I really liked him, enjoyed his commitment to the cause, and his appreciated his intervention when our away fans were receiving some rough treatment from stewards and police during a game a couple of years ago. For that alone he could have gone down as a bit of a cult hero.
Ultimately his partnership with Mings at the start of the 19/20 season probably goes down as being similar to the Vlaar/ Senderos partnership from 14/15, which burnt bright but short. He clearly lacked pace, and the mistake against Spurs was difficult to overcome unfortunately.
Like others, I wish him a long and successful career.
It will be interesting to see how Smith decides to deal with defensive cover. Engels didn't get a look in last season, but if we are unlucky with injuries, the third and fourth choice centre-backs could see much more game time.
