Paul Smith to leave Hartlepool United

By Albatross
May 28 2003

Paul Smith has turned down a new contract at Hartlepool United and will be leaving the club shortly. Sheffield Wednesday is rumoured to be his next port of call - but will Pools miss the left winger?

Smith had been offered a two year deal by Pools, but has turned it down and will leave at the end of June.

After arriving partway through the 2001/2 season, he made a huge difference to our fortunes. His first start - after a sub appearance against Plymouth - was in the memorable 4-0 win over Hull City that did much to finally kickstart our season. The former Burnley player was a revelation on the left wing, providing a steady stream of great crosses that meant he had a hand in well over 30 goals as Pools turned things around and scraped into the playoffs.

The problems started in pre-season; a knee injury picked up in Holland hampered him, and after looking out of sorts and plainly struggling for fitness he had an operation following the Oxford game at the end of August. He returned a month later, still looking far from his old self, but picked up another injury against Hull on Boxing Day that kept him out of the picture for another couple of months.

Looking well out of sorts, it wasn't long before rumours started circulating about his future. It was said that his other half was homesick for the North-West, and a swap deal with Lee Hodges at Rochdale was mooted. It never came about, but plainly something was wrong.

Currently the speculation is that he is going to rejoin Chris Turner at Sheffield Wednesday; some of their fans are already claiming it's a done deal, and that Spike is also likely to be signing for the Hillsborough club. Whether it's true or not, there's no doubt that this season has not been a happy one for Smith, and it's not a surprise that he's on his way.

Is this a good thing for Pools? I'm tempted to say that it is. I don't doubt that a fit, motivated Smith would be a great asset in Div2, but this season we've seen an out of form player frequently either carrying an injury of trying to get back from one. And with Ritchie Humphreys performing so well on the left, Smith may have found himself on the bench more often than in the team. Without Smith there, there's no temptation to play Ritchie elsewhere to make room for him.

On the other hand, we've lost an experienced player - leaving us short in a vital position. Matty Robson has been pushing for a place in the first team squad, but is an unknown quantity; and the other player Pools had been looking at on the left - Joe Kendrick of Newcastle - has already signed for another club.

Once again, the important thing is who Mike Newell brings in to replace Smith; and as yet, there's no news on that front. I'll be surprised if there's much transfer action at Pools until the end of June to be honest; but in the meantime, we're all going to be left to wait and see.