Goodbye Alan Smith, Welcome Tevez

Friday 3rd August, returned from my Maths private lessons and as I always do, switched on my computer to browse the internet. Checked Skysports.com , Thesun.co.uk, Tribalfootball.com and last and not least Manutd.com. They all had one thing in common, the same headline, 'ALAN SMITH SIGNS FOR NEWCASTLE'. Five words that left my heart broken.

I just don't know why, Smith never did anything amazing, he rarely scored yet he took over a lot of Man Utd's supporters hearts. Maybe his determination and love for the game did so. He really reminded me of Roy Keane, his character and will to fight for the club is what must have won him over the reds faithful as well as his goals in the begining of his Man Utd career. The strike against Arsenal in the Charity Shield and his superb volley against Norwich were amongst those goals.

His first season for Man Utd was OK, he played a couple of games but the arrival of Wayne Rooney and the great form of Van Nistelrooy meant Smith stayed on the bench for most of the games. This is when United fell short of midfielders, and Smith played in a midfield position. Game after game he showed what he's made of, a player with 'balls' to be precise. His best game coming against Chelsea when Man Utd won 1-0. Smith kept playing in the same midfield role until disaster struck, Anfield proved to be an unhappy venue for him in February 2006, when he sustained a broken leg and dislocated ankle on Merseyside.

That sidelined him for seven months, before a brief return to first team action and a further four month absence. He returned at the end of last season, and his performances proved priceless for the Red Devils, His last goal in a Man Utd shirt came in the 7-1 thumping of Roma at Old Trafford and his last competitive game for the Red Devils was as an extra time substitute in the FA Cup Final defeat by Chelsea in May. One of my hereos has now left the club, it's really strange seeing him wearing the Black and White of Newcastle United, although I must admit not as strange as seeing Nicky Butt wearing the same strip or David Beckham wearing the white of Real Madrid but anyways, All The Best Smudger!

Smith will leave the club after three years. He's won a League Cup and a Premiership title with the club, made 93 appearances in which he scored 12 goals

Apart from this sad news, some great news also dominated the English papers, that of Tevez finally let to sign for Man Utd. His transfer saga literally lasted for about 2 months and now we can finally see him in the red of Man Utd. I hope Tevez delivers, some say he is quite similar to Rooney, well I hope he has got the same determination as him and that they gel together to form a lethal striking partnership, we'll just wait and see, he will most probably play in next Wednesday's Friendly.

Meanwhile Yesterday(Friday) Man Utd XI played against Doncaster Rovers FC, a friendly match played mostly with second string players apart from new signing Anderson who showed some classy touches. The game ended 2-0, with Gibson and Evans scoring. Today Man Utd played another friendly against Peterboro, United won 3-1 with Eckersley, Jones and Dong scoring. Dong's goal was quite spectacular, but the highlight of the came was the debut of Owen Hargreaves. United's next game is tomorow against Chelsea, in the season curtain raiser a.k.a The Cherity Shield. I hope We Win :D