Chris Smalling: From Maidstone to Manchester

Chris Smalling has turned out to be something of a revelation in a Manchester United shirt, the England centre half has really come into his own, under the management of Louis Van Gaal and is turning into a very promising central defender. Here we look at his journey from non-league side Maidstone to European heavy weights Manchester United.

Familiar face? Smalling's early footballing years were spent with non league side Maidstone United F.C.

Following a short spell within Millwalls academy ranks, Smalling joined the youth setup with Maidstone United, which would see him go on to becoming a vital cog in the Kent sides backline. Playing in the FA trophy and the Isthmian league, Chris Smalling established himself quickly and impressed greatly, however his number of appearances for Maidstone United were limited, due to injury and International duty ( Smalling couldn't sign a contract with Maidstone as it would have hindered his England schoolboy career).

Back in 2011, Maidstone United club secretary Darren Lovell was interviewed about Chris's development amongst the youth sides. "Chris was always a player that stood out, both as a player and for his big hairstyle" he went onto say "Chris was a tall and fluid player, good in the air, unhurried in possession and had a very good touch on the ball".

It was quite apparent when he made his senior debut for the club that Chris was meant for better things. He seemed to cope with the rugged and fast paced, gritty nature of the Isthmian league excellently, being able to deal with "Kick and lump it up old fashioned centre forwards" very well for such a young player. His appearances for Maidstone were extremely limited however due to the interruptions caused by England training, trials and international games at schoolboy level. Playing at Schoolboy level, meant that Chris couldn't sign a contract with Maidstone and therefore they wouldn't get a fee if the player was signed by another side, which he was soon after.

Smalling ( left ) signed for Premier league side Fulham

After a brief stint with Middlesborough, for whom he signed for in May 2008, where he had his contract terminated after just a month due to homesickness, he signed for Premier league side Fulham. Upon his arrival he was made Captain of Fulham's development squad and in May 2009 he made his profesional debut for the side in a 2-0 home loss to Everton on the final day of the 2008-2009 premier league season. His time with the Londoners would see young Smalling help them to reach the 2010 Europa league final. 

In the January of 2010 he signed a pre-contract agreement with giants Manchester United and the transfer officially went through on June the 1st of the same year. Since his joining Manchester United back in 2010, over the past 5 years Chris Smalling has turned himself into a quality Premier league centre half. There were added pressures on him the more he was played in the first team side, with many pundits and fans believing him to be a successor to possibly Nemanja Vidic or Rio Ferdinand at the heart of the United defence. Injuries and managerial decisions would see the centre halves development put on hold at times however, with Sir Alex Ferguson deploying him as a right back, preferring other players such as Phil Jones and Johnny Evans to fill in, in the centre of the back four.

During a 3-1 home win against Chelsea, Smalling scored his first premier league goal, rising highest from a set piece to nod home, as well as an impressive display at the start of the 2011/12 season, scoring against neighbours City in the community shield, to spark a United fightback at Wembley, which saw them run out 3-2 winners on the day. Unfortunately for Chris Smalling at the end of the season, he suffered an Injury which would ensure that he missed out on Englands Euro 2012 campaign.

Defensive Duo: Ferdinand and Vidic were formidable

In terms of role models, Chris Smalling didn't have far to look. The young England prospect shared a dressing room and a training pitch with at that time, one of the worlds best defensive partnerships: Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. The two veterans had served the red devils well, leading them to 3 champions league finals in 4 years from 2008 to 2011. However the two giants wouldn't last forever and it would seem that the battons would be passed down to Chris Smalling and team mate Phil Jones to be long term successors to the two United stalwarts.

His season with David Moyes proved to be a quiet one at best, scoring in a 5-0 away Champions league win against Bayern Leverkusen being the only highlight of an otherwise dismal season and one to forget for the red devils. Under Louis Van Gaal however, Smalling would finally be the number one choice centre back along with team mates Phil Jones and Johnny Evans after the departures of senior defensive figures such as Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra.

Lucky Louis: Van Gaal seems to have unearthed a gem in Chris Smalling

After a poor start under the dutchmans reign, Chris Smalling began to show signs of Maturation and overall improvement. Having to play in what some would say a "complicated" style of play in the 3-5-2 that LVG deployed at the start of the 2014/15 season may have hindered his improvement slightly due to the transition needed to play in a back three. Smallings bad fortune didn't end their either as he was sent off in the first half of the early Manchester Derby after recieving a second yellow for a poor foul on James Milner. United lost the game 1-0. 

This incident caused Van Gaal to condem Smallings actions, calling his second yellow card 'stupid'. 

"As a player you have to control your aggression" he went onto say "You cannot do what he has done with the second one (yellow card) that is not very smart".

Smalling was back in action in a 2-1 away win against Arsenal shortly after, he scored his first goal of the season against Hull City on November 29th, aswell as shortly after scoring his first ever career brace, coming off the bench to score two quick goals against Burnley, a premier league record for the fastest time ever that a substitute has scored two goals. Since then Chris Smalling was never really out of the first team line up and was always in around it. He became a regular and a consistency started to build for him, he played in crunch matches against Tottenham and against Liverpool, as well as against Manchester City in which he scored the fourth goal in a 4-2 derby win to earn the ultimate redemption for his previous red card.

His performances were rewarded by Louis Van Gaal when he gave him the accolade of the captains armband in a 1-1 draw against Arsenal at home, due to injuries to Captain Wayne Rooney and Vice Captain Michael Carrick. "I believe he has been a leader of our defence" were the dutchman's words upon being asked to explain his Captaincy decision.

Consistent Chris: Smalling has been impressive so far this season

"He just wants to defend, take players out the way, pushing players out the way" said Rio Ferdinand recently on BT sport. The United legend went on: "It seems he's got it between his teeth: ' i want to be the number one centre half at this club', the form he's started this season in, it seems like he's going about it the right way" Smalling has been a rock for United so far this season, despite their early poor results. Could this be perhaps the year of Chris Smalling? United fans will certainly hope it will be.