“Alor Setar feels gloomy today,” a friend of mine texted me, earlier this morning. Maybe it has something to do with the impending monsoon season. Or maybe his favourite Nasi Lemak stall was closed today?
Wait, who am I kidding? It has everything to do with the outcome of last night’s MSL cruncher between JDT and Kedah. Leave alone the fact that Larkin wasn’t packed to the stands for a match of this magnitude, the entire game turned out to be a one-sided affair as JDT romped to a 5-0 win. Yes, I’m not kidding. 5-0 was the score line.
Of course, the gloom isn’t purely about the score line. Marquee signing Shane Smeltz had his baptism of fire for Kedah last night and it turned out to be a complete disaster. The hype about Smeltz’s arrival was incredible, given how inconsistent Kedah have been this season, offensively. But last night, the 34 year-old forward could only fire blanks as JDT ran riot, under the watchful eyes of Tunku Ismail ibni Sultan Ibrahim.
Shane Smeltz definitely not looking like he's worth the money/deal. Sigh.
— Azri Ahmad Jefril (@azrihaidhar) July 16, 2016
https://twitter.com/qnightmare95/status/754316689001418753
Now of course, it’s still too early to drop a judgement on Smeltz. After all, it was his first match for the Red Eagles. He’s barely had time to forge an understanding with Thiago Augusto, who is also a new signing. But given the significance of Smeltz’ arrival, it’s not impossible to explore his style of play and evaluate if Kedah made the right decision in signing him?
SHANE SMELTZ – WHAT’S HIS STYLE OF PLAY?
To instantly get a picture of Smeltz’ style of play, you’d have to go back to 2010. It was billed as the biggest game in New Zealand’s history – arguably also the toughest one – but it only took them seven minutes to make history. Marcello Lippi spent much of the pre-match build-up speaking about the Kiwis’s strength from set-piece situations and as soon as Simon Elliott stood behind the ball, you could see Lippi’s forehead twitch on the sidelines.
Seconds later, Elliott curled a fantastic delivery into the box. Winston Reid used his height and aerial ability to jump and flick the ball backwards. In slow motion, you could almost sense the glimmer of hope as Cannavaro was on the verge of making contact with the ball – you’d always expect him to clear the danger. Instead, the former World Cup winner could only help it onto the path Shane Smeltz – the last name you’d want to see with the ball, inside the box.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPsv6YjKEFc
Pressure or no pressure, Smeltz was built and moulded for situations like these. He’s a predator, by all means. In fact, him being in that position – to capitalize on Cannavaro’s mishap – wasn’t a circumstancial incident. He was known for getting into these positions and all he needed to do was poke the ball past Federico Marchetti and hand New Zealand a historic 1-0 lead against the reigning World Champions, Italy.
That’s Shane Smeltz in a nutshell, ladies and gentlemen. He’s big, he’s bold and he’s got an impeccable eye for goals – how else do you explain him being the second best goalscorer in New Zealand’s national team history?
THE VIEW FROM AUSTRALIA
To get a clearer picture of Smeltz, we spoke to Paul Williams, a seasoned football journalist who’s based in Australia. He has spent years watching Smeltz’s exploits in the A-League and believes the ex-Perth Glory striker is the ‘ultimate penalty-box predator’.
“Shane has is the ultimate penalty-box predator with an excellent nose for goal. That’s not to say that he can’t score from outside the box, because some of his best goals have come from outside the box, but he has a knack of being in the right place at the right time – a real striker’s instict,” Paul told FourthOfficial.com
“He’s not the quickest player though and at his age, it will be asking too much for him to do a lot of running or pressing, so I imagine he will be restricted to working in and around the box, where he does his best work.
“There’s no doubt that he’s good enough to do well in Malaysia. It’s the physical part of the game that has caught up with him in the last few years. The A-League is physically tought and he’s had a few niggling injuries that have hampered him a little. But if he stays fit, there’s no doubt he’s still more than capable of having an impact and scoring goals,” he added.
DOES HE FIT KEDAH’S BRAND OF FOOTBALL?
Tan Cheng Hoe loves to see his men keep the ball and control the tempo of the game. You can rewind and watch highlights of their matches over the last eight months or so – when they’ve played well, they’ve dominated the tempo of the game.
Judging by Paul’s analysis of Smeltz, he seems ideal for a team that employs a possession-based style of play. The issue Kedah had with Carlos Kahe was his inability to find spaces upfront. In fact, he was almost always guilty of dropping too deep, in order to be involved in the game. Smeltz is the exact opposite. He works well in tiny pockets of spaces, and seems to be an excellent reader of the game. For a clear picture, check out this video of a goal Smeltz scored in March 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERYTGnNEuiU
He’s not the quickest player out there, but Smeltz knows exactly where he needs to be. The moment he received the ball, it’s clear that Smeltz is now in his territory – where it becomes incredibly difficult to stop him.
WHAT SHOULD KEDAH FANS EXPECT?
This really is the glaring question, no? If Smeltz is designed to do well for Kedah, why was he abhorrent last night? There are two possible ways to explain this.
Firstly, Smeltz is still new to the MSL. It takes a few matches for a foreign player to be adjusted to the style of football in Malaysia. But perhaps more importantly, it also takes time for a player to get adjusted to his teammates and new surroundings. The ex-Sydney FC player has barely had more than a week to train and get to know his teammates, so it’s unfair to expect him to make an instant impact.
Secondly, last night’s tie was against the best footballing side in Malaysia, who were always favourites to dominate possession. Kedah were forced to sit back and employ a counter-attacking approach, which doesn’t entirely bode well with Smeltz’s ability. In a defensive structure, you’d require a pacey striker, who would be able to make those speedy runs forward, at every opportunity. Smeltz, irrespective of his age, has never been a striker of that particular mould, which probably explains poor form last night.
If there’s a problem with Kedah, it’s more than just Shane Smeltz – that’s for sure. But assuming we’re only discussing about the 34 year-old, then yes, Kedah fans ought to be patient. Football-wise, Cheng Hoe’s men aren’t a bad side to watch. On their day, against less-accomplished oppositions, they can be absolutely brilliant.
All they’ve ever needed this season, was a prolific goalscorer. And in Shane Smeltz, they’ve got one. Evidently, he’s no longer the player that scored that goal against Italy in the World Cup. But Smeltz is still a goalscorer and has enough in his gas tank, to leave a long-lasting impact on Kedah, if and when he hits top form.
That’s not to say that Smeltz will guarantee goals. There are always risks with 34 year-old players and it’s fair to associate these risks with Smeltz. But given the difficult circumstances of his debut last night, it’s a little too early to dismiss the all-time second-highest goalscorer in A-League’s history, isn’t it?
Other posts by Keeshaanan Sundaresan
