Alan Smith (footballer born 1980)

Alan Smith

Personal information
Full name	Alan Smith
Date of birth	28 October 1980 (1980-10-28) (age 30)
Place of birth	Rothwell, West Yorkshire, England
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Midfielder Forward
Club information
Current club	Newcastle United
Number	17
Youth career
1997–1998	Leeds United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–2004	Leeds United	172	(38)
2004–2007	Manchester United	61	(7)
2007–	Newcastle United	74	(0)
National team‡
1999–2001	England U21	10	(3)
2007	England B	1	(1)
2001–2007	England	19	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:00, 28 August 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 00:00, 31 August 2008 (UTC)

Alan Smith (born 28 October 1980) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Newcastle United.

Smith first came to prominence as a forward during his early days at Leeds United before Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson started using him in a more withdrawn role and turning him into a midfielder. Smith has earned a reputation as a hard-tackling midfielder and is noted for his high work rate.

Club career

Leeds United

Born in Rothwell, Leeds, West Yorkshire, Smith started his career with Leeds United and scored in his first team debut against Liverpool, aged 18. He went on to become an undisputed first-choice, as the side consolidated in the domestic and European fronts, reaching the semifinals of the 2000-01 Champions League. Smith was part of an offensive line that included Michael Bridges and Australian Mark Viduka.

His senior FA Premier League debut was as a substitute for Leeds vs. Liverpool at Anfield, where he displayed his natural scoring ability by scoring with his first touch of the ball. That goal helped propel him into the 1998-99 in English football season, as he was one-half of manager David O'Leary's first-choice striker pairing, along with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

Smith continued his run in the Leeds side, as the club began to grow in stature. He showed his class in 2001 while helping to lead the Leeds side through the much vaunted UEFA Champions League, though his experience ended on a sour note as he was sent off in the semi-final. The following season saw Smith switched to the midfield, his versatility being utilised by O'Leary, as the Leeds manager tried to accommodate new signings. 2001 also saw Smith's break into the England national football team squad. An England youth international at multiple levels, Smith made his senior England debut in May 2001. He did not make the final cut for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and accepted a position with the England Under-21 side. He scored four goals in a UEFA Cup tie at Hapoel Tel Aviv in November 2002.^[1]

A hometown hero for supporters of Leeds United, Smith won the "Supporter's Player of the Year" award two years running between 2003 and 2004 - a first in the club's history. Though his goal tally was not excellent by any means, his willingness to play any role on the pitch and his tireless efforts to save "The Whites" from relegation was greatly appreciated by the Leeds fans.

The iconic image of Leeds' relegation in May 2004 showed Smith kissing the badge and crying at what would be his last match for the club. His transfer to bitter rivals Manchester United, however, led to controversy and his exit was marred by accusations of treachery going from hero to villain in the eyes of some Leeds fans in the space of a day; this was despite the fact that club had publicly stated that they could not afford to pay his wages, that they were open to offers for him, and that no other club had registered an interest. Due to Leeds financial difficulties, Smith chose to waive his personal transfer fee owed to him by the club. But this did not stop some Leeds fans from feeling betrayed, as they held up banners in subsequent games which compared Alan Smith to "Judas".

It has since been revealed by Peter Lorimer that the only club Leeds would allow Alan to join was Manchester United, and that Leeds had in fact engineered the move. With Manchester United being the only club offering the requested money up-front, instead of on an instalment basis (as offered by Everton and Newcastle), and with Leeds facing administration, Alan faced allowing Leeds to go into administration or joining Leeds' bitter rivals.^[2] However, Smith had earlier gone on record as saying he would never play for Manchester United.^[3]

Manchester United

As Leeds were relegated at the end of 2003-04, Smith joined Manchester United for £7 million. The second chapter of his career began on 8 August 2004, in the Community Shield clash against Arsenal, scoring for the club with a swerving volley in the 55th minute, as United lost 3-1.

An injury hampered his first season, causing him to miss out on important matches such as the Carling Cup semi-final against Chelsea FC and the FA Cup final against Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium, which Manchester United lost on penalties. The forward scored 10 goals overall in his first season, but, with Wayne Rooney in sparkling form and Van Nistelrooy back in the team after injury, was relegated to the bench.

In the summer of 2005 it emerged that Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson, was grooming Smith as a successor to Roy Keane in the Manchester United midfield. Ferguson stated: "Roy sees characteristics in Alan that he saw in himself as a young player, which could help Alan develop into a very good player in that position."^[4] Smith got his chance to prove his credentials as a replacement for Keane when the United skipper was injured early on in the 2005-06 season. Smith began a prolonged run in the midfield 'anchor' role, with little effectiveness. The criticism aimed at Smith and his team-mates reached its nadir with United's embarrassing 4-1 capitulation away to Middlesbrough and the subsequent 1-0 defeat to Lille OSC in the Champions League. Smith was believed to be one of several United stars who were heavily criticised by Keane, in an MUTV interview that was thought too explosive to be aired and consigned to the cutting room floor by club officials. It seemed that Smith's performance in the crucial home match against league leaders Chelsea would be meticulously scrutinised in the light of Keane's damning words. Smith responded in determined fashion, giving a much better performance as his side won 1-0.

Smith cemented his place in the hearts of Manchester United fans when he turned down the chance to play for his country, in order to work on his fitness in his new midfield role, in the reserve squad.

He scored only one league goal in 2005-2006, in a 3-1 away win over Charlton Athletic at The Valley. On 18 February, during a 1-0 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup, Smith broke his leg and dislocated his ankle while attempting to block a free-kick from Liverpool's John Arne Riise, an injury described by Ferguson as "one of the worst I've seen". Despite the rivalry between the two clubs, he was given an ovation by many of the Liverpool fans as he was stretchered off the pitch. However, a number of Liverpool fans attacked the ambulance during its departure from the scene, something which was widely condemned.^[5]

On the next day it was confirmed that Smith would miss action for at least 12 months. However, in May, after a successful operation on his ankle, it was reported that he would likely be back in action as soon as mid-September; he had been recovering alongside Rooney for several weeks, who was also reported to be making a "miraculous" recovery on a broken foot. "I felt my leg go from under me as I went to block a free-kick", Smith told The Sun. "When I looked down, the leg was lying one way and my ankle was pointing towards Hong Kong so I knew I was in serious trouble."^[6] There was however, a small consolation for Smith and his club when United beat Wigan Athletic 4-0 in the league cup final. After the match United players paid tribute to Smith by wearing T-shirts emblazoned with "For you Smudge" (his nickname), in homage to Smith and his horrific injury.

Alan Smith at Manchester United's training ground in 2006.

In the build up to the 2006-07 season, Ferguson was quoted saying that he planned to replace the departing Van Nistelrooy (signed by Real Madrid) by returning Smith to his natural position of centre-forward: "We are going to convert Alan Smith back into being a forward. He will be back in training soon and should be available by the end of August or the beginning of September."^[7]

On 26 September 2006 Smith made a return to action as a substitute in the 85th minute of the 1-0 Champions League victory over S.L. Benfica at the Estádio da Luz, immediately showing the passion he still had for the game by making a couple of crunching tackles in the 5 minute cameo appearance.

On 10 November 2006, Leeds United boss Dennis Wise revealed he was interested in bringing Smith back to Elland Road on loan.^[8] Ferguson told the press that Cardiff City were also interested and he would let Smith go out on a short-term loan for Smith to regain his fitness. There had also been reported interest from other Premiership and Championship clubs, with Newcastle United, Sheffield United and Aston Villa seemingly keen on the player.^[9] This, however, proved to be untrue for Smith, through his agent, Alex Black, publicly announced his wish to remain at Manchester United, and his will to solidify his place in Ferguson's first team.^[10] The manager himself voiced his desire to have Smith back at top fitness, stating that he was undergoing special training in order to aid and speed his recovery.^[11]

Smith made his comeback for United in a 2006-07 UEFA Champions League first knockout round win against Lille OSC. He made his first start at Old Trafford since his injury on 19 March 2007 in an FA Cup quarter-final replay win against Middlesbrough. He also made a substitute appearance in the Premier League game against Bolton Wanderers and set up the fourth goal in United's 4-1 win.

Since then he played in United's 7-1 demolition of A.S. Roma in which he played a vital part in the game scoring a goal, his first for 18 months. Smith also continued to gain Sir Alex's trust by gaining a place in the starting line up against Manchester City on 5 May 2007. United won the game 1-0 and were crowned league champions a day later, when Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal.

Despite falling one game short of the ten appearances needed to qualify for a Premiership winners medal, the league granted special dispensation for Smith to receive a medal on the last day of the season. This was followed a week later with an FA Cup runners-up medal after the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in the first final at the new Wembley.

Newcastle United

Smith applauding Newcastle supporters.

On 2 August 2007, Newcastle United confirmed they had agreed a fee with Manchester United of around £6m for Smith. The deal was confirmed on 3 August, with Smith moving to Newcastle on a five-year contract.^[12] He scored the winning goal on his debut for the Magpies, in a 1-0 friendly victory against Sampdoria. However, the striker struggled to establish himself at Newcastle in his first season, failing to score a league goal.

His progress next season was hampered by stress fracture of the ankle sustained in the preseason, meaning it took until February 2009 before he played in a competitive fixture by coming on as a substitute against Everton. Despite the comeback, Smith was relegated for the second time in his career as Newcastle lost by a single goal to Aston Villa. ^[13] Again, he finished the season without a goal.

Smith was made vice-captain for the 2009–10 season, but captained the team in almost every game due to Chris Hughton's preference of Smith to first choice captain Nicky Butt. Smith has been a regular feature, but in a much deeper role acting as a central midfielder.

International career

An England youth international at multiple levels, Smith was called into the England squad for the friendly against Italy in November 2000, but later withdrew in order to rest.^[14]

He eventually earned his first cap in May 2001 in a friendly against Mexico, but did not make the final cut for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and continued representing the under-21s.

Smith scored on his full debut against Portugal in September 2002, being set up by Leeds team mate Lee Bowyer.

In October 2002 in a Euro 2004 qualifier against Macedonia he received his first international red card from a second yellow card after a tackle on Aleksandar Vasoski ^[15]

In 2005, he drew some criticism after withdrawing from the England squad to play Denmark (a game England lost 4-1) in order to play for the Manchester United reserves.^[16]

After a prolonged absence from international football, Smith was called up for an England B match on 26 May 2007, against Albania. He scored the first goal of the game which ended in a 3-1 win. The next day he was named in the senior team to face Brazil, on 1 June 2007.

Disciplinary problems

In total Smith has been sent off 7 times in the Premier League and has committed 423 fouls in the competition since 2002-03, making him the second most prolific fouler in the league behind Kevin Davies (until 2008).^[17]

Career statistics

Club

Statistics correct as of match played 28 August 2010^[18][19]

Honours

Club

Manchester United

• Premier League (1): 2006–07
• Football League Cup (1): 2005–06

Newcastle United

• Football League Championship (1): 2009–10

References

External links

• TheFA.com profile
• FootballDatabase career stats
• Alan Smith career stats at Soccerbase

England squad – 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 1 Robinson • 2 Young • 3 Konchesky • 4 Davis • 5 M. Taylor • 6 Barry • 7 Dunn • 8 Greening • 9 Christie • 10 Defoe • 11 Pennant • 12 Riggott • 13 S. Taylor • 14 Prutton • 15 Jenas • 16 Parker • 17 Smith • 18 Knight • 19 Crouch • 20 Zamora • 21 Ameobi • 22 Bywater • Coach: Platt