Khano Smith’s Days As A Bull May Be Over Soon

By: Dave Martinez | July 2nd, 2009

Ives is reporting two players have been dropped from guaranteed to non-guaranteed status. Lewis at the Post is saying it is only one. And, from my side, all I am hearing is one name.

Khano Smith.

So let’s just work with that for now (though we know SBI has a way of being correct 99.99% of the time).

As we have been saying, Ernst Obster seems to be a practical lock for the roster, and retired Serb forward Veljko Paunovic (31) has impressed with his performance in training. Paunovic has bounced from club to club for a few years, with three stints in Altletico Madrid. Some seem to have reservations about that, but I would take a guy who has been to one of the premier La Liga teams three times any day – as long as his 6 month “retirement” didn’t leave him with nothing in the tank.

What does this have to do with Khano Smith? Everything. With his contract no longer guaranteed, his roster spot may be used to bring in the veteran Serb or another player onto the roster. And this has been directly a result of his inability to meet with the lofty expectations Red Bull had when they acquired the left winger. He has been absolutely terrible and disinterested on the pitch. It seems from the day of his first benching, Smith has not been able to work his way back into the starting line up.

Surely, Khano imagined a dream scenario in New York; he signed this big contract to fill in the shoes of uber fan favorite Dave Van Den Bergh, meaning more consistent time on the field with the starting XI. But not so fast. Dismal, disinterested performances followed, until he found himself riding the pine. Ever since, Smith has seemed uncomfortable with and, quite frankly, regretful of his move to New York. The mere fact that he walked over to the Revolution fans after a 4-0 drubbing of his team, and gave them a clap and a bow speaks volumes. He just hasn’t been able to settle here, and this is why the Bulls are looking to vacate his spot as soon as possible.

Khano Smiths days as a Red Bull seem to be winding down to an end, and that will open up another roster spot. Will Paunovic be the man to fill it? Will it be someone else? Should Khano get one more chance?! Let me know . . .

Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images