Fowler factor may shake up Smith

13 April 2012

David O'Leary's interest in buying Liverpool and England striker Robbie Fowler could not have been revived at a worse time for Alan Smith, whose fiery temperament now threatens to undermine his promising career.

Leeds manager O'Leary is expected to fine his young striker this week for his fifth red card in the last two years and the deduction will no doubt be accompanied by the sharp reminder that his petulance came at the price of dropped points against Aston Villa following a 1-1 draw.

There is no doubt O'Leary has long been an admirer of Fowler and that interest has been conveyed to Anfield formally on a couple of occasions.

The answer has always been that Fowler is not for sale, but circumstances seem to have changed and Liverpool might now be prepared to incur the wrath of their supporters as they contemplate a Leeds bid. O'Leary is not prepared to go as high as the £15million Liverpool will demand and they will not take part in an auction with the likes of Lazio or Blackburn Rovers, who have both expressed an interest in the England striker. But the Leeds boss now believes the set-up and the potential at Elland Road might tempt Fowler.

Smith would be wise to take note, because he is of little use to Leeds when he cannot be relied upon to control that streak which leads him into repeated conflict with officialdom.

Referees have become so aware of Smith's niggling acts of retribution that they keep their eye on him after the ball has been played, as Neale Barry did during the skirmish with Alpay that led to his latest red card.

Even as he was marching off the field, Smith swore at the Villa bench, clearly believing that Alpay's over-reaction to an elbow in the ribs had led to his dismissal. He was brought up within shouting distance of Elland Road, is a former ball boy and devoted to the club with a passion. He calls himself a fan who has taken to the pitch, in much the same way David Batty does.

Perhaps it is Batty who should now take him to one side and persuade him that his natural aggression has to be channelled in a more positive direction.

Ironically, just 48 hours before the match against Villa, Smith had been suggesting he had learned his lesson over needless retaliation, making his elbow on Alpay all the more unforgivable.

He had said: 'The gaffer and the rest of the staff have tried to control me and I am learning from what they say. But there are occasions when I can't stay on the right side. Sometimes you overflow.'

Neither Leeds, nor England, can afford a player whose temperament is that suspect and O'Leary will not hesitate to take the necessary action of unloading Smith if the spate of red cards continues to blight his career.

The bitterness from Sunday's match was further aggravated yesterday by Lee Hendrie, given a yellow card for a push in the face on Danny Mills which so angered his manager John Gregory that he substituted him and then ordered him to the dressing room.

But Hendrie has now accused Mills of trying to get him sent off. 'It's pathetic that he tried to get another player sent off, a fellow professional - it was unbelievable,' he said. 'But Mills has got a reputation for it and I don't agree with the way he has gone about things.

'All I tried to do was kick the ball out of play when it came over because there was someone injured, and as I turned around he pushed me. I pushed him back and he made a meal of it.'

That may not be the end of the story for Hendrie, though. If the referee's report reveals that neither he nor the linesman he consulted actually saw the Villa man shove a hand into Mills' face, then the FA can turn his yellow card into a red.

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Fowler factor may shake up Smith

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