Jun 13
Smith: I’ll leave Manchester United if they sell me
I have a brilliant idea – why don’t these football players actually STOP speaking with News of the World and The Sun? That would cut down on 1/4th of the crap news we hear, and perhaps 20-30% of the blog posts generated around that crap news.
Excluding this one, of course.
So what did Smith ‘actually’ say to SunSport?
He was, IMO, asked if he knew whether Manchester United were going to sell him this summer:
“If they are going to sell me, I’d like to know. But I won’t find out unless I get to speak to the manager.
If you’re no longer wanted, then you have to consider your options.
If the manager tells me he wants me, I’m there for him. If he says he doesn’t, it’s time to move on.”
That makes sense – if he’s not wanted, the manager will tell him and then, yes, it’s time to move on. If you’re given the option of going out on loan to build your fitness or staying and slogging it out in the reserves, the choice is with you (and in this case, was with Smith). But if the manager says you gotta go, then you gotta go.
Note that SAF had nothing but praise for Smith and that he has said NOTHING about who will go and who won’t.
When asked if SAF had said anything at the end of the season:
“He didn’t say anything to me at the end of the season. We played the FA Cup final, went home the next day and that was it.â€
That could be because SAF was busy bringing Anderson and Nani to Manchester United, not to mention Hargreaves.
When asked if he’s ok with being on the bench:
“I want to be out there from the start.â€
Who doesn’t?
Here’s how the media played this one:
The Sun: Fergie’s left me in the dark
ALAN SMITH has asked Alex Ferguson: “Do you want me at Manchester United or not?†(our dear friend Shaun Custis wrote this – I wonder if he’ll ever be attacked by a fan or not?)
BBC: Smith admits he may quit Man Utd
Manchester United striker Alan Smith admits he may leave Old Trafford if he fails to get assurances about his future from boss Sir Alex Ferguson. – technically a lie as Smith has said that he will leave if the Boss says he’s not needed – which is another way of saying that he’ll leave if he’s sold. He’s not saying much, is he?
Sky Sports: Smith to ‘consider options’
Alan Smith says he wants assurances from Sir Alex Ferguson over his Manchester United future – which is another lie since Smith hasn’t said that either.
What really pisses me off is that we rely on these sources to tell us what’s going on with our clubs and the players. If we have to play detective and sniff out the bullshit under the layers of innuendo and crap (no better word for it) for every single article, that’s tough on us, ainnit?
Related items from Red Rants:
- Should Saha leave Manchester United?
- Your predictions – who will United sell this summer?
- Why United Should Hold On To Smith
- Which Players Should United Sell?
- Evaluating the United players who faced Chelsea
Tags: Manchester United Transfer News & Rumours
June 13th, 2007 at 13:02
You’d hope that at least BBC and Sky had more integrity than spinning like that – The Sun…well, there’s not much to hope for there.
June 13th, 2007 at 14:09
for once in my life i beleave the sun because its true smith gives 110% and a good no 9 but the way we style we are playing since van left he does not fil the bill any more.we need players like tevez type ,henry eto saha when fit fast and interchanging postions with ronaldo and roony and giggs now with nani and anderson
June 13th, 2007 at 16:40
Hiram Gakembu writes in:
June 13th, 2007 at 17:44
Ahmed these guys make a living out of selling words; twisting them is obviously what one would expect out of them, But it’s nice that you took the pain to actually dissect what they are saying and see it for the crap it is.
Smith basically did not say anything. And his words can mean “pledging his future to ManU” as any of the above headlines
.
June 13th, 2007 at 17:47
Dash – I do get bored now and then
June 13th, 2007 at 18:58
Fergie was never interested in Smith, even when he signed him, but he only did so bcz Smith had expressed his desire to join utd. This guy has a very poor scoring rate, he only rivals G.NEVILLE in that sector. He has realized he lacks the quality to cut it at the top, and he MUST leave and join his peers in Uefa cup. L8rs
June 13th, 2007 at 20:13
Sky news and integrity are a few words i never thought id hear in the same sentence.
Sky News is the only news station/outlet that brings you “breaking news” stories which consist of telling you there is nothing worth telling you. Theyare so desperate for news that they will dress up hearsay and specualtion and report it as news more than enyone else i know of, with the exception of TribalFootball. (ok, thats my Sky rant over with)
As for Smudger, i would like him to stay and have a full season involvement with the other strikers, but if he’s not wanted then i hope for his sake he gets a move away so he can get back to playing.
With the news today that Saha may out till November, id be surprised if he let Smith go. Saha is looking injury prone before weve even started this year.
June 14th, 2007 at 5:02
[Elishaphan]
I understand we were among the world’s richest clubs then (we still are) but since when did people start signing players just because the player expressed his wish to come over to the club regardless of how he actually is. At least Sir Alex wouldn’t do that. I think even shitty managers wouldn’t do that.
Hence, I am afraid, your Smith logic is ludicrous.
June 14th, 2007 at 5:56
[...] on the heels of Smith’s uncertainty at United comes another set of conflicting reports, this time about Saha’s [...]
June 14th, 2007 at 15:20
I think that Smith’s biggest asset is being being overlooked.
He was given a shot in midfield and was fairly succesfull in that until his injury. I believe he should be played as a second striker in 4-4-2. With him in the team, you have:
1) a good striker
2) more importantly, as manager, the ability to succesfully switch formation without having to make a substitution (4-4-2 to 4-5-1/4-3-3) by pushing him to midfield.
June 15th, 2007 at 12:05
Red ranter, rem the press plays a bigger part when it comes to signing of players, they will always tell u, who is available and good for your club, I think Fergie was swayed by this. All the respect to Fergie, but Smith was never a utd material….
June 15th, 2007 at 12:47
Smith will improve if you give him time and games. He has a good attitude and a good work rate. He might not be a genius like Rooney, but he’s a hardworking fella.
And I’m sure, with his love for MU, he doesnt really mind to stay on the bench for a while (if too long, even a striker like Adebayor would not be happy *hint hint*).
if you get another striker in…how sure are you that his love for MU is as strong as Smith’s and how sure are you that this guy is MU’s quality? And again, how sure are you that he is willing to sit on the bench while Rooney and Rossi or some other fella (Saha..?) play?
June 15th, 2007 at 16:00
Agree with you Karl about Smith’s attributes, he can definitely still offer United something different.
Fergie didnt just buy Smith because he said he wanted to play for United, everyone knows he loves players that have a bit of fight in them. Smith has got ability, but between being played all over the place and getting injured he’s hardly had a fair run at the first eleven, in his preferred position. There is no doubt though that Fergie will take note of players expressing their desire to play at United, because Fergie believes that players should be motivated by playing for United not money. RVN, Hargreaves, Carrick and Yorke are all players that insisted on moving to United, dismissing the opportunity to move/play somewhere else.
You have to WANT to play for United and Fergie likes to see that, and Smith is completely commited to United, and this reflects in his training and work rate and Fergie knows this. He trains “like a beast”, and that translates to the other players, especilly the young guys. In short, he’s good to have around and can do a job for us, i think.