Jack David Smith (born 14 October 1983 in

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...

, Hertfordshire) is an English

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 last played for

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont and Kenton, and east of Headstone. The area accommodates ...

Football career

Watford

Smith began his career as a trainee at

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

. His older brother

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

had also graduated from the club's youth system a few years earlier.

Swindon Town

After originally being offered as a makeweight in a rejected bid to take

Sam Parkin Samuel Parkin (born 14 March 1981) is an English former footballer; a radio presenter for BBC Wiltshire, regularly involved with Swindon Town's coverage; and commentator for Chelsea TV. Throughout his career Parkin has played as a forward fo ...

to Watford, Smith signed with

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...

a free transfer in July 2005, signing a one-year deal. Despite being right-footed, Smith made his debut on the left side of defence on the opening day of the season, in a 2–0 defeat at

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

. Doing a steady job without being outstanding, he remained the first choice in this position until retiring with a groin strain during a 0–0 draw at

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 ...

in October – a result that brought to an end a club record run of eight successive defeats, but an injury that kept Smith out of action for almost a month. When he returned to fitness, he at first struggled to regain his place – starting at right-back for a 2–1 derby victory over

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

and appearing in an unfamiliar central midfield role in a terrible 4–1 defeat at

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

– before being relegated to the bench for the next three games. A series of suspensions for key defensive players saw Smith drafted back into the side for an important relegation battle at

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

, again on the right side – and when Swindon won 1–0, Smith kept this position until the end of the year, until another injury led to him hobbling off the field in the New Year's Eve clash with

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

. Once fit, Smith soon slotted back into his right back position, and then, when manager

Iffy Onuora Ifem "Iffy" Onuora (born 28 July 1967) is a Scottish former professional footballer, manager, and coach for the England U21 national team. He is also the current equalities coach for the Professional Footballers Association. As a player, he wa ...

began to experiment with a five-man defence, Smith was utilised as a wing back. Onuora soon offered Smith an extension to his deal, and he signed a new year's contract in March. Smith was an integral part of Swindon's 2006–07 promotion winning squad, making more appearances than any other player and scoring three goals. Smith signed a one-year contract extension with Swindon in June 2007. Smith did not play as regularly in the 2007–08 season and as such delayed the signing of his new contract, though he ended up staying on for the 2008–09 season. However, following the arrival of Danny Wilson as new manager, come the end of the 2008–09 season, Jack Smith was released along with 12 other players. Out of the 17 out of contract at the end of the season, only four were offered new contracts following a season of disarray for Swindon Town.

Millwall

Smith joined

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

on a contract to the end of 2009 on 2 August 2009, after impressing manager

Kenny Jackett Kenneth Francis Jackett (born 5 January 1962) is a former professional football player and manager, who is currently Director of Football at club Gillingham. A skilful left-footed player, able to play in defence or midfield, Jackett was cappe ...

in pre-season training. Due to injuries, Smith made his debut in the season opener at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

live on

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

. Since then he has played regularly and in all positions across the back line. Consequently, he was rewarded with an extension to his contract to June 2011. He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 hammering of

Staines Town Staines Town Football Club was a semi-professional Association football, football club based in Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex. History Early days Staines Town FC was founded in 1892 and was known under various names including ''Staines F.C ...

in an

Replay at The Den on 9 December 2009. On 22 January 2011 he scored his first league goal for Millwall in a game against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

. He was released by Millwall on 10 May 2014.

AFC Wimbledon

Smith was then signed by

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 ...

side

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

and made 21 appearances for them, scoring 3 goals, during the 2014–15 season. He was released in the summer of 2015.

Hemel Hempstead Town

After remaining without a club, Smith signed for

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

side

Hemel Hempstead Town Hemel Hempstead Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Affiliated to the Hertfordshire County Football Association, they are currently members of the National League South and pla ...

in September 2015. He scored his first goal, a free-kick, on his home debut in a win against Hayes & Yeading United on 15 September 2015. However, he left after only three months.

Wealdstone

In December 2015, Smith joined

team

, and made a total of 17 appearances before leaving the club

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jack 1983 births Living people Men's association football defenders English men's footballers Watford F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Millwall F.C. players AFC Wimbledon players Hemel Hempstead Town F.C. players Wealdstone F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Footballers from Hemel Hempstead