Phil Smith (footballer, born 1979)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Phillip Smith | ||
| Height | 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Swindon Town | ||
| Number | 12 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Millwall | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2001 | Millwall | 5 | (0) |
| 2001 | Folkestone Invicta | 1 | (0) |
| 2002 | Dover Athletic | 13 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | Margate | 64 | (0) |
| 2004–2006 | Crawley Town | 73 | (0) |
| 2006– | Swindon Town | 105 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2005 | England C | 1 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:04, 08 May 2011 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 09:43, 19 March 2008 (UTC) | |||
Phillip "Phil" Smith (born December 14, 1979 in Harrow, Greater London) is an English professional footballer for Swindon Town. Smith is a goalkeeper and wears shirt No.12.
Smith started his career with Millwall before being released and falling into non-league football, initially with Folkestone Invicta. This was followed by spells at Dover Athletic and Margate. Smith went on to play for Crawley Town where he was regular first choice goalkeeper for the Red Devils.
Crawley went into administration in 2006 and subsequently made all of their players available for transfer. Smith signed for Swindon after a successful pre-season trial which included winning the Copa Ibiza friendly competition in the Summer of 2006. Smith move to Swindon was partly helped by then Swindon manager Dennis Wise knowing Smith from his spell at Millwall when Wise was first team manager.
First Team at Swindon Town
Smith's was initially signed as backup to first choice goalkeeper Peter Brezovan and handed the No.25 shirt for the 2006/2007 season. After Brezovan suffered a broken arm in a home game against Grimsby Town on October 14, 2006, Smith took over in goal after an unsuccessful two game loan spell from Andrew Lonergan, from Preston North End.
Smith picked up the PFA Fans Player of the Month for December 2006. This award was presented to him on January 27, 2007, before the home game against Macclesfield Town, after a string of solid displays kept Swindon in the automatic promotion places. Smith was also rewarded for his efforts, with a two year contract extension. His consistent displays between the sticks during the 2006-2007 promotion winning season did not go unnoticed by the fans, who named him Swindon's 'Fans Player of the Season' in May 2007.
Smith was made official No.1 in the summer of 2007, where he continued to impress then manager Paul Sturrock. He performed well in the opening match of the 2007/2008 season away to Northampton Town, where Swindon drew 1–1. He continued his outstanding performances, remaining first choice, keeping his first clean sheet of the season in the 5–0 thrashing of Gillingham at The County Ground. The arrival of Maurice Malpas as manager midway through the season saw the first choice goalkeeping position up for grabs, with neither Smith or other Swindon goalkeeper Peter Brezovan able to hold down the position on a regular basis.
Smith played 25 games in the 2008/2009 season, in which Swindon were involved in a relegation battle for much of the campaign. During the pre-season of 2009/2010 season, new Swindon manager Danny Wilson brought in experienced goalkeeper David Lucas and handed him the No.1 shirt. Smith was handed the No.12 shirt. Smith did not feature on a regular basis, but when called upon, put in some excellent displays, including an outstanding game against Exeter City on October 6, 2009 in the JPT and a man of the match display in the League One Playoff Semi-Final Second Leg against Charlton Athletic F.C. after David Lucas was forced off with injury after just 2 minutes. Swindon won the tie after a penalty shoot-out victory.
On 25 February 2010, Smith signed a new contract that will keep him at Swindon Town until the summer of 2012. Smith has again started the 2010/2011 season as back up to David Lucas, but has again when called upon been a more than capable deputy. He plans on beginning training again in 2011 after we recoveries from his injuries.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | FL Trophy | Others | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| Millwall | 1997-98 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Millwall | 1998-99 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Bromley (Loan) | 1998 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Millwall | 1999-00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Ashford Town (Loan) | 1999-00 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Millwall | 2000-01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Folkestone Invicta | 2001 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Dover Athletic | 2001-02 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Margate | 2002-03 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| Margate | 2003-04 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| Crawley Town | 2004-05 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| Crawley Town | 2005-06 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 0 |
| Swindon Town | 2006-07 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| Swindon Town | 2007-08 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Swindon Town | 2008-09 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| Swindon Town | 2009-10 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Swindon Town | 2010-11 | 27 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| Swindon Town | 2011-12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 251 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 270 | 0 | |
References
External links
- Phil Smith at Soccerbase