ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

Alan Smith

What is this stuff about Alan Smith? A lot of people seem to want to sign him. What are his strengths? Speed, Strength, Skill, Aerial ability, hold-up play or finishing? Whatever it is I have not seen it.

Is Moyes going to play him as a centre-forward or as a midfielder? Is he going to give us the bite and agression we have lacked since Peter Reid? I doubt it. He failed to do this at the best club in England so I doubt it is goin to happen at Everton. Or is he going to be the 20-goals-a-season man we have lacked for years? If my sources are correct he has scored 45 goals in 233 games. Compare that to Andy Johnson who has about 110 goals in 207 games there is no competition.

I see passion, agression and a will to win but I also see a horrible person and a traitor. Is he not the man who said he would never leave Leeds for Man Utd?
Connor Rohrer, Toxteth, Liverpool Posted 28/07/2007 at 16:21:20

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Michael Kenrick

Sheesh... you ask a lot of questions... Er: blonde hilites. That's about it. NEXT?

tommy gibbons
1 Posted 28/07/2007 at 17:56:24

Who are you Connor to call Alan Smith or any other person horrible? Do you know him? has he harmed you?... I wonder about the mindset of some people.. all Smith has done is ply his trade, thats all.. If you remember his transfer from Leeds..he had about as much choice as Rooney did.. Club in debt, biggest club in the world after you, no brainer all round..(I left out agents as I see them as parasites but the players see them as godsends, who am I to argue).. The most reasoned point you make is that Smith is passionate about his game, what more can you want from a player..and tell me, where is the 20 goal a season forward for £6m?

Dean
2 Posted 28/07/2007 at 18:23:16

I am also not a fan of Alan Smith, never have been, he scores a screamer every 20 games and kicks a few people thats about it, but he’s english and passionate and to me that masks his sheer inadequacies as a player. He shouldn’t be anywhere near the england team.

Would he really be any better than what we’ve got? I really don’t think so

Zico
3 Posted 28/07/2007 at 18:39:54

Dean - do you even know anything about Alan Smith.

He scores a screamer every 20 games? Since when has Alan Smith ever scored screamers?

Personally I reckon we’re going to sign him, and I reckon he’ll be a crowd favourite by the end of this season. He’ll be a good foil for Johnson and allow him more freedom, he’ll also allow Cahill to get forward more as he can drop back and cover.

bluenose
4 Posted 28/07/2007 at 18:45:09

dont know if this helps but i too was undecided by smith, havin spoke to various utd fans i come into contact with in work they seem to think he would be good buy for us, and most said that they would be gutted to see him leave, although not 20 goal man will get double figures, they also point to the fact he was played in midfield for alot of games and his form dipped.COYB

wes b
5 Posted 28/07/2007 at 18:57:55

has also banged c ronaldos bird behind his back, makes him a legend in my book, still not sure about him as a blue though, nugent must be pissed if we sign smith

Ray Hughes
6 Posted 28/07/2007 at 19:17:24

Lets stop worrying about Nugent now, he’s at Portsmouth..I always said Everton were never going to play with two small in stature strikers, its not and never has been the blueprint here.. If Nugent had signed then Im almost certain AJ would have been flogged to West Ham , he would have been pursuaded to sign for them after all they were willing to treble his wages..Alan Smith will sign for Everton and in my opinion he will be a good signing..He left Leeds in May 2004 to join either Man United or Everton..At that time Everton Football Club was on its knees and looked certain for relegation the following season if you remember..He said he wouldnt join United but who can blame him really?. I dont blame him at all when you look at the situation with a brain..He had the chance to join another relegation scrap or a team ensured of success..He is not injury prone..He broke an ankle thanks to a Riise rocket shot, he recovered but such is the talent United have he was no longer a regular end of story..We need players and whoever comes to the club now will be welcomed so wake up everyone we have four trophies to compete for next season..Come on

Connor Rohrer
7 Posted 28/07/2007 at 19:20:47

Okay then Tommy Gibbons take his personality out of the question. What does he offer us as a player? I dont see anything that we already have. He will want first team football and he is not guaranteed it. Vaughan is a better player now and how more to his game and If Johnson doesnt play we struggle.

I love seeing passion on a football pitch but dont we have enough. Johnson, Vaughan, Stubbs, Hibbert, Carsley and Osman spring into mind. I want players who are going to be guaranteed first team football and improve us on the pitch. Plus the fact that he is injury prone and has yet to play at the level he was playing before his injury.

No I cant think of a 6 million striker who can score 20 goals a season so why buy him. If you want to spend it then spend it on someone like Baines or Fernandes.

Nick Harrison
8 Posted 28/07/2007 at 19:31:04

I’ve usually got a hell of a lot of time for what you say on here, Connor. I agree with 99% of it but I just think this time you’re being a little harsh. If you look back at the story of him leaving Leeds Utd, you’ll see it’s nothing like the Rooney saga. He kissed his badge and cried at the last game he played for them, he spent several seasons trying to turn things around for them while the glory-hunters left in their droves. He even waived his personal transfer fee in order to help Leeds out a little. Despite hating him, Leeds fans would love him to go back. Would we want Rooney? I bloody wouldn’t. Not even for free.

Smith always oozed class for me. I thought he was a superb finisher and I think his lack of goals is more to do with his desire to play anywhere for his team, something Moyes I’m sure is aware of. I’d love to see a player who will have a similar passion for us as Cahill has here next season. Smith is that man. Toward the end of last season, he played quite well as a second striker. I saw a few games where he just casually clipped balls through to Ronaldo and Rooney for them to score. He looks the business upfront.

Brian Waring
9 Posted 28/07/2007 at 20:47:58

Got to agree with connor here.I just don’t think he is worth £6m.My other half and her dad are both Man U fans.They both said he is 100% on the pitch,but is a narky bastard.And the father -in-law reckons the only reason he doesn’t get booked or sent off as much as he used to is because he plays fot UTD,(he actually admitted they get away with fucking murder)and that is my biggest problem with him, his temperement.

Mat McConville
10 Posted 28/07/2007 at 22:09:21

For me any player who has worked day in day out at a club with the winning mentallity of Manchester United is welcome at Everton. Just remember some of the scepticism when Neville signed. He perfoms well on the pitch, but he talks success. He has become the mouth-piece of the team and success breeds success. Smith, like Beattie will probably not bag you 20 goals a season. But he will however, run and work tirelessly. Maybe then Johnson will spend more time in the box and less time running the flanks chasing get out ball. Thats your 20 goals right there!

Connor Rohrer
11 Posted 28/07/2007 at 22:44:38

Why do we need a player who can run and work tiressley? We have that in abundance. Johnson, Vaughan, Beattie, Cahill, Carsley, Neville and Osman to name a few run all day long. If you are going to spend 6 million then spend it wisely. Getting Smith will not complement AJ. Smith is 5ft 11, not a target man and has no pace. If we want a headless chicken to chase balls all day then why dont we play Beattie.

Tom Dooley
12 Posted 28/07/2007 at 23:13:07

Who says you can’t get a 20 goal a season striker for £6m?

Anyone remember the past 2 or 3 summers? Each time we were linked with Benni McCarthy who went to Blackburn for £2.5m!!!

Last season he played 36 and scored 19, better than 1 in 2, compared to Beattie’s 2 in 35 for £6m.

Lee Kidd
13 Posted 28/07/2007 at 23:48:27

Alan Smith is a "good" player and, in todays market, £6m is spot on for a player in his prime who does have a bit of quality and wholehearted aggression.

Sure, he’s not a "likeable" person but it’s about time Everton had a bit of bite in the side rather than a bunch of players who only play for us due to the fact Moyes’s mum approves of them!

As a player, Smith isn’t a target man, nor an out-and-out goalscorer. But then, is Wayne Rooney either of those things? What Smith gives you is an option and, whilst Vaughan and Anichebe are players of emerging quality, they are quite different to what Smith brings. He’ll compliment AJ by simply being up there and being hungry for the ball.

And that’s one thing Alan Smith is no matter what - hungry.

Alan Clarke
14 Posted 29/07/2007 at 05:52:23

When we bid for Smith in 2004, everyone thought he’d be a fantastic signing for us. There was none of this moaning then. He is arguably a better player now and £2 million cheaper.

A lot of Evertonians have been crying out for Moyes to switch to a 4-4-2 from the boring style of 4-5-1. Moyes wants a target man to play up front with Johnson and Smith would be a good addition to play this role. There is also absolutely no comparison with Beattie, Smith is far more classy. Just cast your minds back to actually how bad Beattie is.

Ray
15 Posted 29/07/2007 at 09:12:12

Well the fact is aswell is that Alan Smith doesnt really need to score 20-25 goals next season...The biggest problem we had last season is that for the best part of it, we only had one striker scoring goals until Vaughan came on the scene in April...Johnson scored 12 last season, just imagine how much better off we would have been if Beattie had took some of the load off him and maybe contributed with 9 or 10 goals himself?. As it was the scoring charts went like this Johnson-12 Beattie-2 Vaughan-4 Anichebe-3 .. Vaughan deserves credit since he hardly played in the first half of the season (although sadly that will likely be the case again). Smith wont even be bought to score 20..He will be bought to give us a stronger option up front and if the service is good he will probably net between 8 and 12 goals, he is the type of player who will probably endear himself the way Duncan Ferguson did at first..Dont forget you know at Man United they are used to seeing world class players brought in all the time, the fact that Smith couldnt shine there is hardly a mega shock.

Brian Waring
16 Posted 29/07/2007 at 10:39:07

I can see some good reasons to sign Smith.But,at the end of the day it comes down to what we have to pay for him?And £6m is just not a realistic price.

Michael N
17 Posted 29/07/2007 at 15:19:09

If Chopra is worth 5million, Richardson is worh 5.5millioon and Koumas is worth around the same then in TODAYS market 6million is a steal for Alan Smith

Ray
18 Posted 29/07/2007 at 22:04:35

In todays transfer market 6 million pounds is the new 2 million...Its not the 90s anymore, its not only Everton that has to deal with inflation, all clubs have to put up or shut up..Like it or not 6 million is classed as a bargain now...Get used to it..

Ray
19 Posted 29/07/2007 at 22:09:36

Also a point worth making.. would everyone have said that Jagielka had not been worth 4 million had Bolton or Wigan snapped him up?. Of course they would, it would have been a case of ’Jagielka at 4 million is not realistic’. After the money that was injected into the Premiership this summer Everton should really have been able to buy three or four 5 million pound players without any trouble at all, the fact we havent is down to the money being held back for the stadium if they get the go ahead to start work.