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Alan Smith's interview/podcast episode
- Thread starter RedMachine03
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I still always think of Smith as a Leeds player.
Really liked Alan Smith. Started really well. Shocking injury ruined him. Will always think we’ll of him.
Possibly one of the worst players to get regular minutes under Ferguson. He was terrible up front so he was moved to midfield. Awful in midfield and didn’t even score - I always expected a coveted striker* to contribute goals from midfield but this kid didn’t have the knowhow to even get into positions.
He tried hard and ran a lot and got stuck in, but that’s not nearly enough now, and it certainly wasn’t then.
Since his first season at United he’s scored 10 goals in 15 years (around 330 games), scoring more than one in a season only once. Defenders with better records get criticised for that contribution.
*He wasn’t a striker, but he played up front. He was no position.
He tried hard and ran a lot and got stuck in, but that’s not nearly enough now, and it certainly wasn’t then.
Since his first season at United he’s scored 10 goals in 15 years (around 330 games), scoring more than one in a season only once. Defenders with better records get criticised for that contribution.
*He wasn’t a striker, but he played up front. He was no position.
Very strange signing.
He was a completely different player after his horrific injury.
He scored 10 goals in his first season, which was the only season he played as a forward, and RVN and Rooney were his competition. He was then moved to defensive midfield, which was very strange for a season and then had his injury.
That clearly ruined him, and to judge him on the same standards after that is absurd.
Yeah I agree . Smith was a player I liked when we first signed him but that injury changed him forever.
He was awful in the first season; he was moved to midfield because he was a striker who couldn’t score goals. 6 goals in 31 league games for a striker playing in the best team in the country.
I don’t think it’s “absurd” to discuss a player’s ability and contribution whether they’ve had injuries or not. Plenty of players break their legs and come back the same (Andy Cole broke both in the same game and came back better). It seems like an excuse with Smith anyway.
Lots of players break their leg and recover, he clearly did not.
Alex Ferguson describes it as one of the worst injuries he’s seen. It’s utterly ridiculous to have to explain to you that there are many different magnitudes to an injury, and all leg breaks are not the same. Some players have a small fracture and are playing in 4 weeks, some never play again. The likes of Smith, Edwardo and David Busst have their careers completely changed or curtailed by such injuries.
Your last line shows a shocking lack of understanding about injuries and that they aren't all the same.
Smith did well to still compete in the premier league after his horrific one.
He had very obviously changed as a player.
You can't just judge him on goals. He started his time upfront well for us.
Quite literally one of the most bizarre statements I have read. It was a horrific break and he was lucky to even continue his playing career. Having such an injury takes more that physical improvements, the mental side is hard to get past. Just shows a complete lack of empathy.
Edit. Loved his goal against Roma when Giggs(?) Delivered a wonderful first time through ball and Smith let it run across his body before placing it beautifully first time.
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I can't believe the people here criticising Smith. He may not have scored the number of goals of some forwards we've had but for one season he pretty much led the line alone in a "not great" United side and never gave less than 100% (which is more that you can say for some), linked play well and showed a real passion playing for the club - summed up in the awful moment where he was injured: no one else moved to block the free kick. He was also clearly well thought of by his teammates - the t-shirts they wore wishing him well spoke loudly!
He was popular* and tried hard - pretty sure the same can be said of Lingard, who is twice the player Smith ever was.
Have we got to the point now where players are immune to criticism after a bad injury? So the previous 15 years of his career can be excused?
In that case let’s discuss the first 18 months at United. He was still rubbish, both up front and in midfield. No footballing brain, no ability. Made a living on running a lot and leaving his leg in after defenders had cleared the ball (which is a waste of possession
* Was he popular? Are we basing it on the Rumbelows Cup Final t-shirts? Is that a sign of being popular?
He wasn't that good, even before the injury. Though he was decent at bringing other players into the game - notably Saha (although he was always injured).
Very likable generally for his tenacity.
Very likable generally for his tenacity.
He had a horror injury but he was decent enough. God only knows if he would have got better if he didn’t have the injury. He was a good prospect at Leeds at a time when they had been 3rd-4th best team in the country (before corporate ruined them) and us bringing him in at a fire sale price was a decent coup at the time.
I can totally see why SAF liked him, as a tenacious striker who could rotate in and out of a potential striker pool.
Scored a great turn and volley against Norwich at OT. Put in a MOTM performance in midfield against Chelsea to end their unbeaten streak.
I can totally see why SAF liked him, as a tenacious striker who could rotate in and out of a potential striker pool.
Scored a great turn and volley against Norwich at OT. Put in a MOTM performance in midfield against Chelsea to end their unbeaten streak.
He's one of those players who doesn't feel like he played for us. I remember nothing about him other than his hard working fiery nature.
Nice interview. It's interesting to hear about him crossing the rivalry, particularly when he said he wouldn't. And that was no ordinary rivalry. It was pure hatred during the period he grew up with it. I always felt like they hated us a bit more than we hated them too, we were their most hated rival, but not vice versa. Likely coming from a family of Leeds fans, it mustn't have been an easy decision.
I always liked him though. He was barely a goalscorer at Leeds, pretty much single figure returns every season, except for one. So we knew what we were getting. He was one of the first players I remember watching who pressed from the front so aggressively, and a proper hard tackler too, which most forwards tended not to be. He gave us a bit of depth and wasn't all that expensive. A decent signing all in all.
I always liked him though. He was barely a goalscorer at Leeds, pretty much single figure returns every season, except for one. So we knew what we were getting. He was one of the first players I remember watching who pressed from the front so aggressively, and a proper hard tackler too, which most forwards tended not to be. He gave us a bit of depth and wasn't all that expensive. A decent signing all in all.
His best contributions
- 7-1 Roma, with him leading the line as striker.
- Playing CDM in season 05/06(?), the match against Chelsea juggernaut where we won is his best game of that season.
- Very good squad player overall, just not a good striker nor starter for a top team.
I had corporate tickets at Elland Road back in the day and decided to go for the piss up.
Alan Smith got man of the match and was doing a speech after the game.
I went over to him to shake his hand and said "well done, when are you comming to Manutd".
His response "I'll never sign for them"
Alan Smith got man of the match and was doing a speech after the game.
I went over to him to shake his hand and said "well done, when are you comming to Manutd".
His response "I'll never sign for them"
Felt for him when he was discussing his injury... such a life changing event and he was on as a 90th minute sub... have to be really mentally strong to go through something like that.
Reading through your comments and sounds like you've some bizarre and intense disliking of Smith.
Every injury is different, no 2 players are the same. They all have different physical make up and recover differently.
I know what you mean. Reading through, as though I’m not me, it does seem as though I have a bizarre and intense disliking of him. I don’t.
But, just for the record, in case I didn’t make it clear, pre and post injury Smith were both crap. The injury didn’t ruin him, he was already rubbish. Nothing personal against him, just his (lack of) ability.
He was by no discernible measurement "rubbish".
That's the sort of ludicrous post you often see about premier league players.
He was a good player for Leeds, a strong part of their really good team in that euro semi run.
He was decent for us. Injury massively changed him in role and level.
No more to it really. No reason to try and play him down so heavily.
That roma goal. What a moment
You’re talking complete crap mate. Simply not true. He started off incredibly well and was our only source of goals for a while. He tailed off scoring but still had a very decent first season overall even though I do think he started to emerge as pretty average. If we’re stat obsessed 10 in 40 in all comps was one of his best ever scoring ratios for a player who wasn’t prolific.
To say he was awful in his first season is laughable you’ve completely pulled that from your arse.
Great player for us. Real shame about the injury. Weird how Fergie tried to reinvent him as a DLP. He did the same to Anderson, originally an AM. Makes me wonder why he didn't just try signing a good DLP. Having said that, he did sign Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves, so he did try.
What a load of croc.
He was never a 20 goal a season striker, but he had an injury with us in the first season, then THAT injury in the second season.
Cant believe it was 15 years back, feels like yesterday and I dont know how these years go past just like that
He absolutely wasn't "crap".
Was he world class? No.
Was he great? Sometimes.
It's OK to be somewhere around the good to great bracket. Not every player falls into extremes of being crap or world class.
I really liked him at United, a bit of a cult hero for me.
Shame the terrible injury devestated his career
Shame the terrible injury devestated his career
You sure he didn't bully you at school or steal your girlfriend or something? Sure sounds like it.
He was never really prolific, not even at Leeds. So it's no surprise he didn't score when he was converted to a defensive midfielder. He only became available because Leeds fell apart, otherwise I doubt Fergie would have thought of going after him. But Fergie knew what he was getting: a player with some bite, a workhouse and a guy who gave his all to the team. And I think he showed those attributes every time he played.
True enough, though it felt a bit inappropriate to me since the same gesture was made for the passing of Jimmy Davis the year before.
Dreadful striker, I’ll always fondly remember his performance against Chelsea in the 1-0 at OT though!
Utter utter tosh.
Thread got derailed quick. Not one comment about the actual interview, which if you give a listen you'll like. Probably my favorite one so far. Up there with Evra's.
He had been converted from a terrible striker to a terrible midfielder long before his injury.
Just because he ran a lot and had his leg broken doesn’t mean we can’t correctly remember his ability.
In his best season he scored 6 league goals.
In that same season, Papá Diop and John Arne Riise also scored 6, Stelios Giannokopoulos and Damien Francis both scored 7, Paul Dickov scored 9.
He wasn’t “prolific” no, and he did nothing else except run aggressively.