NYHETER: Ex-player/-manager news, Part II

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Woodgate calls on fans
Boro defender wants greater crowds at Riverside

Middlesbrough defender Jonathan Woodgate has called on the club's fans to show their support by turning up at home games.
The ex-Leeds United man is well aware that his former club are getting the same, if not bigger crowds despite being two divisions below Boro.
The average attendance at the Riverside this season is 25,618 whereas Elland Road has seen an average crowd of 25,923.
And the 27-year-old feels that Middlesbrough need to start playing the style of football which will attract the fans to the Riverside.
"I know it's not cheap getting into football grounds but how many fans do Leeds get a week two divisions below us? They get similar crowds to us," he said.
"We have to play good football for the fans to come in.

Hele saken: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11680_2738314,00.html

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Canaries' fury at Mills
Former England defender branded a cheat by Norwich boss

Andy Reid blasted two late penalties to lift Charlton to third in the Championship but Danny Mills was at the centre of all the controversy at the end of the 2-0 win over Norwich.
Mills was branded a cheat by Norwich manager Peter Grant for his role in Dion Dublin's late dismissal, but Charlton boss Alan Pardew preferred to concentrate on a deserved victory.
Reid netted two spot-kicks in two minutes as the Addicks took the spoils.
Substitute Izale McLeod, who had been on the pitch just five minutes, won both penalties and Reid coolly converted them as Pardew got one over on Grant - his former assistant at West Ham.
However, Grant was left fuming by Dublin's stoppage-time dismissal for pushing his head towards Mills, who was rarely out of trouble for most of the evening.
"It was disappointing to see the big fella running off, I don't know what went on," said Alan Pardew.
"Danny plays on the edge, that's what's made him a success. He probably danced a little too close to the edge tonight, but he played very well.
"I don't want anyone getting sent-off, especially for an alleged movement of the head.
"We really controlled the game and I was disappointed not to score until the 85th minute. But I was pleased with everything tonight. We penetrated at will at times.
City boss Grant was fuming that Mills was still on the pitch after he had been involved in a running battle with Darren Huckerby all evening.
"The player should already have been off the field," said Grant. "And it wasn't a headbutt, because if it had been Mills would still be lying there,
"But he should have been off for swinging an elbow at Darren Huckerby.
"We had to dig in, we were under the cosh, and with 20 minutes to go, if he had been sent-off, it would have been a different game.
"This is a tough place to come, but if you're in the game then you've got a chance.
"Dion would not have headbutted Danny. He would not have reacted like that. It's always important to finish a game with 11 men but unfortunately circumstances dictated we couldn't because somebody cheated.
"It leaves a sour taste, especially considering who was involved."

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Johnson eyes Watford stay
On-loan midfielder happy with Hornets

Adam Johnson would be interested in staying at Watford beyond his initial three-month loan deal.
The 20-year-old midfielder has joined The Hornets from Middlesbrough until December and made his debut as a substitute against Southampton on Sunday.

Hele saken: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11688_2740543,00.html

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John Sheridan handed vote of confidence

Oldham owner Simon Corney has given manager John Sheridan a dreaded vote of confidence, following the club's poor start.
After making the League One play-offs last season and investing in new players in the summer, expectations were high at Boundary Park at the start of the campaign.
However, what has transpired has been bitterly disappointing, with Oldham rooted to the foot of the table after five league games which have yielded just three points.

Hele saken: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11719_2741028,00.html

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Villa's Carson admits England ambition

Aston Villa's on-loan Liverpool goalkeeper Scott Carson admits an England breakthrough is a burning ambition.
He told Villa's website: "There's no point in just sitting around settling for what I've got. I've got to work hard and hopefully I'll get my chance for England and show I'm up to the standard.

Hele saken: http://www.tribalfootball.com/article.php?id=57383

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Newcastle boss: Smith must calm down

Newcastle chief Sam Allardyce urged Alan Smith to calm down - with the feisty Yorkshireman already in danger of picking up a ban.
With several key men struggling with injuries, the last thing Big Sam needs is a suspension for the former Man U player.
But after picking up four yellow cards in his first six games for United, he is just one more caution away from a stint in the sin bin.

Hele saken: http://www.tribalfootball.com/article.php?id=57332

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Pennant: I will learn from error
HOTHEAD Jermaine Pennant insists he will not make the same mistake again after his Champions League assault got off to a shameful start.
The winger was sent off by ref Lubos Michel in the 57th minute of the 1-1 draw with Porto â€" but reckons the Slovakian official got it WRONG.
Pennant, 24, had already gone into Lubos’ book for a senseless trip on Ricardo Quaresma and was walking a tightrope after a series of headstrong challenges.

Hele saken: http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390000-2007430635,00.html

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Southgate: Johnson has Middlesbrough future
Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate insists Adam Johnson's future is on Teesside, despite sending him on-loan to Watford.
Southgate said: "We felt Adam needed a run of games and we could not guarantee him the run here.
"He's a bright young talent who we want to keep. I'm sure that the spell at Watford will help with his development.
"Watford play with wingers and they play in the right way, so it should be exactly what Adam needs."
Hornets boss Ade Boothroyd believes Johnson will be a valuable asset to his team as they bid to stay top of the Championship.
He said: "I was pleased with Adam on Sunday. He's a young livewire.
"I inquired about him last season, and Gareth Southgate called me recently to see if I was still interested.
"I'm thrilled to have him here as he'll push Jobi McAnuff and Tommy Smith and will give us further options out wide."

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Woodgate: I didn't join Middlesbrough for mid-table mediocrity
Jonathan Woodgate has warned Middlesbrough he won't tolerate a mid-table finish this season.
He said: "I didn't come to Middlesbrough to consolidate in the league.
"I came here to get into Europe. Consolidation is failure for me.
"I think that we can get into the UEFA Cup. Obviously you look at the top four places and think they are taken, but every other place is up for grabs."

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Peter Ridsdale has offered to quit Cardiff
Cardiff chairman Peter Ridsdale has offered to quit the club because he is fed up with abuse from supporters.
He confirmed to BBC Wales he feels he is being driven out by fans who he says want Sam Hammam back in charge of the club.
"I am getting more stick for saving Cardiff City than I did when things went wrong at Leeds," said Ridsdale.
"If the fans want Sam Hammam back in charge, as many of them are telling me, then maybe they should have him."

More to follow.

BBC

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Chris Kamera, Sky Sports

Marching on together
I don't think anybody could have predicted the start that Leeds United have made.

All credit must go to Dennis Wise, who has galvanised the players.
They have a resolute attitude about them - everybody's against us, nobody will do us any favours, and it's all down to us.
With that spirit that they've got - nobody likes us, nobody wants us anymore - the supporters rallied round them and everything has just fallen into place nicely so far.
Organisation is vital for any team to prosper and Leeds certainly have that. And when you've got players who can score you goals then you're halfway there. Jermaine Beckford and Tresor Kandol have forged a fine strike partnership, scoring 10 goals between them already.
Beckford in particular has really caught the eye, but I'm not worried that Leeds will sell him. Ken Bates might as well stay in Monaco for the rest of his life if that happens - Leeds fans have had too many knocks as it is.
They are both playing at a level they are comfortable with, and let's not forget they might be in League One, but Leeds are still a massive club.
Beckford is the one though. Kevin Blackwell got in ahead of a lot of teams when he took Jermaine from non-league football. Blacky expected him to go straight into Leeds' first team and maybe it was a bit daunting for him at first and he struggled. Then he went on loan to Scunthorpe and he scored some spectacular goals - with both feet.
People couldn't make it out - they couldn't understand how well he played compared to what he had shown at Leeds.
But that was Leeds' problem last season. They had the quality but just didn't perform. Dennis Wise must still find it very hard to explain exactly what went on and why those players just didn't do the business.
When you look at Robbie Blake scoring goals for Burnley in the Championship, David Healy scoring in the Premiership for Fulham and Richard Cresswell playing well, it must be frustrating for Wise.
But Beckford is showing that he is certainly a Championship player and there might be more to come. Leeds skipper Alan Thompson told us on Goals on Sunday what a good, two-footed player he is. Those type of players play at the top level.

Bouncebackability
Leeds were second favourites to get promoted before they even got on level points and people know that they are a phenomenon at this level - as six straight wins will testify. If they keep going they will be like a run-away train and there will be no stopping them.
I think that their main objective at this time will be the play-offs but depending on how long this run goes on for, the prize might be even bigger than that.
Money will be tight of course, because as we know the club partly went into administration and that's the reason why they were deducted the 15 points. But Bates can't take anymore chances with the supporters that have showed him that they will follow their team through thick and thin.
The average attendance at Elland Road so far this season is around 25,000 which is great. When I played for the club and we got promoted from the second to the old First Division in 1989-90 the atmosphere was brilliant at every game and a lot of fans are saying already that the spirit around the place is similar to back then.
I know Ken Bates and I quite like him, but like all Leeds fans the jury is still out. It hasn't been explained what went on - the Football League have done everything by the book which is fair by every other club in the League.
This isn't a case of the League getting at Leeds; this is a punishment for something that the club hasn't done correctly. That tells us that somebody behind the scenes, whoever it may be, hasn't adhered to the administration rules and that is why the club have been punished.
The rules are put in place and if someone tries to avoid them then they will end up getting punished. If Ken Bates gets Leeds straight back to the Championship this season then all will be forgotten, but if they don't get promoted Bates will blame it on the 15 points.
The acid test for Leeds this season will be when the goals for the front two - Beckford and Kandol - dry up. Where will the goals come from? But there's no reason to suggest right now, that is going to happen.

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Healy can sink Sven again
AT her home in the Co Down village of Killyleagh, Irene Healy has 15 DVDs of her son.
Somewhat bizarrely, all feature the same game.
She is terrified the master copy will get scratched so there’s another 14 up on the shelf as back-up.
The game in question was on September 7 2005, a day that shocked the entire the entire world.
The scoreline, of course, was Northern Ireland 1 England 0, David Healy scoring on 73 minutes.
The greatest moment of Lawrie Sanchez’s managerial career and the worst of Sven Goran Eriksson’s.
At Craven Cottage today, those two bosses come face-to-face in club comb

Hele saken: http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390000-2007440099,00.html

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Jail was Jermaine wake-up call
STEVE BRUCE has hailed Jermaine Pennant for going from jailbird to Champions League star.
Birmingham boss Bruce stood by Pennant when he went to prison for drink-driving offences.
Brum paid Arsenal an initial £2million for Pennant before selling him on to Liverpool for £8m last year. Bruce reckons his one-time bad boy was the best player on the pitch in this year’s European Cup final.

Hele saken: http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390000-2007440125,00.html

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Ex-Hull chairman Pearson fronts £90M Derby takeover push

Former Hull City chairman and Leeds United director Adam Pearson is fronting a consortium preparing a £90 million takeover bid for Derby County.
The Mail on Sunday says Pearson, backed by internet tycoon Peter Wilkinson, has put in an offer for the club less than 18 months after they last changed hands. The bid is understood to comprise £30m for the club and £60m for a property deal for land around Pride Park.
Pearson, who personally made about £4.5m from the sale of Hull this summer, joined forces with Wilkinson to become one of the 14 bidders who tried to buy Leeds when they went into administration earlier this year.
Now the pair have turned their attention to Derby. Wilkinson revolutionised the internet with his Freeserve company. In last year's Rich List, his wealth was estimated at £263m.

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Huckerby slams Norwich
Canaries striker reveals Carrow Road concerns

Darren Huckerby has admitted he fears for Norwich's future.
The striker launched a scathing attack on the Canaries' season so far after their 2-0 defeat at Wolves - their fourth reverse in the last five games.
Peter Grant's side have slumped to 20th in the Championship table and are just two points above the drop zone.
And Huckerby knows things will have to change after delivering a brutal and blunt assessment on the Carrow Road club and his team-mates.

Scary
He told the Norwich Evening News: "Since I've been here this is probably the weakest we've looked, so it's quite scary, to be honest.
"The fact of the matter is, we haven't been good enough all season. We're not playing well.
"We nicked a couple of results, but we've not controlled any games all the way through the season, so at the minute it's got to get better."
And Huckerby admitted that some of Norwich's problems are self-inflicted after both Jason Shackell and Julien Brellier were dismissed at Molineux.

Ridiculous
Coming swiftly on the back of Dion Dublin's red card at Charlton, Norwich's injury-hit squad is now being decimated by suspensions.
Huckerby added: "It's a difficult place to come, and the two sendings-off were ridiculous. They know that, so it's not something that I'm saying out of turn.
"We weren't playing well but then to get two sendings-off - ridiculous sendings -off with Dion already gone - basically the game's over.
"At 2-0, if we get a goal back we've got some kind of chance maybe, but to have two people sent off for stupid things, it's not easy."

SkySports

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Woodgate: Middlesbrough not holding me back
Jonathan Woodgate has rubbished claims he has failed to make an England return because he is playing for Middlesbrough.
"Stewart [Downing] has been in every squad for the last two years so I wouldn't say that is the case," said Woodgate. "If you play well for your club every week then you'll get selected for your country."
The ex-Real Madrid and Leeds centre back is eager to re-establish himself in the England set-up.
"Obviously I want to try to get into the squad for the European Championships but it is not going to be easy with the type of players we have got.
"Injuries have come at bad times in the past but that's the way it goes in football, you get lucky and you get bad luck; sometimes you are injured sometimes you are not.
"I hope I'll get a chance soon - they have been playing really well recently and the performances they put in the last two games has been a credit to the players and the management team."

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STRACHAN LIKELY TO APPEAL AGAIN
Celtic will appeal after confirming they are unhappy with the Scottish Football Association's decision to halve Gordon Strachan's four-match touchline ban.
The Scottish champions wanted Strachan's suspension overturned rather than reduced at a Hampden hearing on Tuesday.
But officials at the SFA disciplinary meeting upheld the case against the Celtic boss, who was banished to the stand in the game against Hearts at Parkhead on April 29 after an altercation with referee Stuart Dougal.
The Celtic boss was found guilty of misconduct but the benefit of putting his side of events was seeing the ban cut to two games.
A Celtic spokesperson said: "Clearly the club is surprised and disappointed with the decision and we will be lodging an appeal."
Strachan, who served a two-match ban after a bust-up at Tynecastle in August 2006, faces a third ban after being sent to the stand by Charlie Richmond following an argument with a steward at Pittodrie in August.
However the latter case will now be put back, with Celtic due to submit their appeal against today's verdict in time for Strachan to be in the dug-out for tomorrow night's CIS Insurance Cup tie at Dundee.
SFA spokesman Andy Mitchell said: "There is an automatic four-match suspension on an official who has been found guilty for the second time of misconduct in the technical area.
"Gordon Strachan chose to appeal against that four-match ban and presented his case to the disciplinary committee and the outcome was a two-match suspension.
"This been applied with immediate effect which takes in the CIS Cup match tomorrow and the next league match.
"The committee has the discretion to impose whatever sanction it sees fit.
"But he has a right to appeal should he so choose and if he chooses to take it further it will go to an independent appeals tribunal.
"He obviously has to appeal by tomorrow evening.
"It is in everyone's interests to resolve this case to a final conclusion before addressing the next one."

TeamTalk

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Adams content at Colchester
Assistant would only leave for 'fantastic' offer

Colchester assistant manager Micky Adams has insisted he is happy at the club, after rumours linked him with the vacant manager's job at Gillingham.
Adams has taken a step down to be Geraint William's assistant at Colchester, after previously managing Brighton, Leicester and Coventry.
And reports had linked the former Gillingham player with the manager's role at the club, vacated by Ronnie Jepson earlier this month.
"It's flattering to be linked and I still want to be a manager but the arrangement is still the same," Adams said in the Colchester Gazette.

Right Opportunity
"It will have to be the right opportunity for me and as I speak I'm very, very happy working for Colchester. Unless it's a fantastic offer, I won't be going anywhere.
"Geraint and I have a fantastic working relationship and that's very important between the manager and his assistant."
Other names linked with the Gillingham job are former Luton boss Mike Newell and the current caretaker management team of Mick Docherty and Iffy Onuora.
The Gills host League One's in-form team Leeds United on Saturday, and will look to improve on their poor start to the season.

SkySports

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En ex-ass.manager hauser opp en ex-on loan-spiller

Aidy is in Adam's fan club
AIDY BOOTHROYD claims Watford’s on-loan winger Adam Johnson can solve England’s left-midfield problem.
Johnson, 20, has shone since joining the Championship leaders on a three-month deal from Middlesbrough.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390000-2007440779,00.html

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From The Chelski website

Mark Beeney
Reserve team and Academy goalkeeper coach. Formerly a goalkeeper with Leeds.

http://www.leedsfans.org.uk/leeds/players/470.html
http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=144
http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=553



Former Leeds United goalkeeper Mark Beeney talks to Andy Starmore:
http://www.pitchside.net/interviews/interview.php?id=7

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Brian Kidd is bidding to revive his managerial career after being placed on a shortlist of eight for the Gillingham job. (Daily Mirror)

Ex-Manchester United No.2 and former Blackburn boss Brian Kidd is on an eight-man shortlist for the vacant Gillingham manager's job. (Various)

Former Leicester boss Martin Allen and Graham Rix are also in the running to take the Priestfield job. (Various)

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Boss banking on Joachim
Darlington boss Dave Penney wants veteran forward Julian Joachim to fire his side to victory over Peterborough this weekend.
Joachim banged in four goals for the Quakers against Posh last season, and Penney hopes more of the same on Saturday will be enough for his side to continue their good start to the season.
Darlington top the table on goal difference heading into the contest against the bookies' pre-season favourites for League Two.
Penney has been full of praise for former Leicester and Aston Villa man Joachim, saying: "We always knew he had the ability, but his work-rate is also excellent.
"He has played in a lot of big games, so he can cope with that and raise his game when he needs to."

TeamTalk

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Celtic striker Scott McDonald is hoping Mark Viduka will stay on with the Australian national side so they can forge a striking partnership. (The Sun)

Newcastle striker Alan Smith is a big moto-cross fan and on his Sunday's off often gets up at 6am and heads off to meetings. (Daily Telegraph)

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Aspin and Allen in Vale links
Two bosses express interest in vacant manager's role
Former Leicester City boss Martin Allen and current Harrogate Town manager Neil Aspin have both thrown their names in the hat to replace Martin Foyle as Port Vale manager.
The Valiants are currently managerless after Foyle walked out of the club this week following a poor start to the season.
The two potential candidates to replace him have had impressive managerial records in recent years and have both expressed an interest in the job.

Aspin
Aspin played 409 games as a Vale player, and as a manager has led Harrogate to a strong position in the Blue Square Conference North after three years in charge.
The 42-year-old is now keen to take up a post in league football, but admits he has a good relationship with his current club in North Yorkshire.
"I had 10 years at Vale and it was a big part of my life. I lived in the area for nine years and made a lot of friends," he said in the Sentinel.
"If the opportunity came up I would have to speak to my chairman at Harrogate first as I have a good relationship with him."  (.....)

Hele: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11719_2762681,00.html

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ROBBIE FOWLER has warned the Championship: “I’m back to my best.”
Cardiff striker Fowler, 32, has hit four goals in his last two games.
The ex-Liverpool ace said: “I’ve not had many competitive games.
“I’m glad the goals have started to come as that’s what I’m here to do. I’m close to being as fit as I want to be.”

The Sun

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Fulham have God on their side
Dennis Wise sat David Healy down at Leeds United to try to crack the enigma. Kevin Blackwell had done the same before him and so had Craig Brown when they were at Preston.
The thing they all wanted to know was this: Why can't Healy score as many goals for his club as he scores for his country?
It is hard to imagine what they expected to hear in reply. Healy's club record might not match his phenomenal Northern Ireland strike rate, but it is still pretty good. The modest man from County Down, apart from happily admitting he is "not very tall and not very quick", is not prone to long periods of self-analysis.
"I just can't put my finger on it," said 5ft 8in Healy, who now plays for Fulham. "I've been asked by previous managers why I score so many international goals against supposedly better defenders, but I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about it.
"Confidence is everything for strikers and when I turn up I'm expecting to score â€" and I think the whole country is expecting me to score."
For the record, Healy has 32 in 59 games for his country. That is more international goals than Alan Shearer, Ian Rush or Kenny Dalglish and a superior strike rate to Michael Owen.
He annihilated the all-time Northern Ireland goal record of 13, previously held by Colin Clarke, and has 12 in the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign alone, equalling a record held by Croatia's Davor Suker, with three games to play.
Healy said: "When I first came on to the scene and scored a couple, people were saying I could beat the record. Then I scored five or six and they were saying maybe I could double it.
"At that time, anyone saying they were going to score 20 goals for Northern Ireland would have been picked up and put in a straitjacket."
At club level, Healy has 80 league goals in 286 appearances, although 70 of those were as a substitute.
His first Premier League goal was a gift from Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann on the opening day of this season, but he took his tally to three with a goal in the Carling Cup against Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday.
Healy, a £1.5million July signing from Leeds, said: "If I hadn't scored for Fulham already there would be people saying I'm a waste of money, or I'm out of my depth, or I can't make the step up. Fortunately, I was bought on the cheap. I don't have a £5m price tag."
If anyone is going to convert Healy's prolific international strike rate into Premier League goals then it is surely Lawrie Sanchez, the man who managed him at Northern Ireland for three successful years.
Fulham boss Sanchez made the Leeds striker a priority signing as soon as he took over permanently at Craven Cottage and he will be hoping for another special goal when the team head to Chelsea today.
Healy insists he does not have a favourite goal, but one matters more than most in Belfast. It is the goal which sank England and convinced Irish fans to call him 'God'.
It also meant he could never enjoy a quiet pint in a pub back home. "It was a special goal for me," said the striker. "It was a goal that just made you believe. That was a huge night for the supporters. Lawrie said we'd go down as national heroes if we won. And we have. Ask 95 per cent of Northern Ireland fans and they can name the team that night.
"It's hard to go out in Belfast. It's not so bad walking down the street, people will second-glance you. But it's difficult on a night out with friends and family. Sometimes I feel a bit embarrassed."
At least 'God' helped him shake the 'New George Best' tag he acquired when he signed for Manchester United from school.
Healy, 28, said: "No matter how good you were when you arrived at Old Trafford from Northern Ireland, whether you were a striker or a centre half, people just assumed you were the next George Best. Norman Whiteside had it, too.
"I made my debut for Northern Ireland and people starting thinking: he plays for United, he's scored a couple, we'll call him the New George Best.
"It never once put added pressure on me. I never thought: 'Oh no, I haven't scored in that game, they won't call me the New George Best any more'."
Healy was star-struck when he met the legendary Best and asked his hero to sign one of his Northern Ireland shirts. The Fulham striker is now helping raise funds for the George Best Memorial Trust, set up to pay for a statue in Belfast.
He has followed the same path as his idol from Northern Ireland, to Old Trafford and now to Craven Cottage, although the similarities end there.
Healy insists he does not live the Best lifestyle, quickly adding: "Apart from the Miss World waiting in the car!"
He does not pretend to boast Best's talent but he does have an eye for goal and a sense for the big occasion.
With two away wins in two-and-ahalf years and with Chelsea looking to extend a three-year unbeaten home record, Fulham could do with both God and Best in the team at Stamford Bridge.

fulhamweb.com

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quote:Originally posted by kjelvi

Alan Smith is a big moto-cross fan and on his Sunday's off often gets up at 6am and heads off to meetings. (Daily Telegraph)

Alan Smith finds life beyond the pitch
(av journalisten Alan Smith)

It had to happen sooner or later; that I tracked down the little blighter who has been going around telling people that his name is Alan Smith. Of all the nerve. There should be some kind of law to deter such barefaced cheek, especially when the footballer in question has now managed to fool three clubs.
The latest are Newcastle United, where Sam Allardyce is trying to usher in a brand new era and saw fit this summer to invest in the 'imposter'.
Ambitious: Alan Smith always aims to be the best starting line-up
Smith, of course, is anything but that. As honest as they come on the field, the lad with Leeds in his blood and Manchester United on his CV pitches up on Tyneside to further a career that has taken one or two unexpected turns since a dashing young blond burst on to the scene at Elland Road.
While the horrific broken leg and dislocated ankle, which he sustained at Liverpool in February last year, stymied his progress at Old Trafford, so too did the player's versatility. Having joined the club as a striker, Smith's willingness, and indeed his effectiveness at filling in further back, turned him into a squad man who could not be sure of a place in Sir Alex Ferguson's best starting line-up.
"That was the main reason I left really," he says, thinking back to last season. "The strangest thing from my point of view was that the manager said I was one of the most popular players they have had there. He said he couldn't say that I shouldn't be playing in the team because when I had played I had performed as well, if not better than anyone.
"But he couldn't guarantee that I would be picked for the big games. And those are the ones you want to be involved in. It was a compliment in a way, but it was also why I left. If you play for Man United you want to play in the big games. If you don't and you're not disappointed, that's the day to pack in."
That's Smith all over. Straightforward and candid, as befitting his strong Yorkshire roots, the 26-year-old remains in love with the game. His boyish enthusiasm might sometimes get him into trouble (he has already picked up four yellow cards this season; three in the league, one in the Carling Cup) but there is no doubting his good intentions, on or off the pitch.
It was during the 18 months he spent on the sidelines recovering from injury that Smith and his agent came up with the idea of starting a scheme to support young sports people. Tengo, they call the company, in reference to tennis (a game Smith has always played) and golf, the two sports mainly targeted for financial support. Promising youngsters from 12 to 16 are awarded grants to help pay their costs, whether for equipment, coaching or simply travel.
"A lot of kids drop out of those sports because their parents can't afford to take their kids to the other end of the country to, say, play in a golf tournament," Smith explains. "We have got one lad who had to go to South America for a tennis tournament. He gets the funding for that but it's only for him. He would have had to go on his own. So we provide the funds for his mum and dad to go with him. When you are 16 or 17 that's going to make a huge difference because spending two or three weeks away on your own is not easy at that age."
Smith speaks from experience. As a teenager, he dropped out of the Football Association's now-defunct National Centre of Excellence due to homesickness. Before that, though, aged eight, he had won the British BMX cycling championships.
"The world championships were in Florida but mum and dad couldn't afford to take me," he says. "So I know how difficult it is for parents to fund sports like that. That's why people switch to football â€" because it's there for you. It doesn't cost much money."
Smith has not spoken publicly about this project before. He sees no need, arguing that it is about helping the kids rather than generating publicity. "None of them know that I'm involved in it. Not the young ones anyway. They just think that it's a sports agency. I like it that way. It's not necessary for them to know.
"All I want to get out of it really is for someone to come up to me â€" whether they're good, bad or indifferent â€" and say 'thanks for giving us a chance'. That's what it's about â€" being as good as you possibly can be. It also gives me an interest outside football. This game can take over your world. It is nice to be able to come away from football and do something else."
In that regard, moto-cross is another long-standing passion, not just for Smith but also for his family and friends living in the Rothwell area on the outskirts of Leeds. Given a free Sunday, he will get up at six and go along to a meeting. "It's class," he confirms with obvious pride. "Nobody bothers you. They know you're there because you love bikes. Everyone's there for the same thing."
Similarly, Newcastle's £6?million signing sees signs of a growing togetherness at St James' Park. It has not, admittedly, been the most spectacular of starts but a win at Manchester City at lunchtime today would hoist the side into second place.
"I wanted to join a club that could achieve something," Smith explains. "I could have signed for Newcastle before, when I were at Leeds, but this time I just felt it was right. It's a totally new regime â€" new chairman, new board, new manager, new staff and new players. I decided I wanted to come to see what it were all about.
"There's an excitement to it as well. At Manchester United we could go out at times and play to 70 per cent of our maximum and still win. We can't do that here. Like at Leeds, we have got to be at the races to get a result. But there's no better feeling than that â€" everyone pulling together, all for one and all that. We are starting to get that spirit now."
Spirit: Smith has never been short of that. In fact, I would go as far to say he does the old name proud.

www.telegraph.co.uk

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I farta 29/9

Barnsley - Cardiff 1-1. 0-1 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (73).
Watford - Blackpool 1-1. 1-0 Adam Johnson (41).
Hull - Ipswich 3-1. 3-1 Dan Harding (45).
Huddersfield - Luton 2-0. 2-0: Danny Cadamatteri (60).

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Harry Kewell is facing a battle to win a new Liverpool contract after struggling with a groin problem. (People)

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Grimsby dismiss Bridges move talk
Grimsby boss Alan Buckley has dismissed reports linking Hull striker Michael Bridges with a move to Blundell Park.
Hull had rejected a July bid from the Mariners to take the 29-year-old on loan, but he has since been linked with a three-month loan switch to Grimsby.
But Buckley told Grimsby's website: "I honestly know nothing about it. As far as I know he isn't about to come here."
Bridges, who joined Hull from Carlisle in the summer of 2006, has made eight appearances for the Tigers this season.