Mark Craig Smith (born 21 March 1960) is an English former professional football player and

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 ...

, and current loans manager at

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 a first-team coach at Ossett United. An England under-21 international, he posted 510 league appearances in a seventeen-year career in the Football League. He spent the first ten years of his career at

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

, and by the time he left for Plymouth Argyle in 1987 he had made 282 league appearances for Wednesday. During his time in Sheffield he was named as the club's Player of the Year in 1981 and Wednesday twice won

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

and twice appeared in the FA Cup semi-finals. He switched to Barnsley in 1990 and was named as the club's Player of the Year in 1992. He signed with

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

in 1992. He was

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

ed out to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

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. Th ...

and

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

, before he finished his career at Lincoln City in 1994. He then began work as a coach at various clubs, which included a one-game stint in charge of Sheffield Wednesday in 2004, in a caretaker manager capacity. He then returned to coaching, and also worked as caretaker-manager of

in November 2015.

Playing career

A local boy from Shirecliffe, Smith developed through the ranks and into the first team with

in 1977. He was renowned for his prowess from the

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

spot, achieving a club record eleven successful penalty conversions in the 1979–80 season. During his time at Hillsborough, the club won

out of the Third Division in 1979–80 (a campaign in which Smith was named in the PFA Team of the Year), and were promoted out of the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

in 1983–84. Wednesday also reached the

FA Cup semi-finals The FA Cup semi-finals are played to determine which teams will contest the FA Cup Final. They are the penultimate phase of the FA Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world. Location The semi-finals have always been contested at neutra ...

in 1982–83 and 1985–86, and posted a fifth-place finish in the First Division in 1985–86. Smith played a total of 282 league games for Wednesday during his ten years at Hillsborough, playing under

Jack Charlton John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 199 ...

and then

Howard Wilkinson Howard Wilkinson (born 13 November 1943) is an English former footballer and manager. Despite having a low-profile playing career, Wilkinson embarked on a successful managerial career. He won the First Division championship in 1992 with Leeds ...

. He was voted the club's Player of the Year in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. He won five caps for England under-21s, playing against: the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, Switzerland,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. Smith joined Dave Smith's Second Division Plymouth Argyle in 1987. He racked up 82 league appearances in three mid-table campaigns, the latter two of which were under the management of Ken Brown, before he moved on to league rivals Barnsley in 1990.

Mel Machin Melvyn Machin (born 16 April 1945) is an English former football player and manager. A midfielder, he started his career at Port Vale in 1962, before he moved on to Gillingham four years later. He made his name at the club from 1966 to 1970, b ...

's side missed out on the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

on goal difference in

1990–91 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, but finished mid-table in 1991–92; Smith was named as the club's Player of the Year for the Player of the Year season. Smith played over 100 games for the "Tykes" in just under three years before joining Neil Warnock's

in 1992. At age 32, it was at County where his career stuttered, he had

spells with

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 ...

and Third Division

. He scored on his Chesterfield debut on 3 April 1993, in a 2–1 win over

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

. He only played between five and six league games at each of the four clubs (including Notts County). In the summer of 1993, Smith joined Lincoln City, making his debut in the club's opening day 1–0 defeat at

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 ...

on 14 August 1993. In March 1994, with

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 ...

Keith Alexander lacking an assistant, Smith was appointed to a player-coach role at the club though the appointment coincided with his final professional appearance in the 2–0 home victory over Colchester United on 15 March 1994.

Coaching career

Following his dismissal as manager at the end of the 1993–94 season, Keith Alexander was offered his old role as

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future i ...

but instead opted for the same position at

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...

with Smith appointed to the post at Lincoln City. After a season at

Sincil Bank Sincil Bank Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as LNER Stadium, is a football stadium in Lincoln, England which has been the home of Lincoln City since 1895. Previously, Lincoln City had played at the nearby John O'Gaunts ground since th ...

, Smith moved on to a similar role at

. Following the sacking of

Colin Murphy Colin Murphy may refer to: * Colin Murphy (comedian) (born 1968), Irish comedian * Colin Murphy (ice hockey) (born 1980), Canadian ice hockey player * Colin Murphy (footballer, born 1950) Colin Murphy (born 21 January 1950) is an English for ...

and Steve Thompson, Smith was placed in temporary charge of the "Magpies" prior to the appointment of

Sam Allardyce Samuel Allardyce (; born 19 October 1954), colloquially referred to as Big Sam, is an English football manager and former professional player. Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent mostly in the Football Lea ...

. Under Allardyce, Smith stepped up to become assistant manager. Smith joined the academy at his former club Barnsley in 1998. He steered the club's youngsters to the FA Youth Cup semi-final in 2001–02, defeat coming at the hands of eventual victors Aston Villa, the run including the defeat of Manchester United on penalties at Old Trafford on 1 March 2002. That success was followed up in the 2002–03 season with victory over

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

in the FA Youth Cup and the runners-up spot in the FA Premier Academy League Group B. At the end of his

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

on 30 June 2003, Smith announced that he was leaving his post as Assistant Academy Director at Oakwell. Smith linked up with his boyhood heroes

, being appointed Academy under-19 coach on 1 July 2003. Following the departure of manager Chris Turner in September 2004, Smith was placed in temporary charge with

Chris Marsden Christopher Marsden (born 3 January 1969) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League and Premier League for Sheffield United, Huddersfield Town, Coventry City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Notts County, Stockport County, Birm ...

as his assistant; Smith declared it an honour to have the opportunity to manage the club he had both supported and played for. He presided over a 1–0

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 ...

defeat to

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

on 22 September 2004 before reverting to his previous role following the appointment of

Paul Sturrock Paul Whitehead Sturrock (born 10 October 1956) is a Scottish former football coach and former player. As a player, Sturrock spent his entire senior career with Dundee United, making more than five hundred appearances between 1974 and 1989. He w ...

as manager. Following a review of their academy structure, Smith departed Wednesday in June 2006. The 2006–07 season saw Smith join Ilkeston Town as coach and assistant manager to

Nigel Jemson Nigel Bradley Jemson (born 10 August 1969) is an English footballer, who represented his country at under-21 level and was the player-manager of Ilkeston Town until May 2008. He finished his career at Rainworth Miners Welfare in the Norther ...

; the two had been teammates at Notts County. In October 2006, speculation linked him with the vacant manager's position at

Worksop Town Worksop Town Football Club is an English football club based in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. As of the 2021–22 season the team plays in the . They are nicknamed ''The Tigers'' and play their home games at Sandy Lane in Worksop. History First clu ...

but no appointment was forthcoming. In October 2007, Smith was appointed to the position of International Youth Director at

before moving into the role as a development coach for the club. This job involved working with the club's young professionals who had graduated from the Academy and were looking to force their way into the first team. He departed the club in June 2011, running a coaching school in Chapeltown for children aged between six and 11. He was appointed as youth team coach at

in May 2013. He was appointed as the "Spireites" caretaker manager on 30 November, following the dismissal of

Dean Saunders Dean Nicholas Saunders (born 21 June 1964) is a Welsh football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a striker in a career which lasted from 1982 until 2001. He played for Liverpool and Aston Villa in the 1990s, and s ...

. He was succeeded by Danny Wilson on Christmas Eve. Smith remained at Chesterfield as Academy Manager, before returning to Sheffield United in August 2018 to take up the role of Loans Manager - which sees him manage all United players loaned out by the club. He combined this role with that of first-team coach at Ossett United in April 2021.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

Individual * PFA Team of the Year ( Third Division): 1979–80 *

Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

Player of the Year:

* Barnsley F.C. Player of the Year: 1992 Sheffield Wednesday *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...

third-place promotion: 1979–80 *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

second-place promotion: 1983–84

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Mark 1960 births Living people Footballers from Sheffield English men's footballers Men's association football defenders England men's under-21 international footballers Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Notts County F.C. managers Sheffield Wednesday F.C. managers Chesterfield F.C. managers English Football League managers Association football coaches Lincoln City F.C. non-playing staff Notts County F.C. non-playing staff Barnsley F.C. non-playing staff Sheffield Wednesday F.C. non-playing staff Sheffield United F.C. non-playing staff Chesterfield F.C. non-playing staff