How good was Dave Smith??

Brian Laudrup

Brian Laudrup

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Watched Rangers 72 earlier on prime and Dave Smith is very prominent throughout the film

im too young to have seen him play and there isnt much footage of him from that era except from that ECWC win

any older Bears have any more stories/opinions on him?
 
Just finished it, totally agree. You could tell the other players loved having him in the team and appreciated him, even if he was unassuming.

Great film, very classily done
 
Brian Laudrup said:
Watched Rangers 72 earlier on prime and Dave Smith is very prominent throughout the film

im too young to have seen him play and there isnt much footage of him from that era except from that ECWC win

any older Bears have any more stories/opinions on him?
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Dave Smith, Tom Forsyth and Colin Stein. My Hero's. I had a few beers with Dave in Luxemburg. Great guy and still follows the bears all over Europe. Dave made the game of football look easy. It always looked like he had time in abundance because his control was top-notch. We didn't win the cup winners cup for nothing, that was a superb team.
 
Brian Laudrup said:
Watched Rangers 72 earlier on prime and Dave Smith is very prominent throughout the film

im too young to have seen him play and there isnt much footage of him from that era except from that ECWC win

any older Bears have any more stories/opinions on him?
Click to expand...
We won our only European trophy with Dave Smith in the side.
The truth is, we wouldn't have won it without him.

He was a player who probably should have been born on the continent during that particular era because he was a decade or two ahead of the British game.

One of the most intelligent players that ever kicked a ball at Ibrox.
A remarkable footballer who was underestimated back then because most British coaches/critics were only beginning to comprehend the changes that were happening in football.
 
Dave Smith was sheer class the year we won the European Cup Winners Cup. He never even broke sweat that night against Bayern Munich at Ibrox and in the final in Barcelona.
 
At sweeper he was top drawer. Had the pleasure of meeting him at a speakers night a few years ago. I asked about when he was replaced by Tom Forsyth and he felt he wasn’t hard enough for big Jock. Two great players with a different skill set.
 
Just that one clip had me craving to see more of him playing; looked a very elegant, and perceptive player.
 
I absolutely loved Dave Smith as a player. He was a truly class act who never wasted a ball. Alex McDonald mentioned him playing the ball out of his own box and I have seen him do that many times. He never had to tackle anybody, because his brain was always one step ahead. Always look comfortable in any company, epitomised by his performance against Bayern Munich where he outclassed Beckenbaur and had Mueller in his pocket. I also caught up with him playing for Berwick Rangers, in his 40s and still looking easily the best player in the park.
Possibly the most underrated player of his era and baffling how He never became a regular for Scotland
 
bilkobear said:
We won our only European trophy with Dave Smith in the side.
The truth is, we wouldn't have won it without him.

He was a player who probably should have been born on the continent during that particular era because he was a decade or two ahead of the British game.

One of the most intelligent players that ever kicked a ball at Ibrox.
A remarkable footballer who was underestimated back then because most British coaches/critics were only beginning to comprehend the changes that were happening in football.
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Totally agree, and we’ll stated.
 
Bear84 said:
If you think Dave Smith was good in the 72 final, have a look at the 67 final we lost to Bayern.

He looks like he’s running a coaching session for everyone else on the park.

The original Rolls Royce of a player.
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There will only ever be one Jim Baxter.
Dave was probably our nearest that played in the same position, he was a fantastic player that does not get the recognition that he deserved.
 
Too young to have seen him play, but every time I watch the highlights of Barca 72 I always wait for the moment one of our support can be clearly heard shouting “c’mon Dave Smith!” right before one of the goals, I think Colin Stein’s. Always makes me laugh.

EDIT: actually before Willie Johnstone’s header
 
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Dave was a very fine player indeed. I seem to remember from watching him he got quite a lot of stick from supporters who believed all half backs should play in the same manner as John Greig. Andy Penman used to suffer the same criticism although he was an attacking inside forward. Smith oozed class and was a great servant to the club.
 
Zandermac said:
There will only ever be one Jim Baxter.
Dave was probably our nearest that played in the same position, he was a fantastic player that does not get the recognition that he deserved.
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Dave was signed as a midfield player, and he was very good, reminiscent of Baxter in his style, but it was when he dropped back into defence that you saw the genius of him as a modern player in a changing game.

Baxter remains a totally unique player.
Jim's intelligence on the park was more instinctive than Davie's.
But few could work the geography of the park out better than Dave Smith.
I suspect that is why he could operate in the fairly new role of sweeper with such accomplished aplomb.
It was a real privilege to watch him at work.
 
stonewall Jackson said:
Dave was a very fine player indeed. I seem to remember from watching him he got quite a lot of stick from supporters who believed all half backs should play in the same manner as John Greig. Andy Penman used to suffer the same criticism although he was an attacking inside forward. Smith oozed class and was a great servant to the club.
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Good shout.
Andy Penman was a wonderfully gifted football player.
In these days you could see that Scottish players had spent their entire youth kicking a ball and it showed at a technical level that we rarely witness today.
 
stonewall Jackson said:
Dave was a very fine player indeed. I seem to remember from watching him he got quite a lot of stick from supporters who believed all half backs should play in the same manner as John Greig. Andy Penman used to suffer the same criticism although he was an attacking inside forward. Smith oozed class and was a great servant to the club.
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A very good summary mate.
 
I remember the Baxter comeback game at Ibrox against Tottenham Hotspur .
Dave Smith played the first half impeccably - His replacement was the not so slim Jim in the second half - whom I remember as the only Rangers player in my memory to have a pot belly , like his shirt has been ironed with a wok.
Albeit JB was on the slide at this time,Dave Smith looked every bit a Ranger - and was better than Baxter that night, and of course in the long run kept his place in the side.
 
Brian Laudrup said:
Watched Rangers 72 earlier on prime and Dave Smith is very prominent throughout the film

im too young to have seen him play and there isnt much footage of him from that era except from that ECWC win

any older Bears have any more stories/opinions on him?
Click to expand...
Just watched the whole game.
For me Smith was MOTM.

Set up two goals, and played superb throughout the game, and the whole tournament.

Had a wand of a left foot!
 
Zandermac said:
When we played Newcastle in 69, one of our neighbours had a sweepstake for first scorer, a tanner a shot ( 5p ) I drew Andy Penman' he missed the penalty, I was gutted. £1 10 p to the winner
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A tanner was two and a half pence actually.

5p was a Bob.

Sorry for being pernickety!
 
Already been said, what a player! Put Franz Beckenbauer and Bobby Moore together and you’ve got Dave Smith.A class act.Was at Rugby park the day he broke his leg
 
Dave is one of my all-time favourites.
For me, he was one of those players I didn't
want to get old and would always play for Rangers.
 
Sadly I don't believe I had the privilege of seeing him play though have met him a few times.

The praise people that did see him are lavishing is good enough for me

Quality player.
 
He was a wonderful footballer second only to the great Jim Baxter imo. A great guy as well and rarely misses a game.
 
Even in the glimpses of the action showed on the Barca documentary you can clearly see what a talented and classy footballer he was. It was like the rest of the pitch was just watching him because he was entitled to it.

Can anyone point me to more video footage of him as a player. ?
 
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