George Smith (footballer, born 1996)

George Thomas Smith (born 14 August 1996) is an English footballer who plays as a left back for National League North club Farsley Celtic. He has previously played in the English Football League for Barnsley, Crawley Town, Northampton Town and Chesterfield, and in the National League for Bradford Park Avenue, Gateshead, Dover Athletic, Boston United, Harrogate Town and Darlington.

George Smith
Personal information
Full name George Thomas Smith[1]
Date of birth (1996-08-14) 14 August 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Barnsley, England
Position(s) Left back
Team information
Current team
Farsley Celtic
Youth career
0000–2014 Barnsley
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Barnsley 37 (0)
2014Bradford Park Avenue (loan) 0 (0)
2016Crawley Town (loan) 4 (0)
2016–2017 Gateshead 38 (1)
2017–2018 Northampton Town 6 (0)
2018–2019 Chesterfield 10 (0)
2018–2019Dover Athletic (loan) 7 (0)
2019Boston United (loan) 8 (0)
2019–2020 Harrogate Town 21 (1)
2020–2021 Gateshead 12 (0)
2021–2022 Darlington 21 (1)
2022–2023 Guiseley 24 (2)
2023Liversedge (loan) 9 (0)
2023– Farsley Celtic 34 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:05, 21 April 2024 (UTC)

Career

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Barnsley

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Smith began his career with Barnsley, progressing through the club's academy and signed a professional contract in June 2014.[2] He made his Football League debut on 26 December 2014 in a 1–0 defeat against Preston North End.[3]

He made four League Two appearances during a month's loan at Crawley Town early in 2016,[4] and was not offered a new contract by Barnsley when his existing deal expired in June 2016.[5]

Gateshead

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On 29 June 2016, Smith signed for Gateshead on a one-year deal ahead of the 2016–17 National League season.[6] He made his league debut for the club on 6 August against Chester and scored his first senior goal in a 3–0 win over Southport on 4 February 2017.[7]

Northampton Town

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In May 2017, Smith signed a two-year contract with Northampton Town.[8] He made his debut on 9 September against Doncaster Rovers, assisting Matt Crooks with the only goal of the match after 21 seconds, the quickest goal ever scored at Sixfields Stadium.[9][10]

Chesterfield

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Smith left Northampton on 31 January 2018 to sign an 18-month deal with League Two club Chesterfield; the fee was undisclosed. Following two loan spells during the 2018–19 season, at Dover Athletic, where he made his debut in a 2–1 loss against Barnet on 1 September 2018,[11] and at Boston United,[7] Smith was released by Chesterfield when his contract expired.[12]

Harrogate Town

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On 12 June 2019, Harrogate Town announced the signing of Smith.[13]

Return to Gateshead

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On 9 June 2020, Smith rejoined Gateshead on a one-year contract.[14] He made 12 National League North appearances before the season was curtailed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and was released when his contract expired.[7][15]

Darlington

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Smith followed full-back partner Kallum Griffiths to National League North rivals Darlington for the 2021–22 season.[15][16] On 11 May 2022, Darlington announced that Smith was one of ten players released by the club.[17]

Guiseley

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On 20 May 2022, Smith signed a one-year contract with Northern Premier League Premier Division club Guiseley.[18]

In March 2023, he joined league rivals Liversedge on loan until the end of the season.[19]

Farsley Celtic

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In May 2023, he signed for National League North club Farsley Celtic.[20]

Career statistics

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As of end of 2023–24 season
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barnsley 2014–15[21] League One 18 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 19 0
2015–16[4] League One 19 0 1 0 2 0 3[a] 0 23 0
Total 37 0 2 0 2 0 3 0 44 0
Crawley Town (loan) 2015–16[4] League Two 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Gateshead 2016–17[7] National League 38 1 0 0 0 0 38 1
Northampton Town 2017–18[22] League One 6 0 1 0 1 0 2[b] 0 10 0
Chesterfield 2017–18[22] League Two 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
2018–19[7] National League 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Total 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0
Dover Athletic (loan) 2018–19[7] National League 7 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Boston United (loan) 2018–19[7] National League North 8 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
Harrogate Town 2019–20[7] National League 21 1 2 0 2[c] 0 25 1
Gateshead 2020–21[7][23] National League North 12 0 1 0 0 0 13 0
Darlington 2021–22[7][24] National League North 21 1 2 0 0 0 23 1
Guiseley 2021–22[25] Northern Premier League
Premier Division
24 2 1 0 3[c] 0 28 2
Farsley Celtic 2023–24[7][26] National League North 34 0 2 0 1[c] 0 37 0
Career total 222 5 11 0 3 0 11 0 247 5
  1. ^ Appearances in Football League Trophy
  2. ^ Appearances in EFL Trophy
  3. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in FA Trophy

References

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  1. ^ "The Football League Limited: Club list of registered players as at 16th May 2015" (PDF). The Football League. 16 May 2015. p. 39. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  2. ^ "George Smith signs professional deal at Oakwell". Barnsley F.C. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  3. ^ "George Smith raring to go". Barnsley F.C. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Games played by George Smith in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Defensive duo depart". Barnsley F.C. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  6. ^ "George Smith: Gateshead sign ex-Barnsley defender on one-year deal". BBC Sport. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "G. Smith". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  8. ^ "George Smith joins Northampton Town". Sky Sports. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Northampton 1–0 Doncaster: Winning start for new boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink". Sky Sports. 9 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Get to know... Matt Crooks". Middlesbrough F.C. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Dover Athletic vs Barnet". Dover Athletic F.C. 1 September 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  12. ^ Smyth, Graham (7 May 2019). "Chesterfield FC announce retained list – here's who is out and who will still be a Spireite next year". Derbyshire Times. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  13. ^ "George Smith is signing number six". Harrogate Town A.F.C. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Star defender George Smith back at Gateshead after four years away". The Non-League Paper. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  15. ^ a b Carruthers, Mark (11 May 2021). "Former Newcastle United trio to remain with Gateshead as seven depart". Shields Gazette. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  16. ^ Simpson, Ray (2 July 2021). "New signing George: "I want to enjoy my football"". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  17. ^ "Quakers announce retained list". Darlington FC. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  18. ^ "George Smith signs for the Lions". Guiseley AFC. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  19. ^ @Liversedge_FC (23 March 2023). "✍️ We are delighted to announce the signing of @GuiseleyAFC defender and captain @georgesmith0123 Welcome to Sedge George!!! #UpTheSedge" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 March 2023 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ "George Smith signs for Farsley Celtic". Farsley Celtic F.C. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  21. ^ "Games played by George Smith in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  22. ^ a b "Games played by George Smith in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  23. ^ For FA Cup 2nd qualifying round: Bowron, Jeff (4 October 2020). "Disappointing Heed out of FA Cup after a thoroughly damp and dismal defeat". Sunday Sun. Newcastle. p. 42. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Gale OneFile: News.
  24. ^ For FA Cup 2nd qualifying round: Simpson, Ray (18 September 2021). "Quakers held to a goalless draw in FA Cup". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
    Simpson, Ray (21 September 2021). "Quakers knocked out of Cup by lucky goal". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  25. ^ "Gainsborough Trinity – Appearances – George Smith". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  26. ^ For FA Cup second qualifying round: Makin, Josh (16 September 2023). "Report: Farsley Celtic 1–1 Scarborough Athletic". Farsley Celtic F.C. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
    Makin, Josh (19 September 2023). "Report: Scarborough Athletic 3–0 Farsley Celtic". Farsley Celtic F.C. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
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