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Roger Smith (footballer, born 1945)

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Roger Smith
Personal information
Full name Roger William Smith[1]
Date of birth (1945-02-19) 19 February 1945 (age 79)[1]
Place of birth Tamworth, England[1]
Position(s) Full-back; winger; forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1962–1965 Walsall 53 (2)
1965–1966 Port Vale 30 (6)
1966–1967 Walsall 9 (0)
1967–1973 Nuneaton Borough 180 (8)
1973–19?? Atherstone Town
Total 262 (16)
Managerial career
1986–1987 Tamworth
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Roger William Smith (born 19 February 1945) is an English former footballer and football manager.

A versatile player, he played 92 league games in a five-year career in the English Football League with Walsall and Port Vale, spending the 1965–66 season with Vale either side of two spells with Walsall. He then went to make 286 appearances over the course of six seasons in the Southern League with Nuneaton Borough. He later played for Atherstone Town, before briefly taking the management reins at Tamworth between April 1986 and February 1987.

Playing career

Walsall and Port Vale

Smith began his career with Walsall after leaving Tamworth Grammar School.[2] Bill Moore's "Saddlers" were relegated out of the Second Division in 1962–63, and struggled to avoid the relegation zone of the Third Division in 1963–64 and 1964–65. He scored twice in 53 appearances for the Fellows Park side. He dropped down to the Fourth Division when he joined Port Vale in July 1965.[1] He was a first team regular at Vale Park throughout the 1965–66 season until he suffered an ankle injury in March 1966.[1] He was released by manager Jackie Mudie in July 1966, having scored six goals in 33 league and cup games for the "Valiants", and immediately returned to former club to Walsall.[1] Under the stewardship of Ray Shaw, the club posted a 12th-place finish in the Third Division in 1966–67. He then left the club for a second time.

Nuneaton Borough

Nuneaton Borough secretary-manager Dudley Kernick won his signature, having approached the player unsuccessfully the previous year.[2] He settled in well at the club and the goal he scored in a 2–0 home win over Dover on 11 March 1968 was "one of the best seen at Manor Park for a long time" as he took the ball from the half-way line to strike the ball into the net from 25 yards (23 m) out.[2] He scored five goals from 50 appearances in the 1967–68 season as "Boro" posted a 15th-place finish in the Southern League Premier Division.[2] A versatile player, able to play full-back, on the wings or as a forward, he scored three goals in 49 games in the 1968–69 campaign as Nuneaton moved up to 11th in the league.[2] However, he missed the last six weeks of the season after being diagnosed with jaundice.[2] He returned to fitness in October 1969 and returned to his now familiar full-back role, ending the 1969–70 season with 20 appearances and two goals; Nuneaton finished in the relegation zone but were handed a reprieve.[2] He was switched to midfield for the 1970–71 season, where he made a total of 59 appearances, scoring two goals and coming second in the club's Player of the Year vote.[3] He featured in a remarkable 67 games in the 1971–72 campaign, scoring four goals.[3] He was given a testimonial match in the summer, along with Alan Jones, the opponents being the Nuneaton Borough team of 1966–67.[3] He played 41 times in the 1972–73 season, before manager David Pleat organised a cash-plus-swap deal with Atherstone Town for John Flannagan.[3]

Management career

He served West Midlands (Regional) League club Tamworth as manager between April 1986 and February 1987.[4]

Career statistics

Source:[5][6]

Club Season Division League FA Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Walsall 1962–63 Second Division 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
1963–64 Third Division 23 2 1 0 3 0 27 2
1964–65 Third Division 18 0 0 0 2 0 20 0
Total 43 2 1 0 5 0 49 2
Port Vale 1965–66 Fourth Division 30 6 1 0 2 0 33 6
Walsall 1966–67 Third Division 9 0 1 0 2 0 12 0
Nuneaton Borough 1967–68 Southern League Premier Division 33 3 3 0 14 2 50 5
1968–69 Southern League Premier Division 28 1 1 0 20 2 49 3
1969–70 Southern League Premier Division 13 1 1 0 6 1 20 2
1970–71 Southern League Premier Division 37 2 5 0 17 0 59 2
1971–72 Southern League Premier Division 41 1 5 0 21 3 67 4
1972–73 Southern League Premier Division 28 0 4 0 9 1 41 1
Total 180 8 19 0 87 9 286 17
Career total 262 16 22 0 96 9 380 25

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 274. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Nuneaton Borough1958-1970 – Part 2" (PDF). fromtowntotown.org.uk. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d "Nuneaton Borough1970-1979 – Part 1" (PDF). fromtowntotown.org.uk. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Manager Info – 1985/86 – Roger Smith". tamworthfcheritage.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  5. ^ Roger Smith at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  6. ^ "Nuneaton Borough statistics" (PDF). fromtowntotown.org.uk. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
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