Smith, Barry (1991-95)

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Personal

Fullname: Barry Martin Smith
aka: Barry Smith
Born: 19 Feb 1974
Birthplace: Paisley
Signed: 21 June 1991
Left: 8 Aug 1995
Position: Defender
Debut: Falkirk 4-3 Celtic, League 19 Oct 1991
Internationals: none

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Biog

Paisley-born defender Barry Smith signed for Celtic from Giffnock North AFC in June 1991.

He made a surprise debut as a 17-year-old at Falkirk on 19th October 1991 as manager Liam Brady attempted to resolve a defensive crisis as the Bhoys went down 4-3. Not an easy time and not a memorable debut for the result. Celtic were very poor in this period of time, with a poor team manager and off-field headaches due to the events surrounding “Sack The Board“.

Reserve team skipper for much of his time at Parkhead, Barry Smith was comfortable both at centre-half and in the right back role. He showed glimpses of real promise during his first team outings but never really developed enough to become a first team regular. He was played too infrequently also to be able to gain the required experience to make a name for himself, played very sporadically. He never managed to win any appearances in the run to the Scottish Cup in 1994/95, Celtic’s first major trophy since 1989.

He still managed to play in a few notable games from the era including a 1-1 away draw at Ibrox in April 1994 when the Celtic fans were ridiculously banned by the Rangers hierarchy, and in the 1-0 victory over Aberdeen in the league cup that took Celtic to the final (which Celtic went on to lose). The defeat in that league cup final (which Barry Smith didn’t play in) had a major impact on the club at the time, especially on the roster of players, and possibly hindered Barry Smith’s opportunities too.

At a time when matches v major teams outwith of Scotland were rare as Celtic didn’t last long in Europe in those days, he got to play in a friendly at Old Trafford v Manchester Utd, playing against some greats like Ryan Giggs, something to cherish for a young player who sadly was not to get many highs at a demoralised Celtic. This was at a time when Manchester Utd were in their ascendency and so for a young player it was quite an honour after all the travails he had to endure whilst at an impoverished Celtic.

Dismayed at the lack of first team opportunities he left the club or was traded for Morten Wieghorst on 8th August 1995. His loss was severely felt by the Club at the time, having made 20 first team appearances.

Post Celtic Career
He departed Parkhead for Dundee in 1995 , and in time became the captain of the Dundee first team, and a class professional under every manager he worked under at Dundee, spending over 10 years with them and receiving a Testimonial year.

He played predominantly as either a centre half or a defensive midfielder but could also play as a full-back. He became joint acting manager at Dundee in April 2006 before taking up an opportunity to play with Valur in Iceland.

In January 2007 he joined Partick Thistle starting clearly unfit but going on to be one of their outstanding players of the season. Despite this he was released in May 2007 and returned to Valur in Iceland. In January 2008, he joined Morton and played in every game till April when he required a cartilage operation which kept him out for the rest of the season.

He since then returned to Iceland, but then returned to Scotland taking some coaching roles at Dundee before becoming their manager. Sadly he was unfairly & unceremoniously dumped by Dundee as their manager in 2013, much to the chagrin of most of their support and those out with of the club. He moved on to a range of similar roles across lower tier clubs, usually for a one year stint most often.

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Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

none

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