patrickmuf:
Smalling played more? Yes...
Best English CB? No...
Maguire is light years ahead of Smalling.
And lest we forget, he was dropped because he is shaky on the ball (Pep philosophy influencing Southgate).
Maguire, Stones, Jones and Cahill are very comfortable on the ball unlike Smalling.

maguire better than smalling? Wtf? He's the worst and the most overrated of the bunch. Fvcking wannabe ball playing CB.
And when does been comfortable on the ball makes a better Cb? Ffs smalling is a guaranteed starter under one of the GREATEST defensive manager in world football.

most of them are not even that good on the ball, only stones is light years ahead of smalling in ball playing. Its not like smalling can't pass to his team mates or something..

Lana1:
How far!! Shey u go post league table for us today??

U dey find my trouble ohhhh shebi na table dat one na table, table wen don break

weedtaker:
maguire better than smalling? Wtf? He's the worst and the most overrated of the bunch. Fvcking wannabe ball playing CB.
And when does been comfortable on the ball makes a better Cb? Ffs smalling is a guaranteed starter under one of the GREATEST defensive manager in world football.

most of them are not even that good on the ball, only stones is light years ahead of smalling in ball playing. Its not like smalling can't pass to his team mates or something..

Smalling starter for where? Mourinho clearly stated he was playing Smalling to help his course with regards to being on the plane to Russia. Bailly was left on the bench just so Smalling can play thus his starting games for us isn't hinged on merit but bias from the manager.
Also, Maguire plays for Leicester and is even noticed even how good he will look if he was at a club as big as ours?

patrickmuf:
Maguire? Have you watched him? He might not be world class but don't jump out of the context, I said when compared to Smalling...
Maguire is better than Smalling.

Gba... correct man. U dey see well. 1000 times better than every current United defender!

patrickmuf:
Smalling starter for where? Mourinho clearly stated he was playing Smalling to help his course with regards to being on the plane to Russia. Bailly was left on the bench just so Smalling can play thus his starting games for us isn't hinged on merit but bias from the manager.

and you believed that? You really no sabi ur manager..

Also, Maguire plays for Leicester and is even noticed even how good he will look if he was at a club as big as ours?

he's not playing for a big club, cause he's not good enough, Johnny evans dust de idiot left right and center.. meanwhile smalling has been a starter under two defensive minded world class managers in one of the biggest clubs in the world. Next season go reach and nobody go buy migraine, meanwhile smalling will still be a starter for man utd [ though i pray it doesn't come to pass in smallings case ]

As for southgate. Well

The ekpa is going to russia with 6full backs with jake fvcking Livermore on standby list, while shelvey is no where to be found, lol

patrickmuf:
What multiple position can Dembele, Lemar and Fekir play?

You questioned my Assertion on the multiple Positions the mentioned Players can play, yet you went ahead to list out the multiple Positions they can play, how are my wrong pls?!

Who played as CF most times when LVG coached Manchester United? Martial...
So,if you want to talk multiple positions, Martial can play LWF and CF...

I ain't the France NT Manager Brah, but kinda convinced he's right except we wanna over-pamper our beloved Child. He said he has studied and fully analyzed Martial and Laca, both can't offer what Giroud or Griezmann can offer as a Striker, and he's got Players who can play on the either Wings as well, hence he opts to drop Martial for them.

Dembele can only play LWF or RWF
Lemar is more a LW not seen him play from the right.
Fekir plays in the hole or RWF
Thuavin plays either wing.
Only Mbappe can play LWF, CF and RWF and deliver...
So your assertion is wrong...

Lemar can play both Wings as well as through the Middle too Brah. Sorry to disappoint you more, even Thauvin and Fekir can play as a CF as well.

Hence Questions are; can Martial play on the either Wings? And how my Assertion is flawed?!

Maigure is just a fat fork.
Am not impressed.
No way that dude is better than smalling.

Oasis007:




You questioned my Assertion on the multiple Positions the mentioned Players can play, yet you went ahead to list out the multiple Positions they can play, how are my wrong pls?!



I ain't the France NT Manager Brah, but kinda convinced he's right except we wanna over-pamper our beloved Child. He said he has studied and fully analyzed Martial and Laca, both can't offer what Giroud or Griezmann can offer as a Striker, and he's got Players who can play on the either Wings as well, hence he opts to drop Martial for them.



Lemar can play both Wings as well as through the Middle too Brah. Sorry to disappoint you more, even Thauvin and Fekir can play as a CF as well.

Hence Questions are; can Martial play on the either Wings? And how my Assertion is flawed?!

how many years dem won play world cup that he is looking for who can play multiple positions. If martial was playing constantly on that left wing the issue of multiple positions won't be raised. Anyways he is still a young man more world cups to come. Even if he wants to be a lwf only let him be a beast and master there.

weedtaker:
Ffs smalling is a guaranteed starter under one of the GREATEST defensive manager in world football.

Both Jones and Bailly had to cop long term injuries before Smalling could get a chance in the team this season.

After they came back sef, Mourinho admitted that he was trying to help some of his players get on the plane to Russia. Smalling was the only fit English player in the 1st eleven not to get called up for those England friendlies, so it's pretty obvious why Smalling enjoyed so much gametime, especially towards the end of the season.

weedtaker:
maguire better than smalling? Wtf? He's the worst and the most overrated of the bunch. Fvcking wannabe ball playing CB.
And when does been comfortable on the ball makes a better Cb? Ffs smalling is a guaranteed starter under one of the GREATEST defensive manager in world football.

most of them are not even that good on the ball, only stones is light years ahead of smalling in ball playing. Its not like smalling can't pass to his team mates or something..

Every coach has what works for him. For years, most England coaches have chosen the path of going for traditional defensive defenders, the group Smalling falls into. But Southgate doesn't fancy that style hence why his choice to drop Smalling makes sense to me. Technically gifted with the ball is not what can be attributed to Smalling. A lot of us have said Smalling is shaky on the ball and that's a fact. Stones and Maguire, even Cahill are technically more confident on the ball. Smalling can't play out ball from the back. Southgate is borrowing a leaf from Pep and I don't blame him for dropping Smalling. He might end up succeeding where other coaches has failed.

patrickmuf:
Smalling starter for where? Mourinho clearly stated he was playing Smalling to help his course with regards to being on the plane to Russia. Bailly was left on the bench just so Smalling can play thus his starting games for us isn't hinged on merit but bias from the manager.
Also, Maguire plays for Leicester and is even noticed even how good he will look if he was at a club as big as ours?

Save injuries, Jones and Bailly would've been our starting CBs. Smalling benefited from injury to both players. Smalling is very technically limited. Defense these days is not all about aggression. A bit of intelligence is needed.

Oasis007:




You questioned my Assertion on the multiple Positions the mentioned Players can play, yet you went ahead to list out the multiple Positions they can play, how are my wrong pls?!



I ain't the France NT Manager Brah, but kinda convinced he's right except we wanna over-pamper our beloved Child. He said he has studied and fully analyzed Martial and Laca, both can't offer what Giroud or Griezmann can offer as a Striker, and he's got Players who can play on the either Wings as well, hence he opts to drop Martial for them.



Lemar can play both Wings as well as through the Middle too Brah. Sorry to disappoint you more, even Thauvin and Fekir can play as a CF as well.

Hence Questions are; can Martial play on the either Wings? And how my Assertion is flawed?!

You said Martial's inability to play multiple positions is his undoing and I have pointed out that he can play from the left or upfront as a center forward. Let's not forget that at Old Trafford against spurs, he was deployed behind Lukaku and scored a goal courtesy of one of his runs to meet a Lukaku flick on.
Thuavin can't play CF bro he us just too fragile, Lemar can play either wings or as an AM (3 positions)
Fekir (3 positions as you insinuate)
Bar Mbappe or Dembele when he is on form, none of the other guys picked ahead of Martial can lace his boots.
On that left wing, I will start Mbappe with Martial as my sub and not Lemar...

weedtaker:
and you believed that? You really no sabi ur manager..

he's not playing for a big club, cause he's not good enough, Johnny evans dust de idiot left right and center.. meanwhile smalling has been a starter under two defensive minded world class managers in one of the biggest clubs in the world. Next season go reach and nobody go buy migraine, meanwhile smalling will still be a starter for man utd [ though i pray it doesn't come to pass in smallings case ]

As for southgate. Well

The ekpa is going to russia with 6full backs with jake fvcking Livermore on standby list, while shelvey is no where to be found, lol

If your argument was Shelvey or his decision to go with three RBs in Walker, Trippier and Arnold, I'd have no reason to argue otherwise but Smalling? I'd argue in support of Southgate even in my dreams.

sinizia:


Save injuries, Jones and Bailly would've been our starting CBs. Smalling benefited from injury to both players. Smalling is very technically limited. Defense these days is not all about aggression. A bit of intelligence is needed.

Spot on. I remember when Dopejemi and I were discussing about his passing, he always passes the ball behind instead of in front of his team mate, that's high level technical deficiency

SIRcumalot:
Maigure is just a fat fork.
Am not impressed.
No way that dude is better than smalling.

He is better with the ball at his feet, no?
Football is not all about brawls nowadays, a bit of brain is required and that bit is you asking for the impossible from Smalling...

patrickmuf:
Smalling played more? Yes...
Best English CB? No...
Maguire is light years ahead of Smalling.
And lest we forget, he was dropped because he is shaky on the ball (Pep philosophy influencing Southgate).
Maguire, Stones, Jones and Cahill are very comfortable on the ball unlike Smalling.

Maguire ko Muri Okunola ni.
All these guys are mediocre. The only person with enough potential to become even half the player Rio Ferdinand was is Jones, but too much power no let that one get sense.

Smalling is better than Maguire both defensively & offensively, irrespective of all other unpleasant attributes he may possess in between.

SailorXY:

Maguire ko Muri Okunola ni.
All these guys are mediocre. The only person with enough potential to become even half the player Rio Ferdinand was is Jones, but too much power no let that one get sense.

Smalling is better than Maguire both defensively & offensively, irrespective of all other unpleasant attributes he may possess in between.

yet Smalling is persona non grata at England, and Maguire is going to Russia

SailorXY:

Maguire ko Muri Okunola ni.
All these guys are mediocre. The only person with enough potential to become even half the player Rio Ferdinand was is Jones, but too much power no let that one get sense.

Smalling is better than Maguire both defensively & offensively, irrespective of all other unpleasant attributes he may possess in between.

Please don't forget to consider the reason Southgate gave for his selection, he has always opined that he prefers defenders who are comfortable with the ball at their feet and you can't deny that's not a strong point for Smalling. Now talking about defending in general, Smalling is a bad defender with good recovery due to his physique and pace...Most times you see him making those sliding tackles is due to the fact that his poor positioning has given the striker the advantage.
Talking about offense, yes he scores more but scoring isn't all about offense, that's why Pep is very particular of the kind of defenders he wants at his disposal, ability to comfortably play from the back is a big component of the greater attacking play.

patrickmuf:

Talking about offense, yes he scores more but scoring isn't all about offense, that's why Pep is very particular of the kind of defenders he has at his disposal, ability to comfortably play from the back is a big component of the greater attacking play.

even that offense yarns is a mythical scam

Smalling 4 league goals

Maguire 2 league goals...and 4 assists

Offense is not just about being a tall nepa pole for a set piece specialist to aim at during corners or freekicks.

A centre back who has 4 assists tells you a lot about what he can do with the ball at his feet.

Nihilstjnr:


yet Smalling is persona non grata at England, and Maguire is going to Russia

I'm just crossing the Red Sea bro, I'm no Egyptian & I don't speak for the Egyptians. I no even like the whole Egypt except maybe Memphis

How our match today wan be? Predictions?

SailorXY:
I'm just crossing the Red Sea bro, I'm no Egyptian & I don't speak for the Egyptians. I no even like the whole Egypt except maybe Memphis

How our match today wan be? Predictions?

Na that side you dey? Omo hope sun never scatter your dada

Omo this match na must win for 2 defensive coaches.

My prediction is 0-0 and penalty shootout

This match is likely to be quite boring imo

Nihilstjnr:


even that offense yarns is a mythical scam

Smalling 4 league goals

Maguire 2 league goals...and 4 assists

Offense is not just about being a tall nepa pole for a set piece specialist to aim at during corners or freekicks.

A centre back who has 4 assists tells you a lot about what he can do with the ball at his feet.

Thank you for the stat bro. Smalling is bang average.

patrickmuf:
Please don't forget to consider the reason Southgate gave for his selection, he has always opined that he prefers defenders who are comfortable with the ball at their feet and you can't deny that's not a strong point for Smalling. Now talking about defending in general, Smalling is a bad defender with good recovery due to his physique and pace...Most times you see him making those sliding tackles is due to the fact that his poor positioning has given the striker the advantage.
Talking about offense, yes he scores more but scoring isn't all about offense, that's why Pep is very particular of the kind of defenders he wants at his disposal, ability to comfortably play from the back is a big component of the greater attacking play.

Every Coach does have their Reason(s) for selecting or dropping certain Players. You referenced to a Reason cited by Southgate for dropping Smalling, but you don't wanna admit Deschamps is right for dropping Martial based on the Reason he also gave?! Lol!

Oga..... Smalling is better than Maguire, and England ain't Spain coz they don't play tika tika Footie. They don't need Defenders who can play with Ball rather Defenders who can clear the Ball.

odizeey:
how many years dem won play world cup that he is looking for who can play multiple positions. If martial was playing constantly on that left wing the issue of multiple positions won't be raised. Anyways he is still a young man more world cups to come. Even if he wants to be a lwf only let him be a beast and master there.

WC ain't play yearly, thus you need your best PLAYERS at the moment for the Tourney. Deschamps released a List of Players that he trusts they can play to his Tactics and deliver professionally.

At least he lists Martial as a standby Player same as Coman. Guess you know Coman is also a good Winger?!

And it won't be a Crime for Martial to develop himself as an all-round Attacker. He should take it as a Challenge, train very hard, and develop himself to become an all-round attacking Player.

Martial should be able to deliver on either Flanks Brah. Enough of Excuse that he's good or deadly on the LW, coz developing his Skills as a LW won't be good for him in the long Run.

He's still young, hence gets time to improve his Skills and develop his attacking Prowess on either Flanks or across the Attacking Line.

Oasis007:




Every Coach does have their Reason(s) for selecting or dropping certain Players. You referenced to a Reason cited by Southgate for dropping Smalling, but you don't wanna admit Deschamps is right for dropping Martial based on the Reason he also gave?! Lol!

Oga..... Smalling is better than Maguire, and England ain't Spain coz they don't play tika tika Footie. They don't need Defenders who can play with Ball rather Defenders who can clear the Ball.

Smalling isn't technically better than Maguire with the ball at his fit, fact...
Martial can't play other positions, not true, he can play LWF, SS and CF...This is my argument.

To your second d point, Walker, Stones, Delph and Sterling play for City who are renowned for keeping the ball.
Rose, Alli, Trippier, Dier and Kane play for Spurs who are good at keeping possession.
Henderson, Arnold play for Pool who are also good with the ball.
Maguire was first spotted at Hull City for his ability to play from the back and I think Nihilstjnr was one of the first guys who noticed him and didn't hide his desire to see him at Chelsea.
Cahill is technically very good with the ball.
Jones is equally good with the ball.
The generation of English players you are referring to are long gone, England are slowly but surely adopting a new approach.

patrickmuf:
Smalling isn't technically better than Maguire with the ball at his fit, fact...
Martial can't play other positions, not true, he can play LWF, SS and CF...This is my argument.

To your second d point, Walker, Stones, Delph and Sterling play for City who are renowned for keeping the ball.
Rose, Alli, Trippier, Dier and Kane play for Spurs who are good at keeping possession.
Henderson, Arnold play for Pool who are also good with the ball.
Maguire was first spotted at Hull City for his ability to play from the back and I think Nihilstjnr was one of the first guys who noticed him and didn't hide his desire to see him at Chelsea.
Cahill is technically very good with the ball.
Jones is equally good with the ball.
The generation of English players you are referring to are long gone, England are slowly but surely adopting a new approach.

correction...i spotted him playing in league 1 for Sheffield United as their captain aged only 20, where he used driblble his way from one box to another on a regular basis.

Obviously he moved to hull when they were in the champo but as soon as Hull gained promotion to EPL, I announced that he would be a future England international...important to note that boy wasn't even a starter for Hull at the time.

Oasis007:




WC ain't play yearly, thus you need your best PLAYERS at the moment for the Tourney. Deschamps released a List of Players that he trusts they can play to his Tactics and deliver professionally.

At least he lists Martial as a standby Player same as Coman. Guess you know Coman is also a good Winger?!

And it won't be a Crime for Martial to develop himself as an all-round Attacker. He should take it as a Challenge, train very hard, and develop himself to become an all-round attacking Player.

Martial should be able to deliver on either Flanks Brah. Enough of Excuse that he's good or deadly on the LW, coz developing his Skills as a LW won't be good for him in the long Run.

He's still young, hence gets time to improve his Skills and develop his attacking Prowess on either Flanks or across the Attacking Line.

ok. But for me I don't buy into the idea of been able to play multiple roles as a requirement for play time

Nihilstjnr:


Na that side you dey? Omo hope sun never scatter your dada

Omo this match na must win for 2 defensive coaches.

My prediction is 0-0 and penalty shootout

This match is likely to be quite boring imo

dada wey don fry finish since yesterday lol

I don't think it will be boring even if both teams are not in great form, I think it will finish in 90mins. I expect the opening exchanges to be cagey but one well-worked team effort to spark it to life.

Form has nothing on games like this. I expect it to be a narrow 2-1 win for United tho.

Oasis007:




Every Coach does have their Reason(s) for selecting or dropping certain Players. You referenced to a Reason cited by Southgate for dropping Smalling, but you don't wanna admit Deschamps is right for dropping Martial based on the Reason he also gave?! Lol!

Oga..... Smalling is better than Maguire, and England ain't Spain coz they don't play tika tika Footie. They don't need Defenders who can play with Ball rather Defenders who can clear the Ball.

Well, Southgate wants CBs that can play out from the back. In the past that former England coaches have gone for defenders that "clear" the ball rather than "play" them, have England excelled in any of the tournaments? A change in tactics might do the trick or build a foundation that can lead to future success. No-one knows for sure if his choices might work, but then if he doesn't give it a trial we'd never know.

It ain't even about Tiki-taka, Smalling passes are mostly sideways, to the nearest defender, he's not confident on the ball like Bailly. Defenders like Stones are confident with ball even under pressure. They help orchestrate attack from the back and that's what Southgate wants. Before Stones' injury, there's a time he's amongst the top 5 accurate passers in the first-half of the EPL this past season.

sinizia:


Save injuries, Jones and Bailly would've been our starting CBs. Smalling benefited from injury to both players. Smalling is very technically limited. Defense these days is not all about aggression. A bit of intelligence is needed.

u r quite correct on intelligence been added to aggression but overall I think smalling is better dan McGuire.how many goals did we concede dis yr compare to liciester? Remember smalling was practically involve in almost all our matches.maybe in few years McGuire will b better.is d calmness he n stones exhibit when holding ball dat makes people feel dey r better.d great Vincent company is nt dat calm when with d ball but he is a good defender.southgate nt picking him doesn't means he is nt good.every coach v different ideology .it might just mean smalling doesn't fit in . simple .another coach might c things differently n makes smalling his top CB

Smalling has little technical ability, less brain. The only reason he starts for United is that Jones and recently Bailly have signed a pact with their hospital bed. Everyone fit no way does Jose start Smalling ahead of Jones and Bailly.

Everyone fit no way is Smalling better defensively than Jones, Maguire and they are levels above him in terms of ability with the ball. If the argument is Smalling ahead of Cahill or Stones who had mediocre personal seasons i can understand that, however those 2 are still ahead of him in terms of playing ability. He kills possession and passing with his subtly ridiculous passing.

Passing directly to the feet or slightly behind an overlapping full back instead of a few yards ahead of him

Taking 3,4,5 touches to arrange his body before passing the ball on.

^^^ but stones is a rubbish defender, its not like england are going there to dominate and blow teams off the park, shey na that their weak ass midfield wan dominate possession? i go like see how stones wan win header for corner kick against red rom and afro man. or how he'll defend against eden hazard, na here we de.