Denis Smith (footballer)

Not to be confused with Dennis Smith (footballer).

Denis Smith

Personal information
Full name	Denis Smith
Date of birth	(1947-11-19) 19 November 1947
Place of birth	Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, England
Height
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1964–1967	Stoke City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1968–1982	Stoke City	407	(29)
1982	→ York City (loan)	7	(1)
1982–1983	York City	30	(4)
Total		444	(34)
Managerial career
1982–1987	York City
1987–1991	Sunderland
1992–1993	Bristol City
1993–1997	Oxford United
1997–1999	West Bromwich Albion
2000	Oxford United
2001–2007	Wrexham
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Denis Smith (born 19 November 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He played almost 500 matches for Stoke City and ended his career with York City with whom he went into management. He then went on to manage Sunderland, Bristol City, Oxford United (two spells), West Bromwich Albion and Wrexham.

Playing career

Stoke City

Smith was born in Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, the second youngest of seven siblings. From just three years old he formed his own gang, stating in his autobiography that "if we wanted to play in the sandpit we played in the sandpit", and continued to lead his gang through junior and senior years at Sandon Road Junior School. Despite being involved with gangs since his early childhood he grew out of the culture by the age of ten, and as a teenager formed friendships outside of his local council estate. He turned down the chance to sit the eleven plus exam as local grammar school Longton High was a rugby-playing school, and so instead attended Queensbury Road School, with whom he won the Stoke Schools Trophy and he also played for the Stoke-on-Trent Schoolboys (who were coached by former England international Dennis Wilshaw). At the age of 15 he became Staffordshire County boxing champion. He was only 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) at the age of 14, but a late growth spurt took him to just under six foot, and therefore tall enough to play centre-half professionally. He was offered an apprenticeship by Portsmouth, but turned it down as he wanted to sign for his local club Stoke City, who initially were not willing to take him as an apprentice, and only allowed him to train with the A team twice a week as an amateur whilst he initially worked as a plumber's mate, and later as a factory worker at Stone Lotus.

Smith eventually signed for Stoke City in September 1966 after telling manager Tony Waddington that he was going to sign a contract at another club; though Waddington was not keen on Smith's hard-tackling style he did not want to lose the young player. At the age of 18 he faced Leeds United's FWA Footballer of the Year Bobby Collins in a Reserve game, and despite Collins going as far as to punch him in the face Smith managed to last the entire match without backing down in an extremely physical contest. However for a period Waddington banned Smith from playing against first team players as he feared Smith would cause an injury. He made his debut in the Football League against Arsenal in September 1968, and was given the task of man-marking Bobby Gould; he gave away a penalty after fouling Jon Sammels, which Terry Neill converted for the only goal of the game, but this aside had made a solid debut. However in his second game he gave away two penalties in a 3–1 defeat at Ipswich Town, and had to wait five months for another first team game. In March 1969, Alan Bloor picked up a knock and Smith returned to the starting line-up in a 5–1 defeat to Leeds United, failing in his task to man mark Mick Jones, who claimed a hat-trick. Despite the poor start to his career he managed to finish the 1968–69 season with 14 First Division appearances to his name, and occasionally was used as an emergency striker.

Smith established himself in the Stoke defence in the 1969–70 season, forming a centre-back partnership with Alan Bloor in between full-backs Jackie Marsh and Mike Pejic. Smith was the aggressive and highly physical defender, complimented by Bloor who tended to stay further back and use his intelligence to read the game and clean up any mistakes Smith made. Smith claimed his first goal for the club on 17 September 1969, in a 3–1 win over West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns. Stoke reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in the 1970–71 campaign, and Smith played in the Fourth Round victory over Huddersfield Town despite suffering from a fractured ankle. He went on to score the only goal of the game in the Fifth Round replay at Ipswich Town. He also scored a "freak goal" from a deflected Peter Storey clearance in the semi-final against Arsenal on 27 March, but Stoke lost the replay four days later.

Stoke reached the FA Cup semi-finals for a second successive season in 1971–72, yet again being knocked out by Arsenal in a replay. He had scored in the quarter-final victory over Manchester United and pressured Arsenal's Peter Simpson into scoring an own goal in the original semi-final game, but John Radford was the hero of the tie as he played as an emergency goalkeeper in the first game following an injury to Bob Wilson and then scored the winning goal in the replay. City found greater success in the League Cup, beating Southport, Oxford United (after a replay), Manchester United (after two replays), Bristol Rovers and West Ham United (after three replays) to reach the 1972 Football League Cup Final against Chelsea. He scored two goals during the run, but was knocked out whilst scoring against Bristol Rovers in the quarter-finals and missed some weeks with concussion. He returned to play in the final, man-marking Peter Osgood in a game which Stoke won 2–1 to win their first major trophy.

Despite the cup success and arrival of new-signing Geoff Hurst, Stoke laboured to a 15th place finish in the 1972–73 season. Smith blamed the car crash and subsequent injury to Gordon Banks in October as the cause for the club's mid-season slump, which compounded an already poor start to the season. Any concerns over relegation disappeared though with six victories in the final eight league games. After a poor start to the 1973–74 campaign, Waddington signed Alan Hudson in January to help revive the club's fortunes. The defence also improved, as Smith helped to ensure only two goals were conceded in the last nine games of the season as Stoke finished fifth. On 23 February, Smith scored the winning goal against Leeds United to end United's 29 game unbeaten run. Leeds went on to have a £250,000 bid for Smith turned down by Stoke in the summer.

Stoke made a push for the title in the 1974–75 campaign. They also competed in the UEFA Cup against Dutch side AFC Ajax, and Smith scored in a 1–1 draw at the Victoria Ground, though Stoke would lose the tie on away goals. Smith scored the only goal of the game against Leicester City on 30 November to take Stoke top of the table. However in a 2–1 defeat to Ipswich Town on 18 March, Smith broke his leg for the fifth time in his career during a red-card challenge on Mick Lambert – he was the fourth Stoke player to break a leg that season. Stoke ended the season again in fifth place, picking up just two points from their final three games to finish four points behind champions Derby County.

He underwent an operation to remove cartilage in his knee in November 1975, and his recovery was not entirely successful. He later admitted that after returning to match fitness from the injury he was only ever able to play at "half pace". His long-term replacement was young defender Alan Dodd. The club also faced a major decline following a gale which severely damaged the Victoria Ground's Butler Street stand, and a lack of adequate insurance cover left a significant repair bill meaning the club had to sell Alan Hudson, Jimmy Greenhoff, Mike Pejic, Sean Haslegrave and Ian Moores to fund the repair; Eric Skeels and John Ritchie also retired. Waddington filled in the gaps left by these players with youngsters, and it also meant that Smith could continue to be a regular for the club despite his reduced mobility. Waddington was sacked in March, and new manager George Eastham failed to prevent Stoke from being relegated at the end of the 1976–77 season.

Following relegation he formed another good partnership, this time with Mike Doyle, which helped Stoke gain promotion in 1978–79 under new manager Alan Durban. Smith claimed his two seasons in the Second Division were "boring", as even with his reduced mobility few attackers in the division posed too much of a threat for him. A pre-season injury kept him out of the entire 1980–81 season, during which time he coached the reserves. Whilst coaching the reserves he converted Steve Bould from a striker into a centre-back. He had a loan spell with York City in the 1981–82 campaign, but was recalled early by manager Richie Barker as the Stoke defence struggled in his absence. Smith was handed a free transfer to York in May 1982. He said that if he had been offered a coaching role at stoke he would have stayed, but that Barker wanted him gone as he saw him as a threat to his position. In total Smith made 488 appearances for the "Potters", scoring 41 goals.

Style of play

During Smith's 14 seasons with the "Potters" he became known for his fearless mentality which led to him having a large number of injuries. These included five broken legs, breaking his nose four times, a cracked ankle, broken collar bone, chipped spine, breaking most of his fingers and toes and needing more than 200 stitches. The sequence saw him named in the Guinness Book of Records as the most injured man in football. Early into his career Smith soon developed a reputation as a 'hard player', he would launch himself at opponents determined to either block a shot and win the ball which usually resulted in him injuring himself. He was known as Stoke City's "hitman", and relished going toe to toe with the biggest and most feared opposition players. He would generally man-mark the opposition's playmaker or major goalscoring threat. He was a highly effective tackler, able to either flatten opposition players or to quickly take the ball off their toes. After the tackle from behind was outlawed he adapted to the rule change by making hard challenges from the side.

Managerial career

York City

He moved into management with York City as player-manager on 12 May 1982, ahead of the 1982–83 season. He described the set up at Bootham Crescent on his arrival as a "shambles", as training consisted entirely of running and was devoid of any actual coaching. He signed veteran players Roger Jones (goalkeeper), Alan Hay (defender) and Ricky Sbragia (defender), as well as young Stoke City defender Chris Evans, which including Smith himself meant a complete change in the club's back line. He also brought in striker Viv Busby as a player-coach. He then made 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 26 year-old striker Keith Walwyn his priority, and encouraged Walwyn to use his natural physical presence to become a greater threat in front of goal and unlock his potential. Smith retired from playing after steering York to seventh place in 1982–83, and signed Sheffield United's John McPhail on a free transfer as a replacement.

In his second season as York manager, 1983–84, he signed another former teammate, energetic midfielder Sean Haslegrave. Smith was named as the division's Manager of the Month for March after York won five and draw one of their six league games. He guided the "Minstermen" to the Fourth Division title and promotion to the Third Division, with Walwyn claiming 25 goals and winning a place on the PFA Team of the Year alongside strike partner John Byrne, who claimed 27 goals. York finished with 101 points, 16 points ahead of runners-up Doncaster Rovers.

Early in the 1984–85 season York were beaten by Queens Park Rangers in the League Cup, but Byrne impressed QPR manager Alan Mullery enough to win a £100,000 move to Loftus Road. Smith spent half of this sum (a club record) on Aldershot forward Dale Banton, who went on to score 49 goals in 138 games for the club. He also released winger Brian Pollard, but found that the man he signed in his place, Gary Nicholson, was not able to replicate Pollard's form. York started the season well and another of his signings, Keith Houchen (£15,000), scored a hat-trick in a 7–1 win over Gillingham in November. On 26 January, he guided York to victory over Arsenal in the FA Cup Fourth Round. In the next round York came from behind to draw 1–1 at home with Liverpool; before losing 7–0 away at Anfield.

York again drew Liverpool in the FA Cup Fifth Round in the 1985–86 season, and took the lead through Gary Ford only to concede a stoppage time equaliser. Tony Canham scored at Anfield and York had a second goal disallowed, before York succumbed to a 3–1 defeat in extra-time. In the league, York lost only three home games all season, but missed out on promotion after finishing seventh. In the summer he sold MacPhail to Bristol City for £15,000, whilst many of the veteran players he signed when he first came to the club were coming to the end of their careers. The 1986–87 campaign was a disappointing one for York, and they were knocked out of the FA Cup by non-league Caernarfon Town, and ended the season in 20th place. They did though manage to beat Chelsea 1–0 in the League Cup, though lost the return fixture at Stamford Bridge 3–0. He ended up falling out with the club's directors, who invested money in the club's facilities rather than on players, and released goalkeeper Andy Leaning against his wishes.

Sunderland

Smith was appointed manager at Sunderland, who had just been relegated to the Third Division for the first time in their history, in May 1987. York City were unwilling to release him from his contract for less than £20,000 compensation, and Sunderland would only go as far as £10,000, so Smith agreed to a £40,000 a year contract that meant if he failed to win promotion with Sunderland in his first season then he would pay the extra £10,000 compensation out of his own pocket. He brought his York coaching staff with him: Viv Busby, Malcolm Crosby, and Roger Jones. He also signed former York player John McPhail to shore up the defence, who captained the side and scored 16 goals (including 10 penalties) in his maiden season at Roker Park. He signed right-back John Kay, whilst remaining satisfied with existing left-back Reuben Agboola, centre-back Gary Bennett and goalkeeper Iain Hesford. In midfield he played a youthful combination of Gordon Armstrong, Paul Lemon, Gary Owers and Paul Atkinson, alongside the more experienced defensive midfielder Steve Doyle. He sold Mark Proctor to Sheffield Wednesday for £275,000. He signed young and pacey York striker Marco Gabbiadini for £80,000 and played him alongside the experienced Eric Gates, and the pair shared 42 goals between them in the 1987–88 season. A 7–0 win over Southend United started a run of 15 league games unbeaten, though in the second half of the campaign a run of just wins in ten games set them back. Smith bought Swansea City winger Colin Pascoe in March and oversaw a run of seven wins in the final eight games to secure the Third Division championship and promotion with a record 101 points.

Injuries to Kay and Lemon hindered the "Black Cats" at the start of the 1988–89 campaign, and they took until 1 October to register their first win back in the Second Division. He signed burly striker Billy Whitehurst to act as a "battering-ram", who proved to be effective on the pitch despite being a heavy binge drinker off the pitch. He spent a club record £500,000 on goalkeeper Tony Norman, though Hesford and Whitehurst were traded as part-exchange on the fee. Sunderland improved and ended the season in 11th place.

He signed experienced forward Paul Bracewell for the 1989–90 season, who partnered an increasingly effective Gabbiadini, and spent £130,000 on Portsmouth left-back Paul Hardyman. He introduced the exceptionally talented teenage winger Kieron Brady to the first team, but was unable to discipline the precocious teenager, and Brady never realised his full potential. Sunderland reached the play-offs, and faced rivals Newcastle United in the semi-finals, securing passage into the final with a 2–0 victory at St James' Park. They lost 1–0 to Swindon Town in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium. However Swindon were found guilty of financial irregularities and remained in the Second Division, whilst Sunderland took their place in the First Division.

Having been promoted weeks after the end of the previous season and not being granted an increased wage budget, Smith felt he had a tough job in keep Sunderland in the top-flight during the 1990–91 season. He allowed Gates and MacPhail to leave on free transfers in order to free up money to bring in new players. He spent £350,000 on Portsmouth defender Kevin Ball and took midfielder Peter Davenport from rivals Middlesbrough; Ball would prove to be a success, though Smith admitted in his autobiography that signing Davenport had been a mistake that left him unable to bring in any further players, as his small budget was spent. He was given further funds in February as Sunderland were engaged in a relegation battle, and Smith spent £225,000 on midfielder Brian Mooney, who had a limited impact due to injuries. On the final day of the season Sunderland had to better Luton Town's result at home to Derby County in their game against Manchester City at Maine Road, but they lost 3–2 and were relegated back into the Second Division.

In summer 1991 Stoke City chairman Peter Coates offered Smith the vacant management position at the Victoria Ground, but decided that managing his hometown club would be too intense an experience emotionally, and he chose to stay loyal to Sunderland. This was despite finances being tight at Sunderland as the club saved the money to build the Stadium of Light. However after just four win in the opening 14 games of the 1991–92 season Smith decided to sell star striker Gabbiadini to Crystal Palace for £1.8 million in order to raise funds to improve the squad. He then spent £350,000 on Celtic left-back Anton Rogan and brought in strikers Don Goodman (£900,000 from West Bromwich Albion) and John Byrne (£225,000 from Brighton & Hove Albion). Smith was sacked on 30 December 1991, with Sunderland lying 17th in the Second Division. His former assistant Malcolm Crosby took Sunderland to the 1992 FA Cup Final, where they were beaten by Liverpool

Bristol City

Smith was only out of work for nine weeks before being appointed manager of Bristol City on 9 March 1992. He succeeded Jimmy Lumsden, who left the club second-from-bottom in the Second Division. Smith felt the team lacked pace, so signed 20 year-old striker Andrew Cole on loan from Arsenal. Dariusz Dziekanowski scored both goals against Wolverhampton Wanderers in Smith's second game in charge to provide the 2Robins" with their first win in three months. City then secured a 3–1 victory over former club Sunderland, with Cole scoring the first of his eight goals in 12 appearances during his loan spell. Smith successfully steered the club out of the relegation zone at the end of the 1992–93 season with a run of eight games unbeaten, and paid a club record £500,000 to secure Cole's services on a permanent basis. He further paid £250,000 for Everton midfielder Raymond Atteveld and signed West Ham United striker Leroy Rosenior.

Smith rebuilt the defence for the 1993–94 season, signing right-back Brian Mitchell and centre-back David Thompson, and oversaw a mixed start to the campaign. City won four straight home games but also lost 5–1 to West Ham, 5–0 at Newcastle United, and most significantly 4–0 to local rivals Bristol Rovers at Twerton Park. He found it difficult to control the club's talented and popular players, as Dziekanowski regularly got into trouble in his social life and skilled left-winger Junior Bent was unwilling to deliver crosses as regularly as Smith demanded. He tried to sell Bent but was unable to have the deal sanctioned by the club's directors. His relationship with the board was poor and he found himself regularly undermined sensitive boardroom discussions were leaked. He also tried to sell Cole in order to provide funds to restructure the first team but again the board refused to sanction the deal. He was sacked on 21 January 1993 following a run of 10 matches without a victory, and his assistant Russell Osman was appointed as his successor.

Oxford United

Smith made a return to management with Oxford United on 10 September 1993, and the following day coached the "U's" to a 4–2 victory over his former club Bristol City. A victory of another former club, Stoke City, took United off the bottom of the Second Division, but a sequence of just two wins in 17 games left United in great danger of relegation. He signed goalkeeper Phil Whitehead on loan from Barnsley, signed striker John Byrne (£50,000 from Millwall) for the third time in his career, and then made what he later said was the best signing of his career by bringing in defender Matt Elliott from Scunthorpe United for £170,000. Oxford were boosted by these arrivals and briefly exited the relegation zone, also claiming an FA Cup giant-killing over Leeds United at Elland Road after Jim Magilton scored the winning goal in extra-time. However after the game Magilton moved to Southampton for a £600,000 fee. Oxford had struggled in the league during their FA Cup run and were 15 points short of safety with 16 games to play, but were aided by £60,000 signing Paul Moody, who despite arriving in February managed to finish as the club's top-scorer after scoring 12 goals in 15 games. His arrival kick-started the club's form, and Oxford closed the 15 points gap in just nine games. However a difficult run-in left Oxford needing to beat Notts County on the last day of the season and hope results elsewhere went their way, and though they beat County their relegation rivals also claimed victories and Oxford were relegated.

The sale of star midfielder Joey Beauchamp to West Ham for a club-record £1 million allowed Smith money to spend in the transfer market, and he spent £100,000 on Norwich City midfielder David Smith, £100,000 on Sunderland striker David Rush. Oxford formed a strong promotion push in 1994–95, but were knocked out of the FA Cup in the First Round by non-league Marlow. In February he spent £60,000 on Hartlepool United's Phil Gilchrist, who would form a highly effective centre-back partnership with Elliott. Oxford finished the campaign in seventh place, six points outside the play-offs. In November 1995 Smith resigned Beauchamp for £300,000, who continued his excellent form after returning to his native Oxfordshire. The next month he brought in striker Martin Aldridge on a free transfer. The club were 14th in January, but lost only once in their last 17 games of the 1995–96 in a tremendous second half of the season that saw them climb 12 places to win promotion as runners-up. At the end of the season Smith became a director of the club.

In order to strengthen for the 1996–97 campaign, Smith signed attacker Nigel Jemson and spent £100,000 on Leyton Orient defender Darren Purse. In order to finance these deals he sold Chris Allen to Nottingham Forest for £450,000. Oxford knocked Premier League side Sheffield Wednesday out of the League Cup en route to a Fourth Round exit. United were fifth in the table in December, but chairman Robin Herd resigned amidst financial problems at the club and work on the new stadium came to a halt as the club debt reached £13 million. Smith raised funds by selling Elliott to Leicester City for £1.7 million, signing veteran defender Chris Whyte on a free transfer as a short-term replacement. Oxford finished the season in 17th place, but the club's financial situation became ever bleaker. Numerous players were sold, though Smith was allowed to spend £170,000 on defender Phil Whelan. Smith left the Manor Ground mid-way through the 1997–98 campaign with Oxford 16th in the league, and his assistant Crosby managed to maintain the club's mid-table position at the end of the season.

West Bromwich Albion

Smith was appointed manager of West Bromwich Albion on a three-year contract on 24 December 1997, with Oxford receiving around £100,000 in compensation. He had a mixed start to his time at the Hawthorns as Albion fell from promotion contenders to a tenth place finish in 1997–98 but recorded victories over local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers and Stoke City.

In preparation for the 1998–99 campaign he signed athletic Derby County centre-back Matt Carbon for £800,000, Blackpool striker James Quinn for £500,000, and Manchester City defender Jason van Blerk for £50,000. He also brought in winger Mark Angel, young Italian midfielder Enzo Maresca, midfielder Mario Bortolazzi, and striker Fabian de Freitas. However the player who had the greatest impact for the "Baggies" was young striker Lee Hughes, who had been signed before Smith's arrival but only earned his first start under Smith. Aside from Maresca, many of Smith's signings in fact had little impact, and supporters criticised him for allowing popular goalkeeper Alan Miller and strikers Bob Taylor and Andy Hunt to leave the club. Albion started the season well with Hughes in tremendous form, but a slump in form in March left them ending up in 12th place. Smith was sacked on 27 July 1999, just a week before the start of the 1999–2000 season.

Return to Oxford

On 3 February 2000, Smith was appointed manager of Oxford for the second time in his career, with the club 21st in the Second Division. He re-signed striker Nigel Jemson from Ayr United and kept Oxford in the division as they ended the 1999–2000 campaign in 20th place, one place and one point above the relegation zone. He signed a one-year contract extension in the summer but fell out with chairman Firoz Kassam. He later admitted that the signings he made on a limited budget, which included Ian McGuckin, Andy Scott and Rob Quinn, were not good enough. Smith resigned on 2 October 2000 after a terrible start to 2000–01, a season which ended in Oxford getting relegated in last place. He continued to work as a scout for the club under David Kemp and then Mark Wright.

Wrexham

Smith made his return to management on 8 October 2001 with Wrexham on a two-year contract, replacing Brian Flynn who had resigned after 12 years in charge with the club 23rd in the Second Division. He was tasked with keeping the club steady whilst is struggled with off the field financial problems. He decided to cut back on the club's youth coaching spending, and as a result Wrexham's youth structure was downgraded from an Academy to a Centre of Excellence. He signed goalkeeper Marius Røvde, midfielder Jim Whitley, and gave striker Hector Sam his debut, but failed to keep Wrexham away fro the relegation zone. With relegation confirmed, new signing Lee Jones scored all five goals in a 5–0 win over Cambridge United, leaving cause for optimism at the Racecourse Ground.

He signed wing-back Paul Edwards and managed to hold on to most of his key players for the 2002–03 campaign. The "Red Dragons" recovered from a poor start to the season after coming from behind to beat A.F.C. Bournemouth in October, as strikers Lee Trundle formed a Andy Morrell a good partnership, with Jones an impact substitute. Wrexham dropped out of the play-off places following a sequence of draws in March, but new signing Scott Green scored both goals in a 2–0 win over Hartlepool United on 18 March, the first of a sequence of eight victories that took Wrexham into the third automatic promotion place with four games to go; they held on to the position to secure promotion out of the Third Division at the first attempt. Wrexham also beat Newport County 6–1 in the final of the FAW Premier Cup to secure an important £100,000 in prize money. Smith was named as the Third Division Manager of the Season by the League Managers Association.

Smith lost both Trundle and Morrell on bosman transfers, and replaced them with Chris Armstrong and Chris Llewellyn. The club's financial problems meant that players went unpaid at the start of the 2003–04 season, however they remained in the play-off places in December. However a hairline fracture to Shaun Pejic left Smith short of defenders and the promotion challenge ebbed away to a mid-table finish. Wrexham maintained the FAW Premier Cup though with a 4–1 victory over Rhyl. However Smith made himself unpopular with supporters after refusing to endorse their campaign to oust controversial chairman Alex Hamilton.

Writing in his autobiography, Smith described the 2004–05 season "the most harrowing, distressing footballing time of my life" as the club entered administration with debts of £2.6 million. Wrexham became the first club to be deducted ten points for entering administration and were subsequently relegated out of League One eight points short of safety despite new signing Juan Ugarte scoring 23 goals. Despite the financial trouble Wrexham managed to win the Football League Trophy, knocking out Notts County, Stockport County, Chester City, Hereford United and Oldham Athletic en route to the final against Southend United at the Millennium Stadium. The final was settled in extra-time, with Ugarte and Darren Ferguson securing a 2–0 victory. The club earned £250,000 in prize money and the first national trophy in Wrexham's history.

Smith turned down the management job at Blackpool to remain in place at Wrexham for the 2005–06 campaign. He signed strikers Jonathan Walters and Lee McEvilly, defenders David Bayliss and Lee Roche, and goalkeeper Michael Ingham, whilst blooding brothers Marc and Mike Williams. However Wrexham struggled in the league, despite on loan striker Matt Derbyshire scoring ten goals in 16 appearances. They finished the campaign 13th in League Two, having won only once in their last nine games. The last game of the season was a 1–1 draw with former club Oxford United, which sent Oxford out of the Football League.

Wrexham exited 18-months of administration at the start of the 2006–07 season and started the campaign with an eight match unbeaten run, including a 4–1 win over Championship club Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup. However a 5–0 defeat at Accrington Stanley triggered a run of bad results that Smith was unable to turn around. With Wrexham hovering above the relegation zone, Smith was sacked on 11 January 2007.

Personal life

He married childhood sweetheart Kate in October 1967. Their first child Paul was born in April 1969, and was named after teammate Paul Shardlow, who had died six months earlier. They had two further children: Becky, and Tom (born 1978). Smith released his autobiography, Just One Of Seven, in November 2008. He writes a weekly column for The Sentinel and is occasionally a commentator on Stoke matches for BBC Radio Stoke. In July 2011, he re-joined Stoke City on a part-time basis as a mentor for young Academy players needing guidance off the pitch.

Career statistics

As a player

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stoke City	1968–69	First Division	14	0	0	0	0	0	—		14	0
	1969–70	First Division	40	4	3	0	1	0	—		44	4
	1970–71	First Division	36	0	8	2	2	0	2	0	48	2
	1971–72	First Division	28	5	9	1	9	2	8	2	54	10
	1972–73	First Division	39	4	1	0	2	0	2	0	44	4
	1973–74	First Division	41	4	1	0	3	1	5	0	50	5
	1974–75	First Division	30	2	1	0	4	1	2	1	37	4
	1975–76	First Division	19	3	3	1	0	0	—		22	4
	1976–77	First Division	30	2	1	0	0	0	—		31	2
	1977–78	Second Division	41	1	0	0	1	0	—		42	1
	1978–79	Second Division	38	2	1	0	5	0	—		44	2
	1979–80	First Division	34	2	1	0	4	1	—		39	3
	1980–81	First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	1981–82	First Division	17	0	0	0	2	0	—		19	0
	Total		407	29	29	4	33	5	19	3	488	41
York City (loan)	1981–82	Fourth Division	7	1	0	0	0	0	—		7	1
York City	1982–83	Fourth Division	30	4	4	0	2	0	—		36	4
	Total		37	5	4	0	2	0	—		43	5
Career Total			444	34	33	4	35	5	19	3	531	46

A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the UEFA Cup, Texaco Cup, Anglo-Italian Cup and Anglo-Scottish Cup.

As a manager

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record					Ref
			G	W	D	L	Win %
York City	May 1982	31 May 1987	279	128	64	87	45.9
Sunderland	31 May 1987	30 December 1991	238	91	64	83	38.2
Bristol City	9 March 1992	21 January 1993	48	15	10	23	31.3
Oxford United	10 September 1993	24 December 1997	248	99	60	89	39.9
West Bromwich Albion	24 December 1997	27 July 1999	74	22	20	32	29.7
Oxford United	3 February 2000	2 October 2000	30	8	3	19	26.7
Wrexham	8 October 2001	11 January 2007	278	101	68	109	36.3
Total			1,195	464	289	442	38.8

Honours

As a player

Stoke City

• Football League Second Division third-place promotion: 1978–79
• Football League Cup winner: 1972
• Watney Cup winner: 1973–74

As a manager

Individual

• Football League Fourth Division Manager of the Month: March 1984
• Football League Third Division Manager of the Season: 2002–03

York City

• Football League Fourth Division champion: 1983–84

Sunderland

• Football League Third Division champion: 1987–88
• Football League Second Division promotion: 1989–90

Oxford United

• Football League Second Division promotion: 1995–96

Wrexham

• FAW Premier Cup winner: 2003 & 2004
• Football League Third Division third-place promotion: 2002–03
• Football League Trophy winner: 2005

References

Specific

General

External links

• Denis Smith management career statistics at Soccerbase