Monday, June 25, 2007

Smith : Will He Stay Or Will He Go?

Nothing much has been brewing the past week or so. Most of the newsworthy sites have been devoting their time and effort on Theirry Henry's departure (big time bottler) and speculation on the impending collapse of Arsenal.

Admist all the excitement and grief, depending on who you support, apparently a bid in the region of £6million has been accepted by United. Given how hard Newcastle has been chasing Smith this summer, I don't expect them to lie down and play dead, despite it being part of their culture. Portsmouth is apparently in the chase for Smith's signature as well.

However all this is dependent on Smith approving a move North. Smith has shown a stubborn streak and has refused a loan move out of Old Trafford this season. There might be a chance he would scupper the deal and take his chances of fighting for his place in the team.

If anyone cares to remembers, Ole did it once quite a few years back. Spurs and United had agreed on a £5million deal to send Ole to London, but Ole, being the loyal servant he was, rejected the transfer much to the relief of the entire Red Army. As you know, he became an integral part in us winning the Champions League, forever immortalising his name in United lore.

Unfortunately Smith is not Ole. If Fergie can find another striker of pedegree, it would be in Smith's best interest to agree on a move. I personally would hate to see him go, yet at the same time feel he's not exactly what we need up front.

Heinze
I have no links for this, but according to a reliable source working for the local papers, Gabby Heinze has signed a pre-contract and is bound for Real Madrid in the region of £3.5million. I have no reason to doubt the person who told me, yet at the same time I have no idea what a pre-contract means or why it's so cheap. So don't shoot the messenger.

I would dread to see Heinze leave, especially given the dearth of good and experienced left-backs in the club. The thought of Evra starting next season is enough to send shivers down my spine.

2 comments:

Gentleman said...

Seriously, I thought Smith and Heinze do deserve a contract extension for their commitment and loyalty to the club.

Look at how much impact Smith has made when he plays the striker position. Even though his scoring prowess are probably not as good as Saha's nor Ole, but he do set up important goals and adds pressure to the opponents' defences. In addition, Smith had just returned from a horrific injury. We should give him a little time more to prove himself in the red shirt, at least for another season.

As for Heinze, I would personally prefer him to Evra defensively. Evra might be dangerous in his overlappings, but I think as a defender the priority is to have the proper defensive qualities to provide a solid back line against opponents' attackers. I have realised that our defensive weaknesses are the left and right backs. With Heinze gone, I don't see Silvestre and Evra experienced enough to cover for Heinze.

Unless Sir Alex is trying to design the team into a lighting squad(the reason why he bought Nani and Anderson), I don't see the need to sell Smith and Heinze off just to recoup the losses, YET.

Jiahao

spectre said...

I'd be terribly sad to see Heinze go without a suitable replacement. My own disdain for Evra is plain for all to see. I cringe whenever he starts for us.

You got it absolutely spot on that a defender's first priority is to defend.

As for Smith, he epitomises every characteristic I would love to see in all the players wearing our United red. He's never-say die attitude and willingness to die for the cause has won many of us over, even the staunchest Leeds-haters. Unfortunately, as much as I love him, I have to concede that he's simply not United quality.

For his own sake I hope he goes to another club that shares his ambition. I would genuinely hate to see him rot away in the football wastelands of Boro and Newcastle.

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