[11] They 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.
[16] In March 1969, Alan Bloor picked up a knock and Smith returned to the starting line-up in a 5–1 defeat to Leeds, failing in his task to man-mark Mick Jones, who claimed a hat-trick.
[17] Smith established himself in the Stoke defence in 1969–70, forming a centre-back partnership with Alan Bloor in between full backs Jackie Marsh and Mike Pejic.
[20] Stoke reached the semi-final of the FA Cup in 1970–71, and Smith played in the fourth round victory over Huddersfield Town despite suffering from a fractured ankle.
[21] He also scored a "freak goal" from a deflected Peter Storey clearance in the semi-final against Arsenal on 27 March 1971, but Stoke lost the replay four days later.
[23] However, John Radford was the hero of the tie as he played as an emergency goalkeeper in the first match following an injury to Bob Wilson, and then scored the winning goal in the replay.
Smith blamed the car crash and subsequent injury to Gordon Banks in October 1972 as the cause for the club's mid-season slump, which compounded an already poor start to the season.
[34] 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.
[37] Following relegation Smith formed another good partnership, this time with Mike Doyle, which helped Stoke gain promotion in 1978–79 under new manager Alan Durban.
[8] Early into his career, Smith soon developed a reputation as a "hard player" who would launch himself at opponents determined to either block a shot or win the ball, which is how he picked up most of his injuries.
[73] He also signed former York player John MacPhail to shore up the defence, who captained the team and scored 16 goals (including 10 penalties) in his maiden season at Roker Park.
[74] He signed right-back John Kay, whilst remaining satisfied with existing left-back Reuben Agboola, centre-back Gary Bennett and goalkeeper Iain Hesford.
[76] He signed young and pacey York striker Marco Gabbiadini for £80,000 and played him alongside the experienced Eric Gates; the pair scored 42 goals between them in 1987–88.
[78] Smith bought Swansea City winger Colin Pascoe in March 1988, and oversaw a run of seven wins in the final eight matches to secure the Third Division championship and promotion with 93 points.
[84] Sunderland reached the play-offs, and faced rivals Newcastle United in the semi-final, securing passage into the final with a 2–0 victory at St James' Park.
[86] 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 keeping Sunderland in the top flight in 1990–91.
[88] He was given further funds in February 1991 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.
[89] On the final day of the season Sunderland had to better Luton Town's result at home to Derby in their match against Manchester City at Maine Road, but they lost 3–2 and were relegated back into the Second Division.
However, after just 4 wins in the opening 14 matches of 1991–92, Smith decided to sell star striker Gabbiadini to Crystal Palace for £1.8 million to raise funds to improve the squad.
[98] City won four straight home matches but also lost 5–1 to West Ham, 5–0 at Newcastle, and most significantly 4–0 to local rivals Bristol Rovers at Twerton Park.
[104] Oxford were boosted by these arrivals and briefly exited the relegation zone, also claiming an FA Cup giant-killing over Leeds at Elland Road after Jim Magilton scored the winning goal in extra time.
[105] Oxford had struggled in the league during their FA Cup run and were 15 points short of safety with 16 matches to play, but were aided by £60,000 signing Paul Moody, who, despite arriving in February 1994, managed to finish as the club's top-scorer with 12 goals in 15 appearances.
[113] Smith raised funds by selling Elliott to Leicester for £1.7 million, and signed veteran defender Chris Whyte on a free transfer as a short-term replacement.
[115] Smith left the Manor Ground midway through 1997–98 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.
[116] 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 Wolves and Stoke.
[117] In preparation for 1998–99, he signed athletic Derby centre-back Matt Carbon for £800,000, Blackpool striker James Quinn for £500,000, and Manchester City defender Jason van Blerk for £50,000.
[117] Aside from Maresca, many of Smith's signings had little impact, and supporters criticised him for allowing popular goalkeeper Alan Miller and strikers Andy Hunt and Bob Taylor to leave the club.
[128] Smith returned 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.
[131] He signed goalkeeper Marius Røvde, midfielder Jim Whitley, and gave striker Hector Sam his debut, but failed to keep Wrexham away from the relegation zone.
[135] A slump followed, but Wrexham recovered from a poor October 2002 after coming from behind to beat AFC Bournemouth on 9 November, as strikers Andy Morrell and Lee Trundle formed a good partnership, with Jones an impact substitute.