Chris Smalling... last night...

[mccscratch]

ManUre sure was duped by old Woy... Smalling was very bad in the first half in United's 2-1 loss to KC Wizards.... he was constantly too far from his mark... had no control over his outside backs regarding the offside trap.... KC could have easily scored 4 goals more (2 while a man down)....

I am not sure he is even a starter for several MLS sides... glad we got all the cash for him...

[Tom]

I told you guys he isn't very good and that we stole the money from man u for him.

[richardhkirkando]

I think he's still good for his age, but he wouldn't start for us under normal circumstances.

[Peabody]

For what it is worth, Clint Dempsey was'nt very good when he started playing for us.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

I am convinced he will come through, not for a few seasons but eventually he will.

The more pertinent question is whether or not Man Utd (or their fans) will be that patient considering that they are perennial title contenders.

[mccscratch]

For what it is worth, Clint Dempsey was'nt very good when he started playing for us.

Adapting a wholly new league and have the talent are two very different things... Clint is better with better players surrounding him... Smalling has great players around him and sticks out like a sore thumb... that being said.. he is young.

[HatterDon]

Smalling will be a regular starter in defense for United. Smalling will become a full England international in defense.

Neither of those two things will happen this coming season. I don't think that either Roy or Sir Alex is an idiot, as seems to be consensus around here. I think United got him with a view to the future. He'll get a lot of seasoning and coaching and a match or two. 12-18 months from now he'll be getting ready to start, will still be VERY young, and -- should the market be similar to what it is now -- will make several Fulham fans feel as if we asked too little for him.

[WhiteJC]

I think Utd got him because of the "must be English" rule that didn't get passed.

[FatFreddysCat]

We got great money for him, but Wenger wanted him as well, i doubt both him and Fergie are both wrong.

[ImperialWhite]

He'll come good.

Of all the postions on the pitch (maybe goalkeeper aside), defenders are experience dependent. We got a lot of money for him, which is good for us, and for the sake of the national team in future tournaments I wish Smalling all the best. He'll be 24 next World Cup (he's 20, right?) - a great age. If he's any good he could get 3 world cups (24/28/32).

[simplyfulham]

I wouldn't read much into friendly performances. All due respect to the MLS but I doubt many of the Man United players will be taking those games particularly seriously.

Smalling's got enough about him in terms of his pace, arial ability and composure to make up for the lapses in concentration and positioning that are inevitable at that age. With Ferdinand out for the start of the season, he may get his chance in the first team a bit sooner then we all thought..

[mccscratch]

He'll come good.

Of all the postions on the pitch (maybe goalkeeper aside), defenders are experience dependent. We got a lot of money for him, which is good for us, and for the sake of the national team in future tournaments I wish Smalling all the best. He'll be 24 next World Cup (he's 20, right?) - a great age. If he's any good he could get 3 world cups (24/28/32).

He is young but I can promise you that Omar Gonzalez of LA Galaxy who is just 1 year older is already well past him in development and ability yet nobody wants to offer 10 million yet for him... I think we got a great deal...

[FatFreddysCat]

He'll come good.

Of all the postions on the pitch (maybe goalkeeper aside), defenders are experience dependent. We got a lot of money for him, which is good for us, and for the sake of the national team in future tournaments I wish Smalling all the best. He'll be 24 next World Cup (he's 20, right?) - a great age. If he's any good he could get 3 world cups (24/28/32).

He is young but I can promise you that Omar Gonzalez of LA Galaxy who is just 1 year older is already well past him in development and ability yet nobody wants to offer 10 million yet for him... I think we got a great deal...

I think the standard of forward he is marking maybe slighter lower than in the Premier League to be honest.

[BarryP]

He'll come good.

Of all the postions on the pitch (maybe goalkeeper aside), defenders are experience dependent. We got a lot of money for him, which is good for us, and for the sake of the national team in future tournaments I wish Smalling all the best. He'll be 24 next World Cup (he's 20, right?) - a great age. If he's any good he could get 3 world cups (24/28/32).

He is young but I can promise you that Omar Gonzalez of LA Galaxy who is just 1 year older is already well past him in development and ability yet nobody wants to offer 10 million yet for him... I think we got a great deal...

I think the standard of forward he is marking maybe slighter lower than in the Premier League to be honest.

In all fairness to this thread:

• Smalling was not marking Premier League quality forwards last night either Fred.
• A couple of poor friendly performances probably has very little bearing on how Smalling will progress as long as he learns from his mistakes.
• If Fulham were to take some of the funds from the Smalling sell and invest them in a talented young back like Omar Gonzalez I would be thrilled.  I don't tout many young Americans on this board but I will agree with mccscratch on Gonzalez.  I don't think he will stay in the MLS past his first contract.  In my opinion he has as much potential as Smalling at a fraction of the price.
  

[beijing ben]

I think Utd got him because of the "must be English" rule that didn't get passed.

If you mean the homegrown rule, it did get passed. Most teams are okay, especially Manchester United. Liverpool are in a tight situation with it. The signing of Joe Cole could definitely be seen to have one eye on that rule

[richie17]

He'll come good.

Of all the postions on the pitch (maybe goalkeeper aside), defenders are experience dependent. We got a lot of money for him, which is good for us, and for the sake of the national team in future tournaments I wish Smalling all the best. He'll be 24 next World Cup (he's 20, right?) - a great age. If he's any good he could get 3 world cups (24/28/32).

He is young but I can promise you that Omar Gonzalez of LA Galaxy who is just 1 year older is already well past him in development and ability yet nobody wants to offer 10 million yet for him... I think we got a great deal...

I think the standard of forward he is marking maybe slighter lower than in the Premier League to be honest.

In all fairness to this thread:

• Smalling was not marking Premier League quality forwards last night either Fred.
• A couple of poor friendly performances probably has very little bearing on how Smalling will progress as long as he learns from his mistakes.
• If Fulham were to take some of the funds from the Smalling sell and invest them in a talented young back like Omar Gonzalez I would be thrilled.  I don't tout many young Americans on this board but I will agree with mccscratch on Gonzalez.  I don't think he will stay in the MLS past his first contract.  In my opinion he has as much potential as Smalling at a fraction of the price.
  

equally, Smalling has, in his brief career, made some impressive starts in Europe and dominated Chelsea's forwards.   Sure there were mistakes, but as others say, find a 20 year old centre-back who doesn't make mistakes.   Look at Rio Ferdinand as a very relevant example.   Of course we got a good deal, but so too did Ferguson, probably.

The other point is the thing that might not have come across on TV:  Smalling has a real ability to dominate opponents.  Again, within the context of his mistakes it's no big deal *yet*, but in a few of the games I saw last year he was fantastic, got real power into his headers, and had a huge presence.  All of these things bode well.

One final note:  we know that much of what we think of as defending is a team effort (e.g. Hughes and Hngeland look so good because Etuhu and Murphy are never ahead of the ball, so the defence is never out manned, etc.  Last night's team:

United: Amos; Rafael, Smalling, J.Evans, De Laet (Fabio 76); Nani (Obertan 69), Scholes, Gibson (Cleverley 69), Giggs; Berbatov (Welbeck 76), Diouf (Macheda 69). Subs not 

So the defence was protected first by Berbatov and Diouf....   then Nani, Scholes, Gibson, Giggs.   Well that's not going to help either is it?   Finally, Rafael, Evans, De Laet.   So there are mitigating circumstances, too.

Something else to consider.

[LRCN]

you could say the same about rafael and evans, two of the best young defenders in europe. fact is, both arsenal and united wanted to sign him off the back of 10 first team appearances for a deal into 8 digits. he must be something special.

[BarryP]

equally, Smalling has, in his brief career, made some impressive starts in Europe and dominated the dark side's forwards.   Sure there were mistakes, but as others say, find a 20 year old centre-back who doesn't make mistakes.   Look at Rio Ferdinand as a very relevant example.   Of course we got a good deal, but so too did Ferguson, probably.

I don't doubt that Feguson potentially got a good deal in buying Smalling that is why I said a few mistakes in a couple of friendlies probably will have very little impact on how he progresses.  However, if some of the funds from the Smalling sale don't go towards finding some young talent to replace him then I question whether or not Fulham got a good deal in the long run.  Fulham should be looking for a young guy from a smaller league (ie a Chris Smalling from Maidstone) who is dominating the competition he is playing against and has all the tools to step up to a higher level of play.  When you look at how much LA's defense has improved since Omar Gonzalez has joined the squad he is an example of the type of player Fulham should be looking for.  Before Gonzalez joined LA last year their defense was the laughing stock of the MLS and now they are considered one of the best in the league.  There have been a lot of other changes in LA but Gonzalez is the cornerstone of a defense that has undergone these changes in the last three years:

            Western                         
Season   Conf Place   TEAM            P   W   D   L   GS   GA   GAA
2008             7  Los Angeles         30   8   9   13   55   62   2.07   before Gonzalez
2009             2  Los Angeles         30   12   12   6   36   31   1.03   Gonzalez rookie season
2010             1  Los Angeles         18   12   4   2   29   10   0.56

I am not saying that Fulham should pull out all of the stops to sign Gonzalez but we should be looking to sign someone with his kind of potential.  I really don't care if they come from the US, English, Dutch or some other league as long as Fulham finds some young talent.

[Tom]

equally, Smalling has, in his brief career, made some impressive starts in Europe and dominated the dark side's forwards.   Sure there were mistakes, but as others say, find a 20 year old centre-back who doesn't make mistakes.   Look at Rio Ferdinand as a very relevant example.   Of course we got a good deal, but so too did Ferguson, probably.

I don't doubt that Feguson potentially got a good deal in buying Smalling that is why I said a few mistakes in a couple of friendlies probably will have very little impact on how he progresses.  However, if some of the funds from the Smalling sale don't go towards finding some young talent to replace him then I question whether or not Fulham got a good deal in the long run.  Fulham should be looking for a young guy from a smaller league (ie a Chris Smalling from Maidstone) who is dominating the competition he is playing against and has all the tools to step up to a higher level of play.  When you look at how much LA's defense has improved since Omar Gonzalez has joined the squad he is an example of the type of player Fulham should be looking for.  Before Gonzalez joined LA last year their defense was the laughing stock of the MLS and now they are considered one of the best in the league.  There have been a lot of other changes in LA but Gonzalez is the cornerstone of a defense that has undergone these changes in the last three years:

            Western                         
Season   Conf Place   TEAM            P   W   D   L   GS   GA   GAA
2008             7  Los Angeles         30   8   9   13   55   62   2.07   before Gonzalez
2009             2  Los Angeles         30   12   12   6   36   31   1.03   Gonzalez rookie season
2010             1  Los Angeles         18   12   4   2   29   10   0.56

I am not saying that Fulham should pull out all of the stops to sign Gonzalez but we should be looking to sign someone with his kind of potential.  I really don't care if they come from the US, English, Dutch or some other league as long as Fulham finds some young talent.

Good overview on Gonzalez Barry. He is also young like Smalling. I think Gonzalez has a better chance to be better than Smalling. I think Gonzalez needs to play at least one more year in MLS.  I wouldn't mind if we tried to get him in the next year or two.