Booing off / Ironic cheering of Smallwood

I didn’t like it too much either but he’s the captain and his laziness and negativity is not adhering himself to to fans.
He doesn’t have to turn backwards everytime he gets the ball, he can choose to drive forwards.
If he loses the ball he could work to get it back instead of jogging back lazily.
Those are the things that are getting the fans backs up.

 

As I have said before (after the Morecambe debacle).

He needs dropping and that's not just in the footballing sense.

 

That's true.

It's not his fault he's selected to be on the field of play.

I don't go to games anymore, so I really don't have the "right" to comment. (but I will).

All I would say, if I'm in a situation where my 100% commitment is required, you would get 120%.

No simple "trot-back".

Give everything and earn respect, everything else will (should) follow.

 

Wny? He won’t be losing any sleep over it. He hasn’t since he joined. Utter shite fit us!

Needs dropping. and shipping out of the club ASAP

 

I didn’t hear him being booed when he was subbed off. The whole crowd was cheering!

 

Maybe it was the Harrogate fans booing him off

He was there best player

Well he kept giving them the ball

 

I didn't hear any booing but the cheering felt like it was cheering him going off rather than cheering him. The sound when Pointon went off straight after was totally different

 

No one booed him off-they were cheering. He has been a real disappointment and continues to underperform week in week out. You have to wonder if he has a clause in his contract to hit x amount of back passes in a game. Utterly useless.

 

He's always really been a bit of scapegoat and part of that I think is that people thought he was going to be better than he was, he's never been a player who will play lots of defence splitting passes. Today he wasn't great but none of them were and for the majority of the match there was no movement in midfield ahead of him. There seems to be a myth around him as well that he's undroppable which he isn't as he was dropped after the Morecambe match and he's come off as a sub on quite a few occasions.
The sarcastic cheers don't help anyone.

 

I think he’s a bit of an easy target and I felt uncomfortable with the reaction. The whole performance was awful today. It wasn’t all Smallwood’s fault.

 

Can you imagine Stuart losing the ball and 'trotting' back ?

 

Let’s be totally honest - he’s been a massive let down since signing for us. To drop 2 divisions and clearly struggle speaks volumes

And in all the years of following City, I’ve never EVER known a captain who is subbed off so many times

Personally I thought the ironic cheering was a good thing. He’ll clearly get the message (as will all the players) that the fans are already getting to their wits end with this entire set up - players, management, staff, senior management, owner…..

 

Latest scapegoat.
He’s not lived up to expectations and his attitude at Morecambe was unacceptable (only time it’s been like that IMO) but today he was no worse than anybody else and certainly didn’t deserve that.

 

Feel for the fella on a personal level, however he hasn’t been good enough and I think he crumbles massively under the pressure. Guarantee when he leaves he will do a job somewhere else with less expectation.

 

I disagree, he is confident. He just doesn’t give a toss. He shouldn’t be at this football club anymore for our sake and for his

 

He should never have returned to the team so quickly after he gave up at morecambe. That was our captain supposedly setting an example.

 

Another poor sod hung out to dry due to that loon at the helm yet sadly folk cannot see it.......... he came off at 0-0 so whose fault is it after that???

 

Smallwood isn't good enough. Not for the role we're asking him to play anyway. Best way I can describe it is he was brought into replace Elliot Watt and he's about as far away from that type of midfielder as possible.

He is never a deep lying midfielder because lacks the ability and awareness to progress the ball through the thirds. He receives the ball and passes it straight back the way he's facing. He doesn't scan or look over his shoulders to see if he can turn and pass the ball forwards- his instinct is always to pass it back the way it came. And let's not mention his set pieces.

Now whilst I can understand the frustration at watching a player who is totally inept at what's being asked of him, its not all his fault. Hughes wants us to play a style of football so heavily reliant on a midfield who can pass yet has failed to replace Watt, despite having three windows to do so. Smallwood isn't blame free, but I can't help but feeling he's being hung out to dry like several others in this squad.