Gordon Smith (footballer born September 1954)

This article is about the Rangers forward, and former SFA chief executive. For the St. Johnstone and Aston Villa defender, see Gordon Smith (footballer born July 1954).

Gordon Smith

Personal information
Full name	Gordon Duffield Smith
Date of birth	29 September 1954 (1954-09-29) (age 57)
Place of birth	Kilwinning, Scotland
Playing position	Forward / Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Rangers (Director of football)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1972–1977	Kilmarnock	161	(36)
1977–1980	Rangers	98	(35)
1980–1983	Brighton & Hove Albion	109	(22)
1982	→ Rangers (loan)	2	(0)
1983–1985	Manchester City	42	(13)
1985–1986	Oldham Athletic	5	(0)
1986–1987	Admira Wacker
1987–1988	FC Basel
1988	Stirling Albion	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Gordon Duffield Smith (born 29 September 1954 in Kilwinning^[1]) is a former football player who played for Rangers and Brighton & Hove Albion. After retiring as a player, he worked as a football agent and BBC football pundit before being appointed chief executive of the Scottish Football Association in 2007, a post he held until his resignation on 19 April 2010.^[2] Smith is currently the director of football of Rangers.

Playing career

Smith started his career with Kilmarnock. He was known as Casper (after the ghost) for the way he 'ghosted ' past defenders in his path. He was sold to Rangers in 1977 for £65,000. In his first season with Rangers, Smith won the domestic treble, scoring 27 goals from midfield. He was sold to Brighton & Hove Albion in 1980 for a record transfer fee of £440,000. He returned to Rangers on loan in December 1982, playing in the 1982 Scottish League Cup Final defeat by Celtic. Smith made three appearances during his loan spell, without scoring.

Smith scored for Brighton in the 1983 FA Cup Final, as they drew 2–2 with Manchester United, although Brighton lost the replay 4–0. In the final minute of the first match, Smith was through on goal and had a chance to win the Cup for Brighton, but his shot was saved by United goalkeeper Gary Bailey. The legendary radio commentator Peter Jones bellowed "and Smith must score!" as he took the shot, an infamous soundbite that has haunted him since and overshadowed some notable playing achievements.

After Brighton he joined Manchester City, before a short spell with Oldham Athletic. Smith then went to play in Austria with Admira Wacker, and in Switzerland with FC Basel, and he then finished his career back in Scotland with Stirling Albion.^[1]

After playing

Smith had a spell as assistant manager of St. Mirren between 1990 and 1993 before beginning careers in the media and as a football agent. He represented many players, including Scotland players Paul Lambert and Kenny Miller. Smith published an autobiography in 2005, entitled "And Smith Did Score", the royalties from which he donated to children's charities.^[3]

Smith relinquished his career as an agent to take up the position of Scottish Football Association chief executive, which had been vacated by David Taylor moving to UEFA, in June 2007.^[4] Soon after being appointed SFA chief executive, he suggested in a book that there was "an agenda against Rangers", the team he formerly played for.^[5] He resigned as CEO of the Scottish FA in April 2010 due to personal reasons.^[6] After leaving the SFA, Smith wrote a weekly column in the Scottish edition of the Daily Express newspaper and featured on BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound.

In June 2011, Smith was appointed Director of football at Rangers by their new owner Craig Whyte, tasked with assisting new manager Ally McCoist.^[7]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Football League Career Stats at Neil Brown
2. ^ "Smith quits as SFA chief executive". STV Sport. 19 April 2010. http://sport.stv.tv/football/171262-smith-quits-as-sfa-chief-executive/. 
3. ^ "That Miss Just History Now". Daily Mail. 10 December 2005. http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/daily-mail-london-england-the/mi_8002/is_2005_Dec_10/just-history/ai_n37686107/pg_3/. 
4. ^ "Smith all set for SFA's top job". BBC Sport website. 1 June 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/6705941.stm. 
5. ^ Spiers, Graham (10 October 2007). "'There is an agenda against Rangers over sectarianism’ says SFA chief". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/scotland/article2626108.ece. 
6. ^ "SFA chief executive Gordon Smith steps down from role". BBC Sport. 19 April 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8630722.stm. Retrieved 19 April 2010. 
7. ^ "Gordon Smith to become Rangers' director of football". BBC Sport. 18 June 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13818028.stm. 

External links

Persondata
Name	Smith, Gordon
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	29 September 1954
Place of birth	Kilwinning, Scotland
Date of death
Place of death