Benjamin James "Ben" Smith (born 5 September 1986) is an English football goalkeeper who last played for Southport. He also made senior appearances in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for Doncaster Rovers and Lincoln City, and was part of the Shrewsbury Town squad which won promotion from

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

in the 2011–12 season.

Biography

Smith is son of the renowned goalkeeper and goalkeeping coach Simon Smith. He attended

Whitley Bay High School Whitley Bay High School is a coeducational upper school and sixth form located in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, England. Location It is situated next to ''Monkseaton Drive'' (A1148), towards the north of Monkseaton, and is less than a mile from ...

. He has previously been on the books of

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

's youth team, spending a period on loan with

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

and on trial at Leeds United, before joining Stockport County on non-contract terms on 23 March 2006. He made his debut for Doncaster in a League Cup game against

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...

on 24 October 2006, which led to a run in the side as Rovers first choice goalkeeper, but the signing of ever-present goalkeeper

Neil Sullivan Neil Sullivan (born 24 February 1970) is a professional football player and coach. He played as a goalkeeper from 1988 until 2013, playing in the Premier League for Wimbledon, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, and represented Scotland internationa ...

saw Smith getting limited chances in the first team. He went on loan to Lincoln City in November 2007. On 16 October 2009 Smith joined

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

on a one-month loan, to cover for injured Barry Roche. In May 2010, Doncaster announced that he was one of 6 players not asked to re-sign. On 29 July 2010, Smith joined

club Shrewsbury Town on a two-year contract after a successful trial period. In May 2012, Smith was released by the club following their promotion to

Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

, having lost his place earlier in the season to

Chris Neal Christopher Michael Neal (born 23 October 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club AFC Fylde. He began his career at Preston North End, making his English Football League debut in February 2005, having p ...

. On 10 August 2012 it was announced that Smith had signed with League Two club

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

on non-contract terms to act as cover to first choice goalkeeper

Josh Lillis Joshua Mark Lillis (born 24 June 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Barrow. He began his career at Scunthorpe United in the League One and Championship. He spent time on loan at Notts County, and Grimsby ...

. He then moved on to

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...

team Southport until the end of the season in March 2014. However, during his second start for the club, he suffered a torn groin muscle against Newport County, which ruled him out for the remainder of the season. Outside of football, Smith runs a number of businesses in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

with his wife.

Achievements

play-off winner: 2007–08

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ben 1986 births Living people Men's association football goalkeepers English men's footballers Newcastle United F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Southport F.C. players English Football League players People from Whitley Bay Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside Footballers from Tyne and Wear