Top Facts About Dean Smith, Aston Villa's Manager

The English manager is a former football player and according to

Dean Smith transfer market stats

his days on the pitch were at clubs like Walsall, Hereford United, Leyton Orient and etc. After his retirement from football he decided to change his course to head coach. Dean Smith has quite an interesting story about how he managed to get where he is today.

In addition to career details you might be interested in Dean Smith personal life. The Aston Villa manager is a married man and as they say behind every successful man there is a woman. Dean Smith wife supported him through every up and down. Find out the full story of his love life. You might also be interested in details about

Dean Smith children

as well. First we will start with Dean Smith childhood.

Top Facts About Dean Smith You Might Not Know

Dean Smith has a tactical mind and during his days in school, he became West Midlands school chess champion. His thinking methods and strategy grew with his chess skills. This helped the current Villa manager leading the team. Smith’s philosophy is not old school at all and he leads the team with new methods and perceptions which has been in the team’s favor. Find out the top facts about Dean Smith in the following.

Dean Smith Childhood and Early Life

Let’s begin with

Dean Smith childhood

. He was born on 19 March 1971, in West Bromwich, England to Hilary Smith and Ron Smith. As a child he was raised in a football lover family. Dean Smith parents were big supporters of Aston Villa. Smith is the youngest of two children. You might be interested to know that his father worked as a steward at Villa Park and this was where he became a huge fan of the team. Often the Smith brothers went with their dad to the stadium to watch the games.

In an interview the football manager recalled his early days and stated: “I think one thing that helped me is my brother being two years older than me. Hence, I was always playing against him and older kids all the time. We had a school behind us. So it was always a case of climbing over the fence and having our game there.” As a child the little boy dreamed of one day becoming a professional footballer and play for Villa. Dean Smith parents encouraged their son to make his dream come true. Find out more top facts about Dean Smith in the following.

Dean Smith Is a Chess Champion 

As we mentioned before Dean Smith gained tactical perspective while he played chess. He played the game professionally and he was very gifted in it. The former footballer grew fond into the game and provided him with a more strategic thinking and accuracy, thanks to countless hours of playing chess with his uncle.

 In an interview with Sky Sports the Aston villa manager recalled his early days and stated: “I played chess with my uncle, every Christmas and holidays where they came round to our house. I went into school and became West Midlands school chess champion as well, with our school team. I've continued playing. It probably gave me more of a tactical mind because of that.”

Dean Smith parents

were proud of their son for being a chess champion. Stay tuned for more top facts about Dean smith.

Dean Smith, the Most Expensive Signing in History

In 1989, when Dean Smith age was 18, he joined the fourth division club

. His father knew that there was no way for his son to start his professional career with a first division club in this age, so he got on board as a central defender with the aforementioned club. Smith worked hard on his performance and gained experience. The team got qualified for the play-offs with finishing in the fifth-place in 1992-93 season however, they got defeated by Crewe Alexandra at the semi-final stage.

Smith made 146 appearances before he caught the attention of scouts. Walsall finished in the tenth position at the end of 1993-94 season and after 166 games and two goals Smith was sold to a third division club, Hereford United in 1995. At the time his contract was the most expensive signing in history of his parent’s club. He was sold to Hereford United for the staggering amount of £80k. More

top facts about Dean Smith

are in the way.

Smith Joined Hereford United

Dean Smith age

was 23 when he joined Hereford and at the time they got elevated to the Third Division play-offs in 1995–96 season and Smith was Graham Turner’s captain at Edgar Street. However, despite the fact that Smith scored the opening goal Hereford got defeated by Darlington 4-2. At the end of the 1996-97 season, Hereford got relegated from the English Football League after they finished in the last place. According to Dean Smith stats, he scored 26 goals during 146 games.

A Key Player at Leyton Orient

Based on Dean Smith transfer market stats he signed a contract with Tommy Taylor, the manager of

in August 1997 which was another third division club. The contract worth more than £40k. During 51 matches the footballer scored ten goals for the team in the 1997-98 season. Smith captained the team to the playoffs and he managed to convert a penalty in the victory against Rotherham United at the semi-final stage. Later in the Wembley final, Leyton Orient got defeated 1-0 by Scunthorpe United. He scored 10 goals in 49 games. During the 1999-2000 season the team struggled by finishing at the bottom of the table.

Once again the English footballer became a key player and scored six goals in 50 games. Leyton Orient got to fifth place in the 2000-01 season and Smith once again took the armband and captioned the team to the play-off final in 2001, this time at the Millennium Stadium. Smith assisted the team a lot through the seasons and in the 2002-03 season he was an important player however, he left the club in the mid-season. Based on

Dean Smith stats

he played in 309 games and scored 43 goals for the club.

Dean Smith Ended His Playing Days On the Pitch  

In February 2003, for the first time in his career Smith joined the first division side

. At the time the club was managed by Chris Turner. At the end of the season the club got relegated due to their 22nd place and Stoke City got ahead of them by four points. In the summer, Smith was elected to be the team’s captain. The footballer featured in 48 games in the 2003-04 season while scoring only one goal.

Later the club had a clear out and Smith was one of the 13 players who left Hillsborough. Dean Smith stats indicate that he scored one goal in 62 appearances for Wednesday. In July 2004, Smith signed a contract with Port Vale. He featured in 13 League One games and two cup games for the “Valiants” in 2004–05 season, prior to his retirement from the pitch in January 2005 when he left Vale Park to become youth team coach at his old club Leyton Orient. Find out more

top facts about Dean Smith

in the following.

Dean Smith, Manager of Walsall

In January 2005, Smith started working as a youth coach at Leyton and later he was promoted to be the assistant manager by the end of the 2004-05 season. Smith didn’t perform so well as an assistant and he left the club in January 2009. On 4 January 2011, Smith was appointed to be the manager of his former club Walsall. Later the club declared that Smith will be the permanent manager of Walsall until the end of the season. Over the years the former footballer established himself to be a good manager and

Dean Smith salary

grew with his career to fit his profession.

Smith proved himself to be a fitted manager and led his team out of the drop zone before the season’s end. Smith’s efforts paid off well as in 29 January, Walsall recorded its best league result since 1986 by defeating

6–1. This was Smith’s first victory in charge. He managed to steer the team out of relegation and Walsall finished the season on point clear of Dagenham & Redbridge in the drop zone. Learn more top facts about Dean Smith in the following.

Ginger Mourinho Masterminded Walsall

Smith made lots of changes in the team and let fourteen players go. He brought new footballers into the squad in the summer of 2011. He signed a contract with goalkeeper David Grof; defenders Mat Sadler and Lee Beevers; midfielders Kevan Hurst, Claude Gnakpa, Adam Chambers, and Anton Peterlin; and striker

. His new squad showed great performance on the pitch, and things went well for the team. In October 2012, the manager signed extended his contract with his former club until summer 2015. Later the team had a poor performance, and they got close to the relegation zone in December.

However, Walsall got back on its feet and managed to win four of its five games in January. Later Smith was named manager of the month. During the 2013-14 season, the fans cherished smith and nicknamed him “Ginger Mourinho” and he took the club to the top with his strategic thinking. Smith masterminded the team’s tactics and led them to several victories. Over the years

Dean Smith net worth

grew with his improvement as a manager and several clubs were eager to sign with him. In August 2015, he was named manager of the month.

Smith Builds a Remarkable Style of Play at Brentford

On 30 November 2015, Smith was appointed as the new manager of Championship club

. Smith let some players go and signed contract with new players. He reached agreement with 18 footballers including Romaine Sawyers, Rico Henry from his previous club Walsall. At the end of the season the Bees finished in tenth place.

Smith declared that he had more players in mind to push for the play-offs the next season. He extended his contract in February 2018. The 2017-18 season ended while Brentford was in the ninth place and were "widely regarded as the Championship's entertainers" after Smith built an attractive passing style of play on a shoestring budget. More

top facts about Dean Smith

are in the way.

Smith Led Aston Villa to Triumph

On 10 October 2018, Smith was appointed manager of the top tier in the English football league system,

. He was named as the EFL’s manager of the week following a 3-0 victory on 10 November. Smith’s strategic mind provided the team with several victories and wins. He was given the month’s EFL Championship Manager of the Month prize following five wins in five matches including a triumph against Second City derby rivals Birmingham City. On 22 April 2019, Dean Smith led Aston Villa to break a 109-year-old club record for the longest winning run following a 1-0 win over Millwall.

Aston Villa went on and got promoted to the Premier League with a 2–1 win against Derby County under the supervision of Smith. On 29 November 2019, in the mid-way of his first Premier League season he extended his contract with Villa until 2023. In the EFL Cup, Villa got ahead of Crewe Alexandra of League Two and four Premier League sides in Brighton & Hove Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Liverpool and Leicester City and reached the final at Wembley Stadium. The team got defeated in the finals 2-1 against Manchester City. Find out facts about

Dean Smith personal life

in the following.

Dean Smith Children and Wife

The football manager is a married man and as they say behind every successful man there is a woman.

Dean Smith wife

, Nicola supported her husband through every up and down. Being a football manager is a stressful job and managers often experience a lot of pressure. In an interview, the Aston Villa manager stated: “I was told I won’t sleep much when I went into management. But I sleep very well. Sadly, I sleep better than my wife, who seems to be the one shouldering the brunt of pressure.”

Aside from the emotional support Dean Smith wife Nicola, has a hard time watching her husband’s games and she gets too nervous. Smith explained: “I don’t think she has watched any of our last 6 games as of July 2020. My daughter always informs her what’s going on with an alert on the phone. Truth is my family is part of the reason why I do this and enjoy it so much.” As for Dean Smith children the couple is blessed with two kids, a daughter, and son.

A True Aston Villa Fan from The Beginning

In 2016 Smith recalled his early days and how he ended up being a Villa fan from the start and told BirminghamLive: “In the late seventies I talked my dad into taking me to the games. He worked as a steward there for 25 years so me and my mates used to go and clean the seats when we were kids.” According to facts about Dean Smith personal life his father suffered from dementia.

 He wasn’t aware that his son finally became the manager of their beloved club, Aston Villa. On the eve of 2019 play-off final, Smith went to see his father and told him: “The next time I see you, I’ll be a Premier League manager.” On 27 May 2020, after a battle with Coronavirus Ron Smith died. Find out facts about Dean Smith net worth and income in the following.

Dean Smith Salary and Earnings

Over the years the Ginger Mourinho worked hard and established himself as a successful coach. He proved that even managers could be paid enormously and have a sky high salary. Dean Smith salary is more than £1 million per year. The former footballer is not a fan of luxurious life and expensive cars. He and his family keep it simple and live a conservative life.

Off the pitch, Smith has a down to earth personality. James O'Connor described him: “Dean, I would say one of the best managers I’ve played under.” Dean Smith net worth in 2021 is estimated to be more than £8 million. As for

Dean Smith social media accounts

looks like the manager is not a fan of social media and he doesn’t own an account.

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