Martin Geoffrey Smith (born 13 November 1974 in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, England) is a 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 ...

. In his professional career he played for

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

and

Blyth Spartans Blyth Spartans Association Football Club is a football club based in Blyth, Northumberland. They are currently members of and play at Croft Park. They were founded in September 1899 by Fred Stoker, who was the club's first secretary before fo ...

. At his first club, Sunderland, he was part of two Division One title winning teams which won promotion to the

FA Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

, and while he was at Sunderland he made his only appearance for the England under-21 side on 15 November 1994. Many Northampton Town supporters regard Smith as one of the most technically gifted players ever to represent the club. He memorably scored the winner in a FA Cup 3rd Round replay away at Rotherham in January 2004 giving the Cobblers a 4th round tie at home to Manchester United. Smith joined

ahead of the 2006–07 season.

born Smith started his career on Wearside. Dubbed 'The Son of Pele' by Sunderland fanzine A Love Supreme (fanzine), he scored twenty-eight times in 107 starts for the North East giants in a seven-year spell, moving to

(scoring fifteen times in 30 starts for the Blades), before joining

. Smith went on to score thirty goals in seventy-five starts, including seventeen during the 2002–03 season as the Terriers were relegated. He signed for

from

on 1 July 2003 after being chased for a few months by their then manager

Martin Wilkinson Martin Wilkinson is an English football manager. He has managed the following clubs: *Peterborough United: 29 June 1982 – 1 February 1983 *Íþróttabandalag Ísafjarðar: 1983 * Carlisle United: 25 June 1999 – 10 May 2000 *Northampton To ...

. Smith started as a forward; however in recent seasons he has been used as a midfielder, continuing to regularly find the net for Northampton during their promotion from League Two during the 2005–06 season. At the end of that season the then

manager

Colin Calderwood Colin Calderwood (born 20 January 1965) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He is the assistant manager at Northampton Town. As a player, he was a centre-back who notably played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hots ...

left for

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

. Smith enjoyed a good relationship with Calderwood and although new

manager

John Gorman John Gorman may refer to: * John Gorman (director) (1884–1936), American movie director *John Gorman (entertainer) (born 1936), English vocalist and musician *John Gorman (politician) (1923–2014), Northern Ireland politician *John Gorman (footb ...

worked hard to try to keep Smith at the

Sixfields Stadium Sixfields Stadium is a 7,798-capacity all-seater sports stadium in the Sixfields area on the west side of Northampton, England. It has been the home ground of Northampton Town Football Club following their move from the County Ground in Octo ...

(managed at the time by David Hodgson) eventually got their man. On 19 March 2008, Smith's contract with Darlington was cancelled.Martin Smith leaves Darlington FC – Darlington FC
/ref> On 29 August 2008 Martin Smith signed for

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

and made his debut the next day in the 3–0 win against

Hucknall Town Hucknall Town Football Club are a football club based in the town of Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, England. The club are members of the and play at Watnall Road. History Hucknall Town were renamed from Hucknall Colliery Welfare in 1987 and for ...

coming on as a late sub. In August 2010 he signed for

Kettering Town F.C. Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...

on non-contract terms. In February 2015, he made an appearance, alongside another former professional, David Duke, for Sassco.co.uk in their victory over Sunderland Deaf FC.

References

External links

Martin Smith's participation in a winning 5-a-side team in 2009
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Martin 1974 births Living people Footballers from Sunderland Association football forwards English footballers England under-21 international footballers Sunderland A.F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Blyth Spartans A.F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Kettering Town F.C. players People educated at Monkwearmouth School