Born in
Westminster, Smith began his career at
Colchester United. He made his debut against
Grimsby Town at the age of 16 years 214 days on 20 April 1971, becoming Colchester's youngest player to appear in the league, a record that stood until 2019. Smith had an unusual skill-set for someone who played most of his career as a defender. Originally a spindly teenager, he was known for his dribbling skills, often coming on as substitute on the left wing. He was then tried as a midfielder and then as an overlapping left back. However, as his body matured, he became strong in the air and he was used by Colchester as a central defender, and occasionally even as a target man up front. His occasional forays up the left wing from his position in central defence caught many teams by surprise. ==Honours==