Smith's last chance ...

Peter Spencer

July 16, 2007

SMITH: No new United contract

ALAN Smith has been given an unexpected last chance to impress and win a new contract at Manchester United.

Sporting a new hairstyle - plus highlights - Smith flew out for the club's Far East tour last night after getting a late call-up.

The injury-hit former Leeds star, who has so far failed to land a new contract, is a £6m target of Middlesbrough, and with United determined to land Carlos Tevez, Smith's Old Trafford future looks doomed.

But with Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer injured, and Giuseppe Rossi missing out due to his European Under-21s Championship commitments with Italy, Smith found himself alongside fellow England international Wayne Rooney as the only other striker in Ferguson's squad.

Missing

Also missing were skipper Gary Neville, Park Ji-sung and Ben Foster through injury; Gerard Pique, whose season with Real Zaragoza in Spain ran until the end of June; Dong Fangzhou, currently on Asia Cup duty with China; plus Brazilian Anderson and Argentinian Gabriel Heinze on Copa America duty.

That's meant young stars being drafted in, namely Northern Ireland defender Jonny Evans, who made such an impression in Sunderland's surge to promotion together with Darron Gibson, Danny Simpson, Chris Eagles and Phil Bardsley.

Fergie's men arrived in Tokyo to hear a typhoon had hit Japan's capital city with five people killed and 40,000 evacuated, but otherwise the storm passed by without causing the damage many had feared.

The news came as a relief to Ferguson, who views the four-match tour as a vital part of his side's build-up to the title defence, with new boys Owen Hargreaves and Nani offered their first taste of life with United.

What do you think? Have your say.

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Robbo, North Stand (16/07/2007 at 09:09)

Another chance to prove what exactly? Smith is 26, he's not going to suddenly develop the ability to play football at this late stage. He'd be better off staying home and looking for a new club.

edinburgh red, edinburgh (16/07/2007 at 09:18)

Park out till next year, saha still injured along with neville and ole, maybe we should keep everyone on board the now.Neville's position is the only one without proper replacement though there are players to fill in, upfront looks as short as usual though.Utd this season have been fairly impressive in our transfer dealings buying early and if we sell richardson today for 5.5million actually selling at a decent rate, though we will probably sell heinze to real for 50p.

Raven b (16/07/2007 at 09:25)

I respect Smudge but hes not gonna magically develop pace, skill and clinical finishing. For his career it would be best for him to get guaranteed first team football elsewhere.

Red Max (16/07/2007 at 09:39)

Good on you Smudge! For those who knock Smith you should ,perhaps, think back to his first season at OT and remember the influential goals he scored when sick note Saha was yet again side lined.

He deserves another chance, and who knows the manager may even play him as a striker.

Steve, Glossop (16/07/2007 at 09:48)

He can have as many highlights put in his hair as wants but there have been very few on the pitch. I don't blame him for looking out for himself contract wise but it's obvious Alex wants rid so if he has any ambition left he may have to accept he wont get ?50K/wk anywhere else.

Birdy, Ireland (16/07/2007 at 09:53)

edinburgh red i'd rather sell Heinze to Real for 50p than to Liverpool for 6m! No question. We're getting a good fee for Richardson all the same.

As for Smith, i quite like him, and whilst not good enough to start regularly he could contribute over a season. That said, i'd sooner sell him for 6m, and with the 5.5m from Richardson we could probably snap up Huntelaar, although obviously not at the expense of signing Tevez. But if we could choose from Rooney, Saha, Tevez and Huntelaar, not to mention Rossi, we'd have selection

Demo, Glossop (16/07/2007 at 09:59)

i still think he is being judged on his time in midfield and when not fully fit (match fit). give him some time to prove it like during this tour! its not like we have many other options to be getting rid! saha - injured (suprise suprise) ole - injured (suprise suprise) and past it, tevez - we dont have him yet!

if we got rid of smithy now we would have rooney and rossi as only strikers! even if rossi does prove his class (which i have full confidence in him doing) its still leaves us short up front! only get rid of a striker if someone else comes in!

give it your all smudge son and win the crowds over!

Mick, Dublin (16/07/2007 at 10:01)

Bit of a non-story this. Smith hasn't been given a "last chance to impress" at all. He's been asked to do his job and play football for Manchester United, that's all. Without Saha, Rossi and Ole we're very short of strikers. Alan Smith is a striker, So he might play some football. Is this really news?

Hilton (16/07/2007 at 10:02)

Like most postings so far, Smith is rubbish we won't win anything with him in the side...believe me.
Running around like a headless chicken getting yellow cards does not win us games. What promised to be a great team is now fizzling out to the same old. The scousers, Arsenal and Chelsea have much more potent striking force. Didier Drogba and Scheva will come good this time around, Torres, Babel, Da Silva and Palacio and do we have? Boring Smith. The guy is so limited he makes Corradi at Citeh looks good.

Demo, Glossop (16/07/2007 at 10:04)

on another point is anyone else a little concerned/ puzzled at the lack of time anderson has got at the copa america?? it makes me think he aint gonna have a big impact this season like some believe and him and nani will be gradually introduced and are there to learn the trade from 2 masters (richardson and fletcher) sorry couldnt resist! :) i meant (scholes and giggs) sure i didnt have to clarify but thought it was beta than getting lynched!

so wots the kids opinion on andersons lack of playing time?

Fredrik, Sweden (16/07/2007 at 10:07)

Boro would be the perfect destination for this very limited footballer. At Riverside, he could showcase his devastating pace, perfect close control, dribbling skills, mobility and use of space, lethal finishing ability and aerial threat. To put it simple, he's the perfect mix of Drogba and Messi.

I just hope that the Tevez transfer will be sorted out soon. At the moment the only fit strikers we have are Rooney and Smith. The need for a new striker is URGENT, we can't rely on sicknote Saha and Rossi has a lot to prove at OT.

ethanretrick (16/07/2007 at 10:08)

I think we should keep Smudger, definitely for the time being. Up front, we've got Rossi, Saha, Rooney and Smudger. I've seen Dong play and don't rate him, he's lazy and doesn't track back. As for Ole, as good as he is, he's not EPL anymore.

If we sign Tevez, then great - we'll have Rooney and Tevez, (2 world class strikers), Saha, who's always injured and is only present 50% of the time and Rossi who's new to the EPL, meaning we need Smudger for at least another year.

If we're to sell anyone, then we need to consider Richardson, Fletcher and Silvestre to allow the youngsters through.

Frank Old Trafford (16/07/2007 at 10:11)

Nice one Steve.

By my reckoning there are 11 players missing from the tour party. From the list on the official site Rossi and Pique weren't even mentioned implying that they are not considered United players which is unfortunate considering that Gaby has announced that he's leaving, Saha continues to be injured and Tevez remains in limbo.

Smith's inclusion is because he is a contracted player but any good performances will only help his sale and not a new contract, unless the Tevez deal falls through.

Colin Bell's Codpiece, Manchester (16/07/2007 at 10:19)

Good, i hope he stays to be honest. I'd take him over Saha any day of the week, purely because we CANNOT rely on Saha at all, we'll get 10 good games and then he'll be injured for the season.

Get rid of Saha before Smith I say!

Dennis Law's Backheel, Salford (16/07/2007 at 10:40)

Typical journalism talk. What da heck have a new haircut and highlights gotta do with football?!!!

Seems ironic since all the talk we had last Friday on this board, that Smudger hits the headlines again. He's just about the level for Leeds right now. Get rid methinks.

Oh and Alfie, laughed my head off at your dummy spit on Friday. Thanks for paying for my beer it tasted great,luvly jubbly Holts real ale mmmmm!!!

Andy Bergen, Bergen, Norway (16/07/2007 at 10:50)

Sometimes I get a little surprised by the articles written by people who ought to know football. Claiming Gerard Pique's season ended in June contradicts the fact that I saw him finish the season with the decisive (missed) penalty in this weekends U20 game for Spain.

As for another player who's season ended this weekend:
Given all the stories about Heinze wanting to join a club we all loathe, can anyone tell me just what the rules say about cancelling your contract? I have three questions I'd like answered:

a) Must the player act within two weeks of the seasons'end?

b) Does the player have to give notice or pay out his contract within two weeks?

c) When does the season end? After the league ends? After the English season ends, i.e. the FAC final? After the European season ends, i.e. the CL final? After the international tournaments (Copa & Asian nations) end? On the first of June or July? I'm a little confused over all this, as some players' season hasn't yet ended (U20 world cup & Asian nations cup), while other players' season has started (Intertoto).
Would be much obliged if anyone could clarify this :-)

And for the article's main question: Smith will be surplus if we sign Tevez, so let him go for £ 6m. He deserves to play regularly, something he won't do for us.

Jack Thorley, Trafford (16/07/2007 at 10:52)

It will be very difficult for him to play well with that for sale sign round his neck.

Robbo, North Stand (16/07/2007 at 11:09)

Re Gabby, to be honest, he wasn't overly impressive for Argentina in the Copa America. His passing wasn't too bad (for a change) but he's still prone to diving in and is very vulnerable to pace (Maicon/Daniel Alves had him on toast last night). Having thought about it, a move to Liverpool might not be the worst thing in the world - he's a player on the slide and do we really want a close friend of young Ronaldo moving to Madrid?

Mick, Dublin (16/07/2007 at 11:12)

@Frank,

Rossi and Pique aren't included on this tour because the're getting a break after representing their countries in the U-21 and U-20 champonships respectively.

@Demo

Apparently Anderson picked up an injury after his second appearance in the Copa and hasn't been fully fit since. Besides, he's only 19 years old and got his first senior cap this summer. This was Dunga's first high-profile tournament in charge of Brazil, it was always gonna be tough for Anderson to play much football.

edinburgh red, edinburgh (16/07/2007 at 11:19)

Lots of people over the last couple of weeks have commented that the league is already won, but without putting a dampner on things we are still short upfront, giggs, scholes and neville lynchpins in the team are another season older and injuries are becoming more frequent, there replacenments nani and anderson are untried and I imagine will be eased into the premiership so with the exception of hargreaves we haven't really strenghtned our starting eleven really unless tevez arrives.

Frank Old Trafford (16/07/2007 at 11:46)

Demo, I don't think there's any need to be worried about how much Anderson played for Brazil. He's 19 and in the Brazil squad, getting into your national team at 19 is an amazing achievemnet in any country but in Brazil it's exceptional.

Expect to see a kleberson type use of him at United, being played infrequently and probably out of position. Let's just hope that he gets the nod ahead of Fletcher if Scholes gets injured.

A Mancunian, Manchester (16/07/2007 at 11:47)

I don't agree that Smith's career is over as Saha will invariably get injured again.

Frank Old Trafford (16/07/2007 at 12:07)

Mick, other players being given extended breaks due to international commitments were mentioned as not joining the tour, Pique and Rossi were not mentioned. Maybe it's just an error or they aren't considered to be first team players. Dong and Foster were mentioned and they are furthur from the first team than Rossi or Pique.

COLIN, CANADA, Canada (16/07/2007 at 12:33)

Smith going on tour is meaningless. Veron got transferred to Chelsea while in Chicago.

Sparky, Salford (16/07/2007 at 12:36)

Birdy - the sales are not to raise funds for another signing i.e. Huntelaar but to pay for some of the activity that has already occurred. Bring Tevez in and leave it at that. Liverpool will struggle at first as 4 of there signings are for the first team straight away. Only Tevez and Hargreaves will be first choice for us with Nani and Anderson being used from the bench. We are in a strong position as are Chelsea as our respective squads are settled. They will be the main competition again.

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