AJ Leitch-Smith

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AJ Leitch-Smith
Leitch-Smith, AJ.jpg
Leitch-Smith in 2010
Personal information
Full name Jay Leitch-Smith
Date of birth (1990-03-06) 6 March 1990 (age 34)
Place of birth Crewe, England
Height Script error: No such module "person height".
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Port Vale
Number 20
Youth career
1997–2008 Crewe Alexandra
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2014 Crewe Alexandra 103 (19)
2008 → Halifax Town (loan) 3 (1)
2009 → Newcastle Town (loan) 4 (1)
2009 → ÍBV (loan) 18 (5)
2010 → Curzon Ashton (loan) 10 (7)
2014–2015 Yeovil Town 33 (2)
2015– Port Vale 21 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:00, 10 January 2016 (UTC)

Jay "AJ" Leitch-Smith (born 6 March 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for League One side Port Vale.

A graduate of the Academy at Crewe Alexandra, he played on loan for Halifax Town, Newcastle Town, ÍBV (Iceland), and Curzon Ashton. He spent six years with Crewe, winning the League Two play-offs in 2012 and the Football League Trophy in 2013. He signed with Yeovil Town in June 2014, and moved on to Port Vale in July 2015.

Playing career

Crewe Alexandra

Whilst on the books at Crewe Alexandra as a youth player, Leitch-Smith was loaned out to non-League clubs Halifax Town in November 2008 and Newcastle Town in March 2009.[2] He signed his first professional contract in April 2009, before joining Icelandic club ÍBV on loan.[3] He was recalled from his loan, along with Chris Clements, in early September due to injury problems at Crewe.[4][5]

He made his League Two debut for Crewe at Gresty Road in a 3–2 defeat to Bury on 29 September 2009, replacing Joel Grant as a substitute in the 80th minute.[6] This was his only appearance of the 2009–10 season. He joined Curzon Ashton on loan in March 2010.[7] He scored seven goals in ten Northern Premier League appearances, which was enough to win him a new contract at Crewe.[8]

He scored his first goal in the Football League on 21 August 2010, adding the final goal of the "Railwaymen's" 7–0 win over Barnet.[9] However he was limited to only 18 appearances in the 2010–11 season as he struggled to step up to first team football, and manager Dario Gradi devised a special pre-season fitness programme in the summer to help him to adapt to senior football.[10]

Leitch-Smith scored nine goals in 44 games in the 2011–12 campaign. He signed a new one-year contract in April 2012, and manager Steve Davis stated "I'd like to think that he can become the 15 to 20 goal a season man we need."[11] On 27 May, he played the first 85 minutes of the League Two play-off Final victory over Cheltenham Town at Wembley Stadium, providing the assist for Byron Moore's goal which secured the 2–0 victory and Crewe's promotion into League One.[12]

He scored six goals in 35 matches in the 2012–13 season. On 7 April he made another appearance at Wembley, as the Alex beat Southend United 2–0 in the Football League Trophy Final; he was an 83rd-minute substitute for Max Clayton.[13] The next month he signed a one-year extension to his existing contract.[14] However he played just 24 games in the 2013–14 season, scoring two goals. He left Crewe after an eleven year association with his hometown club, saying he felt like a "part of the furniture" of the club.[15]

Yeovil Town

In June 2014, Leitch-Smith signed for Gary Johnson's League One club Yeovil Town on a two-year contract.[16] He struggled in his first season for the "Glovers", as he was played mostly in a wide position.[17] He only scored twice in 38 appearances and was one of four players offered a contract termination by new manager Paul Sturrock following Yeovil's relegation into League Two at the end of the season.[18]

Port Vale

In July 2015, Leitch-Smith signed a 12-month deal with League One side Port Vale after agreeing to leave Yeovil.[19] He earned the contract after impressing manager Rob Page during pre-season training.[20] He scored his first goal for the "Valiants" on 14 November, with a header than opened the scoring in a 2–1 win at Barnsley.[21] This was the start a sequence of five goals in four games, which was the best scoring run of his career to that point.[22] For his performances he was short-listed for the League One player of the month award.[23] After scoring his sixth goal of the season in a 1–1 draw with Scunthorpe United at Vale Park on 12 December he was named the Football League Paper's team of the day.[24]

Style of play

Though Leitch-Smith lacks natural athleticism and pace, he is an intelligent and creative attacker with good technical skills and a high work rate.[25][1] Former teammate Tom Pope stated that Leitch-Smith was "one of the most intelligent strikers... in League One".[26]

Statistics

Season Club Division League FA Cup League Cup Other[27] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2008–09[28] Crewe Alexandra League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2009[29] IBV (loan) Úrvalsdeild 14 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 4
2009–10[30] Crewe Alexandra League Two 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2010–11[31] 16 5 1 0 0 0 1 0 18 5
2011–12[32] 38 8 1 0 1 0 4 1 44 9
2012–13[33] League One 28 4 0 0 2 1 5 1 35 6
2013–14[34] 20 2 1 0 1 0 2 0 24 2
Total 103 19 3 0 4 1 12 2 122 22
2014–15[35] Yeovil Town League One 33 2 3 0 1 0 1 0 38 2
Total 33 2 3 0 1 0 1 0 38 2
2015–16[36] Port Vale League One 21 5 3 2 2 0 1 0 27 7
Total 21 5 3 2 2 0 1 0 27 7
Career total 171 30 9 2 7 1 14 2 201 35
Notes
  • Statistics in non-league football unavailable.

Honours

with Crewe Alexandra

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Includes other competitive competitions, including the Football League Trophy.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ AJ Leitch-Smith at Soccerway
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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