Michael Smith (footballer, born 1991)

For other people with the same name, see Michael Smith (disambiguation).

Michael Smith

Smith playing for AFC Wimbledon in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Michael John Smith [1]
Date of birth	(1991-10-17) 17 October 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth	Wallsend, England [2]
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Sheffield Wednesday
Number	24
Youth career
	Wallsend Boys Club
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2011	Darlington	37	(6)
2010	→ Workington (loan)	6	(0)
2011–2014	Charlton Athletic	0	(0)
2012	→ Accrington Stanley (loan)	6	(3)
2012	→ Newport County (loan)	9	(4)
2013	→ Colchester United (loan)	8	(2)
2013–2014	→ AFC Wimbledon (loan)	23	(9)
2014–2016	Swindon Town	65	(21)
2015–2016	→ Barnsley (loan)	13	(0)
2016	→ Portsmouth (loan)	16	(4)
2016–2017	Portsmouth	18	(3)
2017	→ Northampton Town (loan)	14	(2)
2017–2018	Bury	19	(1)
2018–2022	Rotherham United	188	(52)
2022–	Sheffield Wednesday	90	(26)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:58, 14 December 2024 (UTC)

Michael John Smith (born 17 October 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL Championship club Sheffield Wednesday.

Career

Darlington

Born in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, Smith made his debut in the Football League on 5 April 2010, replacing Chris Moore in the 77th minute of Darlington's 1–0 home defeat by Hereford United in League Two. ^[3] He scored his first Football League goal on 1 May, in the 79th minute of Darlington's 2–0 away win at Macclesfield Town. ^[4]

He joined Conference North club Workington on loan for a month on 29 October 2010, ^[5] and made seven appearances before returning to Darlington. ^[6] In his first four Conference matches back with Darlington he scored six goals. ^[7] At the end of the season, he, Phil Gray and John McReady all signed new two-year contracts. ^[8]

Charlton

After trials with Watford and Stoke City, and an unsuccessful bid of £80,000 from Bristol City, Smith signed a three-year contract with League One club Charlton Athletic on 31 August 2011; the fee was undisclosed ^[9] He made his Charlton debut against FC Halifax Town in the FA Cup: he came on in the 87th minute and crossed for Bradley Pritchard to score the fourth goal of the match. ^{[10] [11]}

On 18 January 2012, Smith joined League Two club Accrington Stanley on loan to the end of the season. ^[12] Ten days later, he scored a hat-trick and provided an assist for Luke Joyce as Stanley beat Gillingham 4–3. ^[13] He returned to his parent club in mid-March after suffering a season-ending knee injury. ^[14]

On 14 August 2012, Smith made his first start –and what proved to be last appearance –for Charlton Athletic in a League Cup defeat to Leyton Orient. ^[15] He then began a series of loan spells. In November, he joined Newport County of the Conference Premier on a one-month loan, ^[16] and scored against Cambridge United on his debut. ^[15] The loan was extended for a second month. ^[17] On 8 March 2013, he joined League One club Colchester United, also for a month. ^[18]

In July 2013, Smith signed for League Two club AFC Wimbledon on loan until 1 January 2014. ^[19] Wearing the number 9 shirt, he made his debut on the opening day of the 2013–14 season in a 1–1 draw with Torquay United. ^[20] He was a regular in the side, finishing his loan period with 10 goals from 25 appearances. ^[20]

Swindon Town

On 22 January 2014, Smith signed for Swindon Town for an initial £100,000. ^[21] He scored Swindon's first and third goals as they beat Shrewsbury Town 3–1 on his debut three days later. ^[22]

Portsmouth

On the final day of the January 2016 transfer window, Smith joined League Two club Portsmouth on a three-month loan. ^[23] The move was made permanent at the end of the season for an undisclosed fee. ^[24] He scored a hat-trick against Yeovil Town in an EFL Trophy tie on 30 August, though Portsmouth lost the match 4–3. ^[25]

Bury

On 31 August 2017, Smith signed a two-year contract with Bury of League One. ^[26]

Rotherham United

On 11 January 2018, Smith signed for fellow League One club Rotherham United for an undisclosed fee. ^[27]

After an impressive month in which he scored five goals, assisting two others in five matches, Smith was awarded the EFL League One Player of the Month Award for October 2021. ^[28] Smith won the award for the second time in the season for January 2022 after scoring four of Rotherham's five goals across the month with the fifth being an own goal deflected in from his shot. ^[29]

He was named as the side's Player of the Season for 2021–22, having scored 24 goals in all competitions at the time of the award. ^[30]

Sheffield Wednesday

On 22 June 2022, it was announced that Smith had joined Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer following the expiry of his Rotherham United contract. ^[31] Smith made his Wednesday debut, against Portsmouth on 30 July 2022 coming off the bench for George Byers. ^[32] His first goal would come against Bradford City in the EFL Trophy from the penalty spot. ^[33] Following his first goal he would score back-to-back League One goals against Morecambe and Ipswich Town which would see him win Wednesday's September player of the month award. ^[34]

He won the EFL Goal of the Month competition for October 2024, for his 25-yard strike against Portsmouth. ^[35] The following month he won the clubs player of the month trophy for November, after scoring goals against Watford and Hull City. ^[36]

Career statistics

As of match played 14 December 2024.

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Darlington	2009–10 [37]	League Two	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	1
	2010–11 [7]	League Two	29	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	29	5
	2011–12 [10]	Conference Premier	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
	Total		37	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	37	6
Workington	2010–11 [6] [38]	Conference North	6	0	—		—		1 [a]	0	7	0
Charlton Athletic	2011–12 [10]	League One	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2012–13 [15]	Championship	0	0	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
	2013–14 [20]	Championship	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	Total		0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
Accrington Stanley (loan)	2011–12 [10]	League Two	6	3	—		—		—		6	3
Newport County (loan)	2012–13 [39]	Conference Premier	9	4	—		—		1 [a]	0	10	0
Colchester United (loan)	2012–13 [15]	League One	8	2	—		—		—		8	2
AFC Wimbledon (loan)	2013–14 [20]	League Two	23	9	1	1	0	0	1 [b]	0	25	10
Swindon Town	2013–14 [20]	League One	20	8	—		0	0	0	0	20	8
	2014–15 [40]	League One	40	13	1	0	2	2	4 [c]	3	47	18
	2015–16 [41]	League One	5	0	—		0	0	—		5	0
	Total		65	21	1	0	2	2	4	3	72	26
Barnsley (loan)	2015–16 [41]	League One	13	0	0	0	—		0	0	13	0
Portsmouth (loan)	2015–16 [41]	League Two	16	4	—		—		—		16	4
Portsmouth	2016–17 [42]	League Two	18	3	0	0	0	0	3 [d]	3	21	6
	Total		34	7	0	0	0	0	3	3	37	10
Northampton Town (loan)	2016–17 [42]	League One	14	2	—		—		—		14	2
Bury	2017–18 [43]	League One	19	1	2	1	0	0	2 [d]	0	23	2
Rotherham United	2017–18 [43]	League One	20	6	—		—		3 [e]	0	23	6
	2018–19 [44]	Championship	45	8	1	0	0	0	—		46	8
	2019–20 [45]	League One	34	9	3	3	2	0	2 [f]	0	41	12
	2020–21 [46]	Championship	44	10	1	0	1	0	—		46	10
	2021–22 [47]	League One	45	19	2	1	1	0	6 [g]	5	54	25
	Total		188	52	7	4	4	0	11	5	210	61
Sheffield Wednesday	2022–23 [48]	League One	39	17	5	2	1	0	4 [h]	2	49	21
	2023–24 [49]	Championship	31	4	2	0	1	0	—		34	4
	2024–25 [50]	Championship	20	5	0	0	3	0	—		23	5
	Total		90	26	7	2	5	0	4	2	106	30
Career total			511	130	19	8	12	2	26	13	568	153

1. Appearance in FA Trophy
2. Appearances in Football League Trophy
3. One appearance and one goal in Football League Trophy, three appearances and two goals in League One play-offs
4. Appearances in EFL Trophy
5. Appearances in League One play-offs
6. Appearance(s) in 2019–20 EFL Trophy.
7. Appearances and goals in 2021–22 EFL Trophy.
8. One appearance and one goal in Football League Trophy, three appearances and one goal in League One play-offs

Honours

Rotherham United

• EFL League One runner-up: 2021–22; ^[51] play-offs: 2018 ^[52]
• EFL Trophy: 2021–22 ^[53]

Sheffield Wednesday

• EFL League One play-offs: 2023 ^[54]

Individual

• EFL League One Player of the Month: October 2021, ^[28] January 2022 ^[29]
• Rotherham United Player of the Season: 2021–22 ^[30]
• EFL League One Team of the Year: 2021–22 ^[55]

References

1. "Professional retain list & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 18 May 2013. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
2. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2010). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2010–2011. Headline. p. 461. ISBN   978-0-7553-6107-6.
3. "Darlington 0–1 Hereford". BBC Sport. 5 April 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
4. "Macclesfield 0–2 Darlington". BBC Sport. 1 May 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
5. Walker, Martin (29 October 2010). "Smith joins Workington". Darlington F.C. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
6. "First Team Appearances 2010/11 season". Workington A.F.C. 11 December 2010. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
7. "Games played by Michael Smith in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
8. Stoddart, Craig (1 May 2011). "Austin refusal angers Cooper". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
9. Stoddart, Craig (1 September 2011). "Darlington's Michael Smith completes move to Charlton". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
10. "Games played by Michael Smith in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
11. "Halifax Lowe after cup defeat". Sky Sports. 13 November 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
12. "Accrington Stanley complete double transfer deal". BBC Sport. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
13. "Accrington 4–3 Gillingham". BBC Sport. 28 January 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
14. "Michael Smith returns to Charlton from Accrington". BBC Sport. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
15. "Games played by Michael Smith in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
16. "Newport County sign Charlton striker Michael Smith on loan". BBC Sport. 5 November 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
17. "Charlton striker Michael Smith extends his loan spell at Newport County until January". BBC Sport. 4 December 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
18. "Michael Smith: Colchester United sign Charlton striker on loan". BBC Sport. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
19. "Michael Smith: AFC Wimbledon sign Charlton striker on loan". BBC Sport. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
20. "Games played by Michael Smith in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
21. Morshead, Sam (23 January 2014). "Swindon Town: Power forks out initial £100k on new striker Smith". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
22. "Swindon Town 3–1 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
23. "Michael Smith: Swindon Town striker joins Portsmouth on loan". BBC Sport. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
24. "Michael Smith: Portsmouth sign Swindon striker for undisclosed fee". BBC Sport. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
25. D'Albiac, Stephen (30 August 2016). "Yeovil Town 4–3 Portsmouth – report and player ratings from Huish Park". SomersetLive. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
26. "Bury sign Portsmouth's Michael Smith and Wigan's Josh Laurent". BBC Sport. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
27. "Michael Smith: Rotherham sign Bury striker for undisclosed fee". BBC Sport. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
28. "READ : Smith lands League One Player of the Month for October". www.themillers.co.uk. 12 November 2021.
29. "READ A second 2021/22 Sky Bet League One Player of the Month award for Smith". www.themillers.co.uk. 11 February 2022.
30. "AWARDS | Smith makes it a hat-trick of awards by claiming 2021/22 Player of the Season". Rotherham United F.C. 14 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
31. "Michael Smith agrees Owls switch". Sheffield Wednesday FC. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
32. "Sheffield Wednesday team news confirmed v Portsmouth as Darren Moore hands three debuts". YorkshireLive. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
33. "Report: Bradford 3-1 Owls". Sheffield Wednesday FC. 30 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
34. "Michael Smith is your September Player of the Month!". Sheffield Wednesday FC. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
35. "Sky Bet Goal of the Month: October winners". EFL. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
36. "Michael Smith is your SWFC Player of the Month!". Sheffield Wednesday Football Club. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
37. "Games played by Michael Smith in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
38. Goddard, Dave (23 November 2010). "Chasetown FC 4 Workington AFC 0". Lichfield Live. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
39. "M. Smith". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
40. "Games played by Michael Smith in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
41. "Games played by Michael Smith in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
42. "Games played by Michael Smith in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
43. "Games played by Michael Smith in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
44. "Games played by Michael Smith in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
45. "Games played by Michael Smith in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
46. "Games played by Michael Smith in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
47. "Games played by Michael Smith in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
48. "Games played by Michael Smith in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
49. "Games played by Michael Smith in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
50. "Games played by Michael Smith in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
51. "Rotherham win to go up and relegate Gillingham". BBC Sport. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
52. Scott, Ged (27 May 2018). "Rotherham United 2–1 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
53. Peddy, Chris (3 April 2022). "Rotherham United 4–2 Sutton United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
54. Ian Woodcock (29 May 2023). "Barnsley 0–1 Sheffield Wednesday". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
55. "Football Manager EFL Team of the Season line-ups announced". EFL. Retrieved 11 February 2024.

External links

• Michael Smith at Soccerbase