Cirencester Town FC
The home of football, corporate events, courses and celebrations
Cirencester Town FC
The home of football, corporate events, courses and celebrations
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Defender
DOB: 10/06/1992
Smithy's a committed footballer, fit and strong. Has a winning mentality that is infectious.
James passed away at the age of 24 after a short battle with cancer.
The folliwng article appeared in the Wilts and Glos Standard:
TRIBUTES have flooded in for a popular former Cirencester Town FC player who has died following a short battle with cancer, aged 24.James Smith, who was part of the Cirencester Town development squad for four seasons from 2011 to 2015 before leaving to fulfil his dream of joining the Royal Marines, died on Monday.
Clive Messenger, who was James's manager during his time in the development squad, described him as a 'friend of many'.
"He was probably the most loyal and dedicated player I ever worked with," he said.
"If you told him to run through a brick wall, he would run through a brick wall.
"He was adored by the other lads. There was 15 or 16 players and they all developed a strong bond with each other."
Clive went on to explain that James left the team to 'fulfil his ambition of joining the Marines' but he would always come back to watch his former teammates whenever he could.
James also worked for some time as a barman at ReVA nightclub on Cricklade Street.
In March, James joined Clive, who by then had stepped down as development team manager, in the stands to watch a match against Fairford Town.
"He wasn't his usual self that night," said Clive. "[But] he hadn't told any of us at the club there was anything wrong at that point."
James turned 24 in June, and despite being on heavy medication he was able to join his friends and former teammates for one last holiday in Portugal.
"He wanted to make every effort to make sure he could be there with his friends. That's the sort of person he was," Clive said.
A hard-working defender during his time at Cirencester Town, James also played for Royal Wootton Bassett Town FC under 18s and reserves.
In a statement on the club's website, it said: "A popular, friendly figure, he will be sorely missed, and our thoughts and prayers are with those close to him at this difficult time."
His dad, Rod Smith, was chairman of Royal Wootton Bassett Cricket Club, and James also often played for the club.
In a statement, Dave Griffin, cricket club secretary, said: "James was battling his illness in typically Smith style, but had a setback a week ago which he was unable to fight.
"He was known to everyone [at the club] but had a special bond with the younger members, always enjoying their company on and off the field and encouraging the more junior players to develop their game."
Dave went on to describe how James had set a target to get fit enough to play for the club next season and was "looking forward to taking a few wickets and smashing the ball into the fields surrounding the new ground".
He said James was always happy to help out his dad off the field with maintenance work.
"I only saw him a week ago and he was telling me with such passion about the newly planted trees [at the cricket grounds]."
| Season | Apps | Subs | Goals |
| 2012-13 | 18 | 2 | 1 |
| 2013-14 | 3 | 2 | - |
| 2014-15 | 12 | 6 | 1 |
| Totals | 33 | 10 | 2 |
| League | Cup | Season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | App | Sub | Goals | App | Sub | Goals | App | Sub | Goals |
| There are no statistics available for this season. | |||||||||