Paul Smith (footballer born 1979)

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Paul Smith (born December 17, 1979) is a professional footballer and has recently (July 2006) signed for Nottingham Forest F.C..

Smith started his career at Carshalton Athletic but moved to Brentford F.C. in 2000. At Brentford he made 104 appearances as a goalkeeper. In January 2004 to address financial problems at Brentford Smith was sold to Southampton F.C. for a reported £500,000. At Southampton he was initially deputy to Antti Niemi but following Niemi's departure, Smith took over as their number one. However, he found himself further down the pecking order with the arrival of Bartosz Białkowski and Kevin Miller.

It is thought that he was close to an England call up on their tour of the U.S.A when they faced Columbia and U.S.A, but instead Sven-Goran Eriksson chose the usual trio of Robinson, James and Green.

In search of first team football, Smith has recently signed for two time European Cup winners and current League One side Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed fee. He and Forest's Danish goalkeeper Rune Pedersen are likely to be battling each other to for a regular starting place during the club's 2006/7 promotion campaign.

According to Southampton's Official Website, Smith holds A-levels in PE, Home Economics, Sociology,Advanced Mathematics,Biology and Geography.

Nottingham Forest F.C. - Current Squad
1 Smith | 3 Padula | 4 Gary Holt | 5 Morgan | 6 Breckin | 7 Southall | 8 Commons | 9 Tyson | 10 Dobie | 11 Grant Holt | 14 Lester | 15 Harris | 16 Clingan | 17 Perch | 20 Pedersen | 21 Curtis | 22 Cullip | 23 Agogo | 24 Beaumont | 27 Hughes | 29 Bennett | 34 Gamble | 37 McGugan | Manager: Calderwood