Dean Smith

Dean Smith (born 19 March 1971) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Major League Soccer club Charlotte FC.

Smith began his playing career as a defender with Walsall in 1989, where over the course of five years he played 166 league and cup games.

Smith started his professional career at Walsall, as the club suffered relegation from the Third Division in 1989–90 under John Barnwell's stewardship.

They then struggled to adapt to life in the Fourth Division under new manager Kenny Hibbitt, finishing 16th in 1990–91 and 15th in 1991–92.

The Saddlers qualified for the play-offs with a fifth-place finish in 1992–93, but were badly beaten by Crewe Alexandra at the semi-final stage.

Walsall finished tenth in 1993–94, and Smith left the club, having played a total of 166 games for the Saddlers, scoring two goals.

After signing for Hereford United in 1994, three years and 146 appearances later he moved on to Leyton Orient.

In summer 1994, Smith was sold to Hereford United for £80,000, a club record fee for the "Bulls".

They finished 16th in the Third Division in 1994–95 under John Layton.

Smith was Graham Turner's captain at Edgar Street during the club's rise to the Third Division play-offs in 1995–96, where they were beaten by 4–2 Darlington at the semi-final stage, despite Smith opening the scoring just two minutes into the first leg.

Hereford were relegated from the English Football League after finishing in last place in 1996–97; they had been level on points with Brighton & Hove and with a superior goal difference, however, goals scored was the decider and Brighton scored three more than Hereford over the course of the campaign.

smith was voted as the club's Player of the Year.

As the club's designated penalty kick taker, Smith scored 26 goals in 146 appearances in all competitions during his time at Edgar Street.

He left the club on a Bosman transfer, leaving manager Graham Turner "absolutely staggered and gob-smacked" that the club's £200,000 valuation was not met.

Smith signed with Tommy Taylor's Leyton Orient in August 1997, with a tribunal setting the fee at £42,500.

He scored ten goals in 51 games in 1997–98; Orient would have finished one point outside the Third Division play-offs had they not been deducted three points.

He captained Orient to the play-offs in 1998–99, and converted a penalty in the shoot-out victory over Rotherham United at the semi-final stage.

However, his team were beaten 1–0 by Scunthorpe United in the Wembley final.

Over the course of the campaign he scored ten goals in 49 appearances.

Orient then struggled in 1999–2000, finishing in the bottom half of the table.

Smith was again a key player, scoring six goals in 50 appearances.

Following a fifth-place finish in 2000–01, he again captained the "O's" to the play-off final in 2001, this time at the Millennium Stadium.

Despite twice taking the lead against Blackpool, they lost the match 4–2.

Over the course of the season he scored five goals in 54 games.

He scored four goals in 51 games in 2001–02, but Paul Brush's team struggled and finished in mid-table, closer to the relegation zone than the play-offs, though they were 16 points above the drop.

Smith continued to feature heavily in the 2002–03 campaign, though he left the club in mid-season.

He had played 309 games for the club in all competitions, scoring 43 goals.

In six years with Orient he made 309 appearances in all competitions, before earning a move to Sheffield Wednesday in 2003.

After a season with Wednesday he moved on to Port Vale, retiring in January 2005.

He scored 54 goals in 566 league games in a 16-year career in the Football League.

Returning to Leyton Orient, he worked as assistant manager until January 2009.

In July 2009, he was appointed as Head of Youth at Walsall, before taking over as manager in January 2011.

He took Walsall from the relegation zone to safety in his first four months in charge.

He took Walsall to the 2015 final of the Football League Trophy, before leaving the club to manage Brentford in November 2015.

Smith was appointed as Aston Villa manager in October 2018 and took the club from 15th in the Championship to the Premier League via the play-offs in the 2018–19 season, and then to the 2020 EFL Cup final.

He was dismissed by Aston Villa in November 2021 and soon after joined Norwich City for a thirteen-month spell in charge.

He was appointed as Leicester City manager on a short-term basis in April 2023.

He was appointed as head coach of American club Charlotte FC in December 2023.

Smith was offered schoolboy terms at Newcastle United at the age of 15, but was released when the club decided to focus on local players.

He went on to work at a powder paint company.