John Smeulders (born 28 March 1957) is an English retired 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 ...

who played as a

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 ...

, best remembered for his three spells in the Football League with Bournemouth. He also played League football for

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

, Brentford and

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

Club career

, Smeulders began his career as a youth with Orient. He was unable to displace the number 1 shirt from

Ray Goddard Raymond Goddard (13 February 1949 − 11 December 2007) was an English football goalkeeper, who played for three London clubs between 1967 and 1981. Goddard began his career as a member of Fulham's youth team, but was released without being o ...

and John Jackson and made just a handful of

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

appearances before departing the Os in 1979. To revive his stalled career, Smeulders began the first of three spells with Bournemouth in July 1979. After failing to break into the first team, Smeulders dropped into non-League football in January 1981 with Trowbridge Town, moving on to Weymouth and then back to Bournemouth in January 1984. This time he did establish himself in the first team, making 75 league appearances, setting a then-club record seven consecutive clean sheets and being named the club's 1984–85 Player of the Year. Smeulders moved to

in July 1986, but after failing to hold down a first team place and spending time away from

Plainmoor Plainmoor is an association football stadium located in the Plainmoor suburb of Torquay, Devon, England. Since 1921, the stadium has been the home of Torquay United Football Club, who currently compete in the National League, the fifth tier of E ...

on loan, he returned to Bournemouth for the third time in August 1987. He again failed to hold down a regular place and dropped back into non-League football in 1989. Smeulders retired at age 38, due to a damaged knee.

Coaching career

Smeulders later returned to Bournemouth as a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

to goalkeepers Neil Moss and Ian Andrews.

International career

Smeulders won caps for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at youth level and played in the same team as

Bryan Robson Bryan Robson OBE (born 11 January 1957) is an English football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club captain before moving to Manchester United in ...

Ray Wilkins Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

Glenn Hoddle Glenn Hoddle (born 27 October 1957) is an English former football player and manager. He currently works as a television pundit and commentator for ITV Sport and BT Sport. He played as a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, Monaco, Chelsea and ...

and Peter Barnes.

Personal life

As of March 1996, Smeulders was working in a

bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, donuts, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who w ...

in Bournemouth. As of June 2020, he was living in

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...

and working as a delivery driver for

Waitrose Waitrose & Partners (formally Waitrose Limited) is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still se ...

and

Riverford Riverford Organic Farmers Ltd is an organic farm and organic vegetable box delivery company founded by Guy Singh-Watson in Devon, England, but with sister farms in three locations around the country. __NOTOC__ Background Riverford Farm was ...

Career statistics

Honours

* Bournemouth Player of the Year: 1984–85

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smeulders, John 1957 births English footballers English Football League players Association football goalkeepers Brentford F.C. players Living people Leyton Orient F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Trowbridge Town F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Poole Town F.C. players Farnborough F.C. players Fareham Town F.C. players Southern Football League players Isthmian League players National League (English football) players England youth international footballers AFC Bournemouth non-playing staff