Alan Smith: Savouring life in League Two

Life in League Two might have more in common with amateur football than the Premier League. County, the oldest professional football club in the world, are without a permanent training ground. During my visit the squad crams into the pokiest of rooms for a weights session. These are men who drive hatchbacks rather than Ferraris and worry that every season might be their last as a professional footballer. But if they want better, Smith can show them the way.

“I have to be angry to play and there’s a lot to get angry about at this level. But I appreciate that you can’t ask these players to sacrifice everything, because they aren’t earning life-changing money and might never play at a higher level. So now I look at players and think they should be enjoying it more than they do.”

Smith enjoyed his salad days at Elland Road, although perhaps not enough. Having graduated from Leeds’s academy, an 18-year-old Smith made his debut in November 1998, scoring in a 3-1 win against Liverpool at Anfield. He earned a reputation as a fierce competitor who respected no-one on the pitch. Smith, who also scored a goal or two, encapsulated the impish spirit of his team.

Under David O’Leary, a young Leeds side finished third in the Premier League in 2000 while also reaching the last four of the Uefa Cup. The following season saw their improbable journey to the Champions League semi-finals, after which things went awry. Leeds had overreached and Smith had reached his peak.

“I’ve never spoken about it because I’ve never felt I had to justify myself. By trying to justify the move I would have dragged the name of Leeds United through the mud and been disrespectful to Man Utd, by suggesting I only went there because I had to. I did say on telly that I’d never play for Man Utd. But Leeds always said they’d never sell me and I thought they’d never get relegated.

“The new owners of the club told me that if I didn’t sign for Man Utd, there was a chance Leeds might go under.

"Man Utd weren’t offering the most, but they were paying up front. I understood why people slagged me off – I did it myself when Eric Cantona left Leeds for Man Utd. But I was joining the biggest club in Britain, and it was a massive honour that Sir Alex Ferguson wanted me.”

Younger football fans might wonder why the cross-Pennine rivals are considered rivals at all, given that Leeds haven’t played in the same division since Smith left. But that just demonstrates how far Leeds United tumbled.

Smith scored 10 goals in his first season at Old Trafford before Ferguson tried to convert him into a central midfielder. But the defining moment of Smith’s Manchester United career happened in an FA Cup tie against Liverpool in February 2006, when he broke his leg and dislocated his ankle attempting to block a John Arne Riise free-kick. The sight of Gary Neville wincing and Ronaldo looking to the heavens told you all you needed to know about the severity of the injuries. Smith, he admits, was never the same player.

“The surgeon told me it was touch and go if I’d play again. And while I was out injured, I did think that maybe it was all over. It would have been so easy to walk away but it made me mentally stronger. That injury is the reason I still appreciate football so much and do everything to maintain my playing career.”

A week after suffering the injuries, Smith watched his team-mates thrash Wigan Athletic 4-0 in the Carling Cup final, in which he was meant to have started. They collected the trophy wearing T-shirts bearing the legend: ‘For you Smudge.’ Laid up in a hospital bed, Smith struggled to hold back the tears.

To characterise Smith’s time at Old Trafford as a disaster would be inaccurate. He won a Premier League title and a League Cup, played in an FA Cup final and scored in a 7-1 victory over Roma in a Champions League quarter-final. Nevertheless, Smith characterises his whole career as “a disappointment”.

“I knew at the age of 14 that I’d play for Leeds’s first team. I’d run through a brick wall, had that edge, a little bit of a nasty streak the club was known for. There are kids now signing for clubs at 16 and they might still be playing under-23s football seven years later.

They’re not putting pressure on themselves. I was knocking on the gaffer’s door at 17, telling him I was ready to play, wanting to knock experienced players out of the team. I didn’t care if nobody liked me.

“I loved my time at Newcastle (who Smith played for between 2007 and 2012). But I knew how good I was and what I could have achieved. I’ve drained every single drop out of myself but that injury restricted what I was able to do.”

It says a great deal about Smith’s personality that he turned down a move to America, where he has a house, in 2012 and joined MK Dons in League One instead. Smith calculated that life in the American leagues wouldn’t make him angry and that he’d rather be smashing opponents on a dank night in Yeovil.

Smith was still busy smashing opponents in Exeter two nights ago. And what a night it was – a booking for Smith, County 2-nil down after 90 minutes, two injury-time goals, a 2-2 draw, a precious point. Does that sound like a sad situation to you? You can bet your life that Smith loved every minute of it.

“I’m still obsessive about football. Whichever club I join, I think to myself: ‘Can I leave something behind? Can I make an impact? Can I change the mentality of the club?’ When I do retire, I’ll miss it like you wouldn’t believe.”