We all love a good news story. Today, we can do everyone a favour and keep this one (quite) brief.
Transfer windows can be frustrating: either through a lack of signings, a perceived lack of good quality arrivals, or rumours hotting up about certain players only for them to end up somewhere else (see: Noah Chilvers ending up at Ross County). They can also be exciting: when you sign a player who comes with rave reviews, and the team you’re about to watch for the next 9 months of your life starts to take shape in front of you.
Korey Smith feels like he fits that bill. He is a 6-foot, 33-year-old central midfielder - primarily defensive, sitting in front of the back four, but can also do a job at right back. He joins as the fourth central midfielder in the side, complimenting Jordan Cousins, Paul Digby and newly-arrived Gary Gardner in that department.
Smith started his career up the road in Norwich City’s academy, going on to make 73 appearances for their first-team. A series of loans and a spell at Oldham in 2013/14 later, Smith pitched up at Bristol City.
It was at Ashton Gate that he really made his name, and in the red half of Bristol he’s still spoken about incredibly fondly, as Matthew (the co-host of fan podcast 3 Peaps In A Podcast) tells us:
Korey is an absolute Bristol City legend, and not just for the quarter-final winner that he scored in the Carabao Cup against Manchester United.
Joining us in 2014, Korey set the standards for the rest of his teammates to follow. He led by example and was captain of the side during his time here. For us he mainly played in central midfield, but also played right back when called upon. As a midfielder he was energetic and box-to-box, and would like break the play up and give the ball to players around him - but that is not to say that he was not good on the ball himself.
Korey can play, but will also put his foot in when he needs to. He had a couple of lengthy absences when with us, but it was still somewhat of a surprise to a large number of fans when he was allowed to leave and join Swansea at the end of his contract. I believe we may have offered him terms but not to the level that Swansea did. I think we had concerns over his fitness but he went on to play a number of games for both Swansea and obviously more recently with Derby.
You are getting a leader who demands the best from those around him. Very popular in the dressing room and with fans alike. You will not find many, if any at all, Bristol City fans who have a negative word to say about Korey. Maybe he should add a few more goals to his all-round play but that wasn’t really why he was in the side.
Personally I loved him as a player and would absolutely have offered him terms when he left us. The mark of a player’s is how he is received when he returns, and Korey always gets a massive round of applause. Whilst he may be entering the last few seasons of his career if you can keep him fit I am sure you will have a successful season with him in the side. He is also great with younger players in terms of developing them and what he expects from them.
Good luck for the season ahead and I will certainly be looking out for the Cambridge results with him in the side.
Rave reviews from the West Country, where he ended up making 196 appearances (scoring just the five goals, one being a very well remembered one as is mentioned there). He’s no prolific goalscorer, that’s for sure.
After City, he travelled even further west and signed for Steve Cooper’s Swansea. SwansCast pick up the story:
Korey Smith came to Swansea at a time where the squad was built on a solid base, courtesy of Steve Cooper. He is a player that sums up Cooper's reign at the club; hardworking, gets the job done that you ask of him, gives his all but maybe lacks a bit of flair.
Smith spent two years at the club, signing on a free from Bristol City where he spent the majority of his senior career. No one could complain at this addition to the squad at the time especially on a free. A solid option in the middle of the park to compliment the ever present Matt Grimes and another layer of protection for the defence who came with ample Championship experience. One thing he didn't bring however was goals, failing to score during his time at the club.
His time at Swansea will be remembered as one of those who operates in the background, does his job with no fuss and often gets overlooked in the headlines. Not to say that's a bad thing, but when he left the Swans, nobody was overly happy to see him go, but neither too upset. He came in, did a job for us, and moved on.
As mentioned, Smith was brought in by Steve Cooper. Swansea are renowned for a passing, possession based approach to their game, but Cooper's time here wasn't the pinnacle of this style - far from it. Increasingly throughout his stint at the club, the team would play counter attacking football built on a solid defence, often scoring a goal courtesy of Andre Ayew and holding out for a 1-0 win. Much to many Swans’ fans dislike of this style, this is actually where we saw the best of Korey Smith. As mentioned, always hard working and loved getting stuck in, he is a midfielder who will offer protection to the defence and operate doggedly in the middle, capable of linking up play from defence to attack when needed.
He doesn't possess the creative eye or pace of other players, but he does the basics very well. He also offers some versatility that may be unknown, operating at right back at times, and under his second manager at the club in Russell Martin on the wing (somehow). On the wing is not his position, but he played there with no fuss and did a job, whereas at right back, his defensive capabilites were easy to display even if the team may have lacked a bit in the forward wide areas during his stint in the role.
As mentioned, Smith played under Russell Martin during his second season as a Swan. Unfortunately, as the season went on he would feature less on the pitch. This is largely due to Martin returning Swansea to a heavy possession based system, which unfortunately in our opinion is not best suited to Smith's strengths. He was a player capable of stepping in and acted as a good squad option that season, hence his appearance on the wing (more right central attacking midfielder than out and out winger), where he would regularly come on as a sub to see out games with his more defensive traits needed later on in matches.
Ultimately, Smith saw out his two year deal at the club and didn't extend it, most likely due to the Swans’ progress in possession under Martin. Had Cooper remained, I'm most certain he would have extended his stay, but that highlights how different players can excel in different systems and under different managers. At the time, it was a shock to see him drop to League One when he left us, as we believed him more than capable of staying at Championship level. He's pushing on towards the end of his playing days now, but would still expect a very professional output from him and definitely a useful, experienced player you've picked up.
We wish him all the best for his time at Cambridge!
More positivity, and more clarity of what type of player we’re getting. As mentioned there, from Swansea Korey dropped to League One to sign for Derby County. His two years there are reviewed by Chris from Steve Bloomer’s Washing:
Korey Smith spent two years at Pride Park and was, for the most part, a consistent utility player who became increasingly important in the latter stages of Derby's promotion season. Initially signed in 2022 before Paul Warne took over, he was primarily played as a defensive midfielder, but did an admirable job filling in at right back for a substantial period due to the Rams' injury problems and Warne shaping his squad in his first season.
A hard-working, reliable performer, he played nearly 50 games in his first season, before appearing less often last term as he found himself a bit further down the pecking order once cult hero Ebou Adams arrived on loan in January. He still made key contributions, though, including a stand-out, goalscoring performance in a 3-1 away win at Blackpool in early October which felt like one of Derby's most important confidence-boosting victories in the early stages of the promotion campaign.
Seemingly well-liked by the rest of the squad and a consistent performer, he arrived with the aim of helping Derby get promoted, and achieved that target. At 33 and with the Rams back in the Championship, it was always unlikely he'd be offered a new deal as we try to consolidate back in the second tier - but every Derby fan is thankful for his contribution.
To have such relative high words said about you in what was, as we saw ourselves towards the end of the season, a high-operating promotion-winning side is a great indication. While they may not have fancied him in the Championship, that doesn’t mean he isn’t still a great asset for the U’s and our probably imminent survival fight.
His qualities are evident from these reviews, and we know what type of player we’re getting. We just have to hope that age and time hasn’t diminished them too much. I would expect Smith to start in front of a back 3, playing the crucial holding midfield role, the quality of which separates good teams from bad. The added bonus is his versatility at right back, helping out our full back strength in depth hugely.
It looks like smart business, and we don’t have to wait long to see if he can live up to the positive praise he arrives with in a U’s shirt.