Willie Smith (footballer, born 1943)

Willie Smith
Personal information
Full name William Smith[1]
Date of birth (1943-12-06) 6 December 1943
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Playing position Wing half, inside left
Youth career
Blantyre Celtic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1960–1963 Celtic 0 (0)
1963–1965 Brentford 25 (0)
Hastings United

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

William 'Willie' Smith (born 6 December 1943 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a retired Scottish professional football wing half who appeared in the Football League with Brentford.[1]

Career

Early years

Smith began his career as an inside left with junior side Blantyre Celtic before securing a move to Scottish Division One side Celtic in 1960.[2] He failed to appear for the first team and departed Celtic Park in 1963.[1][2]

Brentford

Smith moved to England and was recruited by Division Three side Brentford's Scottish manager Malky McDonald in June 1963.[1] Playing as a wing half, Smith made something of a breakthrough into the first team during the 1963/64 season, making 18 appearances.[3] Over the course of the following two seasons, Smith lost his place to Mel Scott and made just 12 appearances.[1][3] He was mostly confined to the reserve team, winning the London Challenge Cup with the side in 1965.[3][4] Smith departed Griffin Park in the summer of 1966, having made 30 appearances for the Bees without scoring.[3]

Hastings United

After his release from Brentford, Smith dropped into non-league football and signed for Southern League Division One side Hastings United in the summer of 1966.[1] He helped the club to a second-place finish in the 1966/67 season, securing promotion to the Premier Division.[1]

Honours

Brentford Reserves

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920-2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 150. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  2. 1 2 "Players Who Never Played a Game M - Z". thecelticwiki.com. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Brentford Football Club History". brentfordfchistory.co.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopaedia. Yore Publications. p. 82. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.


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