Alan Smith: Thoughts from an NUFC Blogger on ‘The Scratching Shed’.

13 Responses

1. makes me cringe when you see how much we paid for him and how much hes on but i would have done the same in his shoes
   think we are stuck with him until the bitter end. i suppose at least he will be an english presence in the dressing room

   he should have retired when he was stretched off at anfield for man u

   but to fair to smith he has never shy ed away and he always gives 100% when fit! its just hes long past his best which is a shame really as he was once a fantastic player and i remember his wonder goal at sjp for leeds when we beat them 2-1 so he has scored there in a competitive match

2. geordiedug says:
   July 29, 2011 at 6:19 pm

   “but to fair to smith he has never shy ed away and he always gives 100% when fit!”

   I’m not saying he doesn’t geordiedug, but sometimes players who shout and point alot, kiss badges etc like Smith and S.Taylor are always feted for their ‘commitment’ and ‘determination’. On the other hand, there are others who put just as much in, but keep their noses to the grindstone without making a big fuss of it, and they often get slated unfairly.

   Just an observation.

3. agree worky i suppose i was just trying to be positive about him as thats all he has left to offer

   to play at a high level you need much much more than just 100% effort

   i met him in columbus and he wasnt friendly at all he was the only player that came across in a negative way

4. geordiedug says:
   July 29, 2011 at 7:04 pm

   “agree worky i suppose i was just trying to be positive about him as thats all he has left to offer”

   geordiedug, I know you’re probably right about the “I would have done the same in his shoes” but it still rankles for some reason that he knew he was knacked when he joined, yet still goes on about what an “honest person” he is at every opportunity, and still clings on for his last year even though Orlando and Leeds want him.

   I meant to ask if you had a good time over there, but I’m guessing that you had a great time?

   Didn’t you say that Enrique was a bit stand offish too? Though he’s probably in some kind of turmoil at the moment.

5. well you have to be honest with yourself there worky

   if someone comes and offers you 55 plus a week and they are willing to pay 6 million for you, and having seen other pros come back to a certain standard from similar types of injuries! i think i would have taken the newcastle offer? maybe he genuinely thought he could do a job? especially when he was honest and said look im not the same player and it was clear to see when he was playing for man u? i blame nufc and Allerdyce!

   dyer done the same to us and west ham! stevie wonder must have done the medicals!

   the columbus trip was excellent we had full access to the squad and training and the game was full of positives at this stage in pre season

   enrique as you can imagine was very apprehensive when meeting fans and all that carry on with the tweets and such had just happened. a couple of the lads with us speak spanish so they got on really well with him jonas and colo and had been with them all tour so alot was said off the record and we agreed we wouldn’t say anything online but they are all really good genuine guys. i think whatever happens enrique will be very sad to leave. they also made a point of saying thank you for the support on the trip as we checked out of the hotel and give the guys a couple of match strips at half time during the game aswell

   gosling vuckic and abied have really impressed on the whole trip. i only so abied play for the last 5-6 mins live but he has covered for titoe like for like and also vuckic and gosling looked really good fit and strong so they should do well for us this season

   vuckic was sat with us after the game and he was so excited about his goal which was really good to see it meant so much to him

   pardew got a stack load of grief about a new striker and the carroll money aswell which he responded to in a post match interview so he knows what the fans think on the matter without any shadow of a doubt

   the columbus fans were good as gold aswell they really made us feel welcome the only trouble we herd about was from a geordie who should have know better

6. A most unfortunate & possibly unseemly venture, the old A Smith palarvor.

   It seems the club is slowly but surely learning on that score though.

   Duck!

7. Great stuff geordiedug!

   Like most of us, I never saw that much of Vuckic, but the first time I did, it only took a few minutes to convince me that he had some great potential. I know it sounds strange, but he just seems to have the right kind of seemingly effortless ‘gait’ for a top footballer, like Pedro did, with good awareness and positioning off the ball and great on it, but people thought I was a bit mad when I gushed about him after only seeing him make a few short cameos. Of course, Ben Arfa is like that too but he’s a bit further down the road. I look forward to seeing more of Abeid as well.

8. CLiNT FLiCK says:
   July 29, 2011 at 8:23 pm

   “A most unfortunate & possibly unseemly venture, the old A Smith palarvor.”

   And Geremi Clint, though Smith just seems to drag on forever.

9. worky,
   ya’ bastard!
   You reminded me of ‘G’… :)
   Aye the Smith Saga is just that…a Saga.
   Nearly over though.
   ;)

   I knew it was a terrible idea when i saw it in a local paper when i was in the NE when he was bought. At first i thought, na, they ain’t gonna ‘buy’ Smith, then the reality hit like a 10 ton truck.
   BFS you divvy get, Ta for that.

10. worky,
    i totally know what ya’ mean at 7 mate.
    The ‘gait’ of a proper player. Effortless agility & ‘soft eyes’ as they say in zen (ballistic anticipation).

11. CLiNT FLiCK says:
    July 29, 2011 at 8:57 pm

    “‘soft eyes’ as they say in zen (ballistic anticipation).”

    ‘Can’t see the wood for the trees’ is a western expression which hints at the same thing as ‘soft eyes’ Clint, or ‘reading the game’ in football terms I suppose.

12. So much for getting a definite answer about Erding by the end of the day.

13. Smith is a massive waste of money & has been hugely disappointing. He’s up there with Owen in that respect…