Manny Smith
Encyclopedia
Emmanuele Gabriel "Manny" Smith (born 8 November 1988) is an English footballer who plays for Walsall
as a defender
.
, West Midlands
, Smith progressed through the youth system
at Walsall
, eventually signing a one-year contract in May 2006, which kicked off his professional career.
He was captain of Walsall
reserve team during the 2006–07 season. He was on the verge of the first team during this very season, however the management at Walsall believed that he lacked that competitive match experience which was needed to become a first-team regular.
He was allowed to link up with Southern Football League
Premier Division side, Halesowen Town
on loan. During his short time at the club Smith made five league appearances for the Birmingham-based outfit before returning to Bescot Stadium
, to make his professional debut on 7 April 2007 in Walsall
's Football League Two
clash with Torquay United
. The centre half came on as a 70th minute substitute in this game replacing Craig Pead
.
Smith started the 2007–2008 campaign in high spirit after making his debut in the previous season, the he had also just signed another contract with the club in May 2007, meaning he would remain at the Bescot Stadium
until May 2008.
This would prove to be a difficult season for him, especially if he wanted to climb back up the ladder and break back into the first-team. However during the start of the season he failed to do so spending a lot of time playing in the reserve side. February 2008, turned out to be a big month him following the sale of defensive colleague Scott Dann
, who joined Coventry City
towards the very end of the January transfer window.
Despite the summer departure of fellow centre half Ian Roper, Smith remained as only the third choice centre half due to the arrival of Stephen Roberts from Doncaster Rovers
.
He signed a new 2 year contract with the club on 10 May 2010.
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
as a defender
Defender (association football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
.
Career
Born in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, Smith progressed through the youth system
Youth system
Youth system is a sporting terminology used to refer to 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 if they show enough promise, and to fill up squads numbers in some teams...
at Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
, eventually signing a one-year contract in May 2006, which kicked off his professional career.
He was captain of Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
reserve team during the 2006–07 season. He was on the verge of the first team during this very season, however the management at Walsall believed that he lacked that competitive match experience which was needed to become a first-team regular.
He was allowed to link up with Southern Football League
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
Premier Division side, Halesowen Town
Halesowen Town F.C.
Halesowen Town is an English association football club formed in 1873, since 2011 playing in the Southern League Division One South & West]]. The team is nicknamed "The Yeltz".-History:...
on loan. During his short time at the club Smith made five league appearances for the Birmingham-based outfit before returning to Bescot Stadium
Bescot Stadium
Bescot Stadium, also known as the Banks's Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is the home ground of Walsall Football Club. It was built in 1989-90 by GMI Construction with a reported build cost of £4.5m...
, to make his professional debut on 7 April 2007 in Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
's Football League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
clash with Torquay United
Torquay United F.C.
Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...
. The centre half came on as a 70th minute substitute in this game replacing Craig Pead
Craig Pead
Craig George Pead is a former professional footballer. He announced his retirement from football on 21 May 2009, following his release from Brentford, and a knee injury....
.
Smith started the 2007–2008 campaign in high spirit after making his debut in the previous season, the he had also just signed another contract with the club in May 2007, meaning he would remain at the Bescot Stadium
Bescot Stadium
Bescot Stadium, also known as the Banks's Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is the home ground of Walsall Football Club. It was built in 1989-90 by GMI Construction with a reported build cost of £4.5m...
until May 2008.
This would prove to be a difficult season for him, especially if he wanted to climb back up the ladder and break back into the first-team. However during the start of the season he failed to do so spending a lot of time playing in the reserve side. February 2008, turned out to be a big month him following the sale of defensive colleague Scott Dann
Scott Dann
Scott Dann is an English footballer who plays for Premier League club Blackburn Rovers as a centre back. He began his Football League career with Walsall, before moving on to Coventry City and then to Birmingham City in 2009...
, who joined Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
towards the very end of the January transfer window.
Despite the summer departure of fellow centre half Ian Roper, Smith remained as only the third choice centre half due to the arrival of Stephen Roberts from Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers F.C.
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is an English football club, based at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The team currently competes in the Football League Championship, after being promoted via the League One play-offs in 2008, and have remained there since.The club was founded in...
.
He signed a new 2 year contract with the club on 10 May 2010.