DAVE SMITH- THE CIDER MAN IN PROFILE

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Ahead of Saturday’s first Devon derby of the 2012-13 campaign between Torquay United and Plymouth Argyle, we will now take a look at the career of Dave Smith, a man who served both clubs as manager with distinction.

Scotsman Dave Smith’s affinity with the West Country began in 1984 when he was appointed as manager of Plymouth Argyle as successor to Johnny Hore.

Following brief spells as a player with Burnley, Brighton and Hove Albion and Bristol City, Smith had first entered management in 1974 when he took charge of Mansfield Town whom he led to promotion from the ‘old’ Division Four in 1975.

Smith also guided the Stags to the Quarter Finals of the League Cup and the Semi-Finals of the Anglo-Scottish Cup.

He later moved onto Southend United where he won two further promotions from the fourth Division in 1978 and 1981.

Smith remained with the Shrimpers until 1983 when he left following a takeover and spent the next year selling insurance when he returned to the football management to take charge of the Pilgrims.

Following his appointment at Home Park in 1984, Argyle were in the lower reaches of the Third Division, but he managed to stabilise the club and steered them to safety.

In his first full season in charge, the 1985-86 campaign, Smith led the Pilgrims to automatic promotion from the ‘old’ Third Division, with a second-placed finish in the table, which was clinched with a 4-0 win over Bristol City at Home Park.

A major factor in seeing them over the line in the season was the re-signing of Tommy Tynan, initially on loan, from Rotherham United. The deal was made permanent at the end of the season as Tynan went on to find the back of the net on a regular basis for Argyle for the next few seasons.

After clinching their return to the second tier of English football for the first time since 1977, the Pilgrims went from strength to strength under Smith as they finished 7^th in the ‘old’ Second Division, Championship in modern day terms, in the 1986-87 season, which remains the Pilgrims’ highest post-war league finish to date.

His achievements whilst at Argyle earned him the nickname of ‘the Ciderman’, as he became one of the Pilgrims’ most popular managers of modern times.

There was also genuine belief amongst the Home Park faithful that Smith could be the man to lead Argyle into the top-flight for the first time in their history.

However, it wasn’t to be as Smith received an offer that he couldn’t refuse as he left Home Park in 1988 to manage Dundee.

His spell at Dens Park would last for seven months before he made his return to Devon when he was appointed as manager of Torquay United in October 1989.

At the time of his arrival at Plainmoor, the Gulls were 23^rd in the ‘old’ Division Four after Cyril Knowles had resigned following a disagreement with Chairman Lew Pope.

Nevertheless, Smith managed to stabilise Torquay and eventually guided them to a 15^th place finish in the table and led them to the fourth round of the FA Cup. They caused a memorable upset in the third round as they recorded a 1-0 win over West Ham United.

The following season, Smith set about building a side that would be capable of challenging for promotion and, with money made available to him by new Chairman Mike Bateson, he put his wealth of contacts to good use to attract new faces to Plainmoor.

One of his first signings was former Newcastle United defender Wes Saunders, who he paid his former club, Dundee, £60,000 for.

This was followed by the signings of Tommy Tynan and Peter Whiston after they were released by the Pilgrims.

Once the campaign got under way, the Gulls got off to a flying start and were unbeaten in their opening 14 league games of the season, which saw them lead Division Four.

One of the key factors in this impressive run of form was the goals of Tynan. The veteran front man proved he hadn’t lost the knack of finding the back of the net as he scored eight goals during this sequence, including his 300^th career goal in a 3-0 win over Carlisle United on October 27^th 1990.

However, the second half of the campaign saw a number of inconsistencies creep into their form and by April, the Gulls had dropped into the bottom half of the table, which prompted Dave Smith to resign and retire from football management for good.

His successor, John Impey, eventually led Torquay to promotion, via the Play-Offs as they defeated Blackpool 5-4 on penalties after drawing 2-2 in normal time, with the team which Smith had assembled. 

Smith almost returned to the Home Park dugout in 1995 when he was approached by the Argyle board to assist with first team affairs following the suspension of Peter Shilton, but he declined the offer.

In recent years, he has been running a highly successful soccer school in the Plymouth area, where he settled following his retirement.