ALEX SMITHIES: WHO IS THIS £3M BARGAIN?

Who’s this £3m bargain that Cardiff have bagged? A Penalty specialist?
By Shorya Panwar

Who is Alex Smithies? All you need to know about Cardiff’s new signing


Premier League new boys Cardiff City have finalized a deal for Alex Smithies from Queens Park Rangers. The English shot-stopper will be involved at the highest level of English football after his former club accepted an offer of £3million with £500,000 as potential add-ons.

Smithies might not be a popular name but the player appears to possess all the qualities required to succeed at the top level. Here is a scout report on the player.


Who is he?

Alex Smithies is a right-footed goalkeeper who came through the Huddersfield youth academy. The player represented his youth club till 2015 before moving to QPR in 2015, where he worked under Neil Warnock for some time. At QPR, Smithies established himself as one of their most important players.

The new Cardiff City goalkeeper has represented England at U16, U17, U18 and U19 levels. However, the promising goalkeeper has failed to join the senior side so far.


His strengths:

Coming off the line

Smithies is comfortable at coming off his line to mitigate threats at the edge of the box. The English custodian anticipates situations well and is also well-known for his communication skills.


Penalty specialist

Smithies is a penalty specialist in the true sense of the term. Due to his height, the player often seems to find a way to stop penalties. Out of the 44 penalties he has faced so far, only 24 have found their way to the back off the net.


Verdict

Smithies was one of the highest-rated goalkeeping prospects in England a few years back and his quality is undeniable. The shot-stopper has been offered a chance to redeem himself at the top level of English football and he should grasp the opportunity with both hands.

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Superb article, can’t argue with facts. Warnock has landed a real bargain here! I love Etheridge and he fully deserves his extended contract, but I am glad for a true bit of competition for the pair of them to push each other!

Superb article, can’t argue with facts. Warnock has landed a real bargain here! I love Etheridge and he fully deserves his extended contract, but I am glad for a true bit of competition for the pair of them to push each other!

I agree. It was a good read and worth putting out there

In Alex Smithies, we appear to have got a genuine challenger for Neil Etheridge and that can only be good

Sven, I just noticed we joined the message board a day apart in 2010, I also noticed that you have been slightly more active than I - 13,300 posts to my 260 haha

Who’s this £3m bargain that Cardiff have bagged? A Penalty specialist?
By Shorya Panwar

Who is Alex Smithies? All you need to know about Cardiff’s new signing


Premier League new boys Cardiff City have finalized a deal for Alex Smithies from Queens Park Rangers. The English shot-stopper will be involved at the highest level of English football after his former club accepted an offer of £3million with £500,000 as potential add-ons.

Smithies might not be a popular name but the player appears to possess all the qualities required to succeed at the top level. Here is a scout report on the player.


Who is he?

Alex Smithies is a right-footed goalkeeper who came through the Huddersfield youth academy. The player represented his youth club till 2015 before moving to QPR in 2015, where he worked under Neil Warnock for some time. At QPR, Smithies established himself as one of their most important players.

The new Cardiff City goalkeeper has represented England at U16, U17, U18 and U19 levels. However, the promising goalkeeper has failed to join the senior side so far.


His strengths:

Coming off the line

Smithies is comfortable at coming off his line to mitigate threats at the edge of the box. The English custodian anticipates situations well and is also well-known for his communication skills.


Penalty specialist

Smithies is a penalty specialist in the true sense of the term. Due to his height, the player often seems to find a way to stop penalties. Out of the 44 penalties he has faced so far, only 24 have found their way to the back off the net.


Verdict

Smithies was one of the highest-rated goalkeeping prospects in England a few years back and his quality is undeniable. The shot-stopper has been offered a chance to redeem himself at the top level of English football and he should grasp the opportunity with both hands.

I've always said a top notch keeper is one of the most important signings this season along with the rest of the spine, Striker and commanding midfielder like Medal, and felt Fabianski would have been perfect, but Warnock might have just got an equally good keeper, younger and for half the cost !!!!

Well done Warnock and your team, this looks like another masterstroke of a signing, now go and get a Mitrovic and Medal standard Striker and Midfielder to finish the job

Sven, I just noticed we joined the message board a day apart in 2010, I also noticed that you have been slightly more active than I - 13,300 posts to my 260 haha

Oh aye!

The gap reminded me of the chasm that now exists between us and the team form down the M4 West

Is that pelanty save ratio correct? If it is that is a staggering success rate - saves more than 50% he faces!

My mate's a Huddersfield fan and tells me they were gutted to lose to QPR. He rates him very highly.

Is that pelanty save ratio correct? If it is that is a staggering success rate - saves more than 50% he faces!

It doesnt say he saved 50%
It says 20 penalties did not end up as goals. That could mean he saved 5 and the other 15 went wide/over which would give him around a 9% save rate.
It could also mean he saved all 20 or didnt save any and they were all just missed.

It would be interesting to see comparisons to other goalkeepers and the ratios they have at penalties