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Alan Smith was part of a Leeds United team which took Europe by storm in 2001 by reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Now the MK Dons striker believes the underdog will have its day when Borussia Dortmund take on Bayern Munich in the Champions League Final tomorrow at Wembley Stadium.

Smith, whose Leeds’ side beat Lazio, Anderlecht, Real Madrid and Deportivo en route to the semi-final, has backed Dortmund to pull off a shock in the first-ever all-German Champions League Final.

Despite the fact that Bayern are current Budesliga champions, Smith is of the opinion that their recent history in the Champions League may prove too much of a mental battle.

Last season Bayern lost the final to Chelsea on penalties and in 2010 they reached the final in Spain, but were beaten 2-0 by Inter Milan.

Smith told mkdons.com: “I think there might be a shock – I think Dortmund might beat Bayern Munich. It would be unfair because Bayern should have won the Champions League three or four times over the past decade – they won it in 2001, which was the year I got to the semi-final.

“That was the last success they have had in it, and they have been to the final two times since then. When you have had difficult times in a completion you tend to start believing that the Gods are against you – like we do in the play-offs. You think that something could go wrong but you hope that it doesn’t.”

When both Bayern and Dortmund reached the semi-final stages, playing Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, few would have predicted both German outfits would be pitching up at Wembley this weekend.
 
Smith added: “I think everyone thought Bayern Munich would have a great chance, I think the Dortmond result, especially in the first-leg, was the one that people were shocked by but they have a great mix of youth and experience in their team.

“They have players who have been there for 15-20 years who have come through the system and they have young lads who have integrated into that system as well, I know our manager has a lot of respect for their philosophy and is keen to implement it here. That philosophy has helped them get to the Champions League Final and they could be European Champions at the end of the season.

“It’s funny that they were so close to going out of the competition, in the 93rd minute against Malaga they were getting knocked out but it shows how great their mentality is.”

source: mkdons.com

If anyone knows what life is like in the fast lane it is Alan Smith.
On the pitch he pushes the boundaries, as a youngster he saw a rapid rise to fame as a fresh-faced 18 year-old in a Leeds side which stormed Europe and he has 19 England caps to his name. He also knows how great highs can be destroyed by the ultimate lows and how to fight back in times of adversity.

Things could have been very different for Smith though, as an eight year old growing up in West Yorkshire he was obsessed with bikes of all forms and by the age of nine he was a national BMX champion. Football was something he had tried and told his parents he never wanted to play again, but his brother’s keenness persuaded him to try out for Rothwell Juniors and 10 years later he was making a name for himself in the Premier League with his beloved Leeds United.

“My life has never evolved around football,” Smith told mkdons.com, “and because of that I still love it so much. Growing up I wanted to ride motorbikes, I raced BMX as a kid so it’s strange that I always wanted to focus on a different sport but I happened to be good at football. When I finish football I am still looking forward to racing bikes so I keep a keen eye on that world.”

These days Smith’s passion for bikes burns brighter than ever, he still takes trips to motocross meetings across the UK and remains enthused by the toughest form of motor racing, MotoGP.

“I have always enjoyed a massive variation of sports, like MotoGP. I will be keeping a keen eye on that no matter where I am in the world.

“I think I like MotoGP so much because it’s an unfulfilled ambition and it’s a complete switch-off from football. You probably wouldn’t think that people who like football would like that type of sport, but my dad used to race motocross, a lot of my friends race bikes and it is a northern sport! It’s one of those things where you either love it or you hate it and I love it.

“I suppose it sums me up, I think I play football like riding a bike – I always push it to the limit! I always try my best in whatever I do. I think motorbike riders are incredible athletes; they put themselves through a lot more than we do.

“The race with broken legs, broken backs, you name it they’ve had it but they’ll still compete. Sometimes it amazes you because they crash at 200mph and race a week later. Heroes of mine were all motocross and motorbike riders rather than footballers. I only got into football when I played it at school; I fell into it whereas I love the bikes.”

While Smith himself admits people may be surprised by his interest in two wheels, he believes there is method behind the madness in looking up to a fellow sportsman.

“I have heroes – Jorge Lorenzo is my favourite. I have always looked at different sporting people as the ones who I idolise. If you look at people in different sports they always revert to the same stuff, it’s always mindset, mind over matter, the commitment and the passion.”

source: mkdons.com

Alan Smith is storming the popularity charts at MK Dons having sold more player postcards and personalised shirts than anyone else at the Club.

The former Manchester United and Newcastle striker-come-midfielder has proved a popular character in the Dons’ team with almost 150 Alan Smith postcards sold and 72 shirts with ‘Smith 11’ printed on the back.

Dons goalkeeper David Martin also rates highly in the postcards with 127 sold while skipper Dean Lewington is in third place with 116.

The return of Izale McLeod in January sparked a flurry of new shirts being printed with the number 13 and the striker is now in second place for the most amount of personalised shirts sold. Stephen Gleeson is the third most popular name to have on the supporters’ shirts while Darren Potter and Dean Bowditch are neck and neck in fourth spot.

You can pick up your postcards or get your shirts printed in the Club Superstore today. Alternatively, you can also go shopping via our Online Superstore.

source: mkdons.com

Alan Smith was named as the MK Dons player of the month on Saturday, but the former Manchester United and England star decided to give his prize bottle of champagne away.

Thirty-two-year-old Smith won the fans’ vote on www.mk-news.co.uk to clinch the award for February and was presented with the bubbly ahead of the fine 3-0 home victory over Tranmere.

But as he doesn’t drink, Smith decided to give the bottle away to Dons fan Linda Chown, who had won the right to carry out the presentation simply by voting in the online poll.

“I now have a nice bottle that has gone in the cupboard at home,” Linda said.

“I’m going to save it for my birthday in June.”

Smith is the fourth winner of the Player of the Month contest following on from Luke Chadwick, Antony Kay and Shaun Williams.

MK NEWS has teamed up with Karl Robinson’s Dons to allow fans to vote for their choice of player every month, by simply using the free online poll.

It means that the best performing members of the squad receive a monthly honour and one fan who votes will also be selected at random to win two top prizes.

The winning supporter gets to present the winning player with the bottle of champagne prior to a home match, and they will then watch the game for free with a guest of their choice thanks to two complimentary Club Red tickets.

“I enjoyed being at pitch side and we got a good result as well,” Linda added.

source: http://www.mk-news.co.uk/News/Football-Alan-Smith-named-as-MK-Dons-player-of-the-month-for-February-20130319101151.htm

By BOB HAYES

ALAN SMITH has known some great moments.

The striker played 19 times for England and helped Manchester United to the 2007 Premier League title.

Before that, aged just 20, he was a key part of Leeds’ charge to the Champions League semi-finals.

That incredible run when they squeezed Barcelona out in the group stages and Smith hit the winner in a 1-0 victory against Lazio in Rome.

These days, Smith, 32, plies his trade in Milton Keynes — home of the concrete cows.

More Moo Camp than Nou Camp, you might say.

But he rolled back the years on Saturday as he helped the League One club batter Harry Redknapp’s Premier League strugglers.

Goals from Dean Lewington, Ryan Lowe, Ryan Harley and Darren Potter put MK 4-0 up within an hour.

Smith admitted: “It’s one of the best results in my career and will be remembered as fondly as those I had for Leeds. Obviously it wasn’t as spectacular as who I was playing against — they were all European giants.

“But QPR are a Premier League team who have spent a lot of money. There are international players there.”

MK led after four minutes when skipper Lewington challenged QPR full-back Armand Traore and got a near-post touch to Shaun Williams’ corner.

Smith admitted: “The first 15 minutes was tough but a freak goal settled us down.

“We knew if we could get a couple of passes after we broke possession, we’d be dangerous on the break and that proved vital, especially in the second half.”

Smith, a losing FA Cup finalist with United back in 2007, has lost no love for the world’s greatest domestic cup competition.

He said: “It proves how special this competition is. We brought 3,000 fans — that’s the biggest the club has brought.

“It was the first time MK have been in the fourth round. It was a special occasion. A lot of Prem teams don’t view the FA Cup that way but the lower you go it’s still special.

“It was history for us so it meant a lot to everyone.”

Tomorrow the Dons travel to Yeovil, while shell-shocked QPR face champs Manchester City.

This victory was a triumph for Karl Robinson, 32, the youngest boss in all four divisions.

Redknapp made nine changes to his QPR side and they grabbed two late consolations through Jay Bothroyd and full-back Fabio.

Hitman Lowe, scorer of the second, said: “I’ve had a couple of FA Cup upsets.

“I was fortunate to be with Shrewsbury when we beat Everton 2-1. That was a proud moment for me as a Liverpool fan.

“The FA Cup has been good to me over the years — this has topped it off.”

Dons skipper Lewington, the club’s longest-serving player with 400 League appearances, was part of the MK side knocked out of the FA Cup third round by QPR last year.

He said: “We came here last season and did well and that gave us confidence.

“We knew we could match them in large parts of the game. But being 4-0 up was dream stuff.

“It was very strange when I looked up and saw the scoreboard.”

source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4765816/Alan-Smith-rolls-back-years-in-MK-Dons-victory-against-QPR.html#ixzz2JI4W0BC7

Last year Alan Smith watched QPR host MK Dons on TV, now he wants to help the Dons claim a Premier League scalp…
When the Dons last played Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road last year little did they know their performance would persuade a former England international to give up the dizzy heights of the Premier League to become part of the project at Milton Keynes.

In January 2012 MK Dons made the trip to W12 for their FA Cup third round replay after the R’s had forced a rematch with a 1-1 draw at stadiummk. The replay was shown live on television and one keen viewer that night was Alan Smith.

The Dons earned an array of plaudits that night, despite bowing out to a brave 1-0 defeat, and it was a performance that encouraged Smith to embark on his first loan spell, little did he know he would depart Newcastle for good in the summer to make his stay at MK1 permanent.

“It was the QPR game at Loftus Road last year that I watched on the telly and knew I wanted to come here. The lads played really well that day and I was really impressed. When I knew there was a possibility of coming to Milton Keynes I didn’t have any hesitation because I was really impressed with the lads.”

Smith played a pivotal role in setting up this season’s FA Cup with Budweiser fourth round encounter against QPR with two excellent performances in the third round against Sheffield Wednesday. Even Wednesday boss Dave Jones admitted it was the former Manchester United striker who had dictated play.

Now Smith hopes the Dons can build on that victory by causing an upset against QPR, who may well be distracted by their fight against relegation.

He added: “I think our last two performances in the FA Cup against Sheffield Wednesday were some of our best this season. Going to QPR will be a big test for us on Saturday but we are probably looking forward to it a little bit more than them because they have different things to concentrate on like bringing players in and trying to stay in the Premier League. Hopefully they will have one eye on that and we can sneak in and get a result.

“It will be strange playing back-to-back FA Cup games because the game at Crewe was called off due to the weather. We will go there and enjoy it because we’re under no pressure, we’re under no illusions that we are going there as underdogs in everybody eyes, but in our eyes we are going there to try and cause an upset.”

The biggest question for the Dons is who will Harry Redknapp name in his side? The former Spurs manager has an array of talent to choose from but with their Premier League status still to play for Redknapp may opt to rest some of his bigger names, including new striker Loic Remy.

“I think it’s important that you keep momentum going if you can, it will be interesting to see what team Harry decides to pick, I know he won’t want to pick up any injuries because they have some important League games coming up. But if you can get a settled team that plays consistently it is likely to improve and get results, which will breed confidence.

“Over the past few weeks they have got some good results and they have managed to pick up points against some big teams. Harry has found out who his characters are in the dressing room and they are the ones who can inspire. It will be interesting for us to go and pit our wits against a team who are progressing and building in confidence, but we can go there and just enjoy it.

“I would have though he will want to play Loic Remy just to get him to play another game with his new team-mates and help build some stability. We have watched their game against West Ham and they defended so well, people were putting their bodies on the line for the manager and that is one thing Harry always does, he finds out who the characters are, who wants to play for him.”

The Dons’ FA Cup campaign has been a rollercoaster ride this year. They were held by Cambridge City in the first round before recording a romping 6-1 win in the replay, came up against AFC Wimbledon in the second round, and beat Sheffield Wednesday in a replay in the third round.

“It’s been a great FA Cup for us, the first game against Cambridge was a strange one for everyone involved but it’s been good because some of the younger lads have played and Dele (Alli) scored his goal.

“We then had the small matter of playing AFC Wimbledon which was a great occasion for everyone. Despite what people made of it, I think the game ran as smoothly as it possibly could and it was a credit to our Club, we got the result that all the fans and players wanted.

“Sheffield Wednesday were a team that we hadn’t beaten before so that was another step in the right direction and now we’re in the fourth round for the first time so it has been a good FA Cup so far for us and long may that continue.”

source: http://www.mkdons.com

Alan Smith’s temporary stint as player-manager got off to the best of starts last night, after his MK Dons side beat Aylesbury FC 4-0 in the Berks and Bucks Senior Cup.

A late brace from England Under-16 international Giorgio Rasulo after goals from Daniel Powell and Charlie MacDonald helped see the Dons through to the semi-finals of the county competition where they will face Beaconsfield SYCOB.

And, although not planning on swapping his boots for a clipboard permanently anytime soon, Smith told mkdons.com after the game that it was an experience he thoroughly enjoyed.

He said: “It was really enjoyable. I liked being with Wrighty in the dressing room, doing our bit to help the younger ones as well as the first team players.

“The youth team players’ attitudes were first class. The pitch was unplayable at times but we came out with a great attitude and the young lads played really well and it will have been a great learning curve for them. If they can keep that focus and desire then they’ve got big futures ahead of them and hopefully it will be at MK Dons.

“As a team, I thought we showed our quality, we showed our class and we showed that we can battle too which is good to see. Everybody knows what good footballers we have here but I think sometimes the other side of football is what people question and tonight it showed that we can battle and grind out results.

“We knew that it wouldn’t be easy and we would be in for a difficult game but to win 4-0 and come away with no injuries is almost perfect.”

Alan Smith has been handed the role of player manager for MK Dons’ Berks and Bucks County Senior Cup quarter-final at non-league Aylesbury tonight.

Assistant boss Mick Harford was initially announced as the man who would take charge during the competition, but there has been a change after the tie, which was initially scheduled for last Wednesday, was postponed due to a frozen pitch.

Former Arsenal legend Ian Wright, the club’s first team coach, will assist Smith from the sidelines.

Manager Karl Robinson will still pick the team for the competition, which will be used to blood youngsters and give games to first teamers in need of a run-out.

He has already named the line-up for tonight’s match, which sees Smith partner U18 prospect Harry Hickford in the centre of defence and starts for on-loan duo Zeli Ismail and Ibra Sekajja.

“The team playing in the Berks and Bucks Cup is one that should really excite our supporters because I am excited about the prospect of watching them,” Robinson told the club’s website.

“We have three England international school boys in our midfield with Giorgio, Dele and Brendan. The three have already shown they can compete at a professional level and this offers them another chance to step up and impress.

“As the manager of this club it is my job to develop the players but also the coaching staff too.

“Alan is keen to get his hands dirty and while he is still a key player for us, I think this is an excellent opportunity for him to see the other side of the game with Wrighty.

“It is their chance to take control of the match and use their tactics while myself and Mick watch on with interest from the stands.”

Kick off at Aylesbury is 7.45pm and the winners will set up a semi-final date with Beaconsfield SYCOB.

MK Dons team: McLoughlin, Spence, Smith, Hickford, Chicksen, Alli, Galloway, Ismail, Rasulo, Powell, Sekajja.

Former Manchester United stars Luke Chadwick and Alan Smith were both showered with praise by MK Dons boss Karl Robinson as they netted the goals which guided his side to their first win in six games.

A Chadwick double and Smith’s first goal of the season saw the Dons record a 3-0 win at struggling Scunthorpe United, and in the process ended a goal drought which had seen the men from MK1 fail to score in their three previous games.

Robinson, delighted to see his side return to winning ways, was quick to pay tribute to two of his more experienced players in Chadwick and Smith.

Speaking after the game, he said: “This is a difficult place to come so to win, score three goals and keep a clean sheet is a great achievement. I think Sir Alex Ferguson will pick up the papers tomorrow and be very proud of his old players in Smithy and Luke Chadwick. The two of them have great class.

“Alan Smith has played for Newcastle, Manchester United and Leeds United and he comes here on a cold day up against a Scunthorpe side and he puts in the same endeavour that he would if he was playing for Manchester United against Chelsea tomorrow. Luke Chadwick is exactly the same and that is why they have played at the highest level because they both have the right attitude.”

In recent weeks Lady Luck has failed to shine on the Dons but there was a touch of fortune which helped Robinson’s men break the deadlock at Glanford Park as Iron ‘keeper Sam Slocombe parried a cross into the path of Chadwick, who duly finished into the back of the net.

Chadwick saved the best for his second though as he curled in a sublime strike at the half-an-hour mark. In reality the midfielder should have walked away with the match ball, but saw a late penalty save by Slocombe.

Robinson added: “He hit it and it wasn’t until the ball stopped in the net that we realised he scored. It was a sense of relief for us all and I saw the weight just lift off us. His second was a wonderful strike, and Alan’s fighting goal at the end was great as well.

“During the week I think the players were as low as they have been as a group of players, I think today showed this group of players have a great togetherness. Ryan Lowe has had a difficult start to his MK Dons career but he gave the penalty to Luke Chadwick, which showed his tremendous quality.”

It has been a tough few weeks for the Dons, but Robinson was pleased to reward the fans’ patience with a well-deserved victory.

“I’m pleased; it’s been a good day for us. People have knocked us and kicked us but we have stood tall and put our shoulders back and walked through all the criticism. It is a tremendous outlay in finance for our fans to come here, so it’s nice to give them three points and three goals to talk about on the coach on the way home.”

source: http://www.mkdons.com

Published: 06/10/2012 18:10 - Updated: 06/10/2012 20:22

Karl Robinson claimed that refs treat Alan Smith differently following today’s 2-2 draw with Portsmouth.

The former Manchester United man helped inspire the comeback from 2-0 down but does not get a fair deal from officials according to his boss.

Robinson said: “Alan Smith is dealt with very harshly and wrongly, he doesn’t get anything.

“The boy has been fouled, punched at, spat at and kicked at.

“It’s assault some of the things that happen to Alan Smith because people know that they are going to get a reaction.

“You shouldn’t get a reaction, you can’t do that and I won’t condone it, but people have got to stop the fact that people are fouling, and pulling and pushing him, and trying to get him to do that. It borders on cheating to an extent and the referees are falling for it.

“I was told by an official today ‘he’s a player who was once in the Premier League and is trying to prove a point’ - how can you accept that? I think he’s dealt with differently to the rest and that’s wrong.”

source: MKNews