- Dean Smith (footballer)
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For other uses, see Dean Smith (disambiguation).
Dean Smith 
Personal information Full name Dean Smith Date of birth 19 March 1971 Place of birth West Bromwich, England Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Playing position Centre back Club information Current club Walsall (manager) Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1989–1994 Walsall 142 (2) 1994–1997 Hereford United 117 (19) 1997–2003 Leyton Orient 239 (32) 2003–2004 Sheffield Wednesday 55 (1) 2004–2005 Port Vale 13 (0) Total 566 (54) Teams managed 2011– Walsall * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).Dean Smith (born 19 March 1971 in West Bromwich) is an English footballer turned football manager, who is now in charge of League One club Walsall.
Starting his playing career with Walsall in 1989, over the course of five years he played almost 150 league games. Signing with Hereford United in 1994, three years later he moved on to Leyton Orient. In six years with Orient he made close to 250 league appearances, before earning a move to Sheffield Wednesday in 2003. After a season with Wednesday he moved on to Port Vale, hanging up his boots in 2005.
Returning to Leyton Orient, he worked as assistant manager until January 2009. In July 2009, he was appointed as Head of Youth at Walsall, before taking the management reigns in January 2011. He took Walsall from relegation certainties to safety in his first four months in charge.
Contents
Playing career
He started his playing career at Walsall and was later sold for £80,000 to Hereford United (a Hereford club record). Smith was captain at Edgar Street during the club's rise to the Third Division playoffs in 1995–96, where they were beaten by Darlington. The following season Hereford were relegated from the Football League and Smith departed to Leyton Orient, with a tribunal setting the fee at £42,500. The period between 1995 and 1999 was his most prolific in terms of goals, scoring 34, of which 14 were penalties.
He twice captained Orient to the Third Division play-off final; in 1999 and 2001, losing both times. He joined Division One side Sheffield Wednesday in February 2003, whom he also captained.[1] However they were relegated at the end of the season and Smith was one of numerous players to be shown the door.[2] In July 2004, he signed for Martin Foyle's Port Vale.[3] His playing days ended in January 2005 when he left Vale to become youth team coach at his old club Orient.
Coaching career
Smith was promoted to the role of assistant manager at Leyton Orient toward the end of the 2004–05 season.[4] After a poor run of form he left Orient, along with long serving manager Martin Ling.[5] In July 2009, Smith returned to his first club, Walsall, in the role of Head of Youth.[6]
Smith was appointed caretaker manager of Walsall on 4 January 2011, following the dismissal of Chris Hutchings. Seventeen days later he was announced as permanent manager of the club until the end of the season.[7] Taking over managerial duties with his side nine points adrift at the foot of League One, Smith managed to steer Walsall out of the drop zone before the season's end.[8]
Managerial stats
- Competitive matches only - Correct as of 19 November 2011
Team Nat From To Record P W D L GF GA GD W% Walsall 
4 January 2011 Present 47 11 18 18 59 70 −11 23.4 Total 47 11 18 18 59 70 −11 23.4 References
- ^ "Smith to captain Owls". BBC Sport. 12 June 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sheff_wed/2984296.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
- ^ "Owls boss wields the axe". BBC Sport. 13 May 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sheff_wed/3711873.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
- ^ "Vale switch for Smith". BBC Sport. 5 July 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/p/port_vale/3868253.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
- ^ "Management duo sign O's contracts". BBC Sport. 29 June 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/leyton_orient/5043726.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
- ^ "Leyton Orient manager Ling leaves". BBC Sport. 18 January 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/leyton_orient/7836234.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
- ^ "Hutchings Delighted with Latest Appointment". saddlers.co.uk. 30 July 2009. http://www.saddlers.co.uk/page/News/0,,10428~1737901,00.html. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
- ^ "Dean Smith gets Walsall job until end of season". BBC Sport. 21 January 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/w/walsall/9369220.stm. Retrieved 2011-01-21.
- ^ "Southampton 3 - 1 Walsall". BBC Sport. 7 May 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13247222.stm. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
External links
Walsall F.C. – managers Smallwood (1888–91) · Burton (1891–93) · Robinson (1893–95) · Ailso (1895–96) · Parsloe (1896–97) · Ford (1897–98) · Hughes (1898–99) · Ford (1899–1901) · Shutt (1908–12) · Price (1912–15) · Burchell (1921–26) · Ashworth (1926–27) · Torrance (1927–28) · Kerr (1928–29) · Scholey (1929–30) · O'Rourke (1930–32) · Slade (1932–34) · Wilson (1934–37) · Lowes (1937–44) · Hibbs (1944–51) · McPhee (1951) · Fletcher (1952–53) · Buckley (1953–55) · Love (1955–57) · Moore (1957–64) · Wood (1964) · Shaw (1964–68) · Graham (1968) · Lewin (1968–69) · Moore (1969–72) · Smith (1972–73) · Allen (1973) · Fraser (1974–77) · Mackay (1977–78) · Ashman (1978) · Sibley (1979) · Buckley (1979–82) · Martin (1981–82) · Buckley (1982–86) · Coakley (1986–88) · Barnwell (1989–90) · Hibbitt (1990–94) · Nicholl (1994–97) · Sørensen (1997–98) · Graydon (1998–2002) · Lee (2002–04) · Merson (2004–06) · Halsall (2006) · Broadhurst (2006) · Kinsella (2006) · Money (2006–08) · Mullen (2008–09) · Schofield (2009) · Hutchings (2009–11) · Smith (2011–)
Walsall F.C. – current squad Football League One managers Categories:- 1971 births
- Living people
- People from West Bromwich
- English footballers
- Association football defenders
- Walsall F.C. players
- Hereford United F.C. players
- Leyton Orient F.C. players
- Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players
- Port Vale F.C. players
- The Football League players
- English football managers
- Walsall F.C. managers
- The Football League managers
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