Liverpool fans love him.
Australians love him, yet don’t know who the bloody hell he is.
Brad Smith, the 21-year-old slowly winning over the hearts of football fans, both in the ‘Kop’ and ‘Down Under’. Is it time he got a decent go at at left-back in the Premier League?
His late equaliser in the FA Cup against Exeter earned Liverpool a replay against the League 2 side, sparring the Premier League club’s blushes in what would have been an embarrassing loss.
Brad Smith with a pretty neat finish to equalise for #LFC. Deserving of a goal tonight too. pic.twitter.com/2eb6wkLZbb
— Melissa Reddy (@MelissaReddy_) January 8, 2016
It was only his fourth appearance for the club, yet the calls have come in thick and fast for Jurgen Klopp to dispose of the erratic Alberto Moreno and hand a starting berth to Smith in the Premier League.
Moreno has not been BAD this season, he’s actually been OK in a disappointing Reds outfit leading the club for chances created (35).
But can he trusted in the Reds outfit? That is the serious question.
We all know Alberto LOVES to get forward and it would be safe to say Reds fans would have lost count of the number of times they have seen the young Spaniard make a last-ditched lunging tackle after sprinting 50m back defensively from an upfield position.
His defending both aerially at set-pieces and one-on-one is ordinary at best, and it seems that it’s only his tenacity that’s keeping him in the team.
Clubs love to target the Reds left-side due to Moreno’s deficiencies, at 1.71m tall and 65kg, he’s a little bundle of energy that is excellent at getting forward but he’s hardly the powerfully built pocket-rocket, thus very easy to exploit defensively.
Smith on the other hand is five centimetres taller and five kilos heavier (1.76m/70kg), a small upgrade physically on Moreno which dosen’t necessarily mean he will be better one-on-one, but he certainly has the attributes to be a sturdier option at full-back.
While the physical differences are minuscule, it’s the end product where Smith has the upper hand.
We love to make a big fuss about how Moreno loves to get up and down the left-flank, but does he actually do much with the ball when he’s in attacking positions?
The stats would argue he does with 35 chances created, the best of any LFC player, but it’s hard to read into such an ambiguous ‘chances created’ statistic.
In Smith’s half-hour cameo against West Ham last week, he was more influential in the attacking third than Moreno was for the first hour.
He provides the finishing touch that Moreno does not possess on a consistent basis, with Smith’s crosses into the box of a much higher quality.
Smith also picks and chooses his moments well, and seems to have a mature head on his shoulders. Moreno so attack minded which is sometimes a detriment because it means left-sided centre-backs like Sakho and Lovren are constantly trying to cover for him when he’s pushed up field, which is simply not good enough.
It’s all well and good to be good going forward in this day and age of football, but you’re always going to primarily judged on your defending.
These are the reasons why Liverpool fans have been pleading for Jurgen Klopp to give Smith a starting crack at left-back in the league.
Surely all these sparkling cameo appearances warrant it?
More importantly, these pleas by fans and former players haven’t just surfaced after Smith’s FA Cup heroics yesterday, they’ve been gradually gaining momentum each and every time Smith has featured in a Reds shirt.
“It was an honour to score my first goal for #LFC.” Brad Smith reflects on tonight’s draw with @OfficialECFC… https://t.co/6mnlrhQaS7
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 8, 2016
After Harry Kewell and Craig Johnston, Smith became just the third Australian to score for Liverpool, but it is his energy and tenacity down the left-flank that is drawing praise from fans and pundits alike.
Brad Smith was one of the youngsters who impressed @NeilMellor33 tonight. https://t.co/YF6ztnOfI1
— LFC TV (@LFCTV) January 8, 2016
Given the injury-crisis that’s hit the club and hence the forced opportunity to experiment with players, it makes sense for Klopp to start Smith at left-back against Arsenal on Thursday.
Arsenal would certainly pose a much heftier challenge than little old Exeter City, but why not give the kid a crack?
Liverpool fans would be the first to admit that they’d happily take a point at home to the Gunners given the current injury crisis, and would probably even consign themselves to a loss against the league front-runners.
It’s hardly a match that will make or break the young Australian’s career, but an opportunity which could endear him to the Liverpool fans, reward him for his glimpses of potential in recent weeks and give Klopp an extra option at left-back, given Alberto Moreno has been all too comfortable there this season.
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Capped four times for the Socceroos after committing himself to his country of birth Australia (Smith was also eligible to play for England as his parents are English), he would certainly be in the mix for national team manager Ange Postecoglou’s next squad for World Cup qualifiers against Tajikistian and Jordan in March.
Given Australia’s history of slim-pickings in the left-back position, the door is certainly ajar for Smith to put himself forward as a candidate as he gets more and more first team football for Liverpool.
Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, but Brad Smith, you little beauty.
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