Manny Smith

Emmanuele Gabriel Smith (born 8 November 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender for Walsall, Notts County, Wrexham and Gateshead.

Manny Smith
Personal information
Full name Emmanuele Gabriel Smith[1]
Date of birth (1988-11-08) 8 November 1988[2]
Place of birth Birmingham, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
0000–2006 Walsall
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2012 Walsall 124 (7)
2007 → Halesowen Town (loan) 5 (0)
2012–2014 Notts County 29 (0)
2014–2016 Wrexham 90 (1)
2016–2017 Gateshead 44 (4)
2017–2020 Wrexham 53 (4)
Total 345 (16)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:59, 30 December 2018 (UTC)

Career

Walsall

Born in Birmingham, 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.[3]

Smith started the 2007–08 campaign in high spirit after making his debut in the previous season, 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.[4]

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 two-year contract with the club on 10 May 2010.[5]

In February 2012, Smith was disciplined by the club for his offensive tweet to a lifelong supporter.[6]

Notts County

On 9 July 2012, Smith signed a two-year deal with League One club Notts County.[7] He played his first competitive game for the club in a League Cup match against Bradford City. However, he was stretchered off in the first half after twisting his knee in a challenge with Alan Connell, it was later confirmed by Keith Curle that Smith would be out for three months.[8]

Wrexham

On 5 August 2014, he signed with Conference Premier side Wrexham. The 25-year-old centre-back joined the Dragons on a one-year deal after impressing on trial. Smith played in every minute of Wrexham's 61 league and cup games with 1 goal, the opening goal in the 3–1 win over Maidstone in the FA Cup 2nd round, in the 2014–15 season as his performances earned him the club's Player of the Season award.

Smith signed a new one-year deal with Wrexham after the 2014–15 season, keeping him at the Red Dragons for the 2015–16 season. He played in his 100th career appearance for Wrexham, as the beat Cross-border rivals Chester, 3–0 at the Racecourse.[9]

Gateshead

Smith was released by Wrexham at the end of the 2015–16 season, and signed a two-year contract with another National League club, Gateshead.[10]

Return to Wrexham

On 7 June 2017, Smith returned to Wrexham after cancelling his contract with Gateshead due to personal reasons.[11] During the 2017–18 season, Smith was a key player in Wrexham's all-time best defensive record, which earned him a spot in the National League team of the season.[12]

On 14 January 2020, Smith announced his retirement after being unable to overcome a serious knee injury.[13]

Career statistics
As of match played 14 February 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Walsall 2006–07[14] League Two 3000000030
2007–08[15] League One 4000000040
2008–09[16] League One 260001000270
2009–10[17] League One 33420101[lower-alpha 1]0374
2010–11[18] League One 25220101[lower-alpha 1]0292
2011–12[19] League One 33130002[lower-alpha 1]0381
Total 12477030401387
Halesowen Town (loan) 2006–07[20] SL Premier Division 50———50
Notts County 2012–13[21] League One 5000100060
2013–14[21] League One 24000202[lower-alpha 1]0280
Total 290003020340
Wrexham 2014–15[21] Conference Premier 46051—10[lower-alpha 2]1612
2015–16[21] National League 44110—2[lower-alpha 2]1472
Total 90161—1221084
Gateshead 2016–17[21] National League 44420—2[lower-alpha 2]1485
Wrexham 2017–18[21] National League 45310—00463
2018–19[21] National League 8100—0081
2019–20[21] National League 0000—0000
Total 534100000544
Career totals 345161616020338620
  1. Appearances in Football League Trophy
  2. Appearances in FA Trophy

Honours

Wrexham

References
  1. "Manny Smith". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  2. "Manny Smith". 11v11. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  3. Brian Halford. "Torquay 1 Walsall 2". Birmingham Mail.
  4. "Coventry sign Dann from Walsall". BBC Sport. 1 February 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
  5. "Walsall release seven including Dwayne Mattis". BBC Sport. 10 May 2010.
  6. "Players fined for Twitter comments". The FA. 1 March 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  7. "Manny becomes a Magpie". Notts County F.C. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  8. "Notts target new defender after Smith ruled out for three months". Nottingham Post. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  9. Williams, Richard. "Manny Smith proud of reaching 100 appearances for Wrexham AFC". LeaderLive. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  10. Williams, Richard (17 May 2016). "Manny Smith would've extended his stay at Wrexham AFC if offered a new contract". The Leader. Mold. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  11. "Manny Re-Joins Wrexham". Gateshead F.C. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  12. "Vanarama National League Team of the Season". BBC Sport. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  13. "Wrexham: Defender Manny Smith is forced to retire". BBC Sport. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  14. "Walsall 2006/2007 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  15. "Walsall 2007/2008 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  16. "Walsall 2008/2009 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  17. "Walsall 2009/2010 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  18. "Walsall 2010/2011 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  19. "Walsall 2011/2012 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  20. "Player details: Season 2006–2007: Manny Smith". SoccerFactsUK. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  21. "E. Smith". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  22. Aled Williams (29 March 2015). "North Ferriby United 3–3 Wrexham (5–4 on pens)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
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