Martyn Christopher Smith (born 16 September 1961) is an English former

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

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 ...

for Leek Town, Port Vale,

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 ...

, and Eastwood Hanley.

Career

Smith played for Alsager College before joining

Nantwich Town Nantwich Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1884 and is nicknamed ''The Dabbers'', a reference to the town's tanning industry. They currently compete in and pla ...

in September 1980. Moved to

North West Counties League The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern ...

side Leek Town in November 1981 before signing for

John Rudge John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

's Port Vale in August 1984. He played 13 Fourth Division games and one

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 ...

game in the 1984–85 season. His one and only goal in the Football League came on 28 December, in a 3–2 defeat to

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

Layer Road Layer Road was a Football League stadium in Colchester, England. It was only used for football matches and was the home ground of Colchester United before being replaced by the Colchester Community Stadium. The stadium held spectators and was ...

. He was handed a free transfer away from

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...

in May 1985. He moved on to

of the Northern Premier League, becoming a first-team regular until losing his place when

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Neil Griffiths left in February 1986. He moved on to Eastwood, before moving back to old club Leek Town, later being appointed as Leek's assistant manager. Also served as Assistant Manager of Newcastle Town and Manager of Rocester.

Career statistics

Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Martyn Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Leek Town F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players Eastwood Hanley F.C. players English Football League players North West Counties Football League players Northern Premier League players Southern Football League players Association football coaches 1961 births Living people