Smith began his career at Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he would play 104 games from his debut in August 1994 until he was traded to Crystal Palace in October 1997.
He turned to coaching after ending his playing career, working as part of the backroom staff at West Bromwich Albion, Doncaster Rovers, Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield Town.
Smith joined Wolverhampton Wanderers as a youth trainee at the age of 16, having turned down a YTS offer from Blackburn Rovers.
[4] He progressed through the academy ranks to make his first-team debut under the stewardship of Graham Taylor on 13 August 1994 in a 1–0 win over Reading at Molineux.
[8] On 21 October 1997, Smith was traded to Crystal Palace in a player-exchange deal for Dougie Freedman and Kevin Muscat (valued at a combined £1 million).
On 25 March 1999, he joined Fulham on loan until the end of the 1998–99 campaign, where manager Kevin Keegan was already familiar with him after coaching him in the England under-21 set-up three years previously.
[15] He rejected an approach from Bolton Wanderers to instead sign a new three-year contract with Palace in June 2001, following extensive negotiations with chairman Simon Jordan.
[24] On 15 March 2016, he joined league rivals Brentford on loan after being judged as surplus to requirements at Ashton Gate by manager Gary Johnson.
[27] He was sidelined by a persistent knee injury during his spell at the National Hockey Stadium, however, and he was released by the club at the end of the 2006–07 season after 20 appearances.
[29] Smith came out of retirement to sign for Southern League Premier Division club Halesowen Town in 2009 and at the same time was working with Airbus UK – managed by former Crystal Palace teammate Craig Harrison – towards his coaching badges.
[36] Following Moore contracting COVID-19, Smith took charge of match days for the League One games against Watford, Cardiff City and Queens Park Rangers.