Alan Smith was always one of my favourite Arsenal players. ‘Smudger’ had immense talent, but a low-key approach to the game. Heads Up is written in the same modest style. Smith makes a point of telling you that - unlike most of his contemporaries - he chose not to use a ghostwriter.
The result is a down-to-earth
account of his wonderfully successful career.
If anything, Smith downplays his achievements, and there is a fascinating insight into his character when he writes honestly about his difficulty in dealing with the arrival of the force of nature that was Ian Wright. At the end of the 1990/91 season, Smith was a league champion, scorer of 23 league goals and Golden Shoe winner for the second time in three seasons. After Wright’s arrival, the goals dried up, and his confidence evaporated.
If anything, Smith downplays his achievements, and there is a fascinating insight into his character when he writes honestly about his difficulty in dealing with the arrival of the force of nature that was Ian Wright. At the end of the 1990/91 season, Smith was a league champion, scorer of 23 league goals and Golden Shoe winner for the second time in three seasons. After Wright’s arrival, the goals dried up, and his confidence evaporated.
Heads up documents Smith’s rise
to Arsenal and England via Alvechurch and Leicester, and the glorious swansong
to his Arsenal career - scoring the only goal in the unlikely win against Parma
in the European Cup Winners Cup in Copenhagen in 1994.
Smith offers a unique perspective
on Anfield 89, and the incredible ups and downs of the Arsenal teams in the
early 1990s - both on and off the pitch. For me though, what makes this book
special, is Smith’s description of his friendship with David Rocastle. The
Smith family have remained close with the Rocastle family - they spend
Christmases together - and Smudger’s accounts of his time with Rocky are
genuinely moving.
Heads up was longlisted for the
William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2018.
Heads Up by Alan Smith is available from Amazon.
You can read more about Alan Smith on the Nostalgic Gooner blog.