Gordon Smith (footballer, born December 1954)

See also Gordon Smith (disambiguation)

Gordon Duffield Smith (born Kilwinning December 29 1954) was a football player who played for Rangers F.C. and Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. and currently works as a football agent and BBC football pundit

Smith started his career with Kilmarnock and was sold to Rangers in 1977 for £65,000. In his first season with Rangers, Smith won the domestic treble, scoring 27 goals from midfield. Smith was sold to Brighton & Hove Albion in 1980 for a record transfer fee of £440,000. In 1999, he was voted into the greatest 100 Rangers players of all time.

He scored for Brighton in the 1983 FA Cup Final as they drew 2-2 with Manchester United, although unfortunately for Smith, Brighton lost the replay 4-0. The commentary for the first match included the phrase "...and Smith must score" (which he didn't, on that occasion), an infamous soundbite that has haunted him since and overshadowed some notable playing achievements.

On leaving Brighton in March 1984, Smith went on to Manchester City where he finished top scorer (with 12 goals) in their 1984-85 promotion campaign to the top Division.

Smith went on to play at the top level in Austria with Admira Wacker and Switzerland with FC Basel before retiring as a player in 1988 after a short spell at Stirling Albion. He had a spell as Assistant Manager of St Mirren between 1990 and 1993 before taking up his career in the media.

In his career as a football agent, he managed the careers of many footballers including Celtic's Paul Lambert.