manageryears birth_date managerclubs article_title name
1993 -- 1995 1995 -- 1996 2000 -- 2001 28 december 1946 crystal palace wycombe wanderers crystal palace alan smith -lrb- football manager -rrb-
 alan smith
alan smith -lrb- football manager -rrb-

alan smith , born 28 december 1946 , is an english former manager who began his coaching career as steve coppell 's assistant at crystal palace .
when palace suffered relegation from the premiership in 1993 , coppell resigned and smith moved up to the manager 's seat .
smith achieved instant success at selhurst park , as his side won the division one championship , but 1994 -- 95 was a difficult season in which the club 's survival chances were sabotaged by a shortage of goals .
there was some hope in the cup competitions which lasted until palace lost in the semi finals of both domestic cup competitions , but their relegation battle was lost on the final day of the season and smith was sacked a few days later .
smith was not out of work for long .
he accepted an offer from wycombe wanderers to succeed martin o'neill as manager , but was sacked in september 1996 after a terrible start to the 1996 -- 97 division two campaign , alienating himself from the chairboys ' fanbase in the process with what were perceived to be negative long-ball tactics .
from 1997 to 2000 , smith was employed by fulham as academy director , but he quit this role in the summer of 2000 to again replace steve coppell as palace manager , under new chairman simon jordan .
palace reached the 2000 -- 01 worthington semi finals , but smith was sacked in april with relegation looking imminent .
survival was achieved against all odds by caretaker manager steve kember .
smith was not employed in football for eight years after his dismissal from palace in april 2001 , though he worked as an agent with one of his clients , manager chris coleman .
smith joined middlesbrough as a football consultant in july 2009 .
he joined the club to help middlesbrough manager gareth southgate , who played under smith during his time at crystal palace , with their bid to return to the premier league following relegation .
southgate and chairman steve gibson discussed the matter in detail before the appointment , which saw smith take a behind-the-scenes role , rather than being involved on the training pitch or in the dressing room .
on 20 october 2009 , gareth southgate was sacked by middlesbrough ; it is noted that smith also left the club , but it is unclear whether he was sacked or just decided to leave .
