It was announced last week that West Ham are trying to sign Newcastle midfielder Alan Smith. Like El Hadji Diouf, Smith has been outcast by his club and has been linked with a move to work with Sam Allardyce again.
I can’t see how Smith can add value to West Ham’s team. Yes, the squad has a lot of injuries at the present time, but you need to buy quality, and in my opinion, Smith has limited quality.
During his time at Leeds United, Smith was seen as a hero until his move to arch rivals Manchester United in 2004. Smith had a decent record as a striker with Leeds in the Premier League, but during his time in Manchester, Sir Alex Ferguson converted him from a striker to a holding midfielder. I think as a footballer Smith got progressively worse ever since his position was changed.
West Ham are not exactly lacking in holding players in Papa BoubaDiop, Mark Noble and Guy Demel, so I can’t understand why West Ham could possibly be interested in Smith.
I believe signing Smith would be waste of money; Allardyce should focus on strengthening his squad in other areas.
