When Steve McManaman went to Madrid in the Summer of 1999, a winger was desperately needed to fill in the gap left by him. When GH made his major signings in that same summer, he went back home and bought Vladimir Smicer from RC Lens for £4.2M.
Reports from France seemed to favour Smicer, with his performances for Lens in the 1998-99 season winning him their Player Of The Year award. His performances in helping the Czech Republic to reach the European Championship final in 1996 where still remembered, with him and Berger seemingly the stars of that team. There were a number of clubs offering Lens the money for him to move, but he was always going to be a Red. He said all the right things before the move, especially about how he wanted to play for the club desperately.
Vladi made his debut against Sheffield Wednesday on the opening day of the 1999-2000 season, slotting in effortlessly and was full of running. Against Watford the following Saturday, Smicer was replaced by Karl Heinz Riedle after picking up an ankle injury. That week was to prove to be the pattern of his Anfield career, when he started showing signs of promise; injury cut short any kind of run.
Smicer returned to the squad for the game against Manchester United, and came on with the score 3-1 in the Mancunian's favour. Smicer had a great game when he came on, linking up well with Berger for the second goal. The signing of Smicer looked an exciting one to say the least, and his return from injury seemed to mean that Vladi was over it and would continue to produce the promise that he had shown in glimpses on his debut.
Smicer was injured for the majority of the season, missing out on the team's push for Champion's League football. When the 2000-2001 season came around, question marks were surrounding Smicer's place in the side, as GH brought in wingers Nicky Barmby and Bernard Diomede, and central midfielders Gary McAllister and, later on in the season, Igor Biscan.
Vladi was impressive in pre-season, with a Man Of The Match winning performance in the demolition of Italian giants Parma. As a result, Vladi started the opening game of the season against Bradford on the opposite flank to new signing Barmby. After the match, GH commented that Vladi was like 'a new signing'.
He went on to make 49 appearances that year, with a great return of 7 goals in that. He went through a particular great spell around December, with a great performance in the 5-0 League Cup semi final win over Palace. Vladimir seemed like he was finally re-paying that £4.2M fee that was paid to Lens. I remember someone telling me about their French mate, who was a supporter of Lens telling him that Smicer was crap for Lens in his 1st season there, and absolutely brilliant in his second season. It seemed like that was going to be the case now, with displays against Palace, Man City and West Ham giving Kopites enough reason to have faith in him.
On the eve of the 2001-2002 season, it was Smicer's time to produce the goods. John Arne Riise was brought in from Monaco, a player who gave Smicer competition down that left wing. Added that Riise, the emergence of Danny Murphy on the right wing was another player who was giving Vladi competition. Just when Smicer was about to start his biggest season in a red shirt, he got injured. He came on for Stevie Gerrard in the Goodison derby, with the game already won. He made his first full Liverpool appearance in the Worthington Cup defeat against Grimsby, winning Man Of The Match.
Throughout the season, Smicer played some outstanding games, including probably his best performance for the Reds against Roma at Anfield. But, he played bad in just as many games. It seemed that when the going got tough, Vladi shied away. But when the team were winning and everything going okay, Vladi was world class.
It seems that every summer Vladi says that this will be the year when he shows his true form. This season is no exception. Now, I have always maintained that Smicer will become a great player for us, but now really is the time for the Czech international to start performing. He has become an easy target for some fans that claim that he doesn't try enough, but from the moment he heard of Liverpool's interest he wanted to become a Red.
Smicer was brought in to replace Steve McManaman, who spent a lot of his Liverpool career in the middle. It is here were Smicer is much better, just behind the forward. In European competition, Smicer has excelled in this role, with his performances against Kyev, Roma and Leverkusen prime examples. But, he can play down the wing, as he's shown on many occasions, and that versatility could be vital in getting him a regular place in the Reds team.
This season Vladi made substitute appearances against Southampton and Blackburn and started against Newcastle, and he has looked a different player in my opinion. He was employed just off the front man against Newcastle, and showed exactly why he has proved to be a major player in the Czech Republic side in that role.
But for Smicer to get into the first team, he has to finally prove himself as a great player on a regular basis. The likes of Hamann, Gerrard and Murphy all command first team places in the midfield, because they are so consistent. Smicer needs to prove that he can do it week in week out to GH. With Berger very unlikely to be playing, Diomede about as likely to play as Patrice Luzi and Nick Barmby now at Leeds, Smicer has to show that it doesn't matter if we have the likes of Duff or Emerton or not. He has to compete with Murphy and Riise for a place on the wing, and with our new style attacking football; he will be an important member of the squad for the coming season.
Vladimir Smicer is now at the stage of his Anfield career where it is either make or break. There's no denying his abilities, never has been. But another season of inconsistency could prove to be the final straw in his Anfield career. A season where he shows the kind of form that he did in France and in the Treble season could give him a place in the side, and a chance to prove himself to the fans and the manager who has shown so much faith in him and taken so much stick on Smicer's behalf.
I am confident that Smicer will prove himself; this season he has looked sharp and in much better shape. The pattern that his Anfield career has taken, where he's injured for one week, brilliant the next and then crap the week after must be broken. He could be the missing link in our title challenge, giving us the creativity we lacked last season. Or he could be at a different club next season. It's up to him, and as I've said I expect him 100% to have a Championship winning medal come May and a series of Man Of The Match champagnes in his possession.
Mark Piercy
