| Brad Smith | |
|---|---|
| |
| Personal information | |
| Date of Birth |
9 April 1994 |
| Place of Birth |
Penrith, Australia |
| Height |
1.78m (5'10") |
| Position |
Defender |
| Liverpool statistics | |
| Squad no. |
44 |
| Years |
2013- |
| Appearances |
2 |
| Goals |
0 |
Bradley Shaun Smith (born 9 April 1994) is an Australian-born English footballer who plays as a left back for the Liverpool U21s.
Liverpool career
Brad Smith moved to England from Australia at the age of 14 and was spotted by Liverpool playing at the same school as fellow young left back, Jack Robinson. Like Robinson, Smith is very highly regarded and considered to have the potential to be a big success in football. He is blessed with tremendous pace - considered to be one of the fastest players in the Academy, and has had a good goalscoring record in junior teams in the past.
He made his step up from the Under 16s to the Under 18s in 2010, and went on to make 23 appearances in the 2010-11 season, scoring one goal. His goal came in a match against Bolton Wanderers and was rated the third best of the 2010-11 Academy season by Liverpoolfc.tv. Smith collected the ball near his own box before going on a storming run down the entire left flank, beating several Bolton defenders before shooting low across the face of goal. His form saw him called up by England for the 2011 under-17 European Championships, where he netted a goal and his all-round performances garnered much praise.
Smith made the step up to the Reserves for the 2011-12 season, for whom he made 13 appearances. In July 2012, new Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers took Smith on the first team's pre season tour of the USA. Smith's 2012-13 season with the U21s was injury-hit, and he only managed to accumulate 12 games. His season had been cut short by an anterior cruciate ligament injury, and he was out of action for ten months. He made his return on 7 October 2013, and played a starring role in the U21's 5-0 victory over Tottenham, playing as a right winger. He first claimed an assist for Ryan McLaughlin to put Liverpool 3-0 up, then hit the fourth himself with an impressive long-range curled effort from the right wing.
Smith's fine form on return from injury led to him winning a place on the substitute's bench for the first team on 26 December 2013, for Liverpool's away clash with Manchester City. He made his debut in the Reds' next match, away to Chelsea as a 60th minute substitute for Joe Allen. Smith was deployed at left wing, however he struggled to make an impact as Liverpool lost 2-1.
For the U21s, Smith completed the 2013-14 season with two goals in 16 appearances to his name. He went on to start the Liverpool first team's post-season friendly win over Shamrock Rovers on 14 May 2014, producing an impressive attacking performance from left back.
On 7 August 2014, Smith joined League One outfit Swindon on a season-long loan for the 2014-15 season. At the end of the season, Smith's contract expired, and he was released from the club.
However, Smith resigned for the club in November, and made a return to the squad on 26 November 2015, on the substitutes bench in a 2-1 win against Bordeaux. Smith made just his second appearance for the club on 2 December 2015, coming on as a 77th minute substitute in a 6-1 win at Southampton. Smith put in a fantastic cross to assist Divock Origi for his third goal of the night.
Stats
| Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| 2013-14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014-15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015-16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
External links
| Liverpool F.C. Academy and Reserves – current squad |
|---|
| GK Davies • GK Hewitson • GK Hughes • GK Jaros • GK Kelly • GK Mrozek • GK Ojrnzynski • GK Pitaluga • DF Arroyo • DF Bajcetic • DF Beck • DF Boyes • DF Bradley • DF Chambers • DF Clayton • DF Gallacher • DF Green • DF Jonas • DF Lewis • DF Miles • DF Norris • DF Osborne • DF Quansah • DF Scanlon • DF Wilson • MF Balagizi • MF Cain • MF Corness • MF Dixon-Bonner • MF Frauendorf • MF Hill • MF Longstaff • MF Mabaya • MF McConnell • MF Morton • MF Musialowski • MF Risaccio • MF Stephenson • FW Bearne • FW Blair • FW Cannonier • FW Glatzel • FW Gordon • FW O’Rourke • FW Pilling • FW Roberts • FW Stewart • FW Woltman Coaches: Inglethorpe (Academy Manager) Lewtas (U23s Manager) Wilkinson (U18s Manager) |