Early career Smith spent part of his youth on the books at
Middlesbrough, though he was not offered a
YTS place. He went on to work at a sports shop after leaving school whilst playing
Sunday League football. In March 2001, Smith joined
Football League First Division club
Bolton Wanderers on a short
contract deal after impressing during a week-long trial. Bolton paid Bishop Auckland a £25,000 transfer fee, rising by another £5,000 following appearances clauses. Smith wanted to show Wanderers
manager Sam Allardyce that he could make the grade in the Football League. He still struggled to get into the first team at Bolton, playing in one Premier League match away to
West Ham United, again the last game of the season. In the two following seasons, Smith played only a handful of League Cup and
FA Cup matches and was loaned out to
Scunthorpe United and
Rochdale. Wanderers released him in the summer. His loan at Rochdale was cut short so he could join
Preston North End on a free transfer as they took on his Bolton contract until the end of the
2003–04 season.
Port Vale In June 2004, Smith joined
Port Vale on a one-year contract. He was a first-team regular during his first season at the club. Vale offered Smith a new contract, which he accepted. Smith was again in and around the first-team throughout the
2005–06 season, and signed a new one-year deal at the end of the campaign. Smith started the first half of the
2006–07 season very strongly, attracting interest from other clubs.
Carlisle United In January 2007, Smith joined
Carlisle United for a fee of £60,000 on a -year contract. Smith made his Carlisle début in a goalless draw at
Brentford, scoring his first goal at
Doncaster Rovers a week later. He was injured in a 2–1 win over
Luton Town after coming on as a substitute, causing him to be replaced himself. This was his last game of the campaign. Smith was released from Carlisle at the end of
2008–09 after having played just twenty games all season, with the club narrowly avoiding
relegation out of
League One.
Darlington He was signed by
League Two's
Darlington manager
Colin Todd in June 2009. Darlington had a poor season. They were relegated from the
English Football League, 18 points from safety, and lost 32 of their 46 games. He played regularly under new manager
Steve Staunton, though the club cancelled his contract following a breach of club rules on 19 March 2010.
Later career In July 2010 he went on trial at
Scottish Premier League side
Aberdeen, but was not offered a contract. The following month he signed a two-year contract with
Olympic Charleroi of the
Belgian Third Division B. After one season of football in Belgium, he returned to England and spent July 2011 on trial at
Rotherham United. In November, he joined up with
Whitby Town in the
Northern Premier League Premier Division.
Darren Williams' "Seasiders" finished the
2011–12 season in 17th place, six points above the relegation zone. In July 2012, he signed with
Celtic Nation of the
Northern League Division One. ==Career statistics==