Harinder's post about who ranks as Liverpool's finest ever centre back revealed to me just how seemingly unaware the internet fan-base has become about one of Liverpool's finest ever players. I'm sure a corresponding unawareness exists in respect of other stalwarts from yesteryear but nowhere is it exemplified more than in the case of Tommy Smith.
For that reason I'm of the mind that Tommy Smith merits a thread of his own for those who did see him week in week out during his mid '60's halcyon days to reminisce and celebrate the joys of his unique talents, whilst at the same time perhaps at long last going a small way towards correcting the imbalance which seems to colour the perception of Tommy Smith the footballer.
There exists amongst many Liverpudlians - including many who witnessed only his later '70's years in the right back role - let alone amongst the wider footballing fraternity a kind of ultra-convenient one dimensional categorising of Tommy Smith as simply the hard man. Indeed, the absence of wall-to-wall television back then seems to have 'airbrushed' the footballing side of Tommy Smith from even Liverpool footballing history let alone that of English/European football.
Fact was whilst not "quite" possessed of the supercool elegance of Alan Hansen or Franz Beckebauer, Smithy was actually as good as if not a better all round footballer than Jocky and not a million miles off the level of the Kaiser.
The convenient stereotyping dictates will always be Smithy the iron man, the hard man, the bully. There's no doubting he was all that. And more besides. The hardest around. Ron Harris and Norman Hunter really don't come close to Smith's level of on pitch toughness. However, the hard man image doesn't begin to do justice to Smith's all round footballing abilities during that initial 4/5 year mid '60's spell when he wore the number 10 jersey alongside big Rowdy just as we were embarking on our inaugural European adventures.
There are glimpses of the sort of on the ball skills to which I'm referring in the television snatches of the Inter Milan semi final and the '65 FA Cup final. They reveal a beautifully balanced powerful and skilful player driving forward out of defence able to ghost past the opposition and deliver inch perfect weighted passes. These surges invariably followed yet another crunching tackle or Masherano type interception in which he'd taken the ball [yeah and often the man too].
As one of the privileged ones who watched him week in week out I can vouch Smithy made those sort of surges with a frequency and success rate that Jocky Hansen could only dream of emulating some 15 years or so later.
Allied to these under-appreciated ball playing skills were his unparralled tackling skills, sound ariel ability, innate game reading and organisational ability, peerless leadership, bravery and an inspirational never say die indomitable spirit leaving me with not the slightest hesitation in putting Tommy Smith not only right up at the top of my own list of Liverpool centre backs by some distance but also in the very highest echelon of Liverpool's finest ever players in any position.
