| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Smeulders [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 28 March 1957 | ||
| Place of birth | Hackney, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) [2] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1972 | Chelsea | ||
| 1972–1974 | Orient | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1974–1979 | Orient | 0 | (0) |
| 1979–1981 | AFC Bournemouth | 14 | (0) |
| 1981–1983 | Trowbridge Town | 83 | (0) |
| 1983–1984 | Weymouth | 23 | (0) |
| 1984–1986 | AFC Bournemouth | 75 | (0) |
| 1986–1987 | Torquay United | 18 | (0) |
| 1987 | → Peterborough United (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| → Poole Town (loan) | |||
| 1987–1989 | AFC Bournemouth | 9 | (0) |
| 1988 | → Brentford (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| → Farnborough Town (loan) | 2 | (0) | |
| Weymouth | 20 | (0) | |
| 1991–1992 | Fareham Town | 3 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| England Youth | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
John Smeulders (born 28 March 1957) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, best remembered for his three spells in the Football League with AFC Bournemouth. He also played League football for Torquay United, Brentford and Peterborough United.
A goalkeeper, Smeulders began his career as a youth with Orient. [3] He was unable to displace the number 1 shirt from Ray Goddard and John Jackson and made just a handful of League Cup appearances before departing the Os in 1979. [3] To revive his stalled career, [3] Smeulders began the first of three spells with Bournemouth in July 1979. [4] After failing to break into the first team, Smeulders dropped into non-League football in January 1981 with Trowbridge Town, moving on to Weymouth and then back to Bournemouth in January 1984. [5] [6] This time he did establish himself in the first team, making 75 league appearances, setting a then-club record seven consecutive clean sheets and being named the club's 1984–85 Player of the Year. [3] [4] Smeulders moved to Torquay United in July 1986, [1] but after failing to hold down a first team place and spending time away from Plainmoor on loan, he returned to Bournemouth for the third time in August 1987. [3] [4] He again failed to hold down a regular place and dropped back into non-League football in 1989. [3] [7] Smeulders retired at age 38, due to a damaged knee. [3]
Smeulders later returned to Bournemouth as a coach to goalkeepers Neil Moss and Ian Andrews. [3]
Smeulders won caps for England at youth level and played in the same team as Bryan Robson, Ray Wilkins, Glenn Hoddle and Peter Barnes. [3]
As of March 1996, Smeulders was working in a bakery in Bournemouth. [3] As of June 2020, he was living in Shaftesbury and working as a delivery driver for Waitrose and Riverford. [4]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Peterborough United (loan) | 1986–87 [8] | Fourth Division | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Brentford (loan) | 1988–89 [9] | Third Division | 8 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||