Gordon Smith (footballer, Born December 1954)
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Gordon Duffield Smith (born 29 December 1954) is a Scottish
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player, coach and executive. Smith played for several clubs, including
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
, Rangers,
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
and
Manchester City 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 Salford to the west. The tw ...
. After retiring as a player, he worked as a football agent and
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
football pundit before being appointed chief executive of the
Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...
in 2007, a post he held until his resignation on 19 April 2010. Smith then worked as the
director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...
of Rangers during the 2011–12 season. Smith was also responsible for the introduction of an agreement between the
Home Nations Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...
' football associations which allowed players educated in a home nation for five years before the age of eighteen to represent that nation at international level. As a result of the change in policy, several players have gone on to represent a country they were previously ineligible for.


Playing career

Smith was born in
Kilwinning Kilwinning (, sco, Kilwinnin; gd, Cill D’Fhinnein) is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is on the River Garnock, north of Irvine, about southwest of Glasgow. It is known as "The Crossroads of Ayrshire". Kilwinning was also a Civil Pa ...
, and started his career with
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Mattha Smith. He was known as 'Casper' (after the ghost cartoon character) for the way he 'ghosted' past defenders in his path. Sold to Rangers in 1977 for £65,000, in his first season at Ibrox Smith won the
domestic treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A ''continental treble'' involves winning the club's national league competition, main national cup competition, and main continental trophy. A ...
, scoring 27 goals from midfield. He also scored the winning goal in the 1978 Scottish League Cup Final, against
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
. He was sold to
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
in 1980 for a record transfer fee of £440,000. He returned to Rangers on loan in December 1982, playing in the 1982 League Cup Final defeat by Celtic. Smith made three appearances during his loan spell without scoring. Smith played for Brighton in the
1983 FA Cup Final The 1983 FA Cup Final was contested by Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion at Wembley Stadium. Manchester United were the favourites, as Brighton had been relegated from the First Division that season, and had never reached a cup fin ...
against
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 ...
. He scored the first Brighton goal, but his appearance is best remembered for a chance to win the cup for Brighton late in extra time – the ball broke to Smith within 10 yards of the goal, but his shot was smothered by United
goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
Gary Bailey Gary Richard Bailey (born 9 August 1958) is a former footballer who made nearly 300 appearances in the Football League playing as a goalkeeper for Manchester United. Born in Ipswich, Suffolk, he grew up in South Africa, but went on to be capped ...
. The match ended in a 2–2 draw, and Brighton lost 4–0 in the replay. After Brighton he joined
Manchester City 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 Salford to the west. The tw ...
. He was top scorer for City in the 1984–85 season. He then had a short spell with
Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...
, and played in
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
with Admira Wacker. Smith joined Swiss club
FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times, and ...
for their 1987–88 season, signing a one year contract under head-coach
Urs Siegenthaler Urs Siegenthaler (born 23 November 1947) is a former Switzerland, Swiss football (soccer), footballer, turned manager. Since 13 May 2005 he is Chiefscout and Analyser for the Germany national football team, Germany national team. Playing career ...
. He played his league debut for his new club at the St. Jakob Stadium on 12 August 1987 and scored his first goal in the same game, but it did not help the team much, because Basel were defeated 2–1 by Lausanne-Sport. His team mates included goalkeeper Urs Suter, defenders
Peter Bernauer Peter Bernauer (born 10 September 1965) is a former German professional football player who played in the late 1980s and the 1990s as defender. He is a successful business manager of a Swiss Pharmaceutical company. Football career Peter Bernau ...
and
Massimo Ceccaroni Massimo Ceccaroni (born 15 August 1968) is a retired Swiss-Italian footballer who played as a defender or midfielder. He played for FC Basel for very nearly his entire career. He was later trainer at amateur club BSC Old Boys and then trainer ...
, and Switzerland national team players such as
Adrian Knup Adrian Knup (born 2 July 1968) is a Swiss former professional football striker who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He was capped 49 times and scored 26 goals for the Switzerland national team between 1989 and 1996, including three games at th ...
,
Dominique Herr Dominique Herr (born 25 October 1965 in Basel) is a Swiss former football defensive midfielder who played throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Club career Herr started his youth football at local club FC Basel. He advanced to their first team for ...
and Peter Nadig; however, despite the talent of these individuals, Basel were relegated to the Nationalliga B after the 1987–88 Nationalliga A season. During his time with Basel, Smith played a total of 26 competitive games (25 in the Nationalliga A, one in the
Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
) and scored three goals, all in the domestic league. He finished his career back in Scotland with
Stirling Albion Stirling Albion Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Stirling. The club was founded in 1945 following the demise of King's Park after World War II. The club currently competes in Scottish League Two as a member of the ...
.


After playing

Smith had a spell as assistant manager of St Mirren between 1990 and 1993 before beginning careers in the media and as a football agent. He represented many players, including
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
players
Paul Lambert Paul Lambert (born 7 August 1969) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Ipswich Town. Lambert played as a midfielder and won the Scottish Cup in 1987 with St Mirren as a 17-year-ol ...
and
Kenny Miller Kenneth Miller (born 23 December 1979) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. Miller, who played as a striker, is one of only five post-war players to have played for both Rangers and Celtic. Miller began his career at ...
. Smith published an autobiography in 2005, entitled "And Smith Did Score".


Scottish Football Association

Smith relinquished his career as an agent to take up the position of
Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...
chief executive, which had been vacated by David Taylor moving to
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
, in June 2007. Soon after being appointed SFA chief executive, he suggested in a book that there was "an agenda against Rangers", the team he formerly played for. Smith's spell as CEO of the Scottish FA ended when he resigned in April 2010 due to personal reasons. After leaving the SFA, Smith wrote a weekly column in the Scottish edition of the ''
Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...
'' newspaper and featured on
BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 November 197 ...
's ''
Sportsound ''Sportsound'' is BBC Radio Scotland's main radio sports show. It provides coverage to listeners on medium wave, FM, DAB Digital Radio and via the internet. It is best known for its exclusive live commentary of Scottish Premiership football g ...
''. However, he did make his mark in international football, Smith was the driver behind the 2009 Home nations agreement, which allowed players being educated for five years under the age of 18 in a Home nation to become eligible for that nation at full international level. Due to this policy change, several players who were otherwise ineligible could play international football for the nation they were educated and raised in. Somalia-born
Islam Feruz Islam Salieh Feruz (born 10 September 1995) is a Somali-born Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Feruz spent most of his youth career with Celtic, before moving to Chelsea in September 2011 after rejecting ...
became eligible for Scotland, Chester-born
Andy Dorman Andrew Dorman (born 1 May 1982) is a former professional footballer. During his club career, he played for New England Revolution, Crystal Palace and St. Mirren. Born in England, represented the Wales national team. Born in England of Englis ...
represented Wales and Jamaican-born
Raheem Sterling Raheem Shaquille Sterling (born 8 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for club Chelsea. Born in Jamaica, he represents the England national team. Born in Jamaica to Jamaican parents, St ...
went on to play for England.


Rangers

In June 2011, Smith was appointed
Director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...
at Rangers by their new owner
Craig Whyte Craig Thomas Whyte (born 18 January 1971) is a Scottish businessman best known for his controversial spell as owner of Scottish football club Rangers. Whyte first entered business in a plant hire company, after which he moved into security, m ...
, tasked with assisting new manager
Ally McCoist Alistair Murdoch McCoist, (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former footballer who has since worked as a manager and TV pundit. McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Johnstone before moving to English side Sunderland i ...
. He left this role in February 2012, soon after the club entered
administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Gordon 1954 births Association football forwards Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Austria Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Chief executives of the Scottish Football Association Expatriate footballers in Austria Expatriate footballers in Switzerland FC Admira Wacker Mödling players FC Basel players Kilmarnock F.C. players Living people Manchester City F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players People from Kilwinning Rangers F.C. non-playing staff Rangers F.C. players Scotland under-21 international footballers Scotland under-23 international footballers Scottish expatriate footballers Scottish Football League players Scottish footballers Footballers from North Ayrshire Stirling Albion F.C. players English Football League players FA Cup Final players