Tommy Smith (footballer born 1980)
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| Tommy Smith | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas William Smith | |
| Date of birth | May 22, 1980 | |
| Place of birth | Hemel Hempstead, England | |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | |
| Playing position | Midfielder/Striker | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Watford | |
| Number | 21 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1997–2003 2003–2004 2004–2006 2006– |
Watford Sunderland Derby County Watford |
149 (33) 35 (4) 90 (20) 75 (7) |
| National team | ||
| England U21 | 1 (1) | |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Thomas William "Tommy" Smith (born 22 May 1980 in Hemel Hempstead) is an English professional footballer. He currently plays for Watford in the Football League Championship. Although he started his career as a striker, he now plays as right winger.
[edit] Career
Smith began his career in the youth system at Watford, where his father was the head of the academy and his younger brother Jack was also a trainee. Before this he had played for Comets Sports club in sunday league football.[citation needed]
He broke into the first team in 1997 making his debut on 18 November 1997 in 2–1 win over Oldham Athletic. Smith made several appearances for the Watford side which won the play-offs in the 1998–99 season, gaining promotion to the Premiership. Smith established himself in the team that season, making 23 appearances and scoring two goals, including a memorable finish in a game against Manchester United.
He was dropped to the bench for Watford's 2003 FA Cup semi-final with Southampton, with on-loan striker Michael Chopra chosen instead, and he left at the end of that season to join Sunderland.
Smith spent just one season at Sunderland, but it was a successful one. He helped them finish third in the Championship and they lost 5–4 on penalties to Crystal Palace in the play-off semi-finals. Following this, Smith moved to Derby County, making his debut in a league game against Leeds United. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 victory over Queens Park Rangers.
After 97 games and 21 goals as a Derby player (in all competitions), Smith was the subject of an approach from his first club, Watford. On 30 August 2006, Smith rejoined Watford for a fee of £500k, he signed a four year deal, taking him through to the summer of 2010. He scored the first league goal of his second spell at Watford against Arsenal in a 2–1 defeat at Vicarage Road.
Scored the equalising goal in a 1-1 draw against Blackpool on the last day of the regular season, to secure Watford's berth in the 2007/2008 Championship play-offs. In 2008 he won the Watford Player of the Season award.
[edit] External links
- Tommy Smith profile at watfordfc.co.uk
- Tommy Smith career stats at Soccerbase
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