Hoop Blah Rodgers has talked about needing a link man, and Smith seems to be his top target.
Whether he see's him as that link man is another thing, I'm not sure that any of the players would know for a fact what Rodgers had in store for him even if he/W&E are telling the truth.
The link man Rodgers keeps mentioning doen't have to be in that advanced midfield position (the one a lot of people want to see Matejovsky given a decent chance in*). It could be the central forward being able to play with his back to goal and bringing the other attacking players into the game a bit more, or even one of the wide forwards doing much the same.
*Ian Royal, Matejovsky can play that position, you don't have to be athletic at all to excel in that position. Who have been the best players 'in the hole' over the last 10-15 years? Cantona, Sheringham, Zola, Berkamp, Scholes and even Giggs as he's got older. None of them are great runners and Matejovsky is ideally suited to that role because he has the vision to pick a pass and the touch and awareness to make himself space and get his head up when under pressure. They're much more important qualities in that position than, for example, Gerrards ability to make bursting runs beyond the ball.
For what it's worth, I can't really see us playing that link man 'in the hole' like that anyway. Early indications are that Rodgers favours a 4-3-3 more akin to the Chelsea way of playing than the way Liverpool or United went about playing with two more defensive midfields and 'a number 10' playing off the forward.
Whatever happens, the signing of Smith will improve the starting XI and give us more of a threat whether he's played centrally or on the right. I'd still hope we sign a talior made centre forward as well though, as I'm not convinced that Long, Church or Hunt will really suit that role.
Interesting times though!
I think that I agree with your post, but it still doesn't make it any clearer to me how Smith will strengthen the team apart from being a more trusted RIGHT SIDED midfielder than we have at the moment.
Will he create/score the goals that we will need to get any where near the play offs? (Or Is BR planning on a Mourinho/Chelsea style season of 1-0 wins?)
Why, when we are getting rid of "older" players en masse and building a team with the emphasis on youth would we spend £1m+ on a 29 year old who will have no discernable resale value? (I think that we are heading that way as a club - if ever we were any different)
Is another midfielder our major priority at the moment? What about a decent striker (or is that too option expensive to contemplate?)
