Club career Craig Mackail-Smith

1 club career

1.1 st albans city
1.2 arlesey town
1.3 dagenham & redbridge
1.4 peterborough united
1.5 brighton & hove albion

1.5.1 peterborough united (loan)


1.6 luton town
1.7 wycombe wanderers

club career
st albans city

born in watford, hertfordshire, mackail-smith began career youth system @ st albans city in 1999. made step first-team during 2000–01 season, making debut 68th-minute substitute in 0–0 draw @ home billericay town on 10 march 2001. mackail-smith made first starting appearance club in 1–1 draw away gravesend & northfleet in full members cup third round, resulting in 4–3 defeat on penalties after penalty shoot-out. made 6 further starting appearances complete season total of ten appearances in competitions. mackail-smith struggled hold down first-team place during 2001–02 season, making 13 appearances, of 3 starting lineup. however, scored first senior goal in 2–0 win away hertford town in herts senior cup second round on 20 november 2001. in 2002–03, mackail-smith continued find first-team opportunities limited, making 5 starting appearances 22 matches in competitions. scored once in 3–2 win away hampton & richmond borough on 26 april 2003.

arlesey town

mackail-smith loaned out isthmian league division 1 north club arlesey town in 2002–03, before making permanent move 2003–04 season. made 54 appearances, scoring 17 goals during season, including brace in 4–2 win @ home dagenham & redbridge in fa trophy on 3 february 2004.

dagenham & redbridge

in may 2004, mackail-smith joined conference national club dagenham & redbridge, scored 38 league goals in two-and-a-half seasons.

peterborough united

on 29 january 2007, mackail-smith signed league 2 club peterborough united, dagenham retaining 15% of future transfer fee. made strong start peterborough united career, scoring 8 goals in 15 games. peterborough won promotion league 1 in mackail-smith s first full season club, in made 36 appearances, scoring 12 goals. 7 goals in 4 matches in fa cup saw him finish top scorer in competition. included 4 goals in 5–0 win away staines town in second round, saw him win fa cup player of round award. following season, mackail-smith scored 23 goals in 46 appearances peterborough win second successive promotion championship.

steve claridge published scouting report on mackail-smith on 23 september 2008. described him rampaging nordic viking long blonde hair , impressed way pick ball , run @ defenders, attacking @ every opportunity in claridge described positive way. mackail-smith scored 35 goals club in 2010–11, making him prolific scorer in england season. 27 goals in league 1 made him top scorer , earned him league 1 player of year award, helping peterborough reach league 1 play-offs. named in pfa league 1 team of year. mackail-smith scored in each play-off match, including second goal in 3–0 win on huddersfield town in 2011 football league 1 play-off final @ old trafford clinch instant return championship peterborough. following match, mackail-smith expressed desire leave club, stating want play @ highest level can attain , want play in premier league. subject of bids premier league clubs including queens park rangers. mackail-smith made 212 appearances peterborough united, scoring 99 goals.

brighton & hove albion

mackail-smith playing brighton & hove albion in 2011

on 4 july 2011, mackail-smith joined brighton & hove albion initial transfer fee of £2.5 million, possibly rising £3.25 million, signing four-year contract. scored first goal brighton in 1–0 win away portsmouth on 13 august. mackail-smith scored 4 goals in next 7 matches, including brace in 3–3 draw @ home leeds united. however, mackail-smith hit goal drought , struggled score, netting 1 goal between october , february in 1–0 win away derby county on 29 november. ended goal drought coming off bench score opening goal in 2–1 win away leeds united, against whom scored brace earlier in season. on 28th birthday, mackail-smith scored @ amex stadium first time in 5 months in 3–0 win @ home ipswich town, , scored again next weekend in 1–1 draw doncaster rovers. in total, mackail-smith scored 10 goals brighton, , revealed disappointment @ goal haul, largely put down adapting brighton s passing style of football.

mackail-smith enjoyed strong start 2012–13 season, scoring 6 goals in 6 games. included 2 spectacular strikes, 1 overhead kick, in 3–1 victory on burnley. scored total of 11 goals before serious injury achilles tendon on 5 march 2013 prevented him playing 13 months. mackail-smith returned brighton s final run-in 2013–14 season, playing in both legs of play-off semi-final against derby county, club lost 6–2 on aggregate. during 2014–15 season, mackail-smith found himself in first-team under new manager sami hyypiä, struggled score, netting 3 goals in 34 appearances in competitions. on 24 april 2015, brighton confirmed mackail-smith s contract not renewed , leave club during summer.

peterborough united (loan)

mackail-smith rejoined peterborough united on loan on 27 november 2014, move saw him link-up once more striker aaron mclean, having scored 183 goals between them during previous partnership @ club 2007 , 2011, included 3 promotions. made second debut in 3–0 defeat @ home bristol city 1 day later. recalled brighton caretaker manager nathan jones on 23 december, having made 3 appearances peterborough during loan spell.

luton town

in july 2015, mackail-smith began training league 2 club luton town, headed former dagenham & redbridge manager john still. featured in numerous pre-season friendlies, rebuffing interest league 1 teams blackpool , southend united, before signing two-year contract luton on 1 august. debuted on opening day of 2015–16 in 1–1 draw away accrington stanley. mackail-smith scored first goal luton in 3–2 defeat away yeovil town on 22 august, , followed second goal 1 week later in 2–1 defeat @ home portsmouth. fractured tibia suffered after 15 minutes during 1–0 win away plymouth argyle on 19 march 2016 ended mackail-smith s season, having made 34 appearances, scoring 4 goals in competitions.

mackail-smith suffered further setback in pre-season ahead of 2016–17 when underwent surgery insert pin in fractured tibia, ruling him out 6 weeks. however, made full recovery , made return 70th-minute substitute jordan cook in 3–1 win away exeter city in fa cup on 5 november 2016. mackail-smith struggled force way first-team , returned league 1 club peterborough united on loan until end of 2016–17. first appearance after returning on loan came 4 days later in 3–0 victory away port vale , completed loan spell 18 appearances , 5 goals. mackail-smith released when contract expired @ end of 2016–17.

wycombe wanderers

on 17 august 2017, mackail-smith signed league 2 club wycombe wanderers on one-year contract.