Manny Smith

Manny Smith

Personal information
Full name	Emmanuele Gabriel Smith[1]
Date of birth	8 November 1988 (1988-11-08) (age 23)
Place of birth	Birmingham, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Walsall
Number	6
Youth career
000?–2006	Walsall
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2006–	Walsall	93	(6)
2007	→ Halesowen Town (loan)	5	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:45, 27 August 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

Emmanuele Gabriel "Manny" Smith (born 8 November 1988) is an English footballer who plays for Walsall as a defender.

Career

Born in Birmingham, West Midlands, Smith progressed through the youth system at Walsall, eventually signing a one-year contract in May 2006, which kicked off his professional career.

He was captain of Walsall reserve team during the 2006–07 season. He was on the verge of the first team during this very season, however the management at Walsall believed that he lacked that competitive match experience which was needed to become a first-team regular.^{[citation needed]}

He was allowed to link up with Southern Football League Premier Division side, Halesowen Town on loan. During his short time at the club Smith made five league appearances for the Birmingham-based outfit before returning to Bescot Stadium, to make his professional debut on 7 April 2007 in Walsall's Football League Two clash with Torquay United. The centre half came on as a 70th minute substitute in this game replacing Craig Pead.^[2]

Smith started the 2007–2008 campaign in high spirit after making his debut in the previous season, the he had also just signed another contract with the club in May 2007, meaning he would remain at the Bescot Stadium until May 2008.

This would prove to be a difficult season for him, especially if he wanted to climb back up the ladder and break back into the first-team. However during the start of the season he failed to do so spending a lot of time playing in the reserve side. February 2008, turned out to be a big month him following the sale of defensive colleague Scott Dann, who joined Coventry City towards the very end of the January transfer window.^[3]

Despite the summer departure of fellow centre half Ian Roper, Smith remained as only the third choice centre half due to the arrival of Stephen Roberts from Doncaster Rovers.

He signed a new 2 year contract with the club on 10 May 2010.^[4]

References

1. ^ "Search 1984 to 2006 – Birth, Marriage and Death indexes". Findmypast.com. http://www.findmypast.co.uk/birth-indexes-search-start.action. Retrieved 2010-08-12. 
2. ^ Brian Halford. "Torquay 1 Walsall 2". Birmingham Mail. http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/walsall-fc/walsall-fc-news/2007/04/08/torquay-1-walsall-2-97319-18879388/. 
3. ^ "Coventry sign Dann from Walsall". BBC Sport. 2008-02-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/coventry_city/7221411.stm. Retrieved 2010-01-03. 
4. ^ "Walsall release seven including Dwayne Mattis". BBC Sport. 2010-05-10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/walsall/8672808.stm. 

External links

• Emmanuele Smith career stats at Soccerbase

Persondata
Name	Smith, Emmanuele
Alternative names
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	8 November 1988
Place of birth	Birmingham, England
Date of death
Place of death