Sheringham v Smith - experience wins through.

By Reece Killworth, Sportinglife.com

INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE

As one half of England's much-vaunted SAS strikeforce, Teddy Sheringham firmly established himself as a classy striker.

From the mid-90s onwards, Sheringham's partnership with Alan Shearer caused defences around the world plenty of headaches and limited the international careers of several other English strikers.

Sheringham is fast approaching his 50th international cap after making his debut in a World Cup qualifier against Poland in 1993.

Since then the Spurs striker has become an integral part of the England set-up, scoring 11 goals in the process including several important strikes.

Who can forget - for example - his header against Greece last October within seconds of joining the fray?

Smith, on the other hand, is yet to trouble the scorers as he is still in the early stages of his international career.

As the youngest member of England's potential strikeforce, the future looks to hold much for Smith but he is still awaiting his first full cap.

He has used his three substitute appearances - the first against Mexico last May - to show his promise but he can't match Sheringham until he gets the experience of being a regular international performer.

SHERINGHAM: 8/10. SMITH: 6/10.

FORM THIS SEASON

Sheringham has been widely credited as the man on who Spurs' revival this season has been based.

After returning to White Hart Lane from Manchester United in the close season, Sheringham picked up the captain's armband and has been a talismanic leader.

His partnership with Les Ferdinand had yielded over 20 goals by the start of February and was the cornerstone on which their revival from mid-table obscurity to European contenders was based.

Will certainly feature in the reckoning when people come to debate the bargains of the season - Glenn Hoddle must have been delighted to get his man for free.

Sheringham has proved this season that he is one of the rare breed of players that gets better the further into his 30s he goes.

Smith's season, on the other hand, has been blighted by two things - his suspect temperament and the arrival at Leeds of Robbie Fowler.

But back in August, things looked good for the Yorkshireman.

By the middle of the month he had made his first England appearances and had opened his Premiership account with a goal in Leeds' defeat of Southampton.

A seven-game drought followed thereafter though and when he did get back on the goal trail, his suspect temperament was to stop him in his tracks.

Goals against Zurich Grasshoppers and Aston Villa were practically forgotten when a rush of blood against Villa saw him sent off for elbowing Alpay.

Since that incident - in mid-November - Smith's form has suffered as he has accrued four yellow cards and another red while scoring just one goal.

The combination earned him a five-match ban (which means he missed the friendly with Holland) while at the time of writing he was also facing a further three-match suspension after clashing with Chelsea's Graeme Le Saux.

Smith's run of indiscipline has coincided with the early part of Fowler's Leeds career.

With the former Liverpool striker forming an impressive partnership with Mark Viduka, Smith has been forced to play - when available - on the right flank.

Although that has affected his form, being in and out of the side while serving suspensions can not help and has undoubtedly contributed to his disappointing campaign.

Had Smith continued as he started the season, he would be pushing Sheringham hard, but his dip in form and disciplinary problems see him lagging behind again.

SHERINGHAM: 8/10. SMITH: 6/10.

FINISHING

Any player who averages a goal every two and a half games is clearly a decent finisher - and that is the case with Sheringham.

Sheringham has scored around 300 goals in his career and has shown his eye for the net at all levels.

Whether it be domestically, in the Champions League or internationally Sheringham has scored regularly to mark himself out as a good finisher.

As a right-footed player, Sheringham is more at home on that side of his body but he is comfortable with his left foot, is a good header of the ball and is also a sweet striker of set-pieces both inside and outside the box.

Important goals have also become his speciality in recent seasons - just ask Manchester United fans after his vital strikes in the FA Cup and Champions League finals of 1999.

In his brief time at the top level, Smith too has earnt himself a reputation as a good finisher.

Since breaking through at Leeds - for whom he scored his first goal on his debut at Anfield - Smith has been a regular on the scoresheet.

He is probably more 'deadly' than Sheringham inside the area with a poacher's instinct while goals against the likes of Real Madrid, Anderlecht and Deportivo last season show he is also a big-game player.

Seems to have a poise beyond his years when presented with one-on-one chances and thrives on scoring.

That earns him the edge in terms of finishing inside the box, but Sheringham's all-round finishing ability earns him a tie.

SHERINGHAM: 8/10. SMITH: 8/10.

PACE

No-one in the game knows Sheringham better than his current manager, Glenn Hoddle.

But everyone knows that Sheringham has no pace.

Even Hoddle admits: "When he was 19 or 20 he never had real pace. But his first two yards were in his head and that made him such an intelligent player.

"If you have built your reputation on pace, it is not so easy to maintain the standards you once had. But Teddy never had pace."

As Hoddle says, the beauty of Sheringham's game is that he doesn't need pace to make his mark on matches.

Smith isn't blessed with the explosive pace that marks Michael Owen out as a danger to defences, but the Yorkshireman is no slouch when it comes to speed.

His powerful running style often hides the fact that he is a genuinely dangerous runner both with and without the ball at his feet.

No surprise then that he comprehensively beats Sheringham in terms of pace.

SHERINGHAM: 5/10. SMITH: 8/10.

AERIAL ABILITY

Just ask Bayern Munich about Sheringham's aerial ability should you have any doubts.

For it was the Germans' defence that Sheringham soared above to knock the ball down for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to win the Champions League for Manchester United in 1999.

At just 6ft tall Sheringham is not among the giants of the game but he generates tremendous height from a great spring.

Smith is also a good header of the ball, but at just 5ft 9in he often comes off second best if jumping with defenders.

His talent for pulling away from his markers often gives him free headers though and when presented with a chance, he has proved himself a good header of the ball.

Hard to separate the two men, but Sheringham's spring earns him the extra point.

SHERINGHAM: 8/10. SMITH: 7/10.

LINK PLAY

Sheringham is probably the best link-up merchant England have produced for at least 10 or 15 years.

A number of strikers including Tony Cascarino, Jurgen Klinsmann, Shearer and Andy Cole have benefitted from Sheringham's ability to provide an intelligent link between midfield and attack.

With his back to goal, Sheringham's brain is always ticking as he looks to bring team-mates into play and searches for the killer ball.

Sir Alex Ferguson had so much confidence in Sheringham's ability that he asked the Londoner to fill Eric Cantona's boots - and that is exactly what the experienced striker did, admittedly after a shaky start.

Smith is probably more at home facing the opposition's goal, but his power and good use of the ball are also good enough to make him a decent link man.

The youngster is strong with his back to goal and is good at holding the ball up, but where Sheringham is more than happy to draw a foul from a defender Smith seems almost too keen to beat them.

His last two red cards have come from the sort of close marking that link men must get used to, something Sheringham thrives on.

Smith has all the basics to be a good link man and has proved with Leeds he can do the job.

But with the master Sheringham his opposition here, there can be only one winner.

SHERINGHAM: 9/10. SMITH: 7/10.

TOTALS: SHERINGHAM 46 SMITH 42.

SPORTINGLIFE.COM VERDICT:

Everything points towards Sheringham boarding the plane to Japan and Korea.

He has the experience of playing at big tournaments, is probably the only one of England's strikers that is adept enough to play 'in the hole' and is on top form.

His only deficiency - his pace - matters for nothing as his game has never relied on speed of foot.

Sheringham is probably the most intelligent of England's current crop of footballers and can turn a game with his brilliant link play.

Smith, at just 21, has a long career ahead of him - but has too many rough edges at present.

His temperament is too suspect to risk him at a cauldron like the World Cup while he is lacking the sort of experience at the highest level that will be vital this summer.

If he can improve his discipline and stay focused when on the pitch, the Yorkshireman will be a long-term member of the England squad.

This World Cup looks to have come too soon for him, though.