AFC Wimbledon: Sky TV star easily forgotten despite Plymouth Argyle feat | OneFootball

Connor Smith could have had the world at his feet after featuring on Sky TV, but following success with Wimbledon and Argyle, he never kicked on

Connor Smith could have been the next big thing following on from his appearance on Sky One's Football's Next Star.

But despite a second place finish on the reality show, with first place guaranteeing a one-year deal at Inter Milan, the central midfielder failed to break through at Watford and would follow up his release from the Hornets with two mediocre yet successful spells with AFC Wimbledon and Plymouth Argyle.

He did win promotion from League Two with both clubs, but never really shone at either side and has since forged a career in non-league, leading him to become an easily forgotten man in the histories at both clubs, despite once having the pedigree and potential.

Connor Smith was a double EFL League Two promotion winner

Very rarely does a player achieve back-to-back promotions from the same league with different clubs, but Smith can certainly put his hat in the ring in that conversation, and that is firstly thanks to Wimbledon.

The Dons picked Smith up in January of the 2015/16 season, adding him to a midfield that contained Jake Reeves and Dannie Bulman.

It was hoped that he could add to the existing quality of the midfield by becoming a strong depth option to potentially rotate with either player.

However, despite the Dons apparently being keen on Smith from the outset, as revealed in an interview on the club website, the club would use him sparingly in the league, with the Irishman only appearing 10 times in the fourth tier.

Bizarrely, however, Smith would start in the play-off final for the Dons in right-midfield, a position he did not feature too much in while playing in the league for the Dons, and a position where they did have other, arguably better, options.

He did not impact the match too much and was hooked around the 70th minute mark, but with the Dons pressing home their ever-growing advantage only ten minutes later, he would not have to worry too much about his minimal impact on the pitch on that day.

However, his lack of any meaningful impact meant that once his short-term contract was up, it became fairly obvious why he failed to agree new terms with the club, and moved on to Plymouth, where he would gain a second promotion.

His time down in the South West was marginally better, with the Pilgrims giving him a full season of football. He made 31 appearances overall in all competitions for the Devonshire-based side, getting two goals to his name too.

He would be a part of the side that showed they were worthy play-off final contenders in the season beforehand by helping Plymouth finish second in 2016/17, but with Plymouth wanting to prepare as best as possible for a step-up in quality in terms of opposition, Smith was once again turfed out and released.

Connor Smith became forgettable after failing to deliver on his high potential and pedigree

Following on from his double promotion wins, Smith would never feature in the EFL again, which is quite surprising considering where he first came from.

Having started his footballing career over in the Republic of Ireland, his appearance and eventual second-place finish on Sky TV's Football's Next Star, really brought him to prominence.

He would lose out to Ben Greenhalgh in the race to win a one-year contract with Italian giants Inter, but was still picked up by Watford, who could see potential in him and put him through their academy system.

He would then head out on a promising loan to Wealdstone, where he would help the club maintain a long unbeaten streak in the Isthmian League while appearing 22 times and scoring three goals. He would also head out temporarily to Gillingham and Stevenage after signing professional terms at Vicarage Road and making eight senior appearances in the first team.

But those loan spells with the two EFL sides would show that he was starting to fall behind the curve in terms of development, hence why he parted ways with the club that gave him his shot, and once his fairly forgettable spells at both Wimbledon and Plymouth were over, plus another poor spell, this time with free-falling Yeovil Town, that was it for Smith in the EFL.

He would make a decent name for himself in non-league circles by achieving promotion with Wealdstone in the 2019/20 season, but apart from that, he bounced around a few different sides and became just another name that football seemingly swallowed up, despite a once promising start.

* Loan spells away from Billericay Town **Loan spell away from Watford FC

There is, however, a bit of promise that comes in the present day though, as currently, Smith is an assistant manager at Barnet, who are up there as a title contender in the National League at the time of writing.

So, if the Bees can continue to fire well in the fifth tier, and perform wonders like Bromley have done this season following promotion, then Connor Smith could soon become an established name back in the EFL, even if it is on the side of the pitch, and not on it.