Tommy Smith (Braintree Town FC | England)

watched the football show and he was at fault for the 3rd goal with a horror piece of defending...so maybe that was on his mind...he does have a great goal scoring record though!

amazing goal

Yeah he mentioned this following the game.

Has been getting tips off Rory?

Not serious about a position change. Not many CB's score goals like that though

Scored a goal today, but team lost 3 - 1

“International fixtures aren’t meant to conflict with your club games and it really annoyed and disappointed me that they wouldn’t allow me to play in that game (at Blackpool),” said Smith, when asked about reports that he had threatened to quit international football around the time of the Mexico games. 

they are world cup qualifiers you muppet! you could win and go to the world cup!!?!?

I'm normally in favour of staying and playing for your club, say if its a friendly and you have a clash, dont understand his thinking there

"It hasn't crossed my mind yet to fully knock it (international football) on the head."

Hopefully he's just saying this for local (Ipswich) consumption. But he still sounds a bit of a tosser.

I always felt conflicted about Ryan Nelsen doing this - on the one hand I understand why he did it, and when he did play for the AWs he always gave it everything, but on the other I remember commenting when he was missing from a squad or something that it sets a bad example for the youngsters in the squad. And lo and behold, look what we have now - Tommy Smith refusing to play for the national side.

Go back and look at who was missing from our squad for the Horror in Honiara. IIRC both Nelsen and Reid were "injured". Why was Ricki playing Killen in DM there? Because he wanted to play 3 at the back and 2 of his 3 starting CBs didn't show up - so Vicelich had to slot in there, which meant a gap at DM. Dumb tactics, but a non-issue if our players had actually turned up. 

And it doesn't just go for competitive matches either. Even friendlies are a chance to build credibility but more tangibly they are a chance for the team to gel, try tactics and combinations, and get used to playing with each other. If these players want to play at World Cups then the should put the effort in that requires. Which means flying around the globe to play against the island nations in 40 degree heat in the Solomon Islands, or flying to Japan to play a friendly, or whatever. It annoys me when players think the can just pick and choose when they play. And because we lack depth we can't really call their bluff. 

I know pro football in Europe is the pinnacle career wise for Kiwi footballers and I understand they want to maximise their chances at maintaining that career. Fair enough. But I just wish our best players really wanted to pull on the white shirt whenever they could, and that they wanted to do the country proud, regardless of how inconvenient that is for them. 

I know, it's not that simple. And Smith might be quoted out of context in that article or whatever. Just a pet peeve so I got on a bit of a rant.

The bit about having a nice long holiday reads like he's trolling NZ fans

The least committed the better I say, Nelly didn't give a rats ass for ages and look how that turned out.

I'm no Smith apologist but I think we're drawing long bows to say he doesn't want to play for NZ. After the shambles of the WC saga I don't blame him for having little confidence in NZ Football. And by choosing a few words in an interview with a local paper, he gains extra kudos with his club fans.

We certainly don't have the depth to be saying bugger off to the likes of Tommy because we think his attitude is wrong. Do you honestly think our next WC chances are harmed by Tommy not playing 2 weeks ago? In an ideal world players would be crawling across broken glass to wear the AWs shirt at any opportunity, but we all know for an established player that's not the case. Once we get a new coach then his job is to go and get the commitment he needs from his key players, and if that means a bit of a compromise where some of our top players miss the odd friendly then that is fine - so long as they are there and giving 100% when it matters.

And for those still ragging Nelsen for not playing in the mid 2000s when we were playing Dunfermline, have a look at him in the games that mattered in 2008-2010, and tell me he didn't care?

Don't disagree with anything you've said but I think the Nelsen case is slightly different.

In the mid 00's we were a cluster fuck, we weren't going anywhere and we weren't going there very quickly. Perfect storm towards the end of the naughties and we qualify for a World Cup at which Nelsen is the key person. This period though, the next four/eight years are very different to that period of the mid 00's. This is a team that have some promise, if we can get the top group together as often as possible then this team could do good things. Having Smith (and Reid) available as often as possible is a key part of that.

I can understand his position, if the preparation was half as much as a balls up as it appeared from the outside then as a senior player and the guy asked to lead the group on a suicide dash then I feel for him and can understand why he wouldn't want much to do with NZF. But hopefully he can be convinced that it won't happen again, and he can see that this group has the potential to do something special. He can be the bigger person and come back into the fold and contribute as a senior player should.

If Tommy didn't realise the World Cup is over the summer break, then it might have be an awkward conversation with Ricki if the All Whites qualified for it.

I've got a real beef with this attitude. Sure they earn their living playing club level. But I think of national football as a second job. If you accept, you do so knowing the commitment required (travel, less holidays) and potential reward (World Cup appearance, prize money). If you prioritise having a break over the potential world cup appearance, then don't play international football. No one is forcing you. You know the commitment required. You know the job description. If you want to do it, commit to it properly. It's how the rest of us have to live.

I'm prepared to give Nelsen the benefit of the doubt because it appears he had legitimate injury concerns. But the CBF attitude from Smith and Reid is pathetic. And what kind of message does that send others who are playing regularly oversea. Say Ryan Thomas for example.

I,m 100% behind Tommy Smith on this one.

 IMO its up to NZF to get their shiite together. They have to prove that they can operate in an acceptable professional way. Because it appears to me that they have lost the faith of several leading players. And could you blame players for losing faith in their national body?. How often in the last few seasons have we seen monumental cockups form the national body regarding the international scene?. Disorganised, ill prepared, amateur, poor communications......you name it, we have all seen it. From Honiara to the Mexico playoffs its been a constant theme. Poorly organised , half arsed... its been a joke. So why should senior pro's like Smith not get a little upset. He lives and works in a hard nosed professional sports environment......why should'nt he expect to have something similar at international level?

A month before the Japan game the NZF office in Auckland was empty....no coach, no CEO, no chairman.....who would want to get themself s involved with that shambles!!!!!

Hmm... so we're looking for a regular starter in a league rated higher than the A-League.... who's demonstrated commitment to the AW's and played a few caps... Got to be Tony Lochhead!

Maybe he's waiting to see if we qualify for the next World Cup before he commits.

Only cos his sleeves are normally in some one else's face ....

" Heart on his chest "  .....?

Sounds uncomfortable ... and not very hygienic ....

Woodsie for capitain! Like!

Thats the problem with this really. This is the national (stand in) Captian waving two fingers in the air to the national team.

I think this boy needs to be very careful. Classic case of a young man not thinking before he speaks.

As AucklandPhoenix said, Nelsen was not that dumb.