Alex Smithies
Encyclopedia
Alexander "Alex" Smithies (born 5 March 1990 in Huddersfield
, England
) is a professional
footballer with League One
side Huddersfield Town
. An academy
goalkeeper who first came into prominence during the 2007–08
season, after second choice goalkeeper Simon Eastwood
injured his foot.
, in the Colne Valley area of Huddersfield. He attended Colne Valley High School, Linthwaite
, where he attained five As, four Bs and a C at GCSE. Smithies previously played football for Westend Juniors in Huddersfield's local leagues, and he joined the Huddersfield Town academy before leaving school.
for the red-carded Matt Glennon
during Huddersfield Town's 4–1 defeat by Southend United
at Roots Hall
.
His first full start came in the 4–0 defeat at Leeds United
on 8 December, after Glennon lost an appeal against his dismissal and Town were refused permission to loan an emergency goalkeeper on the grounds that Smithies was registered as a professional.
Smithies' first appearance at the Galpharm Stadium
for a first-team match was on 6 December 2008. In this game, caretaker manager Gerry Murphy
dropped regular keeper Matt Glennon
in favour of the young custodian, who went on to help Huddersfield to a 2–1 victory over Walsall
.
The first clean sheet he kept for the club came on 13 December 2008. YThe 1–0 win for Huddersfield over Southend United
was remarkable thanks to the penalty save made by Smithies from James Walker 10 minutes from time.
Smithies became the first choice keeper for the remainder of the 2008–09 season and, after the arrival of manager Lee Clark, made the number 1 jersey his own.
His contribution in helping Huddersfield to a final position inside the League One playoffs was reflected by him winning the club's Young Player of the Year Trophy.
In conceding just 56 goals in such a competitive campaign, he won both praise and admiration from many quarters; earning the Football League's 'Young Player of the Month' award in February 2010 along the way.
On 17 November 2009 Smithies was linked with Stoke City
after a scout from the club was the latest in a long string of Premier League interest to be seen at the Galpharm. This interest was played down by Lee Clark and Tony Coton
, and Smithies insisted he was happy to be at Huddersfield.
In January he was linked with a £1.5m move to Aston Villa
, after Villa manager Gerard Houllier
was said to have been impressed with his performance against Sheffield Wednesday
.
Further speculation relating to his future at the club followed Huddersfield's 3-0 defeat against Peterborough United
in the League One play-off final, and he was linked with a move to Leicester City
, along with teammate Lee Peltier
. However, when Leicester had a bid for Kasper Schmeichel
accepted by Leeds United
in June, speculation that Smithies could be heading for Leeds was rejected by Huddersfield chief executive Nigel Clibbens. .
Smithies' absence from the squad during 2010-11 through injury allowed Ian Bennett to become first choice goalkeeper, backed up by fellow veteran Nick Colgan
.
As of November 2011, Smithies has yet to return to first team action for Huddersfield.
and 10 caps for the England U-17's
including five during the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup
in South Korea
. In this competition he helped England U-17's
make it to the Quarter-finals, before they were eventually eliminated by Germany after a 4–1 defeat.
On 20 November 2007, Smithies made his debut for the England U-18 team
, where he played 45 minutes in their 2–0 win against Ghana U-18's
at Gillingham
's Priestfield Stadium
.
In November 2008, Smithies received his first England U-19
call up for a friendly against Germany U-19. His first game for the U19's came against Spain U-19
at Bournemouth
's Dean Court ground on 10 February 2009, in a 3–0 defeat.
On August 24, 2010, Smithies received his first call-up to the England U-21's
for their matches against Portugal U-21's
and Lithuania U-21's
.
| 2007-08 || rowspan="5"| Huddersfield Town
|| rowspan="5"| League One
||2||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||2||0
|-
| 2008-09 ||27||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||28||0
|-
| 2009-10 ||48||0||3||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||55||0
|-
| 2010–11 ||22||0||2||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||27||0
|-
| 2011–12 ||0||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||0||0
|-
99||0||5||0||4||0||0||0||112||0
99||0||5||0||4||0||0||0||112||0
for finding the best young talent in the country. He was given a rating of 65/80, a current valuation of £5million and labelled as "on his way to the top."
Smithies was named as the Football League’s Young Player of the Month for February 2010 after keeping three clean sheets in seven undefeated Huddersfield Town games.
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) is a professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
footballer with League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
side Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...
. An academy
Academy
An academy is an institution of higher learning, research, or honorary membership.The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 385 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and skill, north of Athens, Greece. In the western world academia is the...
goalkeeper who first came into prominence during the 2007–08
2007-08 in English football
The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool...
season, after second choice goalkeeper Simon Eastwood
Simon Eastwood
Simon Christopher Eastwood is a professional footballer with Conference North side FC Halifax Town.-Huddersfield Town:Born in Luton, Eastwood was a Huddersfield Town academy goalkeeper who made two appearances on the substitutes bench in the 2005–06 season at the age of just 16 years old...
injured his foot.
Early life
Smithies grew up in GolcarGolcar
Golcar is a village located on a hillside crest above the Colne Valley in West Yorkshire, England, west of Huddersfield, and just north of the River Colne and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal...
, in the Colne Valley area of Huddersfield. He attended Colne Valley High School, Linthwaite
Linthwaite
Linthwaite is a village in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated 4 miles west of Huddersfield, on the A62 in the Colne Valley...
, where he attained five As, four Bs and a C at GCSE. Smithies previously played football for Westend Juniors in Huddersfield's local leagues, and he joined the Huddersfield Town academy before leaving school.
Early Seasons
Having come through the Academy of the club he grew up supporting, Smithies made his first team début on 5 December 2007. He came on as a 76th minute substituteSubstitute (football)
In association football, a substitute is a player who is brought on to the pitch during a match in exchange for an existing player. Substitutions are generally made to replace a player who has become tired or injured, or who is not performing well; there may also be tactical reasons such as...
for the red-carded Matt Glennon
Matt Glennon
Matthew William "Matt" Glennon is an English football goalkeeper who plays for Conference National club Stockport County....
during Huddersfield Town's 4–1 defeat by Southend United
Southend United F.C.
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...
at Roots Hall
Roots Hall
Roots Hall is a multi-use sports stadium in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, primarily used for football games and is the home of the Football League Two club Southend United. With a capacity of 12,392 Roots Hall is the largest football stadium in Essex, and is the current venue for the final of...
.
His first full start came in the 4–0 defeat at Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
on 8 December, after Glennon lost an appeal against his dismissal and Town were refused permission to loan an emergency goalkeeper on the grounds that Smithies was registered as a professional.
Smithies' first appearance at the Galpharm Stadium
Galpharm Stadium
The Galpharm Stadium, formerly the Alfred McAlpine Stadium, is a multi-use sports in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of Huddersfield Town and Super League side, Huddersfield Giants.-The Stadium:...
for a first-team match was on 6 December 2008. In this game, caretaker manager Gerry Murphy
Gerry Murphy
Gerry Murphy was the Director of Football Development at Huddersfield Town between 1988 and 2009...
dropped regular keeper Matt Glennon
Matt Glennon
Matthew William "Matt" Glennon is an English football goalkeeper who plays for Conference National club Stockport County....
in favour of the young custodian, who went on to help Huddersfield to a 2–1 victory over Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
.
The first clean sheet he kept for the club came on 13 December 2008. YThe 1–0 win for Huddersfield over Southend United
Southend United F.C.
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...
was remarkable thanks to the penalty save made by Smithies from James Walker 10 minutes from time.
Smithies became the first choice keeper for the remainder of the 2008–09 season and, after the arrival of manager Lee Clark, made the number 1 jersey his own.
2009-10
Throughout the 2009–10 season, Smithies was the only player to play in each and every league and cup game for Huddersfield. He made 48 starts, 17 of which resulted in a clean sheet for the Terriers.His contribution in helping Huddersfield to a final position inside the League One playoffs was reflected by him winning the club's Young Player of the Year Trophy.
In conceding just 56 goals in such a competitive campaign, he won both praise and admiration from many quarters; earning the Football League's 'Young Player of the Month' award in February 2010 along the way.
On 17 November 2009 Smithies was linked with Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
after a scout from the club was the latest in a long string of Premier League interest to be seen at the Galpharm. This interest was played down by Lee Clark and Tony Coton
Tony Coton
Anthony Philip "Tony" Coton is an English former footballer who made 500 appearances in the Football League and Premier League playing as a goalkeeper for Birmingham City, Watford, Manchester City and Sunderland...
, and Smithies insisted he was happy to be at Huddersfield.
2010-11
Smithies' 2010/11 campaign was punctuated by injury, restricting him to just 27 appearances in all competitions throughout the season. His performances, on the occasions he did play, earned him a call up to the England under-21 squad, although he was unable to play - again due to injury.In January he was linked with a £1.5m move to Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
, after Villa manager Gerard Houllier
Gérard Houllier
Gérard Houllier, OBE , is a French football manager, who was last manager of Premier League club Aston Villa. He stepped down on 1 June 2011, following hospitalisation over heart problems towards the end of the 2010-2011 season....
was said to have been impressed with his performance against Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
.
Further speculation relating to his future at the club followed Huddersfield's 3-0 defeat against Peterborough United
Peterborough United F.C.
Peterborough United Football Club are a professional English football club based in Peterborough. Peterborough United formed in 1934 and played in the old Midland League, which they won six times; eventually being admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead. Their home ground is...
in the League One play-off final, and he was linked with a move to Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
, along with teammate Lee Peltier
Lee Peltier
Lee Anthony Peltier is an English footballer, currently playing for Leicester City, having started his career with Liverpool...
. However, when Leicester had a bid for Kasper Schmeichel
Kasper Schmeichel
Kasper Peter Schmeichel is a Danish professional football goalkeeper, and son of Peter Schmeichel. He plays in the Npower Championship for Leicester City. He played 17 games for the Denmark under-21 national team...
accepted by Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
in June, speculation that Smithies could be heading for Leeds was rejected by Huddersfield chief executive Nigel Clibbens. .
Smithies' absence from the squad during 2010-11 through injury allowed Ian Bennett to become first choice goalkeeper, backed up by fellow veteran Nick Colgan
Nick Colgan
Nicholas Vincent "Nick" Colgan is an Irish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Football League One side Huddersfield Town...
.
As of November 2011, Smithies has yet to return to first team action for Huddersfield.
International
He has four caps for the England U-16'sEngland national under-16 football team
-Latest squad:The following players were named in the squad for the Victory Shield match against Scotland.-Recent call-ups:The following players have also been called up to the England U-16 squad and remain eligible.-External links:*...
and 10 caps for the England U-17's
England national under-17 football team
-Elite Qualifying Group 3:-Group stage:-Fifth place play-off:-FA International U17 Tournament:-Latest squad:The following players were named in the squad for the 2012 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship qualifying round....
including five during the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup
2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup
The FIFA U-17 World Cup 2007 was held in the Korea Republic between 18 August and 9 September 2007. For this event, the number of teams had been expanded from 16 to 24, with the top two of each group and the four best third-place teams advancing to the Round of 16...
in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. In this competition he helped England U-17's
England national under-17 football team
-Elite Qualifying Group 3:-Group stage:-Fifth place play-off:-FA International U17 Tournament:-Latest squad:The following players were named in the squad for the 2012 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship qualifying round....
make it to the Quarter-finals, before they were eventually eliminated by Germany after a 4–1 defeat.
On 20 November 2007, Smithies made his debut for the England U-18 team
England national under-18 football team
-Latest squad:The following players were named in the squad for the friendly match against Slovakia.-Recent call-ups:The following players have also been called up to the England under-18 squad and remain eligible.-References:...
, where he played 45 minutes in their 2–0 win against Ghana U-18's
Ghana national football team
The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association...
at Gillingham
Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...
's Priestfield Stadium
Priestfield Stadium
Priestfield Stadium is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent...
.
In November 2008, Smithies received his first England U-19
England national under-19 football team
-Other matches:-Latest squad:The following players were named in the squad for the friendly match against Denmark.- Recent call-ups :The following players have also been called up to the England under-19 squad and remain eligible.-Past squads:...
call up for a friendly against Germany U-19. His first game for the U19's came against Spain U-19
Spain national under-19 football team
The Spain national under-19 football team represents Spain in international football at this age level and is controlled by Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain.-UEFA European Under-19 Championship Record:...
at Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
's Dean Court ground on 10 February 2009, in a 3–0 defeat.
On August 24, 2010, Smithies received his first call-up to the England U-21's
England national under-21 football team
England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....
for their matches against Portugal U-21's
Portugal national under-21 football team
The Portugal national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Portugal and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation . They are nicknamed "Esperanças." Esperança means hope, thus they are Portugal's hopes for the future...
and Lithuania U-21's
Lithuania national under-21 football team
The Lithuania national under-21 football team is the feeder team for the Senior team.Coach: Vitalijus StankevičiusCaptain:-Goalkeepers:-Defenders:-Midfielders:-Forwards:-External links:*...
.
Club Statistics
|-| 2007-08 || rowspan="5"| Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...
|| rowspan="5"| League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
||2||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||2||0
|-
| 2008-09 ||27||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||28||0
|-
| 2009-10 ||48||0||3||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||55||0
|-
| 2010–11 ||22||0||2||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||27||0
|-
| 2011–12 ||0||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||0||0
|-
99||0||5||0||4||0||0||0||112||0
99||0||5||0||4||0||0||0||112||0
- NOTE: Football League TrophyFootball League TrophyThe Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
results included in Total
Awards and recognition
On 2 April 2009, Smithies was one of a select few young British footballing talents assessed by "Sky Sports Scout", a service offered by Sky SportsSky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
for finding the best young talent in the country. He was given a rating of 65/80, a current valuation of £5million and labelled as "on his way to the top."
Smithies was named as the Football League’s Young Player of the Month for February 2010 after keeping three clean sheets in seven undefeated Huddersfield Town games.