Tommy Smith

Ipswich Town

Born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, Smith is a product of the Ipswich Town academy. He won the club's Young Player of the Year award for the 2006–07 season. He signed a three-year professional contract in August 2007. He was on the shortlist for the 2008 Wickes Young Apprentice Trophy, given to the best youth player in the Championship, but Mark Beevers won the award.

Stevenage Borough (loan)

In February 2008, Smith joined Stevenage Borough in the Conference National on a one-month emergency loan. He made his debut for the club on 23 February in a 0–0 draw with Grays Athletic. Later the loan was extended until the end of the season. He played 15 games for the club before returning to Ipswich.

Return to Ipswich

Smith's form for Stevenage led to him getting his opportunity in the Ipswich first-team, he made his debut on 9 August 2008, in a 2–1 home loss to Preston North End at Portman Road. That season, Smith broke his ankle in training, and missed the majority of the season. However, by the time he made his return to first team action, manager Jim Magilton had left the club and been replaced by Roy Keane. Smith featured heavily in Keane's early games as Ipswich manager, with the former Manchester United midfielder opting to give some of the club's younger talent – such as Connor Wickham and Smith – a chance to prove themselves. However, injury stalled Smith's progress once again, when he suffered another training ground injury – this…

Born in England, Smith resided in New Zealand during his youth and as a result holds dual nationality. This gave him the opportunity to declare himself eligible for the New Zealand national football team ("All Whites"), though he has also represented England at U-17 and U-18 level. Smith played in the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Korea during September 2007 despite not playing a part in England's qualification for the tournament. In December 2009, after the New Zealand national football team had qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Smith declared that he wanted to play for New Zealand and made himself available for All Whites selection, having been offered the opportunity by the Kiwi's boss, Ricki Herbert. He made his full international debut on 3 March 2010, starting in a 2–0 friendly defeat to Mexico in Los Angeles, USA on 3 March 2010. Smith was named in New Zealand's final 23-man squad to compete at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and made his first World Cup Finals appearance in New Zealand's opening game, a 1–1 draw against Slovakia. He also went on play every minute of New Zealand's World Cup campaign, which achieved a historic three points at the tournament. Smith became the youngest captain in All Whites history after leading the team in a 2–2 draw versus El Salvador on 23 May 2012. On 2 June 2012, Smith scored his first goal for his country in 1–0 win versus Fiji in a 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifier. He represented New Zealand at the 2012 Summer Olympics, playing in all…

Club

As of 16 March 2026

International

As of match played 7 September 2024

As of match played 22 March 2013 Scores and results list New Zealand's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Smith goal.

Liverpool

Smith was born in Liverpool on Thursday, 5 April 1945; he was an only child. His father died of pneumonia in 1959. Brought up a Catholic, he stopped attending church after witnessing the local priest stagger out of the house drunk after he came to the family home to offer his condolences. Smith joined the groundstaff at Anfield the following year, becoming a schoolboy associate of Liverpool, the club he had supported all his life. Initially a centre-forward, he impressed manager Bill Shankly enough to bypass two of the club's four reserve teams to immediately play for the 'A' team. He further made an impression in the 1961–62 pre-season when he beat imposing centre-half Ron Yeats to a header to score in training. He turned professional in the summer of 1962, on wages of £18-a-week. He made his debut for the "Reds" on 8 May 1963, replacing the injured Jimmy Melia in a 5–1 home victory over Birmingham City. However he made no further appearances throughout the rest of the 1962–63 season, and did not feature in the 1963–64 First Division title winning season. He married Susanne in July 1964, following a four-year courtship. He scored his first goal for Liverpool in his second match, playing at inside-left in a 3–2 defeat to Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on 29 August 1964. He kept his place for the following game, and again scored as Liverpool beat Leeds United 2–1. He was returned to the reserves after two more appearances, before returning to the first team…

Smith won ten caps for the England under-23 team, his first coming in a 0–0 draw with Czechoslovakia at Elland Road. He scored two goals, both penalties, against Scotland and Austria. He won just one full cap for England on 19 May 1971, in a 0–0 draw with Wales in a British Home Championship game at Wembley.

Smith used psychological ploys to threaten and intimidate opposition players. That said, he certainly had the respect of his peers, with fellow professional Jack Charlton once saying "Tommy Smith was easily the hardest player I faced. I ran into him once and he knocked every ounce of breath out of me. I tried to get up and look like he hadn't hurt me, but he had." Manager Bill Shankly once said of him: "Tommy Smith wasn't born, he was quarried". Smith was nicknamed "The Anfield Iron" and it was said that "Merseyside mothers kept his picture on the mantelpiece to keep their kids away from the fire". A common story stated that he "missed the 1978 European Cup Final after tripping on a pickaxe and injuring his foot. The pickaxe was a write-off".

Smith had a brief spell as a youth coach at Liverpool. He wrote a weekly column for the Liverpool Echo for 35 years from 1979 until August 2014. In March 2008, he published his autobiography, Anfield Iron. He bought the lease to The Cavern Club in 1980, but sold it on after a few years of minimal profits. Smith was still held in high regard amongst Liverpool fans long after his retirement, as he was voted into 25th place in the official club website poll "100 Players Who Shook The Kop". In 1988, Smith caused controversy after stating in an interview with the author Dave Hill that Howard Gayle "Suffered from a black man's attitude towards the white man. See, everybody thinks whites have an attitude towards blacks. In reality it's blacks who have a problem with the whites... I used to call Howard the 'White Nigger'. Now that is a compliment. It was the only way I could find to describe that I thought he was OK." Smith then went on to comment to Hill that "I'm not prejudiced but if a coon moved in next door, I'd move, like most white people would. If my daughter came home with a nigger, I'd go mad. But I'm only being truthful and normal." Smith intended to sue Hill, but found he had no grounds to take legal action as Hill had recorded all of Smith's comments on tape during the interview.

Auckland FC

A-League Premiership: 2024-25 New Zealand

OFC Nations Cup: 2024 Individual

Ipswich Town Young Player of the Year: 2006–07 Ipswich Town Player of the Year: 2012–13 IFFHS OFC Men's Team of the Decade 2011–2020 IFFHS Oceania Men's Team of All Time: 2021