And Smith DID Score: The Gordon Smith Story by Gordon Smith
Gordon Smith will forever be remembered for his miss in the 1983 FA Cup Final at Wembley. With just a minute to go in extra time Gordon lined up his shot from 12 yards, the commentator excitedly shouted: 'And Smith must score...' and it was a moment which made Smith an all-time legend in the game. But not because he scored. What many people don't remember, however, is that Gordon Smith did score the first goal for Brighton in that Cup Final against the mighty Manchester United. It would have been one of the biggest giant-killing results in football and in his autobiography, Gordon Smith talks candidly about the effect that fateful miss has had on his life and how he has never been allowed to live it down. But there's a lot more to Gordon Smith than that one infamous episode. He started his football career as a fourteen-year-old with Kilmarnock and was soon transferred to Glasgow Rangers where he won honours galore. Here, for the first time, Gordon reveals how the then Rangers manager, John Greig, tricked him into going to Brighton to sign for the unfashionable English side when he had no intention of leaving Ibrox. Gordon also played for Manchester City and Oldham before moving abroad to play in Austria and Switzerland. Gordon Smith's autobiography pulls back the curtain on the fights, feuds and fun of football dressing rooms and boardrooms which the fans never get to hear about and he gives us his controversial views on the current footballing issues of the day from sectarianism and the Old Firm to the rise of player power and the state of the game in Scotland both at league and national level.