Alex Smithies

Scouting Alex Smithies

With Cardiff’s need for a goalkeeper clear, Neil Warnock seems to have turned to Alex Smithies to challenge Neil Etheridge for the number one shirt.

New broke on Monday, thanks to journalist Peter O’Rourke, that Cardiff had agreed a deal with Queens Park Rangers for the stopper.

With a £4 million deal looking like it’ll be completed this week, we bring you an exclusive look at Smithies and investigate what he’ll bring to the Cardiff City Stadium.

Style

Smithies is a commanding ‘keeper, who takes no prisoners in his penalty area. He’s also a superb shot stopper and relishes a one-on-one.

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QPR fan Chris Worthing told us that “Smithies is a good penalty saver which can easily help pick up a few more points.”

Reassuringly for City fans, Worthing did express that Smithies had few obvious weaknesses to his game, but would need to step his game up to meet Premier League standard.

It’s clear, like Greg Cunningham, that Warnock has been a big fan of Smithies for a while. After the 2-1 win at home against QPR, Warnock hailed Smithies, saying:

“He’s been good for 18 months now. When you talk about the Premier League I’m surprised nobody has come in for him because he’s the best I’ve seen for many years.”

What the stats say

In order to get an understanding of how Smithies compares to other goalkeeping options, I’ve ran his stats in comparison to our current number one, Neil Etheridge, and arguably the Championship’s best goalkeeper las t season, John Ruddy.

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Of course, we must always look at statistics with context in mind. Both Ruddy and Etheridge were number ones for the league’s top two sides, while Smithies turned out for a struggling QPR side. We must also take style and tactics into account.

Looking at the numbers, though, it would seem that Smithies is on a similar level to both Ruddy and Etheridge. Although he conceded more and kept fewer clean sheets, he recorded more saves per 90 mins than the other two. This is testament to his excellent shot stopping.

One interesting statistic is his catch v punch ratio. Etheridge catches 2.63 crosses per match, the highest of the three, but Smithies has the highest punch statistic, 0.33 per 90 mins.

It is also worth noting that Smithies has a higher distribution accuracy than Etheridge. Early on, the City number one’s distribution came under criticism, although he did improve as the season went on.

Smithies, though, has a distribution accuracy of 57%, compared to Etheridge’s 33%.

What QPR fans say

You can always tell when a signing is a good one by the reaction on social media from fans of the selling club. To say that QPR fans are annoyed at Smithies’ sale is an understatement.

QPR fan Chris Worthing exclusively told View From The Ninian:

“I’m gutted he’s leaving. He’s arguably been our most consistent player in Championship, as well as being our best. Fans that follow Championship football will struggle to think of someone who has been better than Smithies.

He’s definitely worth £4m, especially in current market. Don’t be surprised to see him do a bit of a Nick Pope and end up in England squad at some point. He’ll get a lot of action in the Premier League as Cardiff will be rear guard so he could stand out.”

Can he make the step up to the Premier League?

“100%. I think most QPR fans realised that it was inevitable but we will wish him luck. He represented the club very well and comes across as very professional. He’ll fit into a Warnock regime and can see him being a key figure for Cardiff next year.”

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