Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread - Read Mod Warning in OP 7/1/15

Belgian youngster Indy Boonen (16) signed a 3y deal with Manchester United. #MUFC

Piepjong talentje (16) van RC Genk tekent bij ManU en familie gaat mee

Indy Boonen is a left footed number 10, He was already training at Carrington for a few weeks
Indy Boonen: "It's like in a dream. The training sessions are hard, but I don't feel the tiredness when I realize I have signed for #MUFC."
United are also interested in Indy's brother Seppe, a 13y old GK, but he can't sign a contract because of his age.

Liam O wrote: »

He's not a goalkeeper is He? Sister or whoever has a keepers shirt there.

Mitch Connor wrote: »

No, says in the article that he is a 'No. 10'.

Very small. Get him on the Messi HGH treatment plan, asap.

Shane St. wrote: »

Slightly OT but what happens if an English team wins the Europa League and gets CL place. Does England lose one of it's 4 slots or could there potentially be 5 English teams in CL next season?

Shane St. wrote: »

Slightly OT but what happens if an English team wins the Europa League and gets CL place. Does England lose one of it's 4 slots or could there potentially be 5 English teams in CL next season?

Their slow, metronomic build-up play has seen the centre backs and deeper midfielders caught holding on to the ball for too long, or being pressured into misplacing a vital pass. Central defenders Jonny Evans and Marcos Rojo lead the defensive errors tally at United, but there is no pattern to the rest of the top eight.



One name that isn’t on that list is Chris Smalling, who has continued to come under scrutiny after a difficult couple of years at Old Trafford. It means that the England regular has become an easy target for abuse from all quarters, but this season there is no logic behind the vilification.

It is too easy to generalise when condemning United’s defenders by saying they have all been ‘as terrible as each other’, but if you take each performance at face value with no agenda, Smalling has been a class above his central defensive colleagues when he has featured this campaign.

It was tough to see a future for the 25-year-old defender when he was needlessly sent off in the defeat in the Manchester derby earlier this season. However since that incident, which saw van Gaal label Smalling as “stupid,” he has flourished at the heart of United’s defence where others have struggled. The sending off has been Smalling’s ‘light-bulb’ moment, and he finally looks like he could be on the long road to redemption.

In fact, Smalling is rated as the best defender in the Premier League by the stats this season per-90-minutes played. He is also ranked as the fourth highest performing player in the league for players who have made 10 or more appearances. This may seem slightly far-fetched to many, but there appears no getting away from the fact that Smalling has been in great form this term.



Smalling is the highest-rated defender in the Premier League per-90-minutes played this term

To learn from your mistakes and come back stronger is a great trait to have. When criticism has been flying at him from all angles, Smalling has faced up to his red card nightmare and immediately looked to re-build his shattered reputation on the pitch to great effect.

Before the incident, United failed to win a game with Smalling in the side, but since his return from suspension they have only lost once in 14 league games.



When Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic left the club in the summer, it was supposed to be Evans who became the leader of United’s defence. But the Northern Irishman has had a nightmare campaign, filled with horrendous performances, and he has fallen down the pecking order in the process.

Surprisingly, it has been Smalling who has taken on this leadership role in recent months. Although there is a long way to go before he reaches the levels of Vidic and Ferdinand in their prime, the stats prove that the former Fulham man has played at a level above his team-mates this season.



Smalling’s stats are largely superior to his fellow defensive team-mates this season

As you can see, Smalling has won more aerial duels, made more clearances and completed more passes-per-90 than his fellow centre backs. Only Phil Jones and Rojo trumped his interception tally too, showing that he has been far and away United’s best all-round defender under van Gaal.

The clumsiness we have seen in the past has subsided somewhat recently. He is finally beginning to utilise his size and presence to dominate the aerial battle and clear the ball from danger frequently. Make no bones about it, defending is a skill, and to make so many defensive contributions shows that Smalling has developed his game drastically so far this season.

All the best central defenders are a force in both boxes, and there are signs that Smalling is finally using his considerable bulk to good effect. The 25-year-old has chipped in with three goals, including two against Burnley in the last league game. He is now a major threat at set-pieces, like Vidic used to be.



Smalling’s three goals this season

In the modern game speed is a key attribute for players all over the pitch, and Smalling has that in abundance. It was recently revealed by James Wilson that the central defender was, on average, United’s quickest player in training.

Wilson told the club’s official Facebook account: “We wear GPS tracking devices in training and they tell you how far you have run and how fast. Obviously there are players like Luke Shaw, Ashley Young, myself and a few others, but going on stats it is probably Chris Smalling. That is maybe not who you would think! But Chris has got a pretty good speed.”

But where in the past his clumsiness and error-prone nature rendered his pace and athleticism futile, it has been an asset to him since the red card at City because, if he does make a small misjudgement, it allows him to recover his position quickly.

However the most impressive aspect about his game has been his ability on the ball, which has been a major hindrance to him in the past. Playing at right-back certainly worked against him, as it saw his name dragged through the mud frequently, but it did help him develop his short passing and composure, even if his crossing left something to be desired regularly.

Now that he is playing in his natural position every week, the experience he had at full-back could be aiding him more than we think. He has begun to show confidence on the ball, and glide out of defence in possession to start attacks more often. There are still some dodgy moments, but his reliability has improved. His 89% passing accuracy this season is the highest of any United defender by some distance.



Smalling has an 89% passing accuracy this season

There was a moment in the second half against Burnley where he intercepted the ball on the edge of his own box, fed it out wide and almost got on the end of a cross to claim his hat-trick at the other end within seconds. This passage of play showed off his new-found maturity, as well as his speed and confidence on the ball.

Although he may not have won over the majority of the United fan-base, never mind the countless neutrals scrutinising his every move, if he continues to perform in this manner on a consistent basis, it won’t be long before they begin to appreciate him slightly more.

What he cannot afford to do is either pick-up another injury or allow his current level to drop.

Let’s get one thing straight – there is a significant way to go until he becomes a top class centre half, there is no getting away from that. However the performances since his sending off at the Etihad have shown a whole new side to Smalling, and there are signs that he may have finally begun to live up to his potential.

TheDoc wrote: »

Well it comes down to many things, but in short no, it's not unusual for this to be done. After a transfer is announced there is the fee, potentially the wage, and then no one really bothers reporting the financials, and most people arn't interested in knowing.

Spreading payments out longer then up front, allows you to essentially agree to the higher fees. I think it's shrewd on our part. Splashing €150-200m up front is pretty excessive for any club, but over 18-20 months isn't really that big a deal.

And with the TV rights bids that happened last week(that all clubs knew were coming) it makes sense that big splurges got put over the mid-term, where the injection of that money can help cover it.

Might also just be a new strategy to allow the club REALLY compete against the big boys. Being able to pay over the odds makes the selling club happy, having the payments spread over mid term makes us happy too.

TV revenue, new kit deal and hopefully champions league return will have made it some very good business indeed.