- Neil Smillie
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Neil Smillie Personal information Full name Neil Smillie Date of birth 19 July 1958 Place of birth Barnsley, England Playing position Midfielder Youth career 1974-1975 Crystal Palace Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1975-1982 Crystal Palace[1] 83 (7) 1977 → Brentford (loan)[2] 3 (0) 1978 → Memphis Rogues (loan) 28 (2) 1979 → Memphis Rogues (loan) 20 (5) 1982-1985 Brighton & Hove Albion[3] 75 (2) 1985-1988 Watford[4] 16 (3) 1986-1987 Reading[5] 39 (0) 1988-1993 Brentford[2] 172 (18) 1993-1995 Gillingham[6] 53 (3) Teams managed 1995 Gillingham 1996 Wycombe Wanderers 1998-1999 Wycombe Wanderers * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).Neil Smillie (born Barnsley, 19 July 1958) is an English former professional football player and manager. He played for a number of clubs, with the high point of his career being an appearance in the 1983 FA Cup Final for Brighton & Hove Albion.
Playing career
The son of former Barnsley and Lincoln City player Ron Smillie, Neil Smillie began his career with Crystal Palace, where he spent seven years, during which he had a spell on loan at Brentford and also spent two summers playing for Memphis Rogues in the North American Soccer League. In 1982 he was sold to Brighton & Hove Albion. During his time with the south coast club he played in the 1983 FA Cup Final, in which Brighton held Manchester United to a 2–2 draw before losing in a replay.[7]
In 1985 Smillie moved to Watford for a fee of £100,000 but his spell at Vicarage Road was an unsuccessful one, with only 16 first-team appearances in three years, and in 1988 he moved on to Reading. A year later he was on the move again to Brentford, where he was a first-team regular for five years, notching up over 170 appearances.
Managerial career
In 1993 new Gillingham manager Mike Flanagan made Smillie his first signing, appointing him as player-coach and, after Flanagan was dismissed as manager by the receivers whilst Gillingham were in administration in 1995, Smillie was appointed manager for the remainder of the season.[7]
When new owners took over Gillingham in the summer of 1995, Smillie moved on to Wycombe Wanderers, where he served as youth team coach. He had a brief spell as caretaker manager in 1996, and later gained the job on a permanent basis in 1998. His stint in charge was a short one, however, as he was sacked the following year.[7]
References
- ^ "CRYSTAL PALACE : 1946/47 - 2005/06". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database. http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/crystalpalace/crystalpalace.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
- ^ a b "BRENTFORD : 1946/47 - 2005/06". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database. http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/brentford/brentford.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
- ^ "BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION : 1946/47 - 2005/06". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database. http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/brighton/brighton.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
- ^ "WATFORD : 1946/47 - 2005/06". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database. http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/watford/watford.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
- ^ "READING : 1946/47 - 2006/07". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database. http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/reading/reading.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
- ^ "GILLINGHAM : 1950/51 - 2005/06". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database. http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/gillingham/gillingham.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
- ^ a b c Triggs, Roger (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing Ltd. pp. p298. ISBN 0-7524-2243-X.
Wycombe Wanderers F.C. – managers McCormick (1951–52) · Cann (1952–61) · McDonald (1961) · G. Adams (1961–62) · Welsh (1962–64) · Darvill (1964–68) · Lee (1968–76) · Powell (1976–77) · Reardon (1977–78) · Williams (1978–80) · Keen (1980–84) · Bence (1984–86) · Gane (1986–87) · Suddaby (1987–88) · Kelman (1988–90) · O'Neill (1990–95) · Smith (1995–96) · Gregory (1996–98) · Smillie (1998–99) · Sanchez (1999–2003) · T. Adams (2003–04) · Gorman (2004–06) · Lambert (2006–08) · Taylor (2008–09) · Waddock (2009–)
Categories:- 1958 births
- Living people
- English footballers
- The Football League players
- North American Soccer League players
- Crystal Palace F.C. players
- Brentford F.C. players
- Memphis Rogues players
- Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players
- Watford F.C. players
- Reading F.C. players
- Gillingham F.C. players
- English football managers
- Gillingham F.C. managers
- Wycombe Wanderers F.C. managers
- People from Barnsley
- English expatriate footballers
- Expatriate soccer players in the United States
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