Matt Smith

Do we recall him from Bristol City when the loan expires in two days time, or do we extend it?
Discuss.

 

Hard to say because I just haven't seen much of him - 18 minutes in a horrible match. Rodallega hasn't been on fire recently (although he did look better against Nottingham Forest) so you could use that as a reason to bring him back to pair with his old teammate McCormack. However, I like the other options we have on the bench. Woodrow has stepped up and I still have a soft spot for Dembele. Smith had 9 goals in 5 games at one point with 4 coming in one match against Gillingham - however, they are currently 17th in League One, and it was during a match for the "Johnstone's Paint Trophy" a cup for League One and Two teams. So, he's had a hot spell at Bristol, but I'm still not sold. Bringing him from Leeds him always seemed like a desperation move done by people at Fulham who couldn't understand why McCormack wasn't scoring more goals. We need to focus on getting more creativity from midfield play and shore up our defense. I say keep him on loan.

 

Depends on what happens with Ruiz. If he departs, we may need to go even more route 1 & having a big lug like Smith could be useful. Problem is, according to Leeds fans when we got him, he's not a good hold up man & passer. He's just a target in the box. Since we don't play wide & fire in a lot of crosses, he's probably not a good fit. If all of that's true, Woodrow & Hugo are better options.

 

I think you bring him back. He gives us a different option off the bench. If we're down in a game and desperate to score we can bring him on and pump the ball into the box. It's not sexy, but in this league sometimes it's necessary.

 

My assumption is he was loaned out because there was no real prospect of him getting playing time for Fulham and I don't see how that situation has changed. If that is a reality then he needs to remain on loan.

 

Doesn't say what the recall terms are, but here ya' go....
Smith's Loan Extension
http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/january/28/smiths-loan-extension

 

He finished off Gillingham with another goal, scoring all 5 in Bristol City's 5-3 aggregate win.

 

If only we could play Gillingham every week...

 

Its all hands on deck time, so if he is not recalled someone needs to be fired.

 

Kit said today after the win against Derby that he WILL be back with Hugo still a doubt.

 

Nope. I want to give Hugo a rest and sub Smith for Cauley if things go flat. He's earned the chance with his performance at Bristol. And Cauley's earned another start for his performance today. I just hope Kit realizes that. There's something to be said for going with the hot hands. Or the hot feet, if you will.

 

I'm not all in on the Matt Smith train like a lot of people are. Granted he didn't really have time to prove anything before going out on loan and he was pretty successful teaming with McCormack last season. But I don't feel like scoring a lot of goals in a lower division guarantees him success at Fulham.

Bristol City are at the top of the table in League 1 - which tells me that they have more all-around quality than most teams in the league. It's easier to score when your side is better than the other. Fulham (aside from this past Saturday) aren't scaring anyone in the Championship. Darren Bent couldn't score for us. Berbatov could barely score for us. McCormack led the Championship in goals last year but is nowhere near that total this year. Why does everyone think Matt Smith will?