Barry Smith (footballer, born 1974)

Barry Smith

Alloa chairman Mike Mulraney shakes hands with new Alloa manager Barry Smith (right)
Personal information
Full name Barry Martin Smith
Date of birth (1974-02-19) 19 February 1974
Place of birth Paisley, Scotland
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
 Aldershot Town (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1991–1995 Celtic 22 (0)
1995–2006 Dundee 400 (3)
2006–2008 Valur 41 (1)
2007 → Partick Thistle (loan) 18 (1)
2008 → Greenock Morton (loan) 5 (0)
National team‡
1992 Scotland under-21[1] 5 (0)
Teams managed
2010–2013 Dundee
2014–2015 Alloa Athletic
2015– Aldershot Town

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:49, 7 May 2010 (UTC).
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13:47, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Barry Smith (born 19 February 1974 in Paisley) is a Scottish football player and manager. Smith played in the right back, centre back, and defensive midfielder roles for Celtic, Dundee, Valur, Partick Thistle, Greenock Morton and Brechin City before entering management with Dundee. He was most recently the manager of Alloa Athletic.

Smith combined his playing duties while on loan at Brechin City with managing the Dundee U-19 side before taking on the role of first team manager following the departure of previous manager Gordon Chisholm who was made redundant when the club went into administration in October 2010. Already admitted into Dundee's Hall of Fame[2] for making 400 appearances, scoring three goals and captaining the side from 1997 until 2006, Smith's status as a club legend[2] was cemented when he led the team to a club record 23-game unbeaten streak in the league.

Club career

Celtic

Smith began his career with Scottish Premier League side Celtic. He made his début aged 17 and played 22 games, including two Old Firm matches, between 1991 and 1995.

Dundee

Smith never gained a regular place at Celtic Park and joined fellow Scottish side Dundee in August 1995. He quickly established himself in the team at right-back and was made club captain in 1997, the same year Dundee achieved promotion to the Premier Division. After playing with the Dens Park side for ten-and-a-half seasons, Smith reached his testimonial year. He also took on the role of joint caretaker manager (with Bobby Mann) for the final two games of the 2005–2006 season following the dismissal of Alan Kernaghan.

Valur

At the end of the 2005–2006 season, Smith transferred to Icelandic outfit Valur, helping them to third place (in 2006) and winning (in 2007) the Icelandic Premier Division, their first championship in 20 years.

Partick Thistle and Greenock Morton

During the Icelandic close season, Smith was loaned back to Scottish clubs. In January 2007, he joined Partick Thistle, making 18 appearances and scoring one goal, while in January 2008 he joined Greenock Morton, making 5 appearances until he underwent a cartilage operation which kept him out for the rest of the season.

Return to Dundee

On 4 November 2008, Smith returned to Dundee as U19 coach, with his registration as a player following in January,[3] whereupon he was loaned out to neighbours Brechin City, with the ability to be recalled at any time. Brechin City's status as a part-time team enabled Smith to continue in his role as U19 Coach at Dens Park.[4]

Managerial career

On 15 October 2010, Smith was appointed manager of Dundee. He succeeded Gordon Chisholm, who had been made redundant after the club entered administration. Smith led the team to a club record unbeaten league streak of 23 games, guiding Dundee to safety despite the team receiving a 25-point deduction for entering administration for the second time in seven years (confirmed after a 0–1 win away to Ross County). This was rewarded, on 10 May 2011, when Smith signed a new three-year deal at Dundee, contracting him as manager until the end of the 2013–14 season.

Despite finishing second in the 2011–12 Scottish First Division, Dundee were admitted to the Scottish Premier League due to the liquidation of Rangers.[5] Dundee struggled in the early part of the 2012–13 Scottish Premier League, winning three out of 22 matches.[5] Despite this, the Dundee board restated their backing for Smith, citing the difficulty in adjusting to the SPL in unusual circumstances.[5] However, just 47 days later, Smith and Dundee parted company.[6] His sacking was criticised by St Johnstone manager Steve Lomas, believing Smith deserved another chance.[7]

On 1 July 2013, Smith joined Ross County as the club's Under-20s coach.[8] In January 2014, Smith was appointed manager of Scottish Championship club Alloa Athletic.[9] He guided Alloa to the final of the 2014–15 Scottish Challenge Cup.[10] Alloa defeated Rangers in the semi-final, with Smith noting the fact he had become the first Alloa manager to win a match against Rangers.[10] Smith said in December 2014 that he hoped to return to a full-time management job.[11] After a run of one win in 13 matches, he resigned as Alloa manager in March 2015.[11]

On 27 April 2015, Aldershot Town appointed Barry Smith as their manager.[12]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.fitbastats.com/scotlandu21/player.php?playerid=205
  2. 1 2 "Hall of Fame Inductees". dundeefc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  3. ↑ "Barry comes home too". dundeefc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
  4. ↑ "Barry on loan to Brechin". Dundee FC Online. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 "Dundee give backing to manager Barry Smith". BBC Sport. BBC. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  6. ↑ "Dundee FC and Barry Smith Part Company". Dundee FC Online. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  7. ↑ "Steve Lomas: Dundee didn't give Barry Smith a fair crack at job". STV. 21 February 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  8. ↑ "Former Dundee manager Barry Smith joins Ross County’s coaching team". STV Sport. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "Alloa Athletic: Barry Smith takes over as new Wasps manager". BBC Sport. BBC. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Alloa 3-2 Rangers: Ally McCoist vows to stay on after shock loss". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  11. 1 2 "Barry Smith resigns as manager of Alloa Athletic". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Aldershot Town appoint Barry Smith as manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 March 2016.

External links

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