EPL Talk » Alan Smith

Manchester United’s Pride Park Night, The Busy Day in Newcastle and Other Various Musings

Johnathan Starling — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:11:32 +0000

Congrats to Derby County. On a day where Cricket was the headline in England throughout (thanks ECB), Derby County came up with another dozy…technically being 180 minutes away from European competition.

However that’s where the hyperbole stops for me. Sir Alex Ferguson obviously had a plan in mind for tonight’s game, damage control. While yes the 1-0 scoreline could be considered flattering for the number of chances Derby County had, Derby were unable to really punish Manchester United and the lighthearted nature they took this first leg. When the ninety was up, the scoreline should have read at least 2-0.

But let’s be honest about this game. Manchester United have a big tie Sunday against Chelsea at Old Trafford and they host the return leg to this tie in two weeks time. Sir Alex killed one bird when tonight’s game ended 1-0. He was able to rest key players and with the damage held to a minimal, should be able to turn over a Derby County side that will have the post manager change glow wearing off in a fort night. So let us all not over blow this result. While yes it’s a bit of a shock, let’s put this into perspective first. If Derby manage to hold on at Old Tafford for the Wembley final, then we can wonder about the what ifs of this night.

Busy day at St. James Park. First we find out Shola Ameobi signed a new 3 year deal. Let’s hope he gets healthy to play a large part of those 3 years. Secondly we find out that Obafemi Martins is off to see the hernia guy in Germany. See ya in six weeks. However if I was Martins, I’d tell his agent to shut up about blasting the club and the medical staff saying ‘The Newcastle medical staff is woeful’. Why state the obvious when at any time you can look at their injury list and go ‘is this West Ham from last season’? And finally we find out that Alan Smith looks to be sold from the club. For some odd reason that will probably come to me later, that surprises me.

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Mark Hughes believes in an open door policy. I guess his players just don’t want to take him up on that offer. If players are taking up their grievances in player only meetings and with chairmen, then in my mind the players have either revolted or no longer care about you as a person.

We have a new leader in the club house in the Richest Club Owner Invitational, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Manchester City. That’s what happens when you have more money than everyone else. Roman Abramovich falls to third.

Tell me if I’ve got this nightly Jermain Defoe update correct. 1) The story comes out that Defoe made his own deal. 2) Bitter ex agent who is suing Defoe over breech of contract makes claim that Defoe’s mother helped broker the deal. So would that make 3) Bitter ex agent is trying to get both Defoe and Tottenham in trouble? Now I just want this story to end!

So John Terry is disappointed to see Wayne Bridge go. I guess they must have become great friends on the Chelsea medical tables.

Major League Soccer bust Denilson is on trail with Bolton. Hey Gary, you can’t be that desperate for players.

Here’s our daily warning from Middlesbrough saying Stewart Downing isn’t for sale.

Cristiano Ronaldo: What Were You Thinking?

The Gaffer — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:36:22 +0000

In today’s Manchester derby, what was Cristiano Ronaldo thinking?

After a cross had been floated into the box, Ronaldo jumped up but instead of heading it, he decided to knock down the ball with his two hands.

Ronaldo indicated to everyone that he heard a whistle before the ball reached him, so thinking that the game had been stopped, he decided to stop the ball with his hands.

Most professional footballers know that it’s best to play the ball instead of the whistle. In a stadium of almost 50,000 fans, all it takes is one idiot in the crowd to blow a whistle to try to put off an opponent — and this time it worked. Ronaldo received his second yellow card in the game for handball and got his marching orders.

Co-commentator Alan Smith seemed oblivious to the images of Ronaldo putting his fingers to his mouth to tell the referee and fellow teammates that he heard a whistle. Instead Smith lambasted Ronaldo for an obvious handball. When a player is wide open in front of goal and has an opportunity for a clean header, he’s not going to handle the ball like that Mr. Smith unless he thinks he heard a whistle.

But, as I said before, Ronaldo should have the maturity as a professional to know that he should have headed the ball whether he heard a whistle or not.

Despite Ronaldo’s red card, Manchester United held on to win the derby 1-0 after Rooney’s 100th career goal in the first half after Joe Hart spilled Michael Carrick’s shot. City had few chances to equalize in this game that United dominated for large portions of the afternoon.

7 Premier League Players Who Used To Be Brilliant But Now They’re Crap

The Gaffer — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:38:58 +0000

It’s a joy to watch players evolve in the Premier League and become world-class footballers. A few examples include Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Theo Walcott. But for every starlet, there are also shining stars who seem to get worse each week and fail to live up to the promises they showed earlier on in their career.

Here are top 7 Premier League players who used to be brilliant, but now they’re crap:

Damien Duff (Newcastle United) - Under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, Duff was a powerhouse down the left wing, cutting back and causing all sorts of havoc for defenders. Now the Irish winger is a shadow of himself at Newcastle.
Kieron Dyer (West Ham United) – Once recognized as one of the most promising England international players when he was at Ipswich and Newcastle, Dyer’s career has plummeted from worse to worse and has been hampered with injuries galore. He was signed by West Ham for £6 million more than a year ago, but has only made two appearances for the East London club.
Alan Smith (Newcastle United) – While at Leeds United, Smith played with a passion and energy that is rarely seen in the Premier League anymore. After Leeds were relegated, Smith’s career went from bad to worse at Manchester United and then Newcastle.
Lee Bowyer (West Ham United) – When Bowyer joined Leeds from Charlton, he was a record signing for a British teenager at that time. He went on to become a key figure in Leeds United reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League and UEFA Cup, and was voted player of the year by supporters for two years. But despite playing his best football for Leeds, his career has been riddled with court cases, injuries and even an on-field brawl with fellow Kieron Dyer.
Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham Hotspur) – Some would argue whether he was good in the first place, but the frustrating thing about the England midfielder is that he shows flashes of brilliance five percent of the time, but then is practically invisible the remaining portion of time.
Darren Bent (Tottenham Hotspur) - At Ipswich and Charlton, Bent was a goalscoring machine knocking in 121 at the East Anglia club and 68 for Alan Curbishley’s side. At Charlton, he was the highest scoring Englishman in the Premier League during the 2005/2006 season. But after joining Spurs for £16.5 million, his career has slumped and he’s only scored twice in the Premier League so far this season.
Sami Hyypia (Liverpool) - Believe it or not, but there was a time when Hyypia was a rock in the centre of defense for Liverpool. In the 2000-2001 season, when he was co-captain, he helped lead the club to a historic treble, winning the FA Cup, UEFA Cup and League Cup. And he played a key role in helping Liverpool win the Champions League trophy in 2005. Since then, his performances have suffered and whenever the Finland international plays for the Reds, he appears to be a liability for the club.

Which players are we missing that should be on the list? Click the comments link below and let us know.

How To Make Newcastle United A Successful Club Again

The Gaffer — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:58:55 +0000

Contrary to popular belief, Newcastle United is not a poisoned club. Nor are they jinxed with injuries. At worst, they’re a poorly run club who has made one bad decision after another after another.

With news that a Nigerian consortium are interested in buying Newcastle, Toon fans will be keeping their fingers crossed that current owner Mike Ashley only has a limited time in charge. A new owner, whether they’re from Nigeria or another country, is inevitable, but simply changing owners won’t be enough to change Newcastle’s fortunes.

Instead what’s needed is a sound plan that is backed by financiers willing to spend money in the transfer window coupled with an understanding and desire to embrace the Geordie spirit.

It’s time for the passionate Geordies to feel like their club is theirs again instead of being run by a “cockney mafia” (Ashley and Wise). Dennis Wise needs to be sacked as soon as the takeover occurs as well as executive Derek Llamblas. But what’s crucial is that the new owners of Newcastle United bring in someone to the club who has a deep connection with the city.

I don’t feel there’s a Geordie out there who has the experience needed to manage the club at the highest level. Instead, the new owners need to convince someone like Alan Shearer to come in again as an assistant manager to work with a world-class manager.

Newcastle fans need a charismatic leader who knows his football and has a passion for attacking football as well as the ability to know when to play gritty football to pull out a result.

The list of managers available that fit those criteria are few and far between. One candidate that should be considered is Roberto Martinez, manager of Swansea, who has transformed the Welsh club into a side playing beautiful and effective football even in the “kick and run” Championship League.

Martinez has made shrewd transfer signings in the summer. Plus he has the experience of playing in England and managing in the country albeit at lower levels with the Swans.

No matter who the next manager will be, he needs the financial backing in the January transfer window to bring in star talent as well as to replace the dead wood (Alan Smith, Cacapa, Shola Ameobi and Nicky Butt) and trouble makers (Joey Barton).

Ultimately where it matters the most is on the pitch where the Magpies need a massive confidence boost as well as hunger to win. Earlier in the season, Newcastle showed glimmers of hope but there’s still so much work to be done before Newcastle United is anywhere near a decent side.

No matter who the new owner is, they need to improve communication with the fans and players. The club needs to have a plan with realistic goals that they can share with its fans so that they’ll be patient, to an extent, and that everyone will be working towards a common goal. With Newcastle, there is hope. The sooner they get an investor who is qualified to run the club, the better.