Paul William Smith is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 professional footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

.

Smith was born in East Ham

East Ham

East Ham is a suburban district of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Newham. It is a built-up district located 8 miles east-northeast of Charing Cross...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and began his career as a trainee with Southend United

Southend United F.C.

Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...

, turning professional in 1990. He found his chances limited at Roots Hall

Roots Hall

Roots Hall is a multi-use sports stadium in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, primarily used for football games and is the home of the Football League Two club Southend United. With a capacity of 12,392 Roots Hall is the largest football stadium in Essex, and is the current venue for the final of...

 and after a loan spell with Dover Athletic

Dover Athletic F.C.

Dover Athletic Football Club is an association football team based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club was formed in 1983 after the dissolution of the town's previous club, Dover, whose place in the Southern League was taken by the new club...

 moved on to Brentford

Brentford F.C.

Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....

 in August 1993 on a free transfer.

In August 1997 he joined Gillingham

Gillingham F.C.

Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...

, where he enjoyed the most successful spell of his career. He captained the Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

 side for a lengthy spell and was also named the club's player of the year on an unprecedented four occasions, although his final reign ended in a bizarre dispute with chairman Paul Scally

Paul Scally

Paul Damien Phillip Scally is a London-born businessman who has been the chairman of association football club Gillingham since 1995.-Career:...

 in which Smith reportedly refused to hand back the trophy until he was paid money he claimed the club owed him.

He left Priestfield

Priestfield Stadium

Priestfield Stadium is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent...

 in 2005, after the team were relegated to Football League One

Football League One

Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 and he was offered reduced terms.

In July 2005 he joined 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...

, returning to Gillingham in October 2005 to play three times in a loan spell. He moved to Swindon Town

Swindon Town F.C.

Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...

 in January 2006, but was released in June 2006 after Swindon sacked manager Iffy Onuora

Iffy Onuora

Ifem "Iffy" Onuora is a coach a former professional footballer born in Scotland of Nigerian descent.He was recently the head coach of the Ethiopia national team...

.

He joined A.F.C. Sudbury in October 2006, but returned to league

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 football when he joined 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...

 on January 29, 2007. He played eight times for Torquay as they were relegated to the Conference National

Conference National

Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

. On the eve of the transfer window in August 2007, he joined Barnet

Barnet F.C.

Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....

, but just one day later Bees manager Paul Fairclough

Paul Fairclough

Paul Fairclough is the current manager of the England C national football team, formerly known as the National Game XI, England non-League team or the England semi-pro team, and in charge of youth development at Barnet having been caretaker for two months in 2011.As a player he made five...

 decided he didn't want the player and released him. Smith made one appearance for Great Wakering Rovers

Great Wakering Rovers F.C.

Great Wakering Rovers F.C. is a football club located in Great Wakering, near Southend on Sea in Essex, England. They were established in 1919 and were founding members of the Essex Intermediate League Division 3 in 1989.-History:...

 at the start of the 2007-08 season before moving to St Albans City

St Albans City F.C.

St Albans City Football Club is a football club based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It was founded in 1908 and plays its home matches at Clarence Park, about 800 yards from the city centre. The club is in the Premier Division of the Southern League...

 for whom he made four starts before returning to A.F.C. Sudbury on the 18 October 2007.

In May 2008 he joined Margate

Margate F.C.

Margate Football Club is an English football team based in the seaside resort of Margate, Kent, currently playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division. The club was known for a number of years during the 1980s as Thanet United....

 as a player/coach

Player-coach

A player-coach, in sports, is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. The term can be used to refer to both players who serve as head coaches, or as assistant coaches....

, forming part of a new management team headed by first team manager Barry Ashby

Barry Ashby

Barry John Ashby is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-half. He played for Watford, Brentford and Gillingham during a 17-year professional career....

, but the pair were sacked in October of the same year. Smith next signed for Billericay Town

Billericay Town F.C.

Billericay Town Football Club are an English football club based in Billericay, Essex, who currently play in the Isthmian League Premier Division....

, and on his debut scored the winning goal against Margate.