Alan Smith admits his days as a striker are over.
Posted on June 12th, 2010 | 29 Comments |
This will come as no surpirse at all to us fans who have watched him strut his stuff in midfield throughout the majority of his time with us, although now it appears that Smith himself has given up the ghost with regard to attacking play, with his preference now being to sit in front of the back four in a defensive role. That means that there is now less of a probability of notching his first goal for Newcastle, which is a shame really as I genuinely feel that he is one player the Newcastle fans would love to see scoring a goal, particulary at St James’ Park. It could still happen though, I mean Nicky Butt managed to score some goals for us whilst he was here so stranger things have happened.
“I’ve got absolutely no interest in going back up front,” Smith told The Journal. “Defensive midfielder is my position and I enjoy it, I really do. The season in the Championship has helped me a lot – I’ve developed new skills and I know a lot more about what is needed to play in that role in front of the back four.
Quite how far these ‘new skills’ will get him in the Premier League is a question that is waiting to be answered, but at least we know that Smithy won’t shirk a challenge, or put less than 100% effort into the team. The chances are that he wil probably be club captain next season, replacing the now departed Nicky Butt in that role, and if his effort and commitment can rub off on the other players then we won’t go far wrong in my opinion.
“You need a lot of discipline as you can’t just go dashing off after the ball, or push forward in search of a goal. It takes some sacrifice and spending the whole season there in the Championship has really helped me learn it properly.”
“It’s a difficult job, but it’s also a very satisfying one. You restrict yourself for the team, but when the team keeps a clean sheet it feels great. I thoroughly enjoy it, just as much as I did playing up front.”
As a former striker myself, I can say with my hand on my heart that Smith is probably not telling the whole truth. Nothing beats the feeling of scoring a goal, even at a lower league level such as I used to do. But then I guess that is my own selfish perspective on it, and I can also understand the point he made about making sacrifices for the team.
I am sure many will remember the nasty injury that Alan Smith suffered against Liverpool whilst playing for Manchester United, and that is a debatable point as whether it has contributed to him settling into the defensive midfield role that Alex Ferguson first championed him into.
I would say it has forced his hand somewhat, and perhaps it has made Smith lose that extra yard of pace he once had that enabled him to play up front years ago. I myself suffered a bad injury when playing football, which was ultimately the end of me playing football at a decent level. Smith has been lucky that he is also suited to playing in a holding role nowadays, something that has enabled to him to continue playing at a high level.
Stiil, as mantioned earlier, he is pretty much nailed on for the captaincy, and I have a sneaking suspicion that he will be a much more effective captain when compared to the captain we had when we last graced the top flight, altough admittedly that wouldn’t be a hard thing to beat.
NUFCBlog Author: toonsy
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