Jonathan Smith (footballer, born 1986)

Jonathan Smith

Smith training with York City in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Jonathan Peter Smith[1]
Date of birth	17 October 1986[1]
Place of birth	Preston, England
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[2]
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Luton Town
Number	4
Youth career
0000–2005	Morecambe
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2005–2007	Morecambe	0	(0)
2006	→ Fleetwood Town (loan)	16	(1)
2007	→ Bamber Bridge (loan)
2007–2010	Forest Green Rovers	107	(15)
2010–2011	York City	39	(4)
2011–2012	Swindon Town	38	(3)
2012–2013	York City	12	(0)
2012	→ Luton Town (loan)	4	(1)
2013–	Luton Town	120	(8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:03, 30 April 2016 (UTC). † Appearances (goals)

Jonathan Peter Smith (born 17 October 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for League Two club Luton Town.

Smith started his career with Morecambe, who loaned him out to Fleetwood Town and Bamber Bridge. Having appeared twice for Morecambe he was released in 2007 and subsequently signed for Forest Green Rovers. After three years with Forest Green he signed for York City in 2010, but departed after a year to join Swindon Town. With them he won the League Two title in the 2011–12 season, but was transfer listed following their promotion and returned to York in 2012. He signed for Luton Town later that year, initially on loan, before signing permanently in 2013.

Career

Morecambe

Born in Preston, Lancashire, Smith began his career with Morecambe, having progressed through the club's the youth system.^[3] He made his first team debut in the Football League Trophy fixture against Grimsby Town on 18 October 2005,^[4] with Smith scoring Morecambe's final penalty kick in their victorious penalty shoot-out.^[5] He joined Northern Premier League First Division outfit Fleetwood Town on loan in January 2006 and made his debut in a 2–0 victory at home to Belper Town on 28 January.^[6] He stayed at the club until April 2006,^[7] having made 16 appearances and scored one goal.^[8]

Smith was loaned out to Northern Premier League First Division side Bamber Bridge in February 2007.^[9] On 31 May 2007, following Morecambe's promotion to League Two, Smith was released by Sammy McIlroy alongside fellow Morecambe teammates Danny Meadowcroft and Thomas Pickersgill.^[10]

Forest Green Rovers

Smith completed his free transfer move to Conference Premier club Forest Green Rovers on 3 July 2007 and became an influential member of the squad during his three-year stay at the Gloucestershire club.^[11][12] He was a part of the side that made it to the FA Cup third round during the 2008–09 season and scored in Forest Green's 4–3 loss to Derby County on 3 January 2009.^[13] Smith made 134 appearances for Forest Green in all competitions.^[13][14][15]

York City

Smith playing for York City in 2010

Smith left Forest Green Rovers after signing for Conference Premier rivals York City on a free transfer for a small compensation fee on 6 July 2010.^[16][17] Like his career at Forest Green, Smith also helped York to a credible FA Cup run, playing in their five games before being eliminated in the third round by Premier League side Bolton Wanderers on 8 January 2011.^[18] He made 44 appearances for York in the 2010–11 season, in which he scored five goals.^[18]

Swindon Town

On 21 June 2011, Smith joined League Two club Swindon Town on a two-year contract to become manager Paolo Di Canio's second summer signing.^[19] Smith joined the Wiltshire club for an officially undisclosed fee of £30,000.^[19][20] He finished the 2011–12 season with 48 appearances and 3 goals, with 38 of those appearances coming in the league, as Swindon won the League Two title.^[21]

Return to York City

Having been transfer listed by Swindon at the end of the season, Smith returned to York City after signing for the newly promoted League Two side on a two-year contract on 21 July 2012.^[22] He made his second debut for York in their game away at League One Doncaster Rovers in the League Cup first round on 11 August 2012, which the side lost 4–2 in a penalty shoot-out following a 1–1 draw after extra time.^[23] He then played in York's first Football League fixture since their promotion, a 3–1 defeat at home to Wycombe Wanderers on 18 August 2012.^[24]

Luton Town

On 5 November 2012, Smith was loaned out to Conference Premier club Luton Town until 5 January 2012, having played in 13 games for York.^[25] He made his debut the following day in a 1–0 defeat at Hereford United.^[26] Smith scored his first goal for Luton with a header in their 3–0 home win over Alfreton Town on 8 December 2012.^[26][27] This proved to be his final appearance in his loan spell for Luton, as he was recalled by York on 11 December 2012, having scored once in six appearances for the Bedfordshire team.^[28] Smith was disappointed at the recall, having previously expressed his desire to stay at Luton and experience "playing in front of a big crowd every week".^[29] On 29 December 2012, it was confirmed that Smith would make a permanent move to Luton on 1 January 2013, signing a one-and-a-half-year contract after the two clubs agreed a fee of £50,000.^[30] He made 28 appearances as a permanent player for Luton in the 2012–13 season, including in the club's 1–0 FA Cup win over Premier League side Norwich City.

Smith became a constant presence in central midfield during the first half of Luton's 2013–14 season, which helped to propel the club into second place in the table. However, a mistimed challenge from Jon Nurse in a 2–1 win over Barnet on 26 December 2013 saw Smith suffer a "horrific"^[31] bone fracture of both his right tibia and fibula.^[31] Luton won promotion to League Two with three games of the 2013–14 season remaining, and Smith came on as a late substitute four months to the day after his injury in a 1–0 victory over Hyde on the last day of the campaign.^[32]

In the 2014–15 season, Smith returned fully fit to Luton's starting line-up in mid-September 2014. His return coincided with an unbeaten league run that placed the club near the top of the table. Luton's form fell away in the final months of the season, resulting in the club finishing in eighth position, but Smith's influence on the campaign saw him awarded the Players' Player of the Year and Luton Town Website Player of the Year accolades.^[33] At the end of the season he signed a three-year contract extension with the club.^[34]

He scored Luton's first goal of the 2015–16 season on 8 August 2015, deflecting in a Craig Mackail-Smith shot to earn the club a 1–1 draw with Accrington Stanley.^[35]

Career statistics

Smith playing for Forest Green Rovers in 2010

As of match played 30 April 2016.

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Morecambe	2005–06[4]	Conference National	0	0	0	0	—		1[lower-alpha 1]	0	1	0
	2006–07[36]	Conference National	0	0	1	0	—		0	0	1	0
	Total		0	0	1	0	—		1	0	2	0
Fleetwood Town (loan)	2005–06[8]	NPL First Division	16	1	—		—		—		16	1
Forest Green Rovers	2007–08[14]	Conference Premier	25	2	5	0	—		2[lower-alpha 2]	0	32	2
	2008–09[13]	Conference Premier	42	6	5	2	—		9[lower-alpha 3]	0	56	8
	2009–10[15]	Conference Premier	40	7	5	1	—		1[lower-alpha 2]	0	46	8
	Total		107	15	15	3	—		12	0	134	18
York City	2010–11[18]	Conference Premier	39	4	5	1	—		0	0	44	5
Swindon Town	2011–12[21]	League Two	38	3	3	0	2	0	5[lower-alpha 1]	0	48	3
York City	2012–13[23]	League Two	12	0	0	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	14	0
Luton Town	2012–13[26]	Conference Premier	28	1	4	0	—		2[lower-alpha 2]	0	34	1
	2013–14[26]	Conference Premier	24	2	2	0	—		0	0	26	2
	2014–15[37]	League Two	35	2	4	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	40	2
	2015–16[38]	League Two	37	4	2	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	41	4
	Total		124	9	12	0	1	0	4	0	141	9
Career total			336	32	36	4	4	0	23	0	399	36

1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
2. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
3. Five appearances in Conference League Cup, four in FA Trophy

Honours

Swindon Town

• Football League Two: 2011–12

Luton Town

• Conference Premier: 2013–14^[26]

References

1. "Jonathan Smith". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
2. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2012). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2012–2013 (43rd ed.). London: Headline Publishing Group. p. 541. ISBN 978-0-7553-6356-8.
3. "Meet the Players & Manager". Forest Green Rovers F.C. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
4. "Games played by Jonathan Smith in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
5. "Grimsby Town vs Morecambe". Grimsby Town F.C. 18 October 2005. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
6. "Fleetwood Town 2 Belper Town 0". Fleetwood Town F.C. 28 January 2006. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012.
7. "Fleetwood Town 1 Stocksbridge Park Steels 1". Fleetwood Town F.C. 23 April 2006. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012.
8. "Player Details: Season 2005–2006". SoccerFactsUK. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
9. "Bamber Bridge lose out in battle of the Briggs". Chorley Guardian. 5 February 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
10. "McIlroy releases Morecambe trio". BBC Sport. 31 May 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
11. "Forest Green sign James and Smith". BBC Sport. 3 July 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
12. "Jonathan Smith and Conal Platt quit Forest Green Rovers". Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham). 17 June 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
13. Williams, Tony; Wright, James, eds. (2009). Non-League Club Directory 2010. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 74–75. ISBN 978-1-869833-66-4.
14. Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2008). Non-League Club Directory 2009. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 72–73. ISBN 978-1-869833-59-6.
15. Williams, Tony; Wright, James, eds. (2010). Non-League Club Directory 2011. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 78–79. ISBN 978-1-869833-68-8.
16. "York City sign Jonathan Smith and George Purcell". The Press (York). 6 July 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
17. "York City sign Jonathan Smith and George Purcell". BBC Sport. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
18. Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2011). Non-League Club Directory 2012. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 156–157. ISBN 978-1-869833-70-1.
19. "Jonathan Smith signing secured". Swindon Town F.C. 21 June 2011. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012.
20. "York City's Jonathan Smith makes Swindon Town move". BBC Sport. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
21. "Games played by Jonathan Smith in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
22. "York City re-sign Jonathan Smith from Swindon". BBC Sport. 21 July 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
23. "Games played by Jonathan Smith in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
24. "York 1–3 Wycombe". BBC Sport. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
25. "Jonathan Smith: Luton Town sign York City midfielder on loan". BBC Sport. 5 November 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
26. "J. Smith". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
27. "Luton Town 3–0 Alfreton Town". BBC Sport. 8 December 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
28. "York City recall Jonathan Smith from Luton Town loan spell". The Press (York). 11 December 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
29. "Smith hoping for a permanent Luton move". Luton Today. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
30. "Jonathan Smith: Luton Town sign York City man permanently". BBC Sport. 29 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
31. "Updated: Still confirms Smith has broken his tibia and fibula as he's set to have it 'plated and pinned'". Luton Today. 27 December 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
32. "Hyde 0-1 Luton". BBC Sport. 26 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
33. "Doyle and Smith the big winners at awards night". Dunstable Today. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
34. "Jonathan Smith: Luton Town midfielder signs new contract". BBC Sport. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
35. "Accrington 1-1 Luton". BBC Sport. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
36. Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2007). Non-League Club Directory 2008. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 184–185. ISBN 978-1-869833-57-2.
37. "Games played by Jonathan Smith in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
38. "Games played by Jonathan Smith in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 February 2016.

External links

• Jonathan Smith profile at Luton Town F.C.
• Jonathan Smith career statistics at Soccerbase