Nicholas Leslie "Nicky" Smith (born 28 January 1969) is a former professional footballer. After his professional career ended, he played for several non-League teams whilst serving as a policeman and has captained, coached and managed the England police team, as well as managing A.F.C. Sudbury.

Biography

Born in Berkeley, Gloucestershire

Berkeley, Gloucestershire

Berkeley is a town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It lies in the Vale of Berkeley between the east bank of the River Severn and the M5 motorway within the Stroud administrative district. The town is noted for Berkeley Castle where the imprisoned Edward II was murdered.- Geography...

, Smith started his career at 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...

 in the mid-1980s, before moving to Colchester United

Colchester United F.C.

Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910....

 in 1990. He signed for Northampton Town

Northampton Town F.C.

Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...

 in 1994, but made only six appearances before dropping into non-League with Sudbury Town

Sudbury Town F.C.

Sudbury Town F.C. was an English football club based in Sudbury, Suffolk. Established in 1885, the club merged with Sudbury Wanderers in 1999 to form A.F.C. Sudbury.-History:...

 in 1995, where he played alongside several other ex-Colchester players in a team that reached the first round of the FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 for the first time in the club's history.

After leaving Sudbury, he played for several non-League clubs in East Anglia

East Anglia

East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...

, including Cambridge City

Cambridge City F.C.

Cambridge City Football Club is an English football club currently playing in the Southern League Premier Division.-History:The club was founded in 1908 Cambridge Town F.C., as Cambridge had not been granted city status at that point, and were committed to amateur sport...

, Braintree Town

Braintree Town F.C.

Braintree Town F.C. is an English football club based in Braintree, Essex. The club are currently members of the Conference National and play their home matches at Cressing Road.-History:...

, Maldon Town

Maldon Town F.C.

Maldon & Tiptree F.C. is an English football club based in Maldon, Essex. The club are currently members of Division One North of the Isthmian League and play at the Wallace Binder Ground.-History:...

 and Witham Town

Witham Town F.C.

Witham Town F.C. is an English football club based in Witham, Essex. The club are currently members of the Essex Senior League and play at Spa Road.-History:...

, before returning to Sudbury in 2006. In 2007 he became player-assistant manager, and on 17 May 2008 he was appointed manager of AFC Sudbury following the departure of Mark Morsley. He resigned from the position in September 2011.

External links

• Nicky Smith AFC Sudbury
• Player profile - Nicky Smith Colchester United Archive Database