Craig Mackail-Smith

Craig Mackail-Smith

Mackail-Smith playing for Brighton & Hove Albion in 2011
Personal information
Full name Craig Anthony Robert Mackail-Smith[1]
Date of birth (1984-02-25) 25 February 1984[2]
Place of birth Watford, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[3]
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Luton Town
Number 12
Youth career
1999–2000 St Albans City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2003 St Albans City 31 (1)
2003–2004 Arlesey Town
2004–2007 Dagenham & Redbridge 107 (38)
2007–2011 Peterborough United 185 (80)
2011–2015 Brighton & Hove Albion 109 (21)
2014 → Peterborough United (loan) 3 (0)
2015– Luton Town 33 (4)
National team‡
2005–2006 England C 7 (4)
2011–2012 Scotland 7 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:01, 19 March 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13:11, 1 January 2015 (UTC)

Craig Anthony Robert Mackail-Smith (born 25 February 1984) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker for League Two club Luton Town.

He started his career in non-league football, beginning at St Albans City before moving to Arlesey Town and later Dagenham & Redbridge. His goalscoring record at Dagenham prompted Football League Two side Peterborough United to sign him in January 2007. He went on to become a regular fixture in the Peterborough side, scoring 80 league goals to help the club to three promotions in his four-and-a-half seasons at London Road. He won the League One Player of the Year for 2010–11 after scoring 35 goals during the season.

In July 2011, he signed for Brighton & Hove Albion in the Championship for a fee of £2.5 million. He remained with the club for four seasons before leaving at the end of the 2014–15 season. He then signed for Luton Town of League Two in August 2015. Mackail-Smith has played for England C and at full international level for Scotland.

Club career

Early career

Born in Watford, Hertfordshire,[2] Mackail-Smith started his career with the youth system at St Albans City in 1999.[4] He was released at the end of the 2003 season and joined Arlesey Town where he played for one season. The highlight of his time at Arlesey was knocking Dagenham & Redbridge out of the FA Trophy in a fourth round replay match, scoring two goals in a 4–2 win.[5]

Dagenham & Redbridge

In 2004, Mackail-Smith joined Conference National club Dagenham & Redbridge where he scored 38 league goals in two-and-a-half seasons.[6]

On 29 January 2007 he was signed by Peterborough United, with Dagenham retaining 15% of any future transfer fee.[7]

Peterborough United

Mackail-Smith started strongly at Peterborough United, scoring 8 goals in 15 games.[8] His partnership with fellow striker Aaron McLean proved prosperous, the two of them scoring a combined 183 goals for Posh in their time at the club, which included three promotions.

Steve Claridge posted a scouting report on 23 September 2008 on Mackail-Smith. He described him as "a rampaging Nordic Viking with his long blonde hair" and was impressed by the way he would pick up the ball and run at defenders, attacking at every opportunity in what Claridge described as a positive way.[9] Mackail-Smith scored 35 goals for the club during the 2010–11 campaign, making him the most prolific scorer in England for the season.[10] His 27 goals in League One made him top scorer and earnt him the prize of Football League One Player of the Year Award.[11][12]

His then manager Darren Ferguson described him as a hard-working front man who has an excellent goal-to-game ratio. When Mackail-Smith was interviewed by BBC Sport in June 2011 he stated "I want to play at the highest level I can attain and I want to play in the Premier League."[13] On 29 May 2011 Mackail-Smith scored the second goal in a 3–0 win against Huddersfield Town at Old Trafford to clinch promotion for Peterborough United to the Championship.[14] Prior to Mackail-Smith leaving for Brighton, he was the subject of bids from Premier League clubs including Queens Park Rangers.[15]

In total, Mackail-Smith scored 99 goals over 211 games in all competitions for Peterborough United.[16]

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 4 July 2011, Mackail-Smith joined Brighton & Hove Albion for an initial £2.5 million, possibly rising to £3.25 million, signing a four-year deal.[17] Mackail-Smith's first goal for Brighton was a winner against Portsmouth. Mackail-Smith then scored four goals in his next seven matches, including a double in a 3–3 home draw against Leeds United.[18]

However, Mackail-Smith then hit a goal drought and struggled to score, hitting just one goal between October 2011 and February 2012, on 29 November 2011 against Derby County,[19] although he was still a key player of Brighton's campaign, and was credited with more assists than any other player in the squad during that time.

In one match, a 2–0 win over Bristol City in January, he was elbowed in the face in the penalty area and had to come off with a black eye. He played Brighton's next match despite still having a heavily swollen eye. Mackail-Smith ended his goal drought by coming off the bench against the team he scored two against earlier in the season, Leeds United, to score at close range from a corner. Mackail-Smith's goal put Brighton 1–0 up and they eventually won the match 2–1.[20]

On his 28th birthday he scored at the Amex Stadium for the first time in five months in a 3–0 win against Ipswich Town,[21] and scored again the next weekend in a 1–1 draw with Doncaster Rovers.[22] In total, Mackail-Smith scored 10 goals for Brighton, and he revealed his disappointment at his goal haul, which he largely put down to adapting to Brighton's passing style of football.[10][23]

Mackail-Smith enjoyed a strong start to the 2012–13 season, scoring six goals in six games. This included two spectacular strikes, one an overhead kick, in a 3–1 victory over Burnley.[24] He scored a total of 11 goals before a serious injury to his Achilles tendon on 5 March 2013 prevented him from playing for 13 months.[10][25]

Mackail-Smith returned for Brighton's final run-in to the 2013–14 season, playing in both legs of the play-off semi-final against Derby County, which the club lost 6–2 on aggregate.[26]

During the 2014–15 season, Mackail-Smith found himself back in the first team under new manager Sami Hyypiä. However, he struggled to score goals and rejoined Peterborough United on loan on 27 November 2014, playing in three matches.[10][27] He returned to Brighton and played in 18 games throughout the second half of the season, but failed to score.[10] On 24 April 2015, Brighton confirmed that Mackail-Smith's contract would not be renewed and that he would leave the club during the summer.[28]

Luton Town

In July 2015, Mackail-Smith began training with League Two club Luton Town, headed up by his former Dagenham & Redbridge manager John Still.[29] He featured in numerous pre-season friendlies, rebuffing interest from League One teams Blackpool and Southend United,[30][31] before signing a two-year contract with Luton on 1 August 2015.[32]

International career

England C

While with Dagenham & Redbridge, Mackail-Smith received his first international recognition being called up to play for the England C team, winning seven caps and scoring four goals. He helped England C win the 2005–06 European Challenge Trophy, scoring twice.

Scotland

Mackail-Smith qualified to play for Scotland through his Edinburgh-born grandmother Margaret and confirmed his interest in playing for Scotland if called up in May 2009.[33] On 24 March 2011, he received his first senior international call-up from Scotland boss Craig Levein for a friendly with Brazil on 27 March.[34] He made his international debut when he came on as a substitute for Kenny Miller in the 87th minute.[35][36] He scored his first international goal against Liechtenstein on 8 October 2011 in a crucial Euro 2012 qualifier,[37] and played in the match against Spain in Alicante on 12 October 2011, winning a penalty from which David Goodwillie scored, in a match that Spain won 3–1. Mackail-Smith played seven times for Scotland in total, scoring one goal.[38]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 19 March 2016
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
St Albans City 2000–01[39] Isthmian Premier Division 9000—1[lower-alpha 1]0100
2001–02[40] Isthmian Premier Division 8000—5[lower-alpha 2]1131
2002–03[41] Isthmian Premier Division 14130—5[lower-alpha 3]0221
Total 31130—111452
Arlesey Town 2003–04[42] Isthmian Division One North ????—5[lower-alpha 4]25417
Dagenham & Redbridge 2004–05[43] Conference National 401220—1[lower-alpha 5]04312
2005–06[44] Conference National 391110—5[lower-alpha 4]34514
2006–07[45] Conference National 281510—2[lower-alpha 4]13116
Total 1073840—8411942
Peterborough United 2006–07[8] League Two 158000000158
2007–08[46] League Two 361247001[lower-alpha 6]04119
2008–09[47] League One 462353101[lower-alpha 6]05326
2009–10[48] Championship 43101031—4711
2010–11[49] League One 452742334[lower-alpha 7]35635
Total 185801412746321299
Brighton & Hove Albion 2011–12[50] Championship 4593021—5010
2012–13[51] Championship 29112000003111
2013–14[52] Championship 5000002[lower-alpha 8]070
2014–15[53] Championship 3011032—343
Total 1092160532012224
Peterborough United (loan) 2014–15[53] League One 30———30
Luton Town 2015–16[54] League Two 334100000344
Career total 46814428121273210589188
  1. ↑ Appearance in Full Members Cup
  2. ↑ One appearance in Isthmian League Cup, two appearances and one goal in Herts Senior Cup, one appearance in Herts Charity Cup, one appearance in Billy Minter Trophy
  3. ↑ Three appearances in Isthmian League Cup, two appearances in Herts Senior Cup
  4. 1 2 3 Appearance(s) and goal(s) in FA Trophy
  5. ↑ Appearance in FA Trophy
  6. 1 2 Appearance in Football League Trophy
  7. ↑ One appearance in Football League Trophy, three appearances and three goals in League One play-offs
  8. ↑ Two appearances in Championship play-offs

International

As of match played 26 May 2012.[55]

International statistics

National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland 2011 5 1
2012 2 0
Total 7 1

International goals

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 8 October 2011 Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz  Liechtenstein 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Honours

Peterborough United

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Biography". UpThePosh!. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  2. 1 2 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 268. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  3. ↑ "Craig Mackail-Smith". ESPN FC. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Career History". UpThePosh!. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  5. ↑ "Arlesey Town 4 Dagenham & Redbridge 2 Match Centre". Dagenham & Redbridge Mad. 3 February 2004. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  6. ↑ "Craig Mackail-Smith career playing details". Dagenham and Redbridge Mad. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  7. ↑ "Peterborough recruit Daggers pair". BBC Sport. 29 January 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Games played by Craig Mackail-Smith in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  9. ↑ Steve Claridge (23 September 2008). "Scouting report: Craig Mackail-Smith". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Craig Mackail-Smith profile at Soccerway. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  11. 1 2 "League One 2010/2011 Regular Season". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  12. 1 2 "QPR's Adel Taarabt wins Football League player of year". BBC Sport. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  13. ↑ "Peterborough United accept Craig Mackail-Smith offer". BBC Sport. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  14. 1 2 Begley, Emlyn (29 May 2011). "Huddersfield 0-3 Peterborough". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  15. ↑ Swan, Alan (13 June 2011). "Posh accept three bids for Mackail-Smith". Peterborough Today. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  16. ↑ "Craig Mackail-Smith statistics". Soccerbase. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  17. ↑ "Craig Mackail-Smith heads to Brighton in four-year deal". BBC Sport. 2011-07-04. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
  18. ↑ "Brighton 3–3 Leeds - Match Report & Highlights". Sky Sports. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  19. ↑ "Derby 0 Brighton 1: Mackail-Smith keeps Seagulls soaring back up". Daily Mail. 29 November 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  20. ↑ "Leeds 1 Brighton 2". The Sun. 12 February 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  21. ↑ "Brighton 3-0 Ipswich". BBC Sport. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  22. ↑ "Doncaster 1-1 Brighton". BBC Sport. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  23. ↑ "Brighton's Craig Mackail-Smith admits goal frustration". BBC Sport. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  24. ↑ "Burnley 1-3 Brighton - Match Report & Highlights". Sky Sports. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  25. ↑ "Craig Mackail Smith: Injury lay-off tough for Brighton striker". BBC Sport. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  26. ↑ "Derby 4–1 Brighton". BBC Sport. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  27. ↑ "Craig Mackail-Smith: Peterborough United loan return for striker". BBC Sport. 27 November 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  28. ↑ "Brighton: Casper Ankergren and Inigo Calderon offered new deals". BBC Sport. 24 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  29. ↑ "Still happy to play the waiting game with Mackail-Smith". Luton Today. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  30. ↑ "Striker hunt priority with Mackail-Smith in sights". Blackpool Gazette. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  31. ↑ "Southend declare interest in Mackail-Smith". Luton Today. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  32. ↑ "Craig Mackail-Smith: Luton Town sign ex-Brighton striker". BBC Sport. 1 August 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  33. ↑ "Mackail Smith keen to follow Boyd to Scotland". Peterborough Today. 5 May 2009. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  34. ↑ "Scots call for Peterborough striker Craig Mackail-Smith". BBC Sport. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  35. ↑ "Scotland 0–2 Brazil". BBC Sport. 27 March 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  36. ↑ "New Scots star to give debut shirt to his grandma after the game in which he scored three times". MirrorFootball. Trinity Mirror. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  37. ↑ McGuire, Annie (8 October 2011). "Mackail-Smith goal keeps Scots' Euro 2012 hopes alive". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  38. ↑ Craig Mackail-Smith at scottishfa.co.uk
  39. ↑ "Craig Mackail-Smith season details 2000/2001". St Albans City. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  40. ↑ "Craig Mackail-Smith season details 2001/2002". St Albans City. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  41. ↑ "Craig Mackail-Smith season details 2002/2003". St Albans City. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  42. ↑ "Craig Mackail-Smith season details 2003/2004". Brighton & Hove Albion Mad. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  43. ↑ "Craig Mackail-Smith season details 2004/2005". Brighton & Hove Albion Mad. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  44. ↑ "Craig Mackail-Smith season details 2005/2006". Brighton & Hove Albion Mad. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  45. ↑ Appearances and goals for this season are taken from:
    Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2007). Non-League Club Directory 2008. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 182–183. ISBN 978-1-869833-57-2.
    "Dag & Red 4–2 St Albans". BBC Sport. 10 October 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  46. ↑ "Games played by Craig Mackail-Smith in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  47. ↑ "Games played by Craig Mackail-Smith in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  48. ↑ "Games played by Craig Mackail-Smith in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  49. ↑ "Games played by Craig Mackail-Smith in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  50. ↑ "Games played by Craig Mackail-Smith in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  51. ↑ "Games played by Craig Mackail-Smith in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  52. ↑ "Games played by Craig Mackail-Smith in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  53. 1 2 "Games played by Craig Mackail-Smith in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  54. ↑ "Games played by Craig Mackail-Smith in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  55. ↑ "Craig Mackail-Smith". National Football Teams. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  56. ↑ "Hereford 0-1 Peterborough". BBC Sport. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  57. ↑ "Peterborough win seals promotion". BBC Sport. 25 April 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  58. ↑ "2007–08 English FA Cup Statistics". ESPN FC. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  59. ↑ "Spurs' Gareth Bale wins PFA player of the year award". BBC Sport. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
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