Is Alan Smith Any Good?

Filed in archive Players on August 3, 2007

Alan Smith's six million pound transfer to Newcastle means the bleach blondey will finally get a chance to show how good he is. I've always been a big fan of Smith's, when he was at Leeds and when he wasting away at Man Utd.

He's aggressive and he slide tackles defenders and all that, but he's also got deceptively good technique. Remember that goal he scored for George Graham era Leeds when he pulled a sort of mid-air Cruyff turn before finishing? The guy's got talent. He's also got a nose for goal. He's never really had a prolific season, but I'd argue he never really got the chance. Especially at Man Utd.

Two things ruined his Old Trafford career. Injuries obviously, a broken leg makes playing Premiership football a little difficult. But I feel like Fergie basically screwed him over. Remember when he signed for United, Fergie promised that he wouldn't be deploying Smith as a right midfielder like Leeds had? Well, he lied. Not only did he ask Smith to play right mid more than once, he later tried to convert him into a defensive midfielder, like Roy Keane lite.

So hopefully Newcastle will give Smudger his chance to play center forward with some regularity. They have a lot of strikers, but Michael Owen's constantly injured, Obafemi Martins future is a little uncertain, and Mark Viduka's form is either red-hot or ice cold.

Smith is also a Sam Allardyce kind of player. Hard working, up for a fight, but talented. He's like Kevin Davies deluxe. He's 26 now, so this Newcastle move has to work out for him, otherwise we're looking at another promising English player that never quite delivered.