Ben Smith (midfielder)
 |
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Benjamin Peter Smith | ||
| Date of birth | 23 November 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Chelmsford, England | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Arsenal | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1996 | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 1996–1998 | Reading | 1 | (0) |
| 1998–2001 | Yeovil Town | 113 | (15) |
| 2001–2002 | Southend United | 1 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | Hereford United | 52 | (18) |
| 2004–2006 | Shrewsbury Town | 24 | (4) |
| 2006–2007 | Weymouth | 44 | (13) |
| 2007–2009 | Hereford United | 99 | (7) |
| 2009–2012 | Crawley Town | 68 | (12) |
| 2011 | → Kettering Town (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2012 | → Aldershot Town (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2012 | A.F.C. Sudbury | ||
| 2012–2014 | Thurrock | ||
| 2014 | Maldon & Tiptree | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:03, 9 May 2012 (UTC). |
|||
Benjamin Peter "Ben" Smith (born 23 November 1978) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder.
Born in Chelmsford, Smith began his career at Arsenal where he signed his first professional contract for the 1995–96 season. He never made a first team appearance at the London-based club, although he made 29 appearances and scored four goals for the youth team during that season.
He moved to Reading in 1996 and made his senior debut on the final day of the 1996–97 season, coming on as a substitute in a 3–2 away defeat at Manchester City. This turned out to be his only first team appearance for the Royals and he moved to Yeovil Town in March 1998.
Despite being transfer listed in his second season, remained with the club until 2001. Smith had played a key role in Yeovil's challenge for promotion to the Football League, but an agreed new contract offer was withdrawn when manager Colin Addison was sacked. Smith moved to Southend United on a free transfer, joining his former manager David Webb.
He struggled to make an impact in his solitary season at Roots Hall and left for Hereford United, for whom he made 52 league appearances and scored 18 goals in a two-season-long spell. An injury to his shoulder meant he required an operation in March 2004, shortly before joining Shrewsbury Town. He made 24 league appearances for the Shropshire club. He joined Weymouth in January 2006, playing a significant role in the run in to the Conference South championship.
Weymouth's first Conference match in 17 years saw Smith score the opening goal, in the first minute against Tamworth. He went on to play in every first team match for the Terras up until the turn of the year, when he scored twice in a 3–2 defeat to Forest Green which turned out to be his last match for the club. The entire Weymouth squad had been transfer listed, due to financial problems, even though Smith had only recently signed a contract extension until 2009. Five league clubs expressed an interest in signing the Weymouth captain, and on 25 January 2007, Weymouth confirmed that he had rejoined Hereford United for £20,000 on a 2 and a half-year contract. This was the first transfer fee that the Bulls had paid since the signing of Neil Grayson in 1997.
...
Wikipedia