PLAYER PROFILE

Alan Smith

Position: Forward

Height: 5'10

Weight: 11st 0lbs

Date of Birth: 1980-10-28 Rothwell, England

Alan Smith

Scoring in front of the Kop at Anfield with your first touch in senior football may be your average schoolboy dream, but it is one which became reality for Alan Smith. But the fans who hailed him for five seasons were to end up despising him after his decision to move to Manchester United.

Smith completed his controversial £7million switch from Leeds and immediately set his sights on ousting either Ruud van Nistelrooy or Louis Saha from Sir Alex Ferguson's first-choice side. Understanding completely the revulsion being felt on the eastern side of the Pennines at his decision, the 23-year-old England forward was determined he will not put himself through such trauma just to be a substitute.

Even Eric Cantona's switch from Elland Road in 1992 won favour on the red half of the Pennines. The problem for United fans this time was a combination of Smith's long-expressed support for Leeds and the fact his goalscoring record for the West Yorkshire outfit - 58 goals in 211 games - did not inspire confidence.

Ferguson though was a long-time admirer and warmed to the Yorkshireman even more when he stuck his neck out to declare he was only interested in a move to Old Trafford despite interest from Everton, Middlesbrough and Newcastle.

Sadly for Smith, in his first season United turned out not to be a team of winners as they ended the season trophy-less. However, on a personal note, he began it successfully - with a goal in the FA Community Shield against Arsenal - and continued from there on in.

In the abundant United strike force, he managed to make 41 appearances banging in 9 goals altogether, including 2 in Europe. He was sent off in a frustrating Manchester derby in November at Old Trafford.

In 2005/06 after the departure of Roy Keane, Smith was converted by Sir Alex Ferguson into a makeshift central midfielder, putting in good displays against the likes of Chelsea. However, his season was abruptly and painfully ended in February 2006 when he broke his leg and dislocated his ankle in a freak accident at Anfield, leaving him facing a very lengthy lay-off from the game.

The departure of Ruud van Nistelrooy in the summer of 2006 increased Smith's chances of getting a regular start for United back in his old position, but it took him most of 2006/07 to fully recover from his horrific injury.

He rejected the offer of a loan move to Cardiff in January 2007 in order to fight for his place. However, despite some solid performances, he still couldn't find regular first-team football and joined Newcastle United in August 2007.