I've got to agree. If he was some terrible player who wouldn't improve our team, then obviously not. But Smith's available, and if the wages were right he'd be a quality addition to our team and could help build a squad capable of promotion.
i still think we need a experienced DM... If not Smith then needs to be someone who can do the job and not a loan young player.... maybe he wont come and all this typing will have been for nothing but i would take smith over Montgomery or Eustace
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/9095132.Leeds_keen_on_Smith/ Ha, didn't Fowler do the same to us? Although i'm sure it wasn't as much as £30k!
Yep, and Mills and Keane and Peter Reid and others that I can't remember off the top of my head... Sounds like it might actually happen - that's the first newspaper report that seems to have actually done some research and considered the specifics of what a move would entail...
I thought Mills did, but wasn't too sure as people still seem to speak highly of him. Still seems like a hell of a lot going on his wages though, unless he's prepared to take a wage cut too.
I still think his wages will be the stumbling block for any deal can we afford to pay even half of what he is earning at newcastle . Unless he stay injury free I cannot see what he will bring to the club if he is residing at Thorpe Arch . Better to use any money we have on a younger midfield player who will last the season.
Hey guys, NUFC fan in peace here! Was going to start a new thread but saw this one first Just wondering what you guys would think of Smithy back at Elland Road... Would you welcome him? Do ya think he could still do a good job? Have any of you forgiven him for joining the Mancs, would you ever? Just wondering as obviously he's being linked a lot. Would like to see him go back to be honest. He's not been brilliant for us, but I've got a lot of respect for the guy, he's bound to be a massive presence in the dressing room. I think it could be a great place to end his career. Thanks! And good luck for next season -- hope you guys get promotion! Dad's a Leeds fan so I've kinda been brought up around them
acid-hippo- smith was forced to man scum because they were the only cash up front offer and we needed cash!, majority understand that but there is a group who cant admit they are wrong on him
Hey Acid. I think the consensus on Smith is that he should be forgiven, he could improve our team and he's worth a punt if he can reduce his wages to under £20k a week. However I disagree with the consensus. Personally (not wishing to start a debate here as we already have a lengthy Smith thread where that's gone on), I can't forgive him for how he betrayed Leeds by choosing Man U as his preferred destination before he even knew which offers had come in (I can give you a link to that if you don't believe it Logi). I also believe that looking back to ex-players is a failed policy and Smith isn't the right player we need in that position; the old head we need in midfield should be someone like Zenden or Frings who can score and create a few goals unlike the one-dimensional Smith. Generally, I'd just rather we looked to a young talent like Cork or Gunnarsson there instead of an ex-player who wants megabucks, won't be much better and could well cause a rift in the fanbase. The link to the thread is here if you want to see more of the debate: http://www.not606.com/showthread.php/52978-Alan-Smith-thread-(merged)
Hey Acid - I'd definitely want Smith back as long as he's fit and the wage situation is reasonable. I think what some Leeds fans forget is that he's a different player now to the one we (sadly) sold across the Pennines. Last season we badly missed a tough-tackling, running midfielder, and I think that's exactly what he is. On top of that I don't think anyone - whether a fan of his or not - could ever question his commitment to the club whenever he pulled the white shirt on - and that's something else we missed last season. From the reports I read Smith was a pretty important player in Newcastle's promotion season, in that capacity, wasn't he? I don't see any reason why he couldn't do that for Leeds too. And while I accept there are some fellow Leeds fans who don't share my willingness to accept him back, I would hope that his performances would win them around quickly enough. Cheers mate!
I never thought it was possible but there it is in black and white...... ....there's a championship club who's "wage structure is understood to be even less flexible than Leeds" !!
Logi Smith was never forced to go to man u, he wanted to go. Who can blame him, its his career to think of. But he was never ever forced to go there
I find it absolutely disgusting that we seem willing to offer Smith £30k a week. That's £1.5m a year. For that money, we could buy Jack Cork for £750k and offer him £15.5k wages. Be very angry if this happens.
Its disgusting being linked with players over 30 ALL OF THE TIME. Its embarrasing. Cork wld be ok. We lost out badly on Koren last season, I kept banging on about him as he was a free agent and had a decent world cup. He goes to Hull which f**d me off cos they are the size of a 2 pence coin, he scored 7 from CM and led them just short of play offs, so there are good freebies out there, we just need the right ones, not the old ones
I'm not sure that's what it was saying. It said that Newcastle would pay £30k of his wages, but he'd still take a pay cut. So he'd drop his wages from 60k a week to say 45k but we only pay 15k of that. Regardless of the whole Man Utd thing, he's a good player. If there's truth to that article and Newcastle are willing to pay that much of his wages, and we could get him on say £15,000 a week (only what we contribute not including the £30,000 newcastle pay him) then it's a good deal. Am I right in thinking though, that Newcastle would only pay the £30,000 for the rest of his 1 year deal? So we could only sign him for a year unless he takes a massive wage cut after the first year?
Yes, that all sounds right. I don't think Newcastle would be stupid enough to keep paying him £30k, a proper buyer might well come in who'll pay his wages instead of leeching. Hopefully anyway.
I think the idea is that Smith will automatically get £60,000 a week sitting on the bench or playing the reserves at Newcastle. So any reduction on that is good for Newcastle. So if Smith agrees to reduce his salary to £45,000 a week, for example, Newcastle would pay £30,000 (thus "saving" £30,000 a week) and Leeds would pick up the difference. i.e. £15,000 a week. That would only be for the duration of his existing contract with Newcastle - after which he would be a free agent and Leeds (or whoever signed him up) would have to negotiate new terms with him. I imagine, if this deal does happen, Leeds would agree a one-year deal to sign Smith on the proviso that Newcastle pay £30,000 a week for the rest of his contract, or that Leeds would agree a season-long loan deal through which they'd pay £10,000 or £15,000 a week towards his wages. Make sense? ;-)
