.jpg) Smith in 1978 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gordon Duffield Smith[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1954-12-29)29 December 1954 (age 71) | ||
| Place of birth | Kilwinning, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1972 | Troon Football Club | ||
| 1972–1977 | Kilmarnock | 161 | (36) |
| 1977–1980 | Rangers | 98 | (35) |
| 1980–1983 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 109 | (22) |
| 1982 | →Rangers (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 1983–1985 | Manchester City | 45 | (15) |
| 1985–1986 | Oldham Athletic | 9 | (0) |
| 1986–1987 | Admira Wacker | 38 | (6) |
| 1987–1988 | FC Basel | 25 | (3) |
| 1988 | Stirling Albion | 3 | (0) |
| Total | 490 | (117) | |
| International career | |||
| 1975–1976 | Scotland U23[2] | 5 | (0) |
| 1978 | Scotland U21[3] | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1990–1993 | St Mirren (assistant) | ||
| 2011–2012 | Rangers (assistant and director of football) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Gordon Duffield Smith (born 29 December 1954)[4] is a Scottish formerfootball player, coach, pundit and executive. Smith played for several clubs, beginning his career atTroon Football Club[5] before joiningKilmarnock,Rangers,Brighton & Hove Albion andManchester City. After retiring as a player, he worked as a football agent andBBC football pundit before being appointed chief executive of theScottish Football Association in 2007, a post he held until his resignation on 19 April 2010.[6] Smith then worked as thedirector of football of Rangers during the 2011–12 season.
Smith was also responsible for the introduction of an agreement between theHome Nations' football associations which allowed players educated in a home nation for five years before the age of eighteen to represent that nation at international level. As a result of the change in policy, several players have gone on to represent a country they were previously ineligible for.
Smith was born inKilwinning, and started his career withKilmarnock, following in the footsteps of his grandfather,Mattha Smith.[7] Sold toRangers in 1977 for £65,000, in his first season atIbrox Smith won thedomestic treble, scoring 27 goals from midfield. He also scored the winning goal in the1978 Scottish League Cup Final, againstCeltic.
He was sold toBrighton & Hove Albion in 1980 for a record transfer fee of £440,000. He returned to Rangers on loan in December 1982, playing in the1982 League Cup Final defeat by Celtic. Smith made three appearances during his loan spell without scoring.
Smith played for Brighton in the1983 FA Cup Final againstManchester United. He scored the first Brighton goal, but his appearance is best remembered for a chance to win the cup for Brighton late in extra time – the ball broke to Smith within 10 yards of the goal, but his shot was smothered by UnitedgoalkeeperGary Bailey.[8] The match ended in a 2–2 draw, and Brighton lost 4–0 in the replay.
After Brighton he joinedManchester City. He was top scorer for City in the 1984–85 season.[citation needed] He then had a short spell withOldham Athletic, and played inAustria withAdmira Wacker.
Smith joined Swiss clubFC Basel for their1987–88 season, signing a one-year contract under head-coachUrs Siegenthaler. He played his league debut for his new club at theSt. Jakob Stadium on 12 August 1987 and scored his first goal in the same game, but it did not help the team much, because Basel were defeated 2–1 byLausanne-Sport.[9] His teammates included goalkeeperUrs Suter, defendersPeter Bernauer andMassimo Ceccaroni, andSwitzerland national team players such asAdrian Knup,Dominique Herr andPeter Nadig; however, despite the talent of these individuals, Basel were relegated to theNationalliga B after the1987–88 Nationalliga A season.[10]
During his time with Basel, Smith played a total of 26 competitive games (25 in theNationalliga A, one in theSwiss Cup) and scored three goals, all in the domestic league.[11]
He finished his career back in Scotland withStirling Albion.[4]
Smith had a spell as assistant manager ofSt Mirren between 1990 and 1993[citation needed] before beginning careers in the media and as a football agent. He represented many players, includingScotland playersPaul Lambert andKenny Miller.[citation needed] Smith published an autobiography in 2005, entitled "And Smith Did Score".
Smith relinquished his career as an agent to take up the position ofScottish Football Association chief executive, which had been vacated byDavid Taylor moving toUEFA, in June 2007.[12] Soon after being appointed SFA chief executive, he suggested in a book that there was "an agenda against Rangers", the team he formerly played for.[13] Smith's spell as CEO of the Scottish FA ended when he resigned in April 2010 for personal reasons.[14] After leaving the SFA, Smith wrote a weekly column in the Scottish edition of theDaily Express newspaper and featured onBBC Radio Scotland'sSportsound.
However, he did make his mark in international football, Smith was the driver behind the 2009Home nations agreement,[citation needed] which allowed players being educated for five years under the age of 18 in a Home nation to become eligible for that nation at full international level. Due to this policy change, several players who were otherwise ineligible could play international football for the nation they were educated and raised in. Somalia-bornIslam Feruz became eligible for Scotland, Chester-bornAndy Dorman represented Wales and Jamaican-bornRaheem Sterling went on to play for England.
In June 2011, Smith was appointedDirector of football atRangers by their new ownerCraig Whyte, tasked with assisting new managerAlly McCoist.[15] He left this role in February 2012, soon after the club enteredadministration.[16][17]