Alan Smith

[Baggio]

Unless its up front Smith shouldnt play, he offers nothing in midfield. How can Smith get any kinda of consistency when he is being played in a different position every week, how can the team gel when its being shuffled every week? SA needs to pick our strongest 11 and stick with it for a few weeks.

 

How can Smith get any sort of consistency if Allardyce picks our strongest 11? Smith wouldn't be playing.

[Dragon55544]

Unless its up front Smith shouldnt play, he offers nothing in midfield. How can Smith get any kinda of consistency when he is being played in a different position every week, how can the team gel when its being shuffled every week? SA needs to pick our strongest 11 and stick with it for a few weeks.

 

Spot on. The moaners won't be bothered about any of that though.

 

I kinda feel sorry for Smith because as a player he obviously wants to start every game but it must be hard for him knowing he aint playing well because he is out of position and then getting shit off the fans for his poor performances.

 

I remember Smith up front for Leeds and he was good, he's as much of a midfielder as Martins is a RW yet when Martins was on the right SA was abused on here for playing him out of position but when Smith is played out of position he gets called shit and not good enough for Newcastle, some people on here have double standards.

[Lazy]

Martins has been here longer than Smith or Allardyce though, so he gets preferential treatment

[Dave]

Martins has shown what he can do played in the right position.

[ATB]

If Smith dosent play better soon he will be dropped like Geremi!

[Dragon55544]

Unless its up front Smith shouldnt play, he offers nothing in midfield. How can Smith get any kinda of consistency when he is being played in a different position every week, how can the team gel when its being shuffled every week? SA needs to pick our strongest 11 and stick with it for a few weeks.

 

How can Smith get any sort of consistency if Allardyce picks our strongest 11? Smith wouldn't be playing.

 

Thats debatable, Smith could partner Owen or Martins. Viduka is quite injury prone and doesnt have great mobility but he is a better goal scorer. Owen and Viduka wont work imo because both aint quick nor do they close defenders down, i bet defenders have the easiest game of their career if it was Owen and Viduka up front.

[Baggio]

Unless its up front Smith shouldnt play, he offers nothing in midfield. How can Smith get any kinda of consistency when he is being played in a different position every week, how can the team gel when its being shuffled every week? SA needs to pick our strongest 11 and stick with it for a few weeks.

 

Spot on. The moaners won't be bothered about any of that though.

 

I kinda feel sorry for Smith because as a player he obviously wants to start every game but it must be hard for him knowing he aint playing well because he is out of position and then getting shit off the fans for his poor performances.

 

I remember Smith up front for Leeds and he was good, he's as much of a midfielder as Martins is a RW yet when Martins was on the right SA was abused on here for playing him out of position but when Smith is played out of position he gets called shit and not good enough for Newcastle, some people on here have double standards.

 

Or could it be that Smith played the majority of his games at Man Utd in midfield? He's also played there for England too so would it be fair to say a reasonable standard is to be expected from him in that position? Especially when you consider Allardyce said that he's come here to fill several positions.

 

As for being a striker, what does he offer to class him as being good? He doesn't score goals, he doesn't create much, doesn't pull people out of position and has little pace, what exactly does he offer that makes up for the lack of goals he creates?

[Howaythelads]

Unless its up front Smith shouldnt play, he offers nothing in midfield. How can Smith get any kinda of consistency when he is being played in a different position every week, how can the team gel when its being shuffled every week? SA needs to pick our strongest 11 and stick with it for a few weeks.

 

Spot on. The moaners won't be bothered about any of that though.

 

I kinda feel sorry for Smith because as a player he obviously wants to start every game but it must be hard for him knowing he aint playing well because he is out of position and then getting shit off the fans for his poor performances.

 

I remember Smith up front for Leeds and he was good, he's as much of a midfielder as Martins is a RW yet when Martins was on the right SA was abused on here for playing him out of position but when Smith is played out of position he gets called shit and not good enough for Newcastle, some people on here have double standards.

 

Well, I know it sounds odd because you wouldn't think anybody could be so pathetic, but some people hated Smith when he played for his other clubs so they aren't prepared to give him a chance now he's here. 

 

Being used out of position as Smith is suits the moaners very well. It's obvious he's no good in midfield, so although judging the player in this role has no credibility, the moaners will cling to it to justify their daft criticism.

 

[Baggio]

Unless its up front Smith shouldnt play, he offers nothing in midfield. How can Smith get any kinda of consistency when he is being played in a different position every week, how can the team gel when its being shuffled every week? SA needs to pick our strongest 11 and stick with it for a few weeks.

 

How can Smith get any sort of consistency if Allardyce picks our strongest 11? Smith wouldn't be playing.

 

Thats debatable, Smith could partner Owen or Martins. Viduka is quite injury prone and doesnt have great mobility but he is a better goal scorer. Owen and Viduka wont work imo because both aint quick nor do they close defenders down, i bet defenders have the easiest game of their career if it was Owen and Viduka up front.

 

That's strange, because I've seen Smith start up front for us over half a dozen times and the only thing he's offered us from an attacking point of view is a flick on for Taylor's goal, other than that he's been all huff and puff but no cutting edge, in fact I'd go as far as to say Sibierski offered us more from an attacking point of view than Smith has in his performances as a striker.

[Baggio]

Well, I know it sounds odd because you wouldn't think anybody could be so pathetic, but some people hated Smith when he played for his other clubs so they aren't prepared to give him a chance now he's here. 

 

I think the pathetic thing is the fan boys using this as an excuse for people not liking him because they can't get their head around others thinking he's shite.

 

Ta.

[Howaythelads]

Unless its up front Smith shouldnt play, he offers nothing in midfield. How can Smith get any kinda of consistency when he is being played in a different position every week, how can the team gel when its being shuffled every week? SA needs to pick our strongest 11 and stick with it for a few weeks.

 

How can Smith get any sort of consistency if Allardyce picks our strongest 11? Smith wouldn't be playing.

 

Thats debatable, Smith could partner Owen or Martins. Viduka is quite injury prone and doesnt have great mobility but he is a better goal scorer. Owen and Viduka wont work imo because both aint quick nor do they close defenders down, i bet defenders have the easiest game of their career if it was Owen and Viduka up front.

 

A good point and I'm not surprised it's you making it.

 

Course, the stats people wouldn't have thought about that one, either. All they can do is count goals and because Viduka scores more, Owen scores more, Martins scores more, they're all better players and Smith is absolute dogshit. Well, bollocks to the best front PAIRING for the TEAM. 

[Dragon55544]

Unless its up front Smith shouldnt play, he offers nothing in midfield. How can Smith get any kinda of consistency when he is being played in a different position every week, how can the team gel when its being shuffled every week? SA needs to pick our strongest 11 and stick with it for a few weeks.

 

How can Smith get any sort of consistency if Allardyce picks our strongest 11? Smith wouldn't be playing.

 

Thats debatable, Smith could partner Owen or Martins. Viduka is quite injury prone and doesnt have great mobility but he is a better goal scorer. Owen and Viduka wont work imo because both aint quick nor do they close defenders down, i bet defenders have the easiest game of their career if it was Owen and Viduka up front.

 

A good point and I'm not surprised it's you making it.

 

Course, the stats people wouldn't have thought about that one, either. All they can do is count goals and because Viduka scores more, Owen scores more, Martins scores more, they're all better players and Smith is absolute dogshit. Well, bollocks to the best front PAIRING for the TEAM. 

 

Exactly thats why i dont think Owen and Viduka will be good up front, They dont close the defenders down nor can either of them link up. When defenders aint closed down it gives that team time for the defender to pick his pass which is starting off an attacking move, when Smith plays up front and he closes the defenders down it means they cant happily pass the ball to their creative players but instead need to get rid of the ball so it has a good chance of going out of play or to 1 of our players meaning we get possession back.

 

Also with Owen and Viduka up front i would bet the opposing defence would push up.

[Howaythelads]

Unless its up front Smith shouldnt play, he offers nothing in midfield. How can Smith get any kinda of consistency when he is being played in a different position every week, how can the team gel when its being shuffled every week? SA needs to pick our strongest 11 and stick with it for a few weeks.

 

How can Smith get any sort of consistency if Allardyce picks our strongest 11? Smith wouldn't be playing.

 

Thats debatable, Smith could partner Owen or Martins. Viduka is quite injury prone and doesnt have great mobility but he is a better goal scorer. Owen and Viduka wont work imo because both aint quick nor do they close defenders down, i bet defenders have the easiest game of their career if it was Owen and Viduka up front.

 

A good point and I'm not surprised it's you making it.

 

Course, the stats people wouldn't have thought about that one, either. All they can do is count goals and because Viduka scores more, Owen scores more, Martins scores more, they're all better players and Smith is absolute dogshit. Well, bollocks to the best front PAIRING for the TEAM. 

 

Exactly thats why i dont think Owen and Viduka will be good up front, They dont close the defenders down nor can either of them link up. When defenders aint closed down it gives that team time for the defender to pick his pass which is starting off an attacking move, when Smith plays up front and he closes the defenders down it means they cant happily pass the ball to their creative players but instead need to get rid of the ball so it has a good chance of going out of play or to 1 of our players meaning we get possession back.

 

Also with Owen and Viduka up front i would bet the opposing defence would push up.

 

[Unbelievable]

So essentially Smith should be deployed up top because of his huge stamina and willingness to close people down? These qualities are very useful when the team is not in possession, but what does he contribute when we have the ball? Smith imho is a perfect symbol for everything that is not working in Allardyce's setup right now, i.e. graft before flair, defense before attack..

 

Edit: for what it's worth I though Smith was completely invisible today. I know some will say I'm not supposed to pass judgement on him played in midfield, but as Allardyce seems to insist on playing him there I cannot see the logic in this, because our manager clearly thinks of Smith as a midfield player and as our captain you would think Smith would have the bottle to speak up and tell Sam he isn't comfortable in that position if he wasn't.

[nufcmichael]

Once again today, Smith looked untouchable, the worst player on the pitch today, why the f*** is he playing the whole game? Cacapa could have replaced Faye in the defence and Faye could have taken Smiths place.

 

£6m for that piece of shit, oh my....

[NE5]

Once again today, Smith looked untouchable, the worst player on the pitch today, why the f*** is he playing the whole game? Cacapa could have replaced Faye in the defence and Faye could have taken Smiths place.

 

£6m for that piece of shit, oh my....

 

just an opinion, but I think if Cacapa had played at the back instead of Faye, we would have lost

 

 

[Cajun]

Can't judge him on his midfield performances (even though he has played games in midfield since his Leeds days). You can only judge Smith on winning the ball and passing it to a player when in attack (you can't judge if it is a creative pass, just any pass that reaches or gets quite near its intended target).

[junkhead]

Once again today, Smith looked untouchable, the worst player on the pitch today, why the f*** is he playing the whole game? Cacapa could have replaced Faye in the defence and Faye could have taken Smiths place.

 

£6m for that piece of s***, oh my....

 

just an opinion, but I think if Cacapa had played at the back instead of Faye, we would have lost

 

 

yep, i don't think Cacapa would've been comfortable at all in tonight's game, but i bet that if he was played in midfield instead of Smith, he couldn't have been any worse..

[Guest Knightrider]

Smith was a disgrace today, shocking shocking performance. Even in midfield which is his incorrect position you expect a lot better than the performance he gave today.

[Dave]

Even in midfield which is his incorrect position you expect a lot better than the performance he gave today.

 

Agreed. He still should be able to find teammates further than three yards away. And the silly lunging tackles are getting ridiculous.

[Taylor Swift]

Even though he's playing in midfield, why the fuck has his passing ability disappeared? Fucking useless today and that's not judging him as a midfielder, but judging him as a footballer who supposedly can tackle, pass and move. Shocking.

[Cajun]

Even though he's playing in midfield, why the fuck has his passing ability disappeared? Fucking useless today and that's not judging him as a midfielder, but judging him as a footballer who supposedly can tackle, pass and move. Shocking.

 

Spot on, people use the "out of position" defence all the time but the simple fact is someone who plays football for a living should be able to actually play football which he struggles to do unless its holding up play. Very limited player, people slate Martins but at least he has more than one string to his bow!

[Rich]

Once again today, Smith looked untouchable, the worst player on the pitch today, why the f*** is he playing the whole game? Cacapa could have replaced Faye in the defence and Faye could have taken Smiths place.

 

£6m for that piece of shit, oh my....

 

just an opinion, but I think if Cacapa had played at the back instead of Faye, we would have lost

 

 

Agree entirely with this, but it wasn't the only way Allardyce could have gone.

[Newcastle Fan]

The Ali Daei of Newcastle tbh.

[Guest Petay]

He was toilet today as he is any day.  I've never seen a less creative player in my life.