Smith thankful for help at Anfield
Alan Smith will not allow the mindless acts of a few supporters to affect the gratitude he feels towards Liverpool for their compassion and swift action in dealing with his horrific injury.
Manchester United’s Premiership meeting with Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday provides Smith with his first opportunity to express personal thanks for the treatment he received at Anfield last February.
Left in agony as he crumpled trying to charge down a John Arne Riise free-kick, the United striker knows the swift action of Liverpool’s medical staff prevented the damage he suffered being even worse and, for a few minutes at least, bitter north-west rivalries were put on hold as home players rushed to his aid.
The treatment he received from Liverpool that day only makes it even more reprehensible that the ambulance taking him to hospital should be attacked as it made its way through the Merseyside streets.
At the time, Smith was so groggy from the oxygen required to relieve the pain of a broken leg and ankle, he was not totally aware of what was going on.
And, even though he now knows, the England international will not allow it to have a negative impact on his feelings.
“Unfortunately, people drag up the tiny part about the ambulance,” he said.
“It is sad we always seem to want to dwell on the negatives rather than the positives. I never really noticed anyway, so there are no negative feelings from my point of view.
“We are talking about one person in a million. For every individual doing something like that, there were loads and loads, particularly at Liverpool FC, who wished me well. John Arne Riise got in touch, as did most of their players. I got phone calls and everything.
“You cannot put a price on the lengths people will go to in an effort to try and help you, most of which is not seen.
“If the people from Liverpool had not acted as swiftly as they did, the situation could have been a lot worse and it will be nice to have a chance to thank them personally on Sunday.”
Not that Smith’s gratitude will prevent him from kicking a few visiting players himself should the need arise this weekend.
After a couple of substitute appearances in the Champions League, the 25-year-old is now eager for a taste of Premiership combat once more and knows there is no more high-octane confrontation to be involved in than this one.
As a former Leeds player, Smith knows all about the rivalry which exists between his old club and his present one. But the Yorkshireman feels even that cross-Pennine feud is overshadowed by the one which exists between England’s two most successful clubs.
“With Leeds, it is more a case of rivalry between them and United than the other way round,” he said.
“This is both clubs. But people like rivalry, that is why they get so excited about coming to watch and we get so excited about playing.”
The latest encounter is given added spice by the knowledge United can inflict a potentially fatal blow to Liverpool’s title hopes by recording a win which would consolidate their own position at the Premiership summit while leaving Rafael Benitez’s men a massive 11 points adrift.
Having lost in the FA Cup on that fateful day at Anfield, United then suffered defeat to Chelsea in the league last season and Arsenal during the current campaign – meaning they also require the morale-boosting lift of a win against one of their major competitors. And Smith is relishing the battle.
“We are top of the league and we have to make sure we stay there,” he said.
“The form we are in should make us confident but we know what happened against Arsenal, so we should be determined, focussed and concentrated.
“This will be a battle and we have to make sure we hit 100mph all the way through.
“It is a massive game and one the players are desperate to win.”
