Re: Keane Replacement Of course we don't think he could reach the levels of Keano, I don't at least, but I am thinking maybe he could be a good enough type of player. Now I know that is not what we need, but I am saying Feelup Nev is NOT good enough, Butt was not good enough. He could be better than them, just not world class. We need him to be a player who can hold down the midfield, whlist our other world class players at other positions (bought at the saved price of buying a world class center mid can shine. Not that I would not be against buying a Ballack type, but still we could use another 'world class' center back.
Re: Keane Replacement smith has the perfect scowl for the position, though i believe that he'll never truly feel comfortable playing in the middle of the park.
Re: Keane Replacement I don't know, as I wrote in the transfers thread, he had one of the best single-game performances that I've ever seen from a player against us in the season that Leeds went down. It was a 1-1 draw, but Leeds was missing Robinson that day, as well as Viduka and one or two others. Should have been an easy win, but Smith was everywhere offensively and defensively. Whether he can do that over the course of a season is a different story, of course.
A. Smith for R. Keane? http://www.manutd.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=201809 SAF and his staff are priming Alan Smith for the midfield role, that according to the Manutd.com link What do u guys think of Alan Smith replacing keane in midfield? Smith is just as combative and zealous, albeit a bit over the top with his tackles. He can of course score as shown from his time at Leeds.. I don't know about his ball distribution, oh that temprament and cussing will break Vieira's sending off record under Wenger, but he is a good header. Overall he could be better than Makelele..(LOL... Makelele in Swahili language means NOISES) Always laugh everytime I hear that nomre...the African in me. Back to the topic now, if he is committed to it, I think he can make it, aight?
Re: A. Smith for R. Keane? The smudger deffintly has the heart to be a midfield ace, but he's been trained as a forward, and i dont know if there is still enough time in his career to get rid of the old habbits, and replace them with new defensive ones. I do hope it works out for the best though, it would be a very cheap replacement to Keano.
I've always thought his best positiion is in the Ginga role, behind the front players, in the hole - I rate Alan Smith a lot, he is technically a very good player, if somewhat tempremental - he could be a serious issue at the Academy We'll have him if you don't like him?
Hey hell, what do u want A. Smith for down at Gitmo? I saw footage of the captives juggling and dribbling in their jump suits, u the coach of Gitmo XI? lol just kidding man.. well like I've said in on MU thread , is that last season the midfield was jaded and uncreative, the defense was world class. The strikeforce just fed on the lack of creativity from the middle hence the poorest season in years. Essien's price is a no go like the Siberian winter; Ballack? We need the money to pay for the takeover debts.The solution is to get a young, obscure and upcomiong miidfielder who is gonna cost peanuts and snap him up b4 Kenyon can say the word, Chelski and Mr Abramovich.
Re: A. Smith for R. Keane? You are kidding right? I don't even have to turn this into a tangent but Makelele has been world class for years. Smithy isn't even world class at his rightful position as a forward player. I love the guy for his determination and work ethic but Smithy couldn't even be a quarter of what Makelele is even if he plays the position for the next 10 years.
Re: A. Smith for R. Keane? That would make him pretty poor now wouldn't it? I suppose we shall see in a few days whether the other preseason games were just good games for him or if he can consistanty play the position, albiet against lesser opposition than EPL.
Re: A. Smith for R. Keane? I agree w/ u to an extent R&G but don't go overboard, we will never know how good Smith could be at CM, he sure as hell wont be as good a DM as Makalele, but he'd damn sure have a more rounded game. That said, its silly to compare the 2 players, Makalele is one of the best DMs in the world and Smith's a young player who has yet to find his best position (its probably roaming midfield tbh).
The more I think about it, the more I have to say I just don't care for the idea of Smith at CM. Does he have the heart and the grit? Sure. But I don't know if he has the vision and the passing ability to make it there, especially at a club like United. You truly have to be among the best in the world to play there and call that position your own. Smith just has a finishing class that makes me reluctant to play him anywhere but in a forward position, even if its in a supersub capability. I can't see Smith in CM playing regularly better than Fletcher, and while I don't subscribe to the official newsletter of the FUCOF-FFS, I do see young Darren as having tremendous upside potential[/NBA draft analysis]. Overall I still think we need an outsider unless this Jones fellow can produce at the level we need. But Keane ain't gettin' any younger, so a decision is needed quickly. If Fergie really wants to go with Smith, I guess I trust the man, but skeptically so.
the thing is, unless Smith is a revelation... he wont be a permanent fixture in CM, as for his finishing, WHAAA? Smith's horridly inconsistent and that's why he's never gotten into double figures in the prem. His speed of thought needs to improve, but his judgement seems to be spot on from what I've seen... we'll see how he adapts but the main thing is, for now, he's just emergency backup or in when we need to rest Keane until we can land the big one. I'm comfortable with that situation, its not the best, but I'd rather this than overspending on someone who doesn't fit the bill and its probably better this way to allow Keane to work w/ Fletcher and Jones and still have veteran backup who is willing to take a backseat but available to stand in when needed (who of United caliber in CM would do that?)
Well, Smith, like Mark Hughes, would appear to be not a great goal-scorer but instead a scorer of great goals. Sometimes you need that too, and not just for the highlight reels. I think Smith can do that for us in a forward role, but I'm not sure what kind of opportunities he'd get at CM. His strength still seems to be in the offense.
Re: A. Smith for R. Keane? Jeez man, if he plays that position for the next ten years, I would imagine he'd become quite good at it, He's not that poor.
Let's face it, the hardest thing about playing true DM like Makelele is resisting the urge to move up the field. Not taking anything away from Makelele's excellence, but Smith would be wasted in that type of role. If Smith plays in midfield it should be as a box-to-box CM instead of a DM.
Well said ... I think it's going to be interesting to see if he adjusts his style according to the demands of a CM. Will his vision change and just how creative can he really be.
For all we know, he was born to play that position and has been erroneously played as a striker since he was a boy....
Looks like any possibility of signing a Keane replacement is over. We play with what we have. http://www.sportinglife.com/footbal...soccer/05/07/25/SOCCER_Man_Utd_Nightlead.html
Fergie is a smooth bastard... he knows that if we go through a season or 2 w/ Keane playing a gradually reduced role several things can happen... 1. his replacement/subs will get better 2. youth players will develop over time 3. players who can possibly replace him will become available/noticeable 4. we wont seem quite as desperate as before 5. we can stretch out Keane's career. 6. he can keep the best rb in the prem happy by paying his brother sh1tloads of money for a few appearances a season in all honesty, who here does not think Gary and Phil combined are worth 100K a week?