Manager
His first management job was at Fourth Division Mansfield Town in 1974 where re-election was just avoided. The following season was a triumph, Mansfield taking the title by six points without losing a game at home.
The next job was at Southend United where in his second season promotion from the Fourth Division was achieved once again, this time as runners up to Watford in 1978. Two seasons of struggle followed resulting in relegation. Once again promotion was achieved at the first attempt, this time as champions, with nine club records broken in the process. Third Division safety was then achieved and Smith's job was assured until a takeover left him out.
Sixteen months followed out of football selling insurance and applying for every vacant manager's position. Smith then took over at Third Division Plymouth Argyle in December 1984 from Johnny Hore and fifteenth position was achieved in his first part-season. The following year promotion was achieved to the Second Division as runners up to Reading. In 1987 Smith took Plymouth to 7th position in the second tier of English football, narrowly missing out on the end of season play-offs. This was one of the club's highest ever finishing positions and was achieved on a modest playing budget. Smith's legendary status amongst Argyle fans was helped by his colourful personality, which included using poetry to describe his team's performance and wearing his tartan cap for good luck.
The summer of 1988 resulted in another move, back to Scotland and his home town club Dundee.
In 1989, Smith returned to the West Country enjoying a successful spell as manager of Torquay United before resigning on 2 April 1991 and retiring from management. Smith was reportedly approached by Plymouth Argyle in 1997 to return to the club as manager, but could not be tempted out of retirement.
Smith remains involved in football and currently runs highly popular soccer schools in the Plymouth area.
Read more about this topic: Dave Smith (footballer Born 1933)
Famous quotes containing the word manager:
“Nothing could his enemies do but it rebounded to his infinite advantage,—that is, to the advantage of his cause.... No theatrical manager could have arranged things so wisely to give effect to his behavior and words. And who, think you, was the manager? Who placed the slave-woman and her child, whom he stooped to kiss for a symbol, between his prison and the gallows?”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I knew a gentleman who was so good a manager of his time that he would not even lose that small portion of it which the calls of nature obliged him to pass in the necessary-house, but gradually went through all the Latin poets in those moments. He bought, for example, a common edition of Horace, of which he tore off gradually a couple of pages, read them first, and then sent them down as a sacrifice to Cloacina: this was so much time fairly gained.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)