13 Dec Neil Smith: The man who made the grade in the football industry
The career as a footballer can be a hard one to crack, Neil Smith is one of the few people who made the grade in the industry. The current Bromley manager gives new insight into the ups and downs in the football industry.
Neil Smith fell in love with football after watching his father play the game from a young age. Smith’s father had trials with a number of professional football teams himself before playing regular Sunday league.
During the late 70s and 80s, Smith grew up supporting Liverpool while also watching local side Millwall on regular occasions.
While studying at Ravensbourne School, the youngster caught the eye of one of his sports teachers, who also worked for Tottenham Hotspur.
After catching the eye of his sports teacher at school, Smith attended trials at Tottenham Hotspur, joining the youth team where he stayed until 1991 when he went to Gillingham.
The Bromley players train as Smith watches on
Whilst playing for Gillingham, Smith came very close to leaving the club in 1997 for Brentford, only for the move to break down following a tribunal battle.
The case went to a tribunal which came back with a fee which Brentford would have to pay if they wished to sign the midfielder. This led to the move breaking down.
At the time Tony Pulis had just taken over at Gillingham and following the failed transfer, Smith said “He was the manager who gave me another chance.’
The current Bromley manager also stated how he had taken inspiration from Tony Pulis’ management style to listen to players and give them chances. He also said “It’s important to trust players till they break my trust.”
While playing for Woking in 2007, following the sacking of then manager Glen Cockerill, Smith alongside Graham Baker was appointed joint caretaker manager.
He had been handed the challenge of keeping Woking up. If he met this challenge Smith was told that the job would be his for the long-term.
The challenge was met and the Lambeth boy even scored the goal to keep Woking up. However, in the summer, Woking’s director of football handed the job to Frank Gray.
Following the confusion, the veteran returned to play for Welling and after the departure of then boss Adrian Pennock, Smith assembled first team duties in his first full time role. He left his post in 2008 after being relieved of his duties.
He then went on to join Bromley briefly for the first time as a player in 2008, before rejoining the club as assistant manager in 2011.
While assistant, the duties included taking training on a day to day basis and also being a lot closer with the player if they had any problems.
In 2016, Neil was promoted as interim manager, when Bromley fired then manager Mark Goldberg. Following a successful run of games, Smith secured the job on a permanent basis.
Neil Smith stands in the pouring rain as his Bromley side train
Bromley have got off to a flying start in the 2019-20 season, reaching 40 points and sitting 3rd in the National League. The high flying boss stated that Bromley were very much ‘outsiders’ for promotion, due to lack of budget compared to bigger teams in the division.
Smith stated the the long-term aim for his and Bromley’s ambitions is to reach the football league.
