its been mooted by many that Crystal Palace are about to wrestle our 2 best players Smith and McCormack .I can understand why Pulis likes the pair as they form what I term the perfect combination a big guy and a little guy think Keegan and Tosack Greavsie and Bobby Smith I think if they both leave I would not sell Smith for less than £5m and they will still have a bargain! Why because the boy for one is a very sensible character totally unlike most footballers hes grown up with a good education and he is not turned on by booze and the bright lights I believe RM is not partial to having a good drink or two Oggie tells me he is articulate another rarity and a delight to interview Why will he do well in the premiership because of his height defenders are not comfortable with him about Yes in needs to get more pace but the goal he scored on Saturday showed me how far he has progressed this season which all bodes well for next if we manage to keep him.I think if we can get some decent wingers who can get to the bye line and put in some good crosses this boy can get ovber 20 goals next season how much would he be worth then?Alot of managers worth their salt will have looked at tha goal on Saturday and said wow I wonder if we can get this lad on the cheap I believe hes on 5k a week so when you compare him with Carrol on 95k and always injured there is no comparison.Remember Ricki Lambert was wallowing about the lower leagues until Pardew bought him for£1m and look how well hes done so for me give me Matty any day lets see what happens but I know he wont let us down!
He definitely would be worth a go but as you say, we need to get down the wings and get crosses in and good ones at that. Smith isn't necessarily a goal creator, he need's service to deliver the goals but also by him being a target man he can bring others in to the box to get knockdowns and scraps, that's where we need a good midfielder who can time his runs into the area a la Kevin Nolan and Frank Lampard as an example of this.
Carroll is overrated and certainly not worth half his wage so comparing the two based on that and not ability isn't a fair one. Not one PL team would take Smith over Carroll if offered one or the other as Smith hasn't enough to his game to make it in the Premier League.
Id absolutely hate to see our only two quality players leave, but given the state of the finances, 10m or thereabouts could possibly set us up with a decent squad for next season.The fear is the 10m would go towards paying off Haighs loan and all the other debts that will inevitably surface and were left with no quality at all for next year. I want to see signings before selling either of those two
Not sure about taking Smith ahead of Carroll. Smith is a work in progress and needs to bully defenders a bit more than he does. Carroll isn't worth £95k a week if he really is on that much. But he's a considerable handful. Smith has just spent his first season in the championhip, AND his first season as a full time pro. AND he scored 12 goals. Not bad for a guy some on here and elsewhere thought was a waste of space. His next season and a proper pre-season will see him develop into the sort of player we want him to be. He'll be even more of a handful than he already is. And if we can get at least one decent winger, he will surpass his goal scoring record for this season by quite some way. Not inconceivable that w could get both him and Ross past the 20 goal mark next seeason.
Good call. Only two possible snags. One we have to get a decent winger (s) and two we have to show enough ambition/cash to keep hold of them both without doing a gfh/bates and borrowing it
Fair points Eire. I think the TW won't be as big an explosion of cash as some on another site and to a lesser extent want. However, I do think BMD & Cellino will do what it takes to hold on to Smith, Ross and others they deem vital to take us forward. We know we're going to see an exodus of players surplus to requirements. But if BMD satisfies Cellino that all he requires this time round is a winger with pace, a ball playing CM and maybe one more just to take us forward at least to a play off place, Cellino will find the money. So long as we're pushing for at least a play off place from the start, Cellino will be content. He can then look to back BMD a bit more in the January TW if it will help. If, however, its hoofball and losing badly to no-mark opposition, then BMD will be gone an AN Other will be brought in.
As some have mentioned, I wouldn't mind seeing Cagliari sale over the line. I think it would be inevitable some of that cash would make its way to Elland Road. Of course, as perusal, it'll be sold the week after transfer window closes
I'd go as far as to say there's been many Premiership forwards who have made a solid career with less ability than Smith. Anichebe, Fuller, Ameobi, Heskey etc. Some may have more refined all round games, but Smith is still relatively young and this is his first season at Championship level. I certainly think he has enough to make it in the Premier League. He's not the finished article yet, his all-round game will improve with experience and by playing with better quality players.
I like what your saying 60 but I do have to disagree with a number of things there. I don't think Ross and Smith are our 2 best players as you have said, Ross is but not Smith. Smith is only a better long term prospect because of his age, he still lacks so much from his game, needs to work on his touches for me and as you have said he is rather slow. I do prefer him as an option to Becchio though. Ross is a far far better player, doesn't just score but creates. Even Smith's goal on saturday is a great example of this. Smith requires a lot of service whereas McCormack can create a goal out of seemingly nothing. They are a good combination up front but don't let that fool you, we need to be signing a first team quality striker in the summer as well as retaining these two at least imo. Also I think Smith is lacking not only quality but experience to hack it in the prem at the moment. A player of his style needs to have a bit of know how, hopefully this will come and there is no reason to think it wont. Don't think any team would choose Smith over Carroll on same wages and same fee.
