Tommy Smith (footballer, born 1992) explained

Tommy Smith
Fullname:Thomas George Smith[1]
Birth Date:14 April 1992[2]
Birth Place:Warrington, England
Height:1.86m (06.1feet)[3]
Position:Right back
Currentclub:Middlesbrough[4]
Clubnumber:2
Youthyears1:2000–2004
Youthclubs1:Tranmere Rovers
Youthyears2:2004–2012
Youthclubs2:Manchester City
Youthyears3:2012
Youthclubs3:Helsby
Youthyears4:2012–2013
Youthclubs4:Huddersfield Town
Years1:2013–2019
Caps1:182
Goals1:4
Years2:2019–2022
Clubs2:Stoke City
Caps2:97
Goals2:3
Years3:2022–
Clubs3:Middlesbrough
Caps3:42
Goals3:0
Club-Update:15:57, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

Thomas George Smith (born 14 April 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right back for club Middlesbrough.

Smith began his career with Huddersfield Town after coming through the youth teams at Tranmere Rovers and Manchester City. He established himself as a regular with the Terriers and captained the club to victory over Reading in the 2017 EFL Championship play-off final. Huddersfield's first season in the Premier League saw them escape relegation but they finished bottom the following season. In July 2019 Smith joined Stoke City for an undisclosed fee and then in 2022 joined Middlesbrough.

Early life and career

Smith was born in Warrington,[5] Cheshire and grew up in Helsby where he attended Helsby High School.[6] He joined the Tranmere Rovers academy at the age of seven after being spotted playing in a local summer tournament.[6]

He spent four years at Tranmere before he joined Manchester City's Academy based at Platt Lane at the age of 11.[7] After gaining his YTS and going on to sign his first professional contract, Smith then suffered some serious injuries. He broke his leg playing against Bolton Wanderers in 2010 which ruled him out for 12 months and on his return he was hampered by a persistent ankle ligament damage and he was informed by academy manager Andy Welsh that his contract would not be renewed.[6] He left Manchester City in January 2012 after his contract was terminated by mutual consent.[6]

He had unsuccessful trials with Bradford City and Cheltenham Town and French side Le Havre. Smith then joined his local non-league side Helsby where his father was manager of the under-16 side.[6] He helped Helsby gain promotion from the West Cheshire League Division Three to Division Two.[6] After trial spells with Oxford United and Stevenage, Smith signed for Huddersfield Town's under-21 team after being approached by Steve Eyre, his former coach at Man City.[7] [8]

Career

Huddersfield Town

Smith's first involvement with the first team came on 5 January 2013 when he was an unused substitute in Huddersfield's 1–0 away win over Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup.[9] He made his debut on 24 September 2013 when starting the League Cup match away to Hull City, which Huddersfield lost 1–0. He made his league debut on 23 November 2013 as a starter in a 2–1 away win over Sheffield Wednesday. Smith signed a new contract with Huddersfield on 4 February 2014, which would keep him at the club until June 2016.[10] Smith played 27 times in 2013–14 as Huddersfield finished in 17th.

On 31 January 2015, Smith was airlifted to hospital with a head injury after colliding with the Huddersfield goalkeeper, Joe Murphy, during a 2–1 home defeat to Leeds United.[11] [12] He was discharged the following day.[11] He made 44 appearances in 2014–15 as Town again finished in mid-table. His first goal for Huddersfield came on 19 January 2016 in their 5–2 away defeat to Reading in the FA Cup.[13] Huddersfield now under the management of David Wagner had an uneventful 2015–16 campaign finishing in a lowly 19th.

In August 2016 Smith signed a new contract with the Terriers keeping him contracted at the Kirklees Stadium until the summer of 2019.[14] The 2016–17 season proved to be a successful one for Huddersfield as they reached the Championship play-off final, Smith scoring four goals in 47 games. Smith captained the team on 29 May in the 2017 EFL Championship play-off final against Reading, which Huddersfield won 4–3 on penalties after a 0–0 extra-time draw.[15] [16] This meant Huddersfield were promoted to Premier League for the first time, and would play top-flight football for the first time in 45 years.[17]

In August 2017, he was appointed as Huddersfield's permanent club captain after the retirement of Mark Hudson.[18] Huddersfield were tipped by many pundits as relegation favorites going into the 2017–18 season.[19] They beat Crystal Palace 3–0 on the opening day of the season.[20] After being a regular in the side in the first half of the season he missed most of the second after suffering a torn hamstring in December 2017.[21] He returned towards the end of the campaign as Huddersfield secured their safety in the Premier League finishing in 16th.[22] Smith drifted in and out of the side in 2018–19 due to the competition posed by Florent Hadergjonaj, making 16 appearances under Wagner and Jan Siewert as the team had a miserable campaign winning only three of their 38 matches and were relegated to the Championship.[23]

Stoke City

Smith signed for Championship club Stoke City on 15 July 2019 on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[24] Smith made his debut on the opening day of the 2019–20 season in a 2–1 defeat against Queens Park Rangers.[25] The team made a bad start to the season under Nathan Jones and following an EFL Cup defeat at Crawley Town in September, Smith lost his place to Tom Edwards. Jones was replaced by Michael O'Neill in November and Smith became the regular right-back in the side for the remainder of the season.[26] Smith played 32 times in 2019–20, as Stoke successfully avoided relegation and finished in 15th position.[27] Smith made 41 appearances in 2020–21 as Stoke finished in 14th position. He scored twice during the campaign which came against Barnsley in October and on the final day of the season against Bournemouth.[28] [29] Smith made 33 appearances in the 2021–22 as Stoke again finished in 14th position and at the end of the season Smith's contract was not renewed.[30] [31]

Middlesbrough

After training with the club through pre-season, Smith signed a one-year contract with Middlesbrough on 27 July 2022.[32] On 22 February 2023, Smith signed a two-year contract extension, having played every minute under manager Michael Carrick.[33] During a 1-0 victory over Birmingham City on 21 Oct 2023, Smith would pick up a serious ankle injury that would see him miss the remainder of the season.[34]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Huddersfield Town2012–13Championship00000000
2013–14Championship2402010270
2014–15Championship4101020440
2015–16Championship3602110391
2016–17Championship424200030474
2017–18Premier League2403000270
2018–19Premier League1500010160
Total182410150302005
Stoke City2019–20Championship3000020320
2020–21Championship3521050412
2021–22Championship3211000331
Total9732070106!3
Middlesbrough2022–23Championship360101020400
2023–24Championship60001070
Total420101020440
Career total3217131140503538

Honours

Huddersfield Town

2017[35]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed . Premier League . 2 February 2018 . 11 February 2018.
  2. Web site: Tommy Smith . 11v11.com . AFS Enterprises . 28 July 2018.
  3. Web site: T. Smith: Summary . Soccerway . Perform Group . 28 July 2018.
  4. Web site: Retained List - Middlesbrough FC . 26 June 2023 . twitter.com/Boro.
  5. News: Warrington-born Smith leads Terriers to Premier League . Warrington Guardian . 2 June 2017 . 28 July 2018.
  6. Web site: THE RISE OF TOMMY SMITH . Augusttomay . 27 August 2019.
  7. News: Tommy Smith's journey to the top with Huddersfield Town is uplifting tale – Chris Powell . The Yorkshire Post . Leeds . 8 November 2017 . 28 July 2018.
  8. News: Leaving Manchester City was the right decision says Huddersfield Town defender Tommy Smith . Doug . Thomson . Huddersfield Daily Examiner . 7 December 2013 . 28 July 2018.
  9. Web site: Huddersfield: Results/matches: 2012/13 . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 28 July 2018.
  10. Web site: Smith signs new contract . David . Threlfall-Sykes . Huddersfield Town A.F.C. . 4 February 2014 . 28 July 2018.
  11. News: Tommy Smith: Huddersfield defender out of hospital . BBC Sport . 1 February 2015 . 28 July 2018.
  12. News: Huddersfield Town 1-2 Leeds United . BBC Sport . 31 January 2015 . 28 July 2018.
  13. News: Reading 5–2 Huddersfield Town . BBC Sport . 19 January 2016 . 28 July 2018.
  14. News: Tommy Smith: Huddersfield Town defender signs new contract . BBC Sport . 27 August 2019.
  15. News: Tommy Smith happy to take the short-term pain for the gain of Premier League football . Blake . Welton . Huddersfield Daily Examiner . 30 May 2017 . 28 July 2018.
  16. News: Reading FC 0 Huddersfield Town 0: Mel Booth's match report as the Terriers a Premier League spot via a penalty shootout . Mel . Booth . Huddersfield Daily Examiner . 29 May 2017 . 28 July 2018.
  17. News: Huddersfield reach Premier League after penalty shoot-out win over Reading . Paul . Doyle . The Guardian . London . 29 May 2017 . 28 July 2018.
  18. Web site: Tommy Smith named new club captain . Adam . Tomlinson . Huddersfield Town A.F.C. . 9 August 2017 . 28 July 2018.
  19. News: Tommy Smith: Huddersfield Town 'happy' with underdogs tag . BBC Sport . 27 August 2019.
  20. News: Crystal Palace 0-3 Huddersfield . BBC Sport . 27 August 2019.
  21. Web site: Huddersfield duo Aaron Mooy and Tommy Smith sidelined by injuries . Sky Sports . 27 August 2019.
  22. News: Chelsea 1–1 Huddersfield . BBC Sport . 27 August 2019.
  23. News: Crystal Palace 0–2 Huddersfield . BBC Sport . 27 August 2019.
  24. Web site: Smith makes it seven . Fraser . Nicholson . Stoke City F.C. . 15 July 2019 . 15 July 2019.
  25. News: Stoke 2–1 QPR . BBC Sport . 23 July 2020.
  26. Web site: Boss explains why young Stoke City defender can't make matchday 18 . Stoke Sentinel . 24 February 2020 . 23 July 2020.
  27. News: Nottingham Forest 1–4 Stoke City. BBC Sport . 23 July 2020.
  28. News: Stoke City 2–2 Barnsley . BBC Sport . 15 May 2021.
  29. News: AFC Bournemouth 0–2 Stoke City . BBC Sport . 15 May 2021.
  30. Web site: Club confirm quartet to leave. www.stokecityfc.com. 10 May 2022. 10 May 2022.
  31. Web site: Tommy Smith confirms Stoke City exit in an emotional message to fans . Stoke Sentinel . 9 May 2022 . 14 May 2022.
  32. News: 2022-07-27 . Tommy Smith Signs For Boro . Middlesbrough FC .
  33. News: 2023-02-22 . Tommy Smith Signs New Boro Contract . Middlesbrough FC .
  34. News: Johns . Craig . 2023-10-25 . Tommy Smith makes Middlesbrough pledge as injury rules defender out for the season . TeessideLive . 2023-12-26.
  35. News: Huddersfield Town 0–0 Reading . Ian . Woodcock . BBC Sport . 29 May 2017 . 26 May 2018.