Jim Smith

But I th- the one season I particularly remember, and a lot of Pompey fans as old as me or close to it will also remember it, 91-92 season.

Jim Smith had just taken over as manager.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, he ha- he inherited a squad with quite a few sort of old heads in it, people like Martin Cool, Warren Espinal, Gavin McGuire from, from the team in the late '80s and 1990 or so.

They were just starting their rise up through the divisions.

They ended up in what is now the Premier League with Jim Smith managing them.

Um, Aldridge banging in the goals for them.

Um, I don't think Aldridge had signed when, when, when we went up there, but we got a really good 1-1 draw.

He was just laughing.

So and then, and, and Jim Smith, God bless him, at the time, 'cause my home game-

Yeah, yeah

... was against, um, Derby, and he was manager of Derby at the time.

We were away from home.

Jim Smith was the manager.

And Toribo West was on loan to, to, to us from-

Mm

Oh, thank God.

But I, yeah, exactly.

I'd, I'd gone back to England 'cause, and I was playing for Derby with, with Jim, Jim Smith, in the Premier League.

Uh, and that was-

Oh, OK.

So, obviously, the year he was brought in and we've then gone up to Premiership, that whole Harry and Jim bit, Jim Smith... bringing Merson, that glory year of going up from Div 1 to the Premiership.

Obviously, Harry is a legend for getting us up, going to you.

I know it's still

You know, I went to Burnley, Jimmy Adamson was the manager.

Went to Oxford, Jim Smith was the manager.

No.

But ultimately, in those days, and I don't mean this in a horrible way.

[laughs]

Not Jim Smith.

Definitely not Jim Smith.

I got to, I got to say, by the way, I got to say, you'll, you'll understand this.

So my very first manager-

but this is the thing at times, when players like him have that... know that that sort of physical aspects that he's got his body it looks to me like he and it does he really struggles to control the ball at times it's almost like his legs don't allow for that you know yeah he's the kind of player that look he'll do it this season i'm telling you he'll do it this season he'll pick it up just out of the halfway line and he'll dribble past three or four players and score a wonder goal i'm convinced he'll do that this season and that's exactly what parlour one chop did And sometimes you'd look at him and he'd just look like, hang on, mate, how have you got in the Premier League? You've played an absolute blinder.

Jim Smith, wasn't he? He was the manager at Derby back in the day.

How the hell has it happened? It felt very much like Harry Redknapp saw the transfer and he just plucked someone from here and said, he'll do that famous story about just some fella who turned up, he ended up giving him a contract.

And I do see a similarity with Barry.