John Smeulders

Last updated

John Smeulders
Personal information
Full name John Smeulders [1]
Date of birth (1957-03-28) 28 March 1957 (age 66)
Place of birth Hackney, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) [2]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
0000–1972 Chelsea
1972–1974 Orient
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(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.

Contents

Club career

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]

Coaching career

Smeulders later returned to Bournemouth as a coach to goalkeepers Neil Moss and Ian Andrews. [3]

International career

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]

Personal life

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]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Peterborough United (loan) 1986–87 [8] Fourth Division 10———10
Brentford (loan) 1988–89 [9] Third Division 80—10—90
Career total90001000100

Honours

Related Research Articles

David James Webb is an English former professional footballer who made 555 appearances in the Football League playing for Leyton Orient, Southampton, Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers, Leicester City, Derby County, AFC Bournemouth and Torquay United. He became a manager, taking charge of Bournemouth, Torquay United, Southend United, Chelsea, Brentford and Yeovil Town.

Kenneth Richard Allen is an English retired professional football goalkeeper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Olejnik</span> Austrian footballer

Robert Olejnik is an Austrian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Graham Mark Benstead is an English retired professional footballer who made over 110 appearances as a goalkeeper in the Football League for Brentford. He also played League football for Sheffield United, Colchester United, Norwich City and was capped by England at youth and semi-pro level. Benstead is goalkeeping coach at Frimley Green.

William James Glazier is an English retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is best remembered for his time in the Football League with Coventry City, for whom he made over 390 appearances and is a member of the club's Hall of Fame. He was capped by England at U23 level and represented the Football League XI.

Steven Edward Phillips is an English former professional footballer who had a long career as a forward for a number of teams in the Football League in the 1970s and 1980s. He scored 200 goals from 562 league appearances.

Danis Mahmut Mehmet Salman, sometimes known as Danny Salman, is an English former professional football player and coach, best remembered for his time as a defender in the Football League with Brentford. He made over 380 appearances for the Bees, is the club's youngest-ever league debutant and was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame. He also played for Millwall, Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United. Born in Cyprus, he represented England at youth level.

Keith Welch is an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the Football League between the 1980s and 2000s, with Rochdale, Bristol City, Northampton Town, Tranmere Rovers, Torquay United and Mansfield Town.

The 2004–05 season was Colchester United's 63rd season in their history and their seventh successive season in the third tier of English football, the newly renamed League One. Alongside competing in League One, the club also participated in the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Football League Trophy.

Ian Leigh is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Active between 1981 and 1992 in both England and Malta, in both League and non-League football, Leigh made over 125 career appearances.

Robert Leslie Cooke was an English footballer and manager who played as a forward in the Football League, most notably for Peterborough United and Brentford. He represented England C at international level while playing non-League football. After retiring from football, Cooke managed Warboys Town and later became a scout.

The 1981–82 season was Colchester United's 40th season in their history and first season back in fourth tier of English football, the Fourth Division following relegation the previous campaign. Alongside competing in the Fourth Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.

The 1973–74 season was Colchester United's 32nd season in their history and their sixth successive season in the fourth tier of English football, the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in the Fourth Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.

The 1967–68 season was Colchester United's 26th season in their history and their second successive season in the third tier of English football, the Third Division. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.

The 1964–65 season was Colchester United's 23rd season in their history and their third successive season in the Third Division, the third tier of English football. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Martin John Rice is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Exmouth Town. He spent most of his early professional career at Exeter City and has since played for their rivals Torquay United and non-League side Truro City.

Patrick Karl Kruse is an English former professional footballer who is best remembered for his five-year spell in the Football League with Brentford, for whom he made over 200 appearances as a centre back. Kruse is known for scoring what is believed to be the fastest own goal of all time, netting past his own keeper after just six seconds of play in a match in January 1977.

Anthony Junior Lynch is an English former professional footballer who played as a left winger in the Football League for Brentford and Barnet. Either side of his spells with the two clubs, he played non-League football for Maidstone United, Wealdstone, Stevenage Borough, Kettering Town and Hendon.

David Norwood McKellar is a Scottish retired professional footballer, best remembered for his time as a goalkeeper in the Football League with Carlisle United, for whom he made 160 appearances for the club over two spells. In a long career, he played in all four divisions of the English league pyramid and the top three divisions in Scotland. McKellar later managed in Scottish junior and amateur football.

During the 1984–85 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division. The season is best remembered for the club's first appearance in a Football League Trophy final, which was lost 3–1 to Wigan Athletic.

References

  1. 1 2 "John Smeulders". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  2. ↑ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 364. ISBN   978-0-356-14354-5.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Griffin Gazette: Brentford's Official Matchday Magazine versus Wrexham. Quay Design of Poole. 9 March 1996. p. 13.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bourne Legacy: John Smeulders". AFCB. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  5. ↑ "Player Archive". The Terras. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  6. ↑ Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. p. 372. ISBN   978-1906796716.
  7. ↑ "Fareham Town Appearances, Goals Scored, Clean Sheets". Archived from the original on 9 December 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  8. ↑ "John Smeulders's Matches For Peterborough". UpThePosh! The Peterborough United Database. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  9. ↑ White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 400. ISBN   0951526200.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.