Darwen In 1929, Smith became
player-manager of
Darwen. As a player, he scored 42 goals in 51 games. As
manager, he guided them to wins in the Lancashire Combination Championship (twice), the Combination Cup (twice), the Lancashire Junior Cup, and the Lancashire Challenge Trophy.
Reading Upon hanging up his playing boots in 1931, Smith became manager of
Reading. In each of his four seasons at
Elm Park, he took the club to within a few places of
promotion out of the
Third Division South. He led the "Biscuitmen" as they were then known to a second-place finish in
1931–32 – two points behind champions
Fulham, a fourth-place finish in
1932–33 – 11 points behind leaders
Brentford, third in
1933–34 – seven points short of
Norwich City, and second in
1934–35 – eight points behind promoted
Charlton Athletic. His success was due mostly to his phenomenal home record. In 84 matches at Elm Park, he won 66 and lost only 3, scoring an average of three goals per game and steering the club on a 55-game unbeaten home run that lasted from April 1933 until after he left in 1935.
Blackpool 's finishing positions in the
Football League under Smith. In August 1935, Smith was approached to become the new manager of
Blackpool, in place of the departed
Sandy MacFarlane, an offer he immediately accepted; a love of the seaside being one of the main deciding factors. After a tenth-place finish in
1935–36, he led the club to promotion in
1936–37 with a second-place finish in the
Second Division. He then secured the club's
First Division status with mid-table finishes in
1937–38 and
1938–39. On 10 March 1939, Smith and club director Albert Hindley made the football headlines when they completed the £10,000 record signing of
Jock Dodds from
Sheffield United. However,
World War II ensured that Smith's big signing barely featured in the
Football League, though he went on to score well over 200 goals at
Bloomfield Road during the war. After the war, Smith built a formidable "M" forward line of
Stan Mortensen,
Stanley Matthews and
Jackie Mudie. Mortensen and Mudie began their professional careers at the club, whilst Smith signed Matthews from
Stoke City for an £11,500 fee in May 1947. Other key signings Smith made during his time at the club include: defender
Danny Blair (joined from
Aston Villa in 1936),
George Farrow (defender signed from
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic for £1,250 in 1936),
Scotland winger
Alex Munro (signed from
Hearts in March 1937 for £3,500), inside-forward
Willie Buchan (signed from
Celtic for £10,000), defender
Eric Hayward (free signing from
Port Vale in May 1937),
Eddie Shimwell (signed from
Sheffield United for £7,000 in December 1946), full-back
Jackie Wright (signed from
Mossley), goalkeeper
George Farm (joined on a
free transfer from
Hibernian), midfielder
Allan Brown (signed from
East Fife in December 1950), forward
Ernie Taylor (signed from
Newcastle United for £25,000 in October 1951), defender
Jimmy Kelly (signed from
Watford in October 1954 for £15,000), and striker
Ray Charnley (signed from
Morecambe for a £750 fee in May 1957). Many significant players also began their professional careers under Smith, including
Barrie Martin,
Ron Suart,
Ewan Fenton,
Tommy Garrett,
Bill Perry,
Dave Durie,
Roy Gratrix,
Brian Peterson,
Hughie Kelly, and
Jimmy Armfield. Though he was at Bloomfield Road before Smith, after the war, defender
Harry Johnston went on to win caps for England whilst at Blackpool. Blackpool finished fifth in the league in
1946–47, just seven points behind champions
Liverpool. The next season,
1947–48, they reached the
FA Cup final at
Wembley, which ended in a
4–2 defeat to
Manchester United. The "Seasiders" dropped to 16th place in
1948–49, but rose to seventh in
1949–50, just four points behind champions
Portsmouth. Though they finished in third place in
1950–51, they ended the campaign ten points behind champions
Tottenham Hotspur. Smith led the club to another FA Cup final in
1951, where they were beaten 2–0 by Newcastle United after a brace from
Jackie Milburn. Blackpool could only finished ninth and seventh in
1951–52 and
1952–53, but reached another FA Cup final in
1953. Known as the "Matthews final",
Stan Mortensen scored a
hat-trick against
Bolton Wanderers to secure Blackpool a 4–3 victory and their first-ever FA Cup title. The club finished sixth in the league in
1953–54 and then dropped down to 19th place in
1954–55. Smith then led the club to a record high league finish of second in
1955–56. However, they ended up with 11 points short of the champions, Manchester United. They finished fourth in
1956–57 and seventh in
1957–58. After 714 Football League games in charge of Blackpool, Smith resigned in 1958, at 68, due to poor health. The Blackpool board rewarded his services by giving him a hefty "
golden handshake" and bought him a house in the town. ==Career statistics==