John Smith (soccer player, 1939)

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John Smith
Personnel
birthday January 4, 1939
place of birth Shoreditch ,  England
date of death February 12, 1988
Place of death Brent ,  England
position Half forward , outside runner
Juniors
Years station
1954-1956 West Ham United
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1956-1960 West Ham United 125 (20)
1960-1964 Tottenham Hotspur 21 ( 01)
1964-1965 Coventry City 35 ( 01)
1965-1966 Leyton Orient 39 ( 03)
1966-1968 Torquay United 68 ( 08)
1968-1971 Swindon Town 84 ( 09)
1971-1972 Walsall FC 13 ( 01)
1973-1974 Dundalk FC 17 ( 00)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1959 England U-23 1 ( 00)
Stations as a trainer
Years station
1972-1973 Walsall FC
1973-1974 Dundalk FC (player-manager)
1 Only league games are given.

John Smith (born January 4, 1939 in Shoreditch , † February 12, 1988 in Brent ) was an English football player and coach . He was mostly used in the half positions and had his best time at the beginning at West Ham United . After moving to Tottenham Hotspur , he was only rarely able to prove himself and only at the lower class Swindon Town he celebrated notable successes, including in particular the triumph in the 1969 League Cup and the accompanying final victory over Arsenal .

Athletic career

Smith joined West Ham United as an amateur in the summer of 1954 and signed a professional contract there on his 17th birthday. In the 1956/57 season he advanced to become a regular at the then second division and promoted to the First Division in the 1957/58 season, he contributed eleven goals in 32 league appearances. Almost two years later, Smith, who could be used as a half-striker and outside runner , moved to first division competitor Tottenham Hotspur in March 1960.

On his debut for the "Spurs" on April 9, 1960 against Everton (1: 2), he replaced Les Allen . He then had to wait a long time before the next opportunity presented himself to Manchester United on January 16, 1961 . This season Tottenham won the "double" from the English championship and the FA Cup . This mission, in which Smith acted as the "third choice" behind Cliff Jones and Terry Medwin on the right wing position , resulted in another defeat (2-0) and was again his only appearance, which was not enough to receive an official title medal. From then on, he came into play sporadically and a little more often, where he last acted defensive in the next three years in his 19 league appearances. On December 22, 1962 he shot against his ex-club West Ham United (4: 4) his first and only league goal for the Spurs. In March 1964 he moved to Coventry City , which was just successfully countering the rise from the third division .

In October 1965 he returned to London for second division rivals Leyton Orient and shortly after relegation as bottom of the table , he moved to Torquay United after only one year , which - like Leyton Orient now - was hired out in the third division. He then celebrated some respectable successes from June 1968 with Swindon Town. With this club he rose not only as a runner-up in 1969 in the Second Division; he won two Anglo-Italian cup competitions : the league cup in 1969 and the cup a year later. The greatest achievement was winning the English League Cup in 1969 . Here he was also in the final team, which defeated Arsenal 3-1 after extra time (when the score was 1-0, he was replaced in the 77th minute). His last active position in England was from June 1971 at FC Walsall , for whom he also worked as a coach between October 1972 and March 1973. He then took over Irish first division club Dundalk FC , which was reinforced under Smith's leadership with a variety of English players, including Jim Dainty , Doug Devlin , Willie Penman , John Coyne and Willie Waddell . The sporting success did not materialize, however, only one success in the Leinster Senior Cup was recorded. After a poor start to the 1974/75 season, he had to leave the club in November 1974.

He died young at the age of just 49.

Title / Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "England - U-23 International Results - Details" (RSSSF)
  2. ^ "John Smith" (West Ham United Statistics)
  3. ↑ dundalkfcwhoswho.com: John Smith , accessed December 31, 2017
  4. ^ "Past Managers" (Walsall Football Club)
personal data
SURNAME Smith, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English soccer player and coach
DATE OF BIRTH January 4, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Shoreditch
DATE OF DEATH February 12, 1988
Place of death Brent