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I tell you what was worse, mid way through the second half, Brown, another of ours and one of their's all shat out of a 50 50 challenge. For professional footballers it was an absolute disgrace.

 

Smith wanted the ground to open up after his miss but as already said the lad didn't hide and got stuck back in. I'd rather have a team of Smiths than half arsed harrys who are scared of getting hurt.

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Absolutely the most useless shocking forward I've ever seen garbage get back to uni to study rubbish

 

I bet the Crewe defenders said after the game he caused them no end of problems in the air.

Edited by BP1960
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I thought he won loads of headers and held the ball up well. Shocking miss but better players have missed easier chances. I'm not sure he'll ever have the agility or awareness to be good enough for this league but lets be fair he actually did a decent job today. If the midfield wasn't so static and scared to go beyond him and Baxter we'd have been far more effective as a result.

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Credit to Smith today. Thought he was relentless in his work rate and he went up for every ball, successfully or unsuccessfully.

 

No denying he should have scored his chance/s but he made other opportunities and he had a goal wrongfully disallowed, sums up his luck at the moment really.

 

Budding partnership between him and Taylor gives a small bit of promise, they linked well and Smith made a few flick-ons that with an extra yard of pace, bit of strength or year of experience, Taylor might have got on the end of.

 

However, I think Smith's role in the team being the only striker was summed up by the fact that the only flick-on that resulted in a proper 1-on-1 was by Baxter and it landed in Smith's path. For all of Smith's toil he was the one who benefited from a flick on by a 6 foot under player.

 

It's clear that Smith isn't a lone striker. I was disappointed that we didn't go big man-little man with Derbyshire and him but maybe the fact that we don't have a proven striker will give him and Taylor the chance to play together.

 

I'm being positive about him because I think he's worth being positive about. He'll always miss chances but he'll create them. A bit more aggression, shooting practice and a suitable partner and he can be decent at the level.

Edited by NewBlue
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Personally, I think smith will score goals at this level.

 

He's mostly been used as a bit part player, sub here, odd start there and never really had a run in the side. We've now got to a point where he is our only striker and the pressure is on him. I don't necessarily think that's too fair but it is what it is and he has to handle it.

 

In terms of positioning and runs, you can't argue, the guy knows where to go and where to be....as a striker that's 90% of what you need to do, when we aren't scoring goals and the pressure is on, I think he's just snatched a couple of time today where a cool head and a fair refereeing decision would probably have seen him bag a hat trick.

 

As has been said, he got up after each miss and put in 100% and you can't argue with that. If you look on YouTube of his goals scored prior to signing for is, he looks a decent finisher, and probably slightly better off the ground than in the air. We don't utilise him enough but that's the same for all of our strikers.

 

Defiantly worth holding on to, I'd rather have someone who got in the correct position to score than someone whose never around when he needs to be. It's a lot easier to teach a cool head and finish than it is to teach someone where to run. I genuinly believe with a bit more confidence and in a more attacking side,smith would back 10-15+ in a season

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I'm gonna stick my neck on the line and say while its all very commendable people backing Smith and I would love him to do well but at the end of the day he just doesn't have enough footballing quality, pace, aggression to be leading the line at this level. I am happy to be proved wrong but I feel I have seen more than enough of him make that call.

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Dont think the way we played suited smith, we were crying out for someone with pace to get round the back of their defence and all we had was smith. He did what he usually does- put effort in, won a lot in the air but it was pointless as we were playing through the middle, the wingers didn't put any crosses in. Smith wasn't the right player for that game, not as the lone striker anyway. Dickovs the one to blame, refuses to make changes apart from bringing on montano who put in a half hearted shift as per usual. Needs to go, the team is being held back by a manager who is out managed every game, tactically i think he's the worst manger in the league.

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He can have all the passion or effort or whatever other cliché we want to use for someone who 'tries his hardest' but simply put he doesn't have the ability or footballing brain to play at this level. He's fine as an impact sub to throw on for the last 10 or 15 minutes against tiring centre backs, but if we're stuck with him as our main striker for the remainder of the season we're down.

Edited by JonesyOAFC
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9 starts, 47 sub appearances, 6 goals. Sorry, I like the guy, he seems like an intelligent and likeable chap, but I just can't see him establishing himself as a regular scorer at this level. Maybe for another club he'd have a renaissance, but I never see him as a game changer when he comes on, and he hasn't yet shown himself worthy of a starting spot for me. I'd rather see Taylor given the chance to impress and whoever of them does best in the remainder of the season has a chance of a new deal.

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You can see him thinking about every move he makes. He's not a natural footballer at this level. Yes, he tries very, very hard but we must be having a bad season when some fans back him because he tries hard. That's the sign of a poor, poor team, and we are just that. We have nowhere near enough quality on the pitch in key areas and it shows. For me he epitomises that. It's hard to have a go at a lad who tries hard but lacks the natural ability to thrive, but ultimately, professional football should have left him behind.

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I'm gonna stick my neck on the line and say while its all very commendable people backing Smith and I would love him to do well but at the end of the day he just doesn't have enough footballing quality, pace, aggression to be leading the line at this level. I am happy to be proved wrong but I feel I have seen more than enough of him make that call.

 

I agree.

 

But he does pose a different threat. Use as part of a squad.

 

Not as a sole striker.

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Smith is what he is, a big target man who wins a lot in the air. The most important thing is how we use him. Expecting him to fill the void that Derbyshire left is unrealistic as he isn't going to run the channels and play at a high tempo. Baxter is quality but the way he plays doesn't help Smith nor vice versa. If we are going to play Smith we need to put him alongside a player that is going to be looking to connect with the flick on's (Derbyshire would be very good).

 

If Dickov wants to get the ball down and pass then Smith will be nothing more than a bit part player but I can guarantee that in the right setup in this league or the one below Smith would be very effective. Target men usually get better with age and I can see that being the case with Smith (not that that's going to be beneficial to us though :( ).

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Smith is what he is, a big target man who wins a lot in the air. The most important thing is how we use him. Expecting him to fill the void that Derbyshire left is unrealistic as he isn't going to run the channels and play at a high tempo. Baxter is quality but the way he plays doesn't help Smith nor vice versa. If we are going to play Smith we need to put him alongside a player that is going to be looking to connect with the flick on's (Derbyshire would be very good).

 

If Dickov wants to get the ball down and pass then Smith will be nothing more than a bit part player but I can guarantee that in the right setup in this league or the one below Smith would be very effective. Target men usually get better with age and I can see that being the case with Smith (not that that's going to be beneficial to us though :( ).

 

So Sheffield United found out with Steve Howard (also ex non league) today.

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It isn't Smith it is the way he has been used. I'm sure he could forge a partnership with Dan Taylor but that simply isn't going to happen. Taylor will not start the next game even if Smith does.

 

neither are anywhere near good enough - if they where the first choice partnership all season then we would be relegated without a fight

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bit harsh to say taylor is no good. im not saying he is good enough, but when we have only seen him for ten minutes a couple of times this season, its a bit early to judge.

 

smith meanwhile is a squad player for us and no more. he is someone to bring on tactically when things aint going right. this is not to say he is no good, we simply dont have the players to compliment his style.

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Smith not good enough but that's not his fault the club as a whole his not good enough were goin to be another stockport

Stockport have a number of parallels to us.

Let's hope it doesn't happen , not even Gannon can turn them around now

We could be paying Hyde next season

 

 

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