Dean Smith (28 November 1958 – 17 April 2009) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

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 Leicester City and

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

Career

Leicester City

, Smith began his career in the youth system at hometown First Division club Leicester City in April 1975 and progressed to sign his first professional contract in December 1976. Smith had to wait until September 1977 to make his first team debut, which came when he replaced Eddie Kelly during a 5–1 defeat to Everton. Smith's most notable moment in a Foxes shirt came on 23 March 1978, when he scored his only goal for the club in a 3–2 defeat to

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. During the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

off-season in the summer of 1978, Smith moved to the

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to join

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

club

Houston Hurricane The Houston Hurricane was a soccer team based out of Houston that played in the NASL. They played from 1978 to 1980. Their home field was the Astrodome. Their colors were orange, white and red. History The team was the last of six expansion te ...

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

. He scored six goals in 17 appearances for the Hurricane in a disappointing 1978 season, which saw the club finish bottom of the American Conference Central Division. Smith made 10 appearances during the 1977–78 season, but departed Filbert Street in October 1978 after failing to make an appearance during the early months of the 1978–79 season.

Brentford

Smith signed for

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

club

for a £20,000 fee in October 1978. He made something of a breakthrough into the first team, making 26 appearances and scoring eight goals during the 1978–79 season. Smith made a further 25 appearances during the 1979–80 season, but the arrival of

Fred Callaghan Frederick John Callaghan (19 December 1944 – 13 September 2022) was an English professional association football, footballer, who made over 290 appearances in the Football League for Fulham F.C., Fulham as a left back. After retiring as a pla ...

as manager changed the team's style of play and he drifted out of the first team picture. Smith departed Brentford in February 1981, after being suspended by the club for a breach of discipline. He made 61 appearances and scored 17 goals during his time at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

Non-League football

After his departure from Brentford, Smith dropped into

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

and played for

Nuneaton Borough Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football. In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton t ...

, Shepshed Charterhouse, Enderby Town, Hinckley Town,

Corby Town Corby Town Football Club is a football club based in Corby, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Steel Park. History The club was established in 1948, taking over from Stewarts & Lloyds as the main team i ...

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

and Oadby Town.

Personal life

It was reported in September 2008 that Smith had suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

and was battling throat cancer. He died on 17 April 2009 at the age of 50.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Dean 1958 births 2009 deaths English footballers Leicester City F.C. players Houston Hurricane players Brentford F.C. players English Football League players Nuneaton Borough F.C. players Shepshed Dynamo F.C. players Leicester United F.C. players Footballers from Leicester Hinckley Town F.C. players Southern Football League players Men's association football forwards Deaths from throat cancer English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in the United States North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players National League (English football) players Corby Town F.C. players Leicester St Andrews F.C. players GNG Oadby Town F.C. players Deaths from cancer in England