Jay Alexander Smith (born 24 September 1981) is an English former 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

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Playing career

Smith started his professional football career with

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. After a season, he was transferred to

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

. Signed in 2002 after a successful loan spell and turning down the advances of

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

, Smith made his debut in August the same year and quickly became a regular in the Blues side. A horrendous spell of injuries, including a broken ankle, interrupted his career. Towards the end of the 2005–06 season, Smith was loaned out to

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

– and despite impressing manager Jim Smith during the run-in, it was not enough to save Oxford from dropping out of the football league.

Steve Tilson Stephen Brian Tilson (born 27 July 1966) is an English football manager and former player, he is currently the manager of Heybridge Swifts. Tilson is best known for his time in charge of Southend United, where he was in charge for seven year ...

has always maintained that there was a place for a fit Jay Smith in the Southend squad and even after speaking to Oxford about a permanent deal for 2006–07, Smith and Southend committed to each other again and he signed on for another year at

Roots Hall A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

. Smith once again found himself on loan, this time with

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

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

. On 26 January 2007, Smith was released from Southend and made a permanent switch to Notts County after a successful two-month loan spell. He was released from his contract in January 2009 five months early along with striker Spencer Weir-Daley. In December 2009, Smith joined

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...

side

Eastwood Town Eastwood Town Football Club was an English football club based in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire. The club last participated in the Northern Premier League Division One South, the eighth tier of English football. A new club, Eastwood C.F.C., was f ...

on a one-month deal. The following month the deal was extended for another month, but at the end of January, Smith signed for

Conference National 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-profes ...

side Tamworth. It was announced that Smith would be taking over as club captain for the 2010–11 season from former player Chris Smith. On 18 November 2011, Smith was loaned to

AFC Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United, founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. Currently members of the National League North, they ...

until 5 January 2012. Smith said of the move: "In my eyes I've moved to a bigger club. I'm not going back to Tamworth. My time there has finished now." In January 2012 his contract was cancelled by Tamworth and he joined Telford on a permanent basis. On 2 May 2013 he was let go by the club.

Honours

Club

Southend United

Play-off Winners: 2004–05

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Jay Smith
a
NottsCountyFC.co.uk
a
telfordunited.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jay (footballer, born 1981 09) 1981 births Living people Footballers from London English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Aston Villa F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Eastwood Town F.C. players Tamworth F.C. players AFC Telford United players English Football League players National League (English football) players