Gary Smith (footballer, born 1971)

Gary Smith (born 25 March 1971) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender.

Gary Smith
Personal information
Date of birth (1971-03-25) 25 March 1971
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1991 Falkirk 70 (0)
1991–1996 Aberdeen 143 (1)
1996–1997 Rennes 14 (0)
1997–2000 Aberdeen 67 (1)
2000–2006 Hibernian 159 (1)
2006–2007 Cowdenbeath 10 (0)
2006–2007 → Dundee (loan) 21 (1)
Total 484 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Club career

Smith was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He began his professional career at Falkirk, making his debut in 1989. He was snapped up by Aberdeen in 1991 and played in three cup finals for the Dons. He scored an own goal in the 1992 Scottish League Cup Final, which ultimately led to Rangers winning the trophy.[1]

In 1996, he left for French club Rennes (Heart of Midlothian winger Allan Johnston making the same move), before returning to Aberdeen in 1997. He signed for Hibernian in 2000 and despite falling out of favour with manager Franck Sauzée, re-established himself as a regular in the team under Bobby Williamson. After a solid spell at Hibs, Smith was allowed to leave Easter Road for Cowdenbeath in 2006. He was then loaned to Dundee from Cowdenbeath after he was passed over for the managerial position.[2]

International career

Smith was called up to the senior Scotland squad by Andy Roxburgh in 1993 but was ultimately never capped at that level.[3]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[4][5][6]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Falkirk 1988-89 Scottish First Division 3 0 0 0 0 0 - - 3 0
1989-90 36 0 1 0 0 0 - - 37 0
1990-91 31 0 3 0 1 0 - - 36 0
Total 70 0 4 0 1 0 - - 75 0
Aberdeen 1991–92 Scottish Premier Division 16 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 1
1992–93 40 0 5 0 5 0 0 0 50 0
1993–94 21 0 5 0 3 0 3 0 32 0
1994–95 33 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 37 0
1995–96 33 0 4 0 4 0 0 0 41 0
Total 143 1 16 0 14 0 3 0 176 1
Rennes 1996-97 Ligue 1 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 0
Total 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 0
Aberdeen 1997-98 Scottish Premier Division 31 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 34 1
1998-99 SPL 30 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 33 0
1999-00 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 7 0
Total 67 1 2 0 5 0 0 0 74 1
Hibernian 2000-01 SPL 37 0 5 0 2 0 0 0 44 0
2001-02 30 0 3 1 2 0 1 0 36 1
2002-03 32 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 37 0
2003-04 20 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 23 0
2004-05 20 1 4 0 1 0 1 0 26 1
2005-06 20 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 24 0
Total 159 1 18 1 10 0 3 0 190 2
Cowdenbeath 2006-07 Scottish Second Division 10 0 0 0 1 0 - - 11 0
Total 10 0 0 0 1 0 - - 11 0
Dundee (loan) 2006-07 Scottish First Division 21 1 1 0 0 0 - - 22 1
Career total 484 4 41 1 31 0 6 0 562 5

Honours

Falkirk

Aberdeen

Hibernian

References
  1. McKinney, David (26 October 1992). "Football: Smith's slip gives Rangers the prize". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  2. Dundee get veteran defender Smith, BBC Sport.
  3. "Roxburgh introduces new generation in the wake of Lisbon fiasco". heraldscotland.com. 11 May 1993. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  4. "bettermeddle..." bettermeddle.org.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  5. "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  6. "Gary Smith | Player Statistics | Dundee (Dee Archive)". deearchive.co.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  7. McKinney, David (27 November 1995). "Dodds and Shearer end Aberdeen's wait". The Independent. London. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  8. McKinney, David (31 May 1993). "Scottish up Final: Rangers continue to reign supreme". The Independent. London. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  9. Celtic lift cup to complete Treble BBC Sport, 26 May 2001
  10. Livingston lift CIS Cup, BBC Sport, 14 March 2004
  • Gary Smith at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
  • Gary Smith at Soccerbase
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