stage.

Most hilarious of all is how Smalling has one game where his standard drops a bit and he goes from effusive praise and claims that he's one of the best defenders in Europe, to the scrap heap. Just like that.

I know these contrasting claims are not necessarily from the same people, but I find it fascinating how the overriding narrative of the thread can change in a heartbeat. If the thread itself was a person, it would be in a padded cell.

Crimson King

homerjay2005 wrote: »

hmmm dunno, wasnt it Darmian who messed up the clearance first and then a weak header from Smalling?

think Daley Blind was poor in the run up to the goal also and several players were out of position.

I like Blind as a midfielder but as a defender he lacks authority and is badly exposed against anyone with pace

adox

Only one of the back 4 were playing in their natural position last night.

Mongo

Fellaini as a CM just doesn't work for me. When he was left on and Ander taken over I couldn't believe it. I think Schneiderlin is very important and must play as often as possible.
We should have won but I'm going to take some encouragement from the game.

Strumms

Can we please stop with the Fellaini scapegoat business, it's boring as **** at this stage. We know he is not a United style or perhaps quality of player. He is still putting in the effort. If he is sold I wont be shedding tears but that's hardly the point. The selection of and the makeup of the squad is of the sole discretion of the manager. That's been the **** up. That is where our problem lies. If we had another CDM on the bench last night that we could have subbed him for we might have got the win. As it was the big clumsey fecker spent most of the second half afraid to tackle anyone in midfield as if he did he knew the Newcastle player would have gone down like a tonne of bricks and the Newcastle crowd would have been baying for a red card and he probably would have got it no matter how innocuous the foul, going by the mood of Mike Dean last night. But he is NOT the reason we only drew last night and he is NOT to blame for our squad being totally ****ed, despite LVG having access to millions, 18 + months and he is still going on about the balance of the side.

NoviGlitzko

Did anyone else curse blindly at the screen last night when Mata came on for Herrera and not Fellani? I sure did.

Maximus Alexander

In fairness, all the frustrations of that match and result were totally worth it for Rooney's goal and assist. That flick for Lingard was beautiful.

Trigger

Mongo wrote: »

Fellaini as a CM just doesn't work for me. When he was left on and Ander taken over I couldn't believe it. I think Schneiderlin is very important and must play as often as possible.
We should have won but I'm going to take some encouragement from the game.

Just on that point about Herrera. I can see where that sub came from.. at the time he looked absolutely gassed and was misplacing passes and finding it difficult to get back. Fellaini should have been taken off at HT but the decision to take off Herrera at that time was the correct one IMO. Though I would have left Mata in the middle and Rooney up top instead of shaking up the right side.

TheDoc

TheDoc wrote: »

Does anyone else get infuriated by the way, about how he seems to get unfair treatment from referees. It's appears so blatant to me. He is a big unit, he is going to power people off the ball.

While he leaves a lot to be desired in terms of the silly fouls he makes dragging people back from behind, he gets a lot of fouls against him, that would not be fouls if it was two similar built players.

Very similar to the **** Peter Crouch went through for years.

Fellaini's booking last night was laughable. Two players on the ground covering the ball, the Newcastle defender lunges across Fellaini's legs to block him, and yet Fellaini gets booked. (His first of the season afaik)

I'm surprised more is not made about it, he is consistently receiving unfair treatment from referees being pulled up on fouls that simply arn't. While it rarely to never has an impact on the game or result, it's annoying as **** to consistently see.

Separately, Mike Dean is becoming a serious problem. He clearly has some issue with wanting to become a celebrity, or the centre piece. His response to the Smalling penatly was an absolute embarrassment, much like this nonsense for Spurs a while back. And he should be talked to about it. Pearson pretty much confirmed my assumption about him last season, never have I seen an official with that sort of demeanor,ego and arrogance.

Watched the Smalling penalty again this morning. I thought Van Gaal was dong a bit of fluff last night, but I totally see where he is coming from. Mitrovic was grabbing Smalling by the back of the head and then forced his head down, and also lashed out at him with two feet when he went down. Doesn't excuse Smalling's actions, but ****ing hell, would it not have been a peno if Mitrovic caught smalling on the chin with his boot as he attempted?

I think someone posted up a study before in the forum more or less showing the taller you are the worst refs treat you. It most be as frustrating as hell for Fellaini but he has to learn a way to counteract the bias, Even though im not sure how. Watched Andy Carrol via liverpool recently and he seemed to get a way with a bit more not sureif its the english thing or his style I didn't watch too close.

Found an article that mentions the research

http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2012/01/2604/

bucketybuck

TheDoc wrote: »

I thought Van Gaal's changes were well prepared and...well good.

Its not about last nights preparation or tactics, it isn't about any one player or decision, instead the genesis of last nights performance is in the prior 18 months of training and various decisions.

There is little value in scapegoating Felliani or Smalling for last night, far better to understand why we are at a point where we can't contain a useless Newcastle side, why it is depressingly normal that we are easy pickings for every crap team in the league?

How did we get to this point where every player we have is underperforming? Are we really going to play this game with every player in the squad, after every poor result blaming whomever happened to be the worst that night, blind to the common theme behind all of this?

Its like a bus driver taking his bus the wrong way through the desert for 18 months, the radiator eventually packs in but instead of questioning what the **** the driver is doing out there in the first place, instead we complain about the crappy radiator breaking. Maybe the radiator is crap, but the bigger question is still how you ended up in the middle of the freaking desert!

We have not looked like a cohesive team for nearly 2 years, every single player is underperforming and most players that leave actually start to play well again. Lads, it couldn't really be any more obvious, it ain't the fucking players.

Discodog

I suspect that LvG has the most professional of players totally confused. We could all see that something was radically different last night. So did he say forget what I have been telling you for all this time & go & attack ?

I noticed that the first thing he did as we scored was to write in that folder. No sign of emotion or encouragement to the scorer. Maybe they don't try from outside the box because they get a bollicking if they miss.

Then, having repeatedly said that he doesn't leave his seat - he did.

There are constant inconsistencies & I don't blame the players at all. Even the two dreadful misses may just be down to a lack of confidence in what LvG wants them to do. He's had a long time to gel with the players but nothing has really changed.

So what happens now ? Do we continue try to play free flowing football or go back to the dross ?

Liam O

NoviGlitzko wrote: »

Did anyone else curse blindly at the screen last night when Mata came on for Herrera and not Fellani? I sure did.

Herrera was very good in the first half but bad in the 2nd, Fellaini was playing well. I'd probably have taken off Fellaini at HT but not for the first time he showed that he knows how to play with a booking and was breaking up a lot of Newcastle play and linking up well with the forward players. Really don't see why there's even a discussion about this, he was probably United's 2nd best player last night.

homerjay2005

adox wrote: »

Only one of the back 4 were playing in their natural position last night.

exactly.

we had a winger playing at right back.
we had a left back, playing at center back.
we had a right back, playing at left back.

no wonder our defence is all over the place. what is the route cause? failure to recruit a center back this summer, it could be for this reason our entire team has been set up to defend all season to cover this huge gap.

Discodog

I wonder how much of this is down to Gigg's assessment of the opposition. LvG made a big play of how Giggs does this prior to every game. I wonder if he is still doing this ?

bucketybuck

homerjay2005 wrote: »

exactly.

we had a winger playing at right back.
we had a left back, playing at center back.
we had a right back, playing at left back.

no wonder our defence is all over the place. what is the route cause? failure to recruit a center back this summer, it could be for this reason our entire team has been set up to defend all season to cover this huge gap.

And not to belabour a point but once again this mythical youth development was nowhere to be found. We are playing one of the worst sides in the Premier league so why not give one of the young defenders gametime? If ever there was a game for Borthwick-Jackson it was last night but instead we get Darmian stuck on the left and Ashley Young at full back. I don't rate McNair but if we are developing players why not play him last night?

The answer remains of course that we aren't developing them, thats just what is claimed when they are thrown into massive games at the last minute because of injuries.

homerjay2005

bucketybuck wrote: »

And not to belabour a point but once again this mythical youth development was nowhere to be found. We are playing one of the worst sides in the Premier league so why not give one of the young defenders gametime? If ever there was a game for Borthwick-Jackson it was last night but instead we get Darmian stuck on the left and Ashley Young at full back. I don't rate McNair but if we are developing players why not play him last night?

The answer remains of course that we aren't developing them, thats just what is claimed when they are thrown into massive games at the last minute because of injuries.

he got rid of Evans, to give game time to Mcnair and now wont play Mcnair so ends up having to play Daley Blind there.

NoviGlitzko

Liam O wrote: »

Herrera was very good in the first half but bad in the 2nd, Fellaini was playing well. I'd probably have taken off Fellaini at HT but not for the first time he showed that he knows how to play with a booking and was breaking up a lot of Newcastle play and linking up well with the forward players. Really don't see why there's even a discussion about this, he was probably United's 2nd best player last night.

I back Fellani more than a lot of people in here but in the second half I thought he looked toothless. This was because of the yellow though I'm sure. Didn't really win anything and he wasn't positive with the ball apart from two forward passes; one which reached Rooney nicely and one that got everyone groaning with how wayward it was. He really should have taken his opportunity also. He lacks confidence.

I agree that Herrera was probably running on empty but we were 2-2 at the time, so ideally you want your best attacking talent on the pitch if you're looking for a winner.

Cantona's Collars

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Most hilarious of all is how Smalling has one game where his standard drops a bit and he goes from effusive praise and claims that he's one of the best defenders in Europe, to the scrap heap. Just like that.

I know these contrasting claims are not necessarily from the same people, but I find it fascinating how the overriding narrative of the thread can change in a heartbeat. If the thread itself was a person, it would be in a padded cell.

Exactly,even the best F1 drivers in the world crash their cars sometimes,does that mean they automatically turn sh1t?

After all the talk of philosophy and sorting of the midfield,the balance of the team is still way off.When we attack,we forget about defending and leave huge holes,when we defend,attacking becomes completely forgotten.

homerjay2005

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Most hilarious of all is how Smalling has one game where his standard drops a bit and he goes from effusive praise and claims that he's one of the best defenders in Europe, to the scrap heap. Just like that.

I know these contrasting claims are not necessarily from the same people, but I find it fascinating how the overriding narrative of the thread can change in a heartbeat. If the thread itself was a person, it would be in a padded cell.

in fairness, you are doing similiar by reacting to a small number of reactions.

ive seen one poster (i didnt read all posts so forgive me if theres a couple more) have a pop at Smalling outside of saying he had a bad game - which i think even the most defensive/biased United fan on here would admit.

it is noticeable however, that Smalling has not looked comfortable in some games when he doesn't have two defensive midfielders in front of him. last night is not the first time this has happened.

do you equally think somebody who says Smalling is the best center half in europe after keeping a clean sheet against West Ham and Aston Villa, should be in a padded cell?

Coat22

Liam O wrote: »

Yeah his close to 1 in 2 record in his United career were all in 3 or 4 game bursts surrounded by not scoring for ages. You're right.

1 decent game in an entire year and the Rooney Love is out in force again. His "close to 1 in 2 record" comes from a different age. I spent the summer on here arguing he was past it and had people wanting to take bets on him hitting 20 league goals.

So lets look (again) at his record in the last 4 seasons:


12/13: 6 Blanks before 3 in 5, 3 more blanks then 10 in 10, 3 blanks then 3 in 4 and nothing in the last 6


13/14: 2 blanks then 5 in 5 followed by 2 in 2 months and 3 in 2, 1 in the next 10 then 6 in 8 and 3 blank before 2 in his last game of the season.


14/15: 3 in 7, then nothing for 2 months then 4 in 6 and nothing for 3 months (10 games) before 5 in 8 and then blank for the last 6 of the season.

15/16: None in 4 then 5 in 5 then 2 over the next 3 months before 3 in the last 3 games


Before this the guy was prolific but over the past 4 years his form has been sparodic, he's become a "streak player", when he's good he's great and when the run is over my granny may as well be playing.

Lets just enjoy this seasons purple patch.

Pro. F

TheDoc wrote: »

I thought Van Gaal's changes were well prepared and...well good.

Conceding possession to Newcastle (who had fired blanks in like 4 of 5 games), to hit them and their slow, lacklustre defence on the break, was clever in my eyes.

Newcastle at home tend to just lose all their shape, pressured by fans demanding goals and attacking football, they tend to just all bomb forward in this ridiculous fashion. So many times last night they left two defenders to deal with Rooney and Martial who started to linger.

There appeared to be targeted, prepared pressure and closing down on Newcastle when they stepped into our half. Even Blind tackling and pressuring into the midfield area. And each time we were getting the ball and turning possession, Newcastle fullbacks were ahead of the play.

I thought the gameplan was good, and looked like it was going to be executed to perfection. That we had some defensive lapses, individual mistakes, and failed to convert guilt edge chances, I think is harsh to blame Van Gaal.

And then the team just getting rattled was just one of those things? he was animated and shouting instruction towards the end as I guess he was seeing something he wanted to change.

Like, and I hate giving him ****, Memphis had another defensive brain fart. He should have just kicked that ball out instead of trying to be clever and shuttling it out. Led to the NEwcastle goal. For such a tanky looking fella, he seems to get knocked around a fair bit.

Yes, Newcastle are shíte at defending when they try to get a goal (they're fighting relegation for a reason) and yes United attacked with a bit more freedom, which helped to take advantage of those opportunities and so create more chances. But, crucially, United are also bad at defending when we do anything other than pursue sterile possession, hold a rigid attacking shape and limit the numbers getting forward. Yes, United put some good pressure on the ball in certain situations, but we also left the pitch too big when defending, showed an inability to deal with runners and positional interchanges from Newcastle when they attacked and our energy levels dropped badly as each half went on.

You thought the game plan was good and looked like it was going to be executed to perfection, but you've been thinking for months that things aren't that bad and that if we just had a bit of luck or played this or that player or formation that it could all come good. Remember the other week when you were saying that now Schneiderlin is back we'll see loads of clean sheets?

There is an alternative view, that the game plan was badly flawed and looked like it was going to concede goals. I've said for months that we can either attack or defend, not both. I said that these recent games where we've supposedly seen improved performances (Swansea, Chelsea) were actually just the outcome of Van Gaal changing from the defensive mode back to the attacking one and that we would come a cropper soon enough if we stayed playing this way.

So far the model you are using to explain what is going on at the club - ie that the issue is player selections, player mistakes and luck - has been very poor at predicting what is going to happen on the pitch and in the league table. The alternative model has had no such problems.

bangkok

homerjay2005 wrote: »

in fairness, you are doing similiar by reacting to a small number of reactions.

ive seen one poster (i didnt read all posts so forgive me if theres a couple more) have a pop at Smalling.

it is noticeable however, that Smalling has not looked comfortable when he doesn't have two defensive midfielders in front of him. last night is not the first time this has happened.

you could pick any defender in world football, Ramos, Kompany etc and if there is no cover in front of them and they are left isolated they get taken to the cleaners as well, doesn't mean they are bad defenders. Smalling is one of the best defenders in England and Europe at the moment

Coat22

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Most hilarious of all is how Smalling has one game where his standard drops a bit and he goes from effusive praise and claims that he's one of the best defenders in Europe, to the scrap heap. Just like that.

I know these contrasting claims are not necessarily from the same people, but I find it fascinating how the overriding narrative of the thread can change in a heartbeat. If the thread itself was a person, it would be in a padded cell.

I don't really think it is - the overriding feeling in here still seems to be that Smalling has magically become one of the best defenders in Europe in 2015.

I've been saying since the Wolfsburg game that his true standard was starting to show and since last summer that he should only be a second choice centre half at a club of Uniteds stature.

In fairness he's done better than I thought he would but my thoughts on him haven't changed dramatically in the last 9 months or so.

Pro. F

Coat22 wrote: »

1 decent game in an entire year and the Rooney Love is out in force again. His "close to 1 in 2 record" comes from a different age. I spent the summer on here arguing he was past it and had people wanting to take bets on him hitting 20 league goals.

So lets look (again) at his record in the last 4 seasons:


12/13: 6 Blanks before 3 in 5, 3 more blanks then 10 in 10, 3 blanks then 3 in 4 and nothing in the last 6

I just did a sanity check on this first set of numbers and you have included games that he didn't play in when holding up evidence of games he didn't score in.

Pro. F

Coat22 wrote: »

I've been saying for a while but the Emporer has no clothes - Smalling has only looked good when he's had 2 DMs playing in front of him.

Not true. He was good throughout the second half of last season and the team was set up with only one DM for that period. He's also frequently been his usual self in games with one DM this season.

Giggsy11

Coat22 wrote: »

I've been saying for a while but the Emporer has no clothes - Smalling has only looked good when he's had 2 DMs playing in front of him. I think I'd fancy my chances if I had 2 of Carrick/Schweinsteiger/Schneiderlin protecting me. Take them out and you're on your own and I think his limits are being exposed.

ITs worrying because he's easily the best centre half we have but he is not the second coming the way he's been lauded over the past 6 months

That's completely wrong. DM is someone like Mikel who just sits infront of defense. None of Schneiderlin or Schweinsteiger just sits infront of defense. If anything they play closer to final third except they play safe passes there too.

Coat22

Pro. F wrote: »

Not true. He was good throughout the second half of last season and the team was set up with only one DM for that period. He's also frequently been his usual self in games with one DM this season.

Right Ted. And we were only after Ramos as Smalling's understudy

Coat22

Pro. F wrote: »

I just did a sanity check on this first set of numbers and you have included games that he didn't play in when holding up evidence of games he didn't score in.

Want to tell me which ones because I've checked and he did play in them?

Coat22

Giggsy11 wrote: »

That's completely wrong. DM is someone like Mikel who just sits infront of defense. None of Schneiderlin or Schweinsteiger just sits infront of defense. If anything they play closer to final third except they play safe passes there too.

DM or CM playing defensively - same bloody thing is they're spending the game protecting the back 4 rather than attacking

Pro. F

Coat22 wrote: »

Right Ted. And we were only after Ramos as Smalling's understudy

I don't judge players based in transfer links to other players. You've been pretty awful at predicting what will happen with Smalling up to this point, so I'd suggest you re-assess your continued use of this method of judgement.

https://twitter.com/11tegen11/status/687027899623424000

https://twitter.com/11tegen11/status/687027899623424000

Maximus Alexander

homerjay2005 wrote: »

do you equally think somebody who says Smalling is the best center half in europe after keeping a clean sheet against West Ham and Aston Villa, should be in a padded cell?

Ah here, I never said anyone should be in a padded cell. I specifically referred to the ebbs and flows of the thread itself and anthropomorphised it.

Coat22

Pro. F wrote: »

I don't judge players based in transfer links to other players. You've been pretty awful at predicting what will happen with Smalling up to this point, so I'd suggest you re-assess your continued use of this method of judgement.

Don't think I have been - I think he's an average defender who would be a squad player at United if we could sign someone better.

Pro. F

Coat22 wrote: »

Want to tell me which ones because I've checked and he did play in them?

You have him down as having played 37 games in that season, he only played 27. You can go look for the exact details of your mistakes yourself.

Pro. F

Coat22 wrote: »

Don't think I have been - I think he's an average defender who would be a squad player at United if we could sign someone better.

This counts as a pretty awful prediction of what would happen with Smalling:

Coat22 wrote: »

If Smalling plays 20+ games this season I’ll go naked in Brown Thomas window.

adox

Smalling needs a partner not a replacement. He is our best CB by a country mile.

Coat22

Pro. F wrote: »

You have him down as having played 37 games in that season, he only played 27. You can go look for the exact details of your mistakes yourself.

Eh...that's because he did play in 37 games (for United) that season.....

bucketybuck

Pro. F wrote: »

You have him down as having played 37 games in that season, he only played 27. You can go look for the exact details of your mistakes yourself.

He played 37 games in season 2012/2013.

Maximus Alexander

It seems my comments have restored some balance.

Coat22

adox wrote: »

Smalling needs a partner not a replacement. He is our best CB by a country mile.

Agreed - he is our best central defender - doesn't say much though