Smalling & Blind Partnership

MyOnlySolskjaer

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Does this have a future or should we be looking to upgrade in some form next season?

This season I feel we've seen Smalling at his best at the early stages and Blind looking okay (understandably adapting) followed by Blind looking great and Smalling dipping a bit but it feels there's been a bit of a turning point recently - the notable game being City. It could just be that they are developing a bit of a mutual understanding so would it be wise to break this apart and 'rebuild' our team again?
 
If we have any proper aspirations, we'll be looking to upgrade Blind, Jones and Rojo at the very least.
 
I think there is definitely a case to be made for the both of them. However, I have no faith in Jones and Rojo I would offload both of them and sign a CB. I think it would be wise to sign a older experienced no nonsense CB.
 
We should pretty much always be looking to upgrade in every position.

However CB has to be quite low down on the priority list. RW, CF, CM and RB have all been bigger problems for us this season.
 
I'd prefer to see Blind in midfield. If people are so desperate to have a 'Carrick' in this side, then play his natural in-house successor.

Blind has comfortably been our best centre back all season though. With Smalling, it's the best pairing we have.
 
I think we should get some proper depth, and get someone who wouldn't mind rotating with Blind. Blind can also play in midfield while the new CB partners Smalling.

We've been very lucky that Smalling and Blind haven't had much injury trouble.

We should wait and see how this partnership performs under a new manager first. A pre-season plus some league games should give us a bit of an idea.
 
We could do with another defender - especially if Jones continues to be injured. As a pairing, they have done well but only time will tell. I wouldn't want to see Blind in midfield. I don't think he showed much when he did play in midfield. He seems to have settled in the back four. He's about as quick as Bastian, Carrick...we could do with someone quicker - maybe more robust in midfield.
 
I would have no problems with us going into next season with these two as first choice centrebacks. We definitely need to add some quality in depth and if we can find an upgrade to Blind he'll still play a vital part in this squad.
 
I do think we need to be looking for a better centre back than Blind, but I will say that Blind has been great this season, and far surpassed my expectations for him in that position. Blind is the sort of player who will always get games throughout the season due to his versatility.
 
Mourinho will feck it off straightaway, and get another CB to partner Smalling.
 
Been very skeptical of Blind as a centre back this season. He makes a lot of inexplicable choices while defending, so for me saying that he's been great is rewriting history. That said, he's been great the past two matches.

I think we should be looking to upgrade, but I still believe Blind can be Carrick's successor in midfield.
 
This is Blind's first full season as a CB and he's exceeded most of our expectations, at the same time this has also been Smalling's best season to date. Our problem is that neither Jones or Rojo are remotely reliable as back-up or competition, so we'll need a CB in regardless, however I think we can cast the net wide given the current pairing are at an age where they could be a viable pairing for years, plus the back 4 as a whole will strengthen with Shaw back.
 
ADJUDICATOR said:
If we have any proper aspirations, we'll be looking to upgrade Blind, Jones and Rojo at the very least.
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This, we need to get shot if Jones and Rojo then look to relegate Blind to the squad utility man role that suits him. He could be cover for three/four positions like LCB, LB, DM and, at a push, CM so with injuries and rotation he would still play enough games to stay happy. As a starter at CB he has been good but we really need better if aspire for much more than an occasional top four finish.
 
Jed I. Knight said:
Been very skeptical of Blind as a centre back this season. He makes a lot of inexplicable choices while defending, so for me saying that he's been great is rewriting history. That said, he's been great the past two matches.

I think we should be looking to upgrade, but I still believe Blind can be Carrick's successor in midfield.
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I don't think he's disciplined enough to play that role, it's been the case wherever he's played. We'll still need a DLP to replace Carrick, but Blind might have a starting role as a CM in a 3.
 
Upgrade Smalling, keep Blind there. Yep, I am serious.

Even more serious though, get a very good CB (where do they grow) and then rotate Blind and Smalling for the other position, and give the spot based on who we play and which one of those two play better.

For what is worth, I think that Blind has had a better season, though Smalling at his best (August-November when Caf proclaimed him as the best CB in the multiverse since at least big bang) is a better defender than Blind at his best. Smalling on the ball ability is criminal for a professional player though, probably the worst I have ever seen.

If we get Mourinho, I think that Smalling will be favored and Blind will be played in other positions. In the ball ability is far less important for him than being a big strong defender.

About the thread, I think that for the majority of time this season, they have been living in completely different frequencies. In some games it looked quite bad, like Blind being in no man's land, or Smalling going for a ball and falling on his arse. Today it was quite better though, and they looked like a real partnership.
 
Revan said:
Upgrade Smalling, keep Blind there. Yep, I am serious.

Even more serious though, get a very good CB (where do they grow) and then rotate Blind and Smalling for the other position, and give the spot based on who we play and which one of those two play better.

For what is worth, I think that Blind has had a better season, though Smalling at his best (August-November when Caf proclaimed him as the best CB in the multiverse since at least big bang) is a better defender than Blind at his best. Smalling on the ball ability is criminal for a professional player though, probably the worst I have ever seen.

If we get Mourinho, I think that Smalling will be favored and Blind will be played in other positions. In the ball ability is far less important for him than being a big strong defender.

About the thread, I think that for the majority of time this season, they have been living in completely different frequencies. In some games it looked quite bad, like Blind being in no man's land, or Smalling going for a ball and falling on his arse. Today it was quite better though, and they looked like a real partnership.
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I'm guessing you only started watching football circa 2011?
 
Revan said:
Smalling on the ball ability is criminal for a professional player though, probably the worst I have ever seen.
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A far cry from Sakho's antics to be fair. I think Smalling was also largely passable before his form dip in December, and I remember lots of talk about how van Gaal had seriously improved him in that regard.
 
ADJUDICATOR said:
A far cry from Sakho's antics to be fair. I think Smalling was also largely passable before his form dip in December, and I remember lots of talk about how van Gaal had seriously improved him in that regard.
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Which was always bollocks, van gaal and his hippies love to credit him for anything. Smalling's basically been the same, patchy player on the ball since he came here.
 
Depends who's managing us. Playing Blind in a team built to soak up pressure and hit on the counter would be ridiculous so Mourinho would bring someone new in. If van Gaal stays then I still think he'd be looking to upgrade Blind with someone like Ramos but if no-one of that standard's available he'd stick with this partnership.
 
Blind this season has truly shocked me in regards to how well he has performed in that Centerback role. Barcelona has had success converting Masherano to a Centerback, so I do not see why Blind can't have that same amount of success.

However, I still believe Blind should be Micheal Carrick replacement as the holding midfielder and we should get a proper centerback to partner Smalling.
Goalkeepers
--------Defenders---------
Blind/Mensah
Midfielder - Midfielder
------Forward------​
 
Amadaeus said:
Blind this season has truly shocked me in regards to how well he has performed in that Centerback role. Barcelona has had success converting Masherano to a Centerback, so I do not see why Blind can't have that same amount of success.

However, I still believe Blind should be Micheal Carrick replacement as the holding midfielder and we should get a proper centerback to partner Smalling.
Goalkeepers
--------Defenders---------
Blind/Mensah
Midfielder - Midfielder
------Forward------​
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Because Blind hasn't got a patch on Mascherano defensively. I mean it's the same Mascherano who marked Kaka out of a CL final for 80 minutes, was arguably Argentina's best player during their WC final run. He had more than enough defensive quality that could be transferred and applied in the CB position at the top level.

Plus we're not Barcelona, hopefully we feck off Van Gaal and his philosophy for good and get down to some proper football.
 
Too many games this season it has seemed like they are both playing different games and theres been a lack of communication (even this late into the season)

BUt credit to them for the number of clean sheets theyve kept (along with DDG).

We do need to upgrade though if possible.
 
I know this is made after he's had an excellent game but we really need to be aiming higher than Blind.

Still it's down the list but we need someone to challenge him, was hoping that would be Jones but he's been a disappointed in so many ways
 
Brwned said:
Depends who's managing us. Playing Blind in a team built to soak up pressure and hit on the counter would be ridiculous so Mourinho would bring someone new in. If van Gaal stays then I still think he'd be looking to upgrade Blind with someone like Ramos but if no-one of that standard's available he'd stick with this partnership.
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I agree but what do you think Mourinho's intentions were with Stones after their huge bid, then? Certainly unlikely he'd change his system but he's a player closer to the Blind mould than Ramos.
 
MyOnlySolskjaer said:
I agree but what do you think Mourinho's intentions were with Stones after their huge bid, then? Certainly unlikely he'd change his system but he's a player closer to the Blind mould than Ramos.
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I'd think he would go after Stones as an upgrade to Blind. I'd describe Stones, Ramos and Blind all as ball-playing defenders. The difference being that Ramos and Stones have pace and aerial strength that Blind doesn't, and that aerial strength is necessary for the way Mourinho tends to play.
 
Depends on the manager. Can't see Mourinho keeping Blind there, so we'll look for a partner for Smalling if he comes in.
 
Skills said:
Which was always bollocks, van gaal and his hippies love to credit him for anything. Smalling's basically been the same, patchy player on the ball since he came here.
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I don't think you remember the useless lump of nerves he was under Moyes tbf.
 
TwoSheds said:
I don't think you remember the useless lump of nerves he was under Moyes tbf.
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He was pretty much the same - it's just that he was playing at RB quite often, which exposed his limitations on the ball a lot more.
 
Blind should be playing in midfield for you in my opinion. He's a smart player with a good pass on him. Why was he even moved out of midfield?

You need a new CB in the summer.
 
Klopper76 said:
Blind should be playing in midfield for you in my opinion. He's a smart player with a good pass on him. Why was he even moved out of midfield?

You need a new CB in the summer.
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Cause he's not been that good for us in midfield. Circumstances were a lot different back then though, he had to play as the deepest midfielder in place of Carrick and he simply doesn't have the positional sense or decision making ability to play that role.
 
The way I see it - we won't get a CB as good on the ball as blind, there's 0 chance. But if we can get a proper defender than gets close then we should imo.

Probably a few here think stones is better than blind on the ball but I still think they're miles apart
 
Skills said:
Cause he's not been that good for us in midfield. Circumstances were a lot different back then though, he had to play as the deepest midfielder in place of Carrick and he simply doesn't have the positional sense or decision making ability to play that role.
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Has he been played there with Schneiderlin?I think a midfield three of Schneiderlin, Blind and Herrera would be pretty good for United with Lingard, Rashford/Mata and Martial in the front three.
 
Klopper76 said:
Has he been played there with Schneiderlin?I think a midfield three of Schneiderlin, Blind and Herrera would be pretty good for United with Lingard, Rashford/Mata and Martial in the front three.
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He hasn't started in midfield at all this season IIRC. He's always started at CB, and he's sometimes finished the last 10 or so minutes in midfield when Van Gaal decides to feck around a bit for the shits and giggles.

Yeah I wouldn't mind giving that a go. I don't think it will really work though, as none of them can really dictate the tempo or the flow of a game. Long term I think it probably has to be 2 of them, plus one of Bastian or Carrick's replacement.
 
Klopper76 said:
Blind should be playing in midfield for you in my opinion. He's a smart player with a good pass on him. Why was he even moved out of midfield?

You need a new CB in the summer.
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Blind has been good at CB and certainly better than he was as a CM/CDM last year. Hell, he was better at LB last year than he was in CM because he provided attacking impetus from flank as he always linked up well with the wide player ahead of him, in that case Ashley Young.

We do need a CB, but that's to challenge and allow us to rest Blind or Smalling, not because Blind has been shite or because he's better as a CM.
 
We still leak too many chances. I think we need a dominant leave or someone who can become that. Both blind and smalling are passive
 
There is absolutely no way I would be starting Blind at CB at the start of next season, I didn't see his performance from today so fair play if he played well but there has been some pretty awful performances and goals leaked that has cost us points from his defending. Every time he has a good game we can't turn around and say "great hes amazing" after he's had a couple of shockers.

I think it is a massive failure from Van Gaal to try and rely on him this season. Move him on up the park and let him chase the ball in front of the defense and fill in at left back if we need him.
 
Both have done about as well as anyone this season but we're not Barcelona so we can't realistically be where we want to be with those two long term
 
Skills said:
Cause he's not been that good for us in midfield. Circumstances were a lot different back then though, he had to play as the deepest midfielder in place of Carrick and he simply doesn't have the positional sense or decision making ability to play that role.
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What rubbish. You're staying Blind can't play in midfield? His reading of the game and passing ability are probably his best attributes.
 
TheReligion said:
What rubbish. You're staying Blind can't play in midfield? His reading of the game and passing ability are probably his best attributes.
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He certainly can't play as the deepest midfielder of a 3, as we all saw last season. He's far too prone to recklessly chasing after the ball, vacating a key area of the pitch.
 
Skills said:
He certainly can't play as the deepest midfielder of a 3, as we all saw last season. He's far too prone to recklessly chasing after the ball, vacating a key area of the pitch.
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He was playing at the base of a diamond with di Maria, Herrera and Rooney as partners during that time which was infact a settling in period for himself. I'd hardly put that on him.
 
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