| Alan Smith returns to the Newcastle team at Sheffield United next Monday night, with bookies having him 4/1-on to get booked.
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Chris Hughton: "Alan Smith is a big player for us and he was disappointed to miss out at Doncaster.
"In hindsight, you would rather have all your players available but the type of player Alan is, and due to his competitive nature, it goes with the territory.
"We want him available but we also want him to continue what he does for the team.
"He has often been the heartbeat of the team this season and we wouldn't want to change any of that. His competitive nature is also something fans like to see."
Sadly it's not his "competitive nature" that rubs the referees up the wrong way, it's his petulant attitude.
He was given the captain's armband because it gives him the right to banter with the referee, but as we have seen of late, it just seems to encourage him to be worse. |
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