Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊

Register Log in

Craig Mackail-Smith



Icy Gull

Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
BensGrandad said:
I think that his first touch was down to the fact that we hit and hoped it would be near him or he could run onto it. Had the approach work been better he would have done better IMHO.
Click to expand...

His ball control was shit, how would that have possibly have changed regardless of how we played. Running on to a moving ball going in the same direction as him at pace was his strength. Anything more involved or technical, he wasn't good enough above League One imo.
 
Last edited:




One Teddy Maybank

One Teddy Maybank

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Aug 4, 2006
21,595
Worthing
Icy Gull said:
His ball control was shit, how would that have possibly have changed regardless of how we played. Running on to a moving ball going in the same direction as him at pace was his strength. Anything more involved or technical, he wasn't good enough above League One imo.
Click to expand...

Quite. His second touch is a sliding tackle as they say.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 




R

Rogero

Well-known member
Aug 4, 2010
5,713
Shoreham
Before we signed him I saw him playing for Posh on TV. I remember being so impressed with him that I phoned a mate and told him to watch an amazing player. I was so plased when we signed. However it has been a slow realization that he is not championship level. He gets by with an amazing work rate. . Shame ,he seems a really nice guy. Good luck to him.
 


H

Herne Hill Seagull

Well-known member
Jul 10, 2003
2,977
Galicia
All of the above notwithstanding, I liked him. We've had far, far worse players than him in the shirt, and we've had players who were better than him but couldn't be titted to put anything like the sort of effort in that he did. Even if ultimately he didn't score the goals we'd hoped he was going to, his signing represented the sea-change at the club - that we could go after another team's top man and get him, that we could pay that sort of money for anybody. I accept the stuff about technical limitations, but if he hadn't suffered that injury, who knows how he might have performed in a more flexible system, or one better suited to him, under another manager?
 




Mellotron

Mellotron

I've asked for soup
Jul 2, 2008
31,826
Brighton
Cowfold Seagull said:
I don't think so. He was simply a very good goalscorer that didn't fit into Gus's rigid system of playing with only one main striker. If he had signed for someone else he could well have scored plenty of goals at a higher lever, and made more of a name for himself.

Then of course came that serious injury, and he just isn't the player that he once was.

Good to see him scoring goals again though, even if it is just two so far!
Click to expand...

Never showed himself to be up to Championship level, having been given countless opportunities and a HUGE amount of support. Lovely fella, totally brainless on a football pitch and a touch to rival Rohan Ince's.
 








Mellotron

Mellotron

I've asked for soup
Jul 2, 2008
31,826
Brighton
Triggaaar said:
Opportunities in a system that didn't suit him. He'd have done very well in the team we have now.
Click to expand...

We must've played INNUMERABLE different formations, sets of players and systems in the time he was with us. If a player requires an entire team and formation to be based round him for him to look even passable at this level....you realise how insane that sounds, right?

RE: "He'd have done very well in the team we have now." No he wouldn't. His first touch, positional ability and intelligence (when someone whacks a ball over to you, DON'T sprint at 150mph towards the ball and attempt to control it while jumping in the air!) are about 10% that of Baldock's.

The ONLY similarity between the two players is that they both "run around a lot". They are very dissimilar players otherwise, Baldock is far more similar to Ashley Barnes in his all-round attributes.

Also, if he had done "very well" in a top end Championship team, why exactly was his next club Luton Town, a League Two side in which he didn't always start? Considering he'd be good in a top Championship side, obviously he'd absolutely rip up League Two (Games 35, Goals 4).
 
Last edited:




Mellotron

Mellotron

I've asked for soup
Jul 2, 2008
31,826
Brighton
wellquickwoody said:
Not after he left Peterborough he wasn't!
Click to expand...

He has a good scoring record (in League One) at one club, a club that played in an insanely haphazard, ultra attacking, you-score-3-we'll-score-4 way.
 




Bwian

Bwian

Kiss my (_!_)
Jul 14, 2003
15,898
Cowfold Seagull said:
He was simply a very good goalscorer
Click to expand...
We are still talking about Craig Mackail Smith? Long blonde hair, runs about like a puppy chasing a ball, answers to the call of 'Muttley'?

Like most Albion fans I was delighted that we had signed him. Seems like a lovely guy, worked hard, etc., etc. Sadly not good enough for what we were looking to do-get promoted. Headed the ball like Kryten would and looked as though he had 50p shaped toes on his boots. One thing he isn't is a very good goal scorer.
 




Triggaaar

Triggaaar

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2005
50,156
Goldstone
Mellotron said:
We must've played INNUMERABLE different formations, sets of players and systems in the time he was with us.
Click to expand...
How often did we play 2 up front, prior to his injury? And it's not like he never scored for us.

If a player requires an entire team and formation to be based round him for him to look even passable at this level....you realise how insane that sounds, right?
Click to expand...
Well I don't like to be rude to you Mellotron, but yes, you sound a little off. CMS easily looked passable at this level (prior to injury) even with the wrong system. I expect he'd have looked pretty good in the 442 we now play.

Also, if he had done "very well" in a top end Championship team, why exactly was his next club Luton Town, a League Two side in which he didn't always start?
Click to expand...
Because his injury ruined him.
 




DJ NOBO

DJ NOBO

Well-known member
Jul 18, 2004
6,332
Wiltshire
Cowfold Seagull said:
I don't think so. He was simply a very good goalscorer that didn't fit into Gus's rigid system of playing with only one main striker. If he had signed for someone else he could well have scored plenty of goals at a higher lever, and made more of a name for himself.

Then of course came that serious injury, and he just isn't the player that he once was.

Good to see him scoring goals again though, even if it is just two so far!
Click to expand...

Scored at the weekend so he's on three. Of course I would be delighted for him if his career had an indian summer.
 


Weststander

Weststander

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Aug 25, 2011
63,881
Withdean area
big nuts said:
He was comfortably Championship quality before his injury. Played in a formation and style which didn't play to his strengths, he still went about his business without ever complaining and still scored goals at a reasonable rate. An instinctive finisher but given time in front of goal you never backed him to score.

The Burnley 9 man game typified his spell with us. Had a very good game, ran his nuts off but couldn't finish his dinner let along a presentable chance on the day.

By the end of his time with us he was a broken man both mentally and physically. But I wish him well, a whole hearted player.
Click to expand...

CMS's CHAMPIONSHIP goals scoring record was:

Peterborough - 10 league goals in 43 league starts (long before an injury & in a team playing kamikaze football ideal for CMS)
Brighton 2011/12 and 2012/13 - 21 goals in 81 appearances all competitions (before injury)

= 31 goals over almost three seasons at Championship level.

PL promotion teams don't have a leading striker with such paltry stats. But he could chase defenders all day long and supporters who met said he was a lovely bloke.
 




B

big nuts

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2011
4,864
Hove
Weststander said:
CMS's CHAMPIONSHIP goals scoring record was:

Peterborough - 10 league goals in 43 league starts (long before an injury & in a team playing kamikaze football ideal for CMS)
Brighton 2011/12 and 2012/13 - 21 goals in 81 appearances all competitions (before injury)

= 31 goals over almost three seasons at Championship level.

PL promotion teams don't have a leading striker with such paltry stats. But he could chase defenders all day long and supporters who met said he was a lovely bloke.
Click to expand...

30+ Championship goals even over that time frame would suggest he was Championship quality albeit nowhere near top level.

Those 30 goals came despite playing for a relegated team and for us often isolated and rarely playing to strengths.
 




Baldseagull

Baldseagull

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2012
10,941
Crawley
Weststander said:
CMS's CHAMPIONSHIP goals scoring record was:

Peterborough - 10 league goals in 43 league starts (long before an injury & in a team playing kamikaze football ideal for CMS)
Brighton 2011/12 and 2012/13 - 21 goals in 81 appearances all competitions (before injury)

= 31 goals over almost three seasons at Championship level.

PL promotion teams don't have a leading striker with such paltry stats. But he could chase defenders all day long and supporters who met said he was a lovely bloke.
Click to expand...

Better tell Huddersfield to give up now then.
 


Wrong-Direction

Wrong-Direction

Well-known member
Mar 10, 2013
13,415
Do miss his song though..

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk
 


You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Albion and Premier League latest from Sky Sports


Top
Link Here