31 year-old Alan Smith will be offered a coaching job at Newcastle when his contract runs out on June 30th.
Alan Smith – great contribution in promotion drive
But it looks like Alan will turn that down, as he wants to keep playing for a few more seasons.
Alan was signed from Manchester United in the summer of 2007 by Sam Allardyce for £6M as a striker, and one stat that is really weird is that he never scored a goal for Newcastle, in the 94 appearances he made for the club over five seasons.
After the first season on Tyneside, when he played 37 games, his time was blighted by injury, and in the relegation season, he was out with an Achilles problem and played only 6 games.
But Alan did have a good season following relegation, when he played 35 times in Newcastle’s promotion season, and was the official captain of the side, and he was one of the leaders of the side, when Newcastle needed real leaders in their time of need.
That’s what Alan will be remembered for at Newcastle, and of course Smith has always been a first rate professional, whose football ability was severity curtailed, when he broke his leg and damaged his ankle while at the Red Devils.
In February of 2006, 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.
And the injury was described by Alex Ferguson as one of the worst he had ever seen in all his years of football, and the Leeds-born player has admitted himself he was never the same player after that, and dropped back into defensive midfield while at Newcastle.
Alan Smith is close to Alan Pardew, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see him returning to Newcastle as a coach in maybe a couple of years.
Smith’s agent Alex Black told the local press yesterday.
“It is safe to assume that Alan won’t be signing a new contract at Newcastle,”
“He was told when he left there is a coaching role there if he wants it, but I don’t think that will happen.”
It’s good that Smith will play on, because once you are retired from football it’s forever, from a playing sense, and if you can play at a decent level, that’s a good thing to keep doing.
We’ve always liked Alan Smith and he’s a good lad, and it would be great to seem him join the Newcastle coaching staff after his playing career is over – maybe in a season or two.
Best of luck Alan.
Comments welcome.
27 comments so far
hoppernufc
May 25, 2012 at 9:29 AM
Comment #1Good pro but simply not good enough
ImightBe Wrong
May 25, 2012 at 9:33 AM
Comment #2It wasn’t forever for Paul Scholes 😉
I bet you Alan still has nightmares about that injury because hes never been as good since.
seantoon
May 25, 2012 at 9:35 AM
Comment #3Everyone who seems to think Rhodes his worth a punt seriously lads I’m from Huddersfield and go to there games alot and will be going to wembley tomorrow even though it eat and breathe NUFC. Rhodes is not good enough for the premiership you will see that tomorrow. Yes he scores goals but look at the defending in that league. And also if you’ve watched both playoff games he’s scored a goal in each but as done absolutely nothing else at all. I’d go with Rodriguez
Colo2
May 25, 2012 at 9:38 AM
Comment #4I think his contribution during our promotion is often forgotten. I agree he’s no longer PL standard but he’s a good pro and hopefully a good club in the Championship or League 1 will take him
wynsleap
May 25, 2012 at 9:39 AM
Comment #5A coaching job?
What’s he going to pass on to other players?
The art of clean tackling? How to keep your head and avoid bookings? How to make those creative, incisive passes?
Or maybe how to score goals?
Let him ply his trade elsewhere. Best rid.
geordieinjapan
May 25, 2012 at 9:43 AM
Comment #6Has anybody made a euro fantasy league yet?
IrishToon009
May 25, 2012 at 9:46 AM
Comment #7In the Championship season he was very very important, will always thank him for that, All the best Alan!
geordieinjapan
May 25, 2012 at 9:49 AM
Comment #8en.euro2012fantasy.uefa.com
classic league code 125628-29431
Indian Magpie
May 25, 2012 at 9:50 AM
Comment #9Smith would be a great role model for any up and coming Kid. he was exceptional for leeds and can impart great knowledge
Tsunki
May 25, 2012 at 10:05 AM
Comment #10Wynsleap – uncharitable comment. Smith was a top motivating force and a few yellows aside put in some gutsy dislays that lifted the team in desperate times. Plus he’s a pro who knows enough to convince NUFC staff he can do the job. He should have quit as a player when we got promoted but he obviously doesn’t like to lie down.
On the signing championship ‘talent’ question, whatever happened to the ‘buy at cheap price but trigger a few bob extra if he comes good’ clause?
Matt
May 25, 2012 at 10:20 AM
Comment #11anyone else remember him scoring on his debut against inter Milan ?
Matt
May 25, 2012 at 10:23 AM
Comment #12Sampdoria even ,not inter
Robson Wonderland
May 25, 2012 at 10:27 AM
Comment #13Yep, he bagged 2 in that friendly against Valencia I think but that was a bit of a false dawn! Still, the first half of that Championship season he was immense – not quite what we had in mind when we signed him and doesn’t by any means justify the sums we’ve paid him since but definitely shouldn’t be forgotten.
FatmanJoe
May 25, 2012 at 10:42 AM
Comment #14Over the years we’ve definitely had bigger flops. I think he was worth the 6m purely for being the driving force behind the promotion.
Waged were extreme though. Thank god we don’t do that any more
markmac
May 25, 2012 at 10:45 AM
Comment #15Yes matt, i remember! a friendly tho so it doesnt count [?] i know alot of people say he’s sat back and enjoyed his big wage whilst doing naff all but with what he did in the championship that season he was still a good signing for that alone!
check the toastie
May 25, 2012 at 10:47 AM
Comment #16Like the lads dedication and commitment and the professional attitude he imposed on the squad, however personally thought he was sh1te in the championship as well. He’s currently struggling to get in a Div1 side. God bless, his career was ruined by an horrific injury.
wynsleap
May 25, 2012 at 10:57 AM
Comment #17Tsunki @ 10 – sorry you seem to having a disagreement with one or two of my comments lately.
Re Smith – don’t deny he had a decent Championship season but that doesn’t make him an ideal coach appointment in my eyes. Just saying that I think we can do better.
Re club ambition (recent post) – We may be getting it right financially but still don’t think that putting ‘For sale at the Right Price’ signs up on all of your best players is showing ambition. Do Man U, Arsenal, Spurs etc do this?
jackson0022
May 25, 2012 at 11:28 AM
Comment #18I guess…maybe some day Alan Smith can be a very good coach and manager!
Garreth
May 25, 2012 at 11:54 AM
Comment #19Wynsleap – You certainly see Arsenal doing that (Fabregas and Nasri spring to mind) and Tottenham will be doing that now they don’t have CL football. The thing is if we sell 2 players a year for £40m and can bring in 5 players for that much who will be just as good, potentially better, why not?
wynsleap
May 25, 2012 at 12:39 PM
Comment #20Garreth – Because discarding two top proven players each time to bring in 4-5 new ones is always a huge, unnecessary risk.
What if they prove flops? The only outcome then is you’ve lost two top players.
Why not bring in two or three players to go alongside your top players? Constant turnover will never BUILD a good team or a settled, happy squad. A gradual quality increase each transfer window is, in my opinion, the only way to go.
I do appreciate, however, that not everyone will agree with that.
Hatem's better than Messi
May 25, 2012 at 12:56 PM
Comment #21Good pro and he was good enough.
In fact he was outstanding before his injury.
He did lack pace after that which is a real shame for him and England.
He never lacked commitment.
One of the best battlers ever to play.
Cheers Alan!!!
Rotonda heights
May 25, 2012 at 2:39 PM
Comment #221 good half a season in 6 years on 60k a week. hmmm….
Thanks allardyce. good role model – he just kicks people cos he has no ability whatsoever.
yorkshire_mag
May 25, 2012 at 3:02 PM
Comment #23Even though it’s completely off subject, I completely agree with seantoon, I’m from Leeds but live close to Huddersfield now, and I can see Rhodes being in ther same category of fish as Beckford when he was at Leeds – loads of hype around him but never really played against a quality opponent. Just don’t think he could make the grade at the top level.
Charlietoon
May 25, 2012 at 5:00 PM
Comment #2418 mill in wages……..Good to have him off the books
bills-son
May 25, 2012 at 6:10 PM
Comment #25When we got relegated many pundits thought that our team of ‘fancy dans’ would get physically slaughtered in the Champs and that we might even do a Leeds and get relegated again.
My early memories of that season are of Captain Smithy getting stuck in right from the start of every game. Waving his fists, shouting and bawling, battering into any oppo player he could get near. Nolan was the same, and Enrique, and Shola early doors until he got injured. If any team thought we were going to be roll over pansies they soon got the message – it was US dishing out the physicals and bruises.
Smithy might not have been one of our greatest signings but he played a big part in that promotion season, especially in the first 8-10 games. By that time the whole division knew we were a force – and a physical one at that – to be reckoned with.
Thanks for that Smithy – and good luck.
soundoid
May 25, 2012 at 10:27 PM
Comment #26Bills son I wholeheartedly agree with your statement. Any of you slagging off Smudge should hang your heads in shame for the first half of our relgation season he was the motivation and steel in our side.
He dragged that team along then Nolan for the rest of the season his effort got us back to where we are today, both of those players I can’t praise enough.
NEWEXPATMAGPIE
May 26, 2012 at 7:08 AM
Comment #27Smudge will i think end up going to a Championship side and playing out his career with them!
The year we were down in the Championship was his best time with us! He will i think make a good youth coach or Manager in the future. If not with us then somewhere else!