Dean Smith (footballer, born 1971)

Dean Smith
Smith in 2011
Personal information
Full name Dean Smith[1]
Date of birth (1971-03-19) 19 March 1971 (age 53)
Place of birth West Bromwich, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
Charlotte FC (head coach)
Youth career
1986–1989 Newcastle United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1994 Walsall 142 (2)
1994–1997 Hereford United 117 (19)
1997–2003 Leyton Orient 239 (32)
2003–2004 Sheffield Wednesday 55 (1)
2004–2005 Port Vale 13 (0)
Total 566 (54)
Managerial career
2011–2015 Walsall
2015–2018 Brentford
2018–2021 Aston Villa
2021–2022 Norwich City
2023 Leicester City
2023– Charlotte FC
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Dean Smith (born 19 March 1971) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Major League Soccer club Charlotte FC.

Smith began his playing career as a defender with Walsall in 1989, where over five years he played 166 league and cup games. After signing for Hereford United in 1994, three years and 146 appearances later, he moved on to Leyton Orient. In six years with Orient, he made 309 appearances in all competitions before earning a move to Sheffield Wednesday in 2003. After a season with Wednesday, he moved on to Port Vale, retiring in January 2005. He scored 54 goals in 566 league games in a 16-year career in the Football League.

Returning to Leyton Orient, he worked as assistant manager until January 2009. In July 2009, he was appointed Head of Youth at Walsall before becoming manager in January 2011. He took Walsall from the relegation zone to safety in his first four months in charge. He took Walsall to the 2015 final of the Football League Trophy before leaving the club to manage Brentford in November 2015. Smith was appointed as Aston Villa manager in October 2018 and took the club from 15th in the Championship to the Premier League via the play-offs in the 2018–19 season, and then to the 2020 EFL Cup final. Aston Villa dismissed him in November 2021 and soon joined Norwich City for thirteen months in charge. He was appointed as Leicester City manager on a short-term basis in April 2023. He was appointed head coach of American club Charlotte FC in December 2023.

  1. ^ "Dean Smith". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  2. ^ "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2004/05". www.footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2019.