Gary Smith (footballer, born 1971)
Gary Smith (born 25 March 1971) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 25 March 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990–1991 | Falkirk | 70 | (0) |
| 1991–1996 | Aberdeen | 143 | (1) |
| 1996–1997 | Rennes | 14 | (0) |
| 1997–2000 | Aberdeen | 67 | (1) |
| 2000–2006 | Hibernian | 159 | (1) |
| 2006–2007 | Cowdenbeath | 10 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | → Dundee (loan) | 21 | (1) |
| Total | 484 | (4) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career edit
Club career edit
Smith was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He began his professional career at Falkirk, making his debut in 1989. He was snapped up by Aberdeen in 1991 and played in three cup finals for the Dons. He scored an own goal in the 1992 Scottish League Cup Final, which ultimately led to Rangers winning the trophy.[1]
In 1996, he left for French club Rennes (Heart of Midlothian winger Allan Johnston making the same move), before returning to Aberdeen in 1997. He signed for Hibernian in 2000 and despite falling out of favour with manager Franck Sauzée, re-established himself as a regular in the team under Bobby Williamson. After a solid spell at Hibs, Smith was allowed to leave Easter Road for Cowdenbeath in 2006. He was then loaned to Dundee from Cowdenbeath after he was passed over for the managerial position.[2]
International career edit
Smith was called up to the senior Scotland squad by Andy Roxburgh in 1993 but was ultimately never capped at that level.[3]
Career statistics edit
Club edit
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[4][5][6] edit
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Falkirk | 1988-89 | Scottish First Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 3 | 0 |
| 1989-90 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 37 | 0 | ||
| 1990-91 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 36 | 0 | ||
| Total | 70 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 75 | 0 | ||
| Aberdeen | 1991–92 | Scottish Premier Division | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 |
| 1992–93 | 40 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | ||
| 1993–94 | 21 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 32 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 0 | ||
| 1995–96 | 33 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | ||
| Total | 143 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 176 | 1 | ||
| Rennes | 1996-97 | Ligue 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| Total | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
| Aberdeen | 1997-98 | Scottish Premier Division | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1 |
| 1998-99 | SPL | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| 1999-00 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 67 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 1 | ||
| Hibernian | 2000-01 | SPL | 37 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
| 2001-02 | 30 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 1 | ||
| 2002-03 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 0 | ||
| 2003-04 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2004-05 | 20 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 1 | ||
| 2005-06 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
| Total | 159 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 190 | 2 | ||
| Cowdenbeath | 2006-07 | Scottish Second Division | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 11 | 0 |
| Total | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 11 | 0 | ||
| Dundee (loan) | 2006-07 | Scottish First Division | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 22 | 1 |
| Career total | 484 | 4 | 41 | 1 | 31 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 562 | 5 | ||
Honours edit
Falkirk
Aberdeen
- Scottish League Cup: 1995;[7] runners-up 1992[1]
- Scottish Cup: runners-up 1993[8]
Hibernian
- Scottish Cup: runners-up 2001[9]
- Scottish League Cup: runners-up 2004[10]
References edit
- ^ a b McKinney, David (26 October 1992). "Football: Smith's slip gives Rangers the prize". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
- ^ Dundee get veteran defender Smith, BBC Sport.
- ^ "Roxburgh introduces new generation in the wake of Lisbon fiasco". heraldscotland.com. 11 May 1993. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ "bettermeddle..." bettermeddle.org.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- ^ "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- ^ "Gary Smith | Player Statistics | Dundee (Dee Archive)". deearchive.co.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- ^ McKinney, David (27 November 1995). "Dodds and Shearer end Aberdeen's wait". The Independent. London. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ McKinney, David (31 May 1993). "Scottish up Final: Rangers continue to reign supreme". The Independent. London. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ Celtic lift cup to complete Treble BBC Sport, 26 May 2001
- ^ Livingston lift CIS Cup, BBC Sport, 14 March 2004
External links edit
- Gary Smith at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
- Gary Smith at Soccerbase