Neil Smillie
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Neil Smillie | ||
| Date of birth | 19 July 1958 | ||
| Place of birth | Barnsley, England | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1974–1975 | Crystal Palace | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1975–1982 | Crystal Palace | 83 | (7) |
| 1977 | → Brentford (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 1978 | → Memphis Rogues (loan) | 28 | (2) |
| 1979 | → Memphis Rogues (loan) | 20 | (5) |
| 1982–1985 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 75 | (2) |
| 1985–1988 | Watford | 16 | (3) |
| 1986–1988 | Reading | 39 | (0) |
| 1988–1993 | Brentford | 172 | (18) |
| 1993–1995 | Gillingham | 53 | (3) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1995 | Gillingham | ||
| 1996 | Wycombe Wanderers | ||
| 1998–1999 | Wycombe Wanderers | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Neil Smillie (born Barnsley, 19 July 1958) is an English former professional football player and manager. He played for a number of clubs, with the high point of his career being an appearance in the 1983 FA Cup Final for Brighton & Hove Albion.
The son of the former Barnsley and Lincoln City player Ron Smillie, Neil Smillie began his career with Crystal Palace, where he spent seven years, during which he had a spell on loan at Brentford and also spent two summers playing for Memphis Rogues in the North American Soccer League. In 1982, he was sold to Brighton & Hove Albion. During his time with that club, he played in the 1983 FA Cup Final, in which Brighton held Manchester United to a 2–2 draw before losing in a replay.
In 1985, Smillie moved to Watford for a fee of £100,000 but his spell at Vicarage Road was unsuccessful, with only 16 first-team appearances in three years. In 1988, he moved on to Reading. A year later, he moved again to Brentford, where he was a first-team regular for five years with over 170 appearances.
In 1993, the new Gillingham manager Mike Flanagan made Smillie his first signing, appointing him as player-coach. Gillingham went into administration in 1995 and the receivers dismissed Flanagan as manager, appointing Smillie as manager for the remainder of the season.
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