Roger Smart (born 25 March 1943]) is an English retired football (soccer), footballer who played as an

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

. He made his way from schoolboy teams to work up through the youth ranks at

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

before making his début in the reserves in April 1960. He signed as a professional for the club in May 1960 but did not play first team football until March 1962. He scored his first goal for Swindon in a match with

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

on 1 September. Smart was relegated to the reserves for much of the 1962–63 season, before being recalled for the final three games of the season. He scored in each of these games and assured Swindon's promotion to Division 2 for the first time in their history. In 1965 he became the first nominated substitute to be used in a Swindon Town game. Over the next few seasons, Smart became a first-team regular, moving into a role that allowed fellow striker Don Rogers to excel. Smart's best form came in 1968/69, when he scored fifteen goals. Six of these came in the League Cup campaign, including the opening goal in the 1969 League Cup Final, when he benefited from a mistake in the

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

defence before bundling the ball into the net. He created Swindon's second and third goals, both scored by Rogers. He was also a part of the 1970 Anglo-Italian Cup and

Anglo-Italian League Cup The Anglo-Italian League Cup (, also known as the Anglo-Italian League Cup Winners' Cup or International League Cup Winners' Cup) was a short-lived football competition between teams from England and Italy – an English cup-winning team ( League C ...

winning sides. In the twilight of his Town career, Smart moved back into a wing-half or midfield position. He left Swindon at the end of the 1972/73 season, and joined

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

on a free transfer. He returned to the Swindon area a year later, with spells at Bath City and Trowbridge Town before retiring. As of 1999 he was landlord of the Plough Inn in Old Town, Swindon. Roger lives with his partner Lin, on the southern outskirts of Swindon.

References

External links

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Player Profile
at Swindon-Town-FC.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Smart, Roger Living people 1943 births Men's association football forwards Charlton Athletic F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players English men's footballers Footballers from Swindon English Football League players