United hand Chris Smalling chance to show he is Rio Ferdinand's heir - 7M sport

United hand Chris Smalling chance to show he is Rio Ferdinand's heir



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Posted Saturday, February 12, 2011 by theguardian.com

Manchester United are without their first-choice defender against Man City and must rely on an inexperienced youngster instead

United hand Chris Smalling chance to show he is Rio Ferdinand's heir
Chris Smalling, right, replaces Rio Ferdinand during Manchester United's draw with Valencia last December.

From Sir Alex Ferguson, there was acclaim for Chris Smalling and the sense of a young man increasingly comfortable in his own skin, acclimatising to life as a Manchester United player and demonstrating the gifts that have elevated him from non-league football to the top tier of his profession in two and a half years.

But there was one significant drawback as Ferguson contemplated the 159th Manchester derby and what threatens to be the most challenging assignment of Smalling's career to date. It was that the 21-year-old was being discussed only because Rio Ferdinand's injury problems have flared up again. The England captain is facing another fortnight out and, as Ferguson will be acutely aware, there is hard evidence that can have serious ramifications.

It is when you analyse the statistics that it becomes clear how Ferdinand's absence can rob United's defence of its poise. With him in the side alongside Nemanja Vidic the team have conceded an average of 0.67 goals in their league games this season. When the pairing is broken up, it balloons to 1.4. In short, United are more than twice as likely to concede when they are without their first-choice defensive partnership.

As Ferguson noted: "They don't always play together but, in the main games, it's a fantastic partnership. They have the experience and quality behind them of going for championships." For United there are immediate dangers, particularly if Manchester City are emboldened to play with more ambition than they volunteered in the reverse fixture last November.

Ferguson talked up Smalling but the £10m signing from Fulham has started only three league matches and it has not been a flawless introduction judging by the way he was sucked out of position in allowing Tuncay Sanli to cross for Stoke City's goal at Old Trafford last month.

Smalling has never faced a striker as accomplished as Carlos Tevez when it comes to wearing down opponents and forcing his personality on to a game of football either and, in essence, he is in the team only by default given Jonny Evans's confidence issues, irrespective of the ankle injury the Northern Ireland international suffered this week.

Wes Brown, once described by Ferguson as the best natural defender in the country, has almost vanished from the radar, now the club's fifth-choice centre-half. The options, to be blunt, are not great.

The medical diagnosis also makes Ferdinand doubtful for the first leg of the Champions League tie against Marseille on Wednesday week, although United's staff can be encouraged that the calf injury he suffered in the warm-up at Wolverhampton Wanderers last Saturday is not linked to the back problems that restricted him to only 12 starts in the league last season.

"It's nothing to do with his back," Ferguson said. "That was our main concern. It'll just be a couple of weeks. You have to remember Rio's been in first-team football since he was 17 years old. That's a long time so he will pick up these little strains – but I'm sure this isn't a long-term thing."

As for Smalling, Ferguson believes a player who was on Maidstone's books as recently as 2008 will be challenging Ferdinand for a permanent place in a year to 18 months. "He may lack a bit of big-game experience but he's quick – he's a good user and passer of the ball. The boy's been terrific training-wise, and in the games he's played I've been very pleased with him."

Increasingly, however, there is the sense at Old Trafford that if United are to have a successful end to the season Ferdinand will have to stay fit. A goal has gone in every 51 minutes when Evans has been on the pitch. For Vidic it is 97 and for Smalling 104.

Ferdinand brings an extra insurance – a goal conceded every 135 minutes – because of the way he reads the game, his anticipation and the positional sense that makes it rare to see him diving into tackles. Behind the scenes it is not seen as a fluke that he has not been booked since a late tackle on Fernando Torres in the 4-1 defeat to Liverpool in March 2009. Without his trusted partner, Vidic can overcompensate at times and make uncharacteristic errors.

Still, the fact United have conceded only eight goals at Old Trafford this season provides an essential piece of perspective, though Roberto Mancini has noted their vulnerability in the air recently, with two headers conceded against Wolves and at Blackpool. "Every set piece is going to be important," the Manchester City manager said.

For Smalling, this is the match that could tell us the most yet about his credentials to be viewed as the heir to Ferdinand.



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