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Born in Watford, Hertfordshire, Mackail-Smith started his career with the youth system at St Albans City in 1999. He was released at the end of the 2003 season and joined Arlesey Town where he played for only one season, a highlight of which was knocking Dagenham & Redbridge out of the FA Trophy.
He later joined Dagenham & Redbridge in 2004 when the club was in the Conference National. When he was at the club he scored 14 times in the league he picked up five yellow cards and he was also substituted three times, then on 29 January 2007 he was signed by Peterborough United with Dagenham retaining 15% of any future transfer fee.
Mackail-Smith had a slow start to life as a Peterborough United striker, playing only rarely in his first season in League Two. But when the side had reached league 1 he took up a regular forward position in the first team and he linked up well with the then Peterborough United striker Aaron McLean, Mclean would later move to Hull City in 2010.
Steve Claridge posted a scouting report on 23rd September 2008 on Mackail-Smith he described him as a "a rampaging Nordic Viking with his long blond hair", and he was impressed by the way he would pick up the ball and run at defenders, attacking at every opportunity in what Claridge described as a positive way. Mackail Smith managed to rack up 35 goals for the club during the 2010–11 season. The 35 goals that he scored during that season made him the most prolific scorer in England for the season and also bagged him the coveted prize of Football League One Player of the Year Award.
His then manager Darren Ferguson described him as a hard working front man who has an excellent goal to game ratio. When Mackail Smith was interviewed by BBC Sport in June 2011 he was quoted as saying that “I want to play at the highest level I can attain and I want to play in the Premier League, though obviously it all depends on what kind of club comes in for me”. On 29th May 2011 Mackail-Smith scored the second goal in the 3–0 win against Huddersfield Town at Old Trafford to clinch promotion for Peterborough United to the Championship. Prior to Mackail-Smith leaving for Brighton, Mackail Smith was the subject of bids from Premier League clubs including Queens Park Rangers.
In total Mackail-Smith scored 99 goals over 211 games in all competitions for Peterborough United.
On 4 July 2011 Mackail-Smith joined Brighton & Hove Albion for an initial £2.5million, possibly rising to £3.25million, signing a four-year deal. Mackail-Smith's first goal for Brighton was a winner against Portsmouth. Mackail-Smith then scored four goals in his next seven matches, including a double in a 3–3 home draw against Leeds United.
However, Mackail-Smith then hit a goal drought and struggled to score, hitting just one goal between October 2011 and February 2012, on 29th November against Derby County, although he was still a key player of Brighton's campaign, and was credited with more assists than any other player in the squad during that time.
In one match, a 2–0 win over Bristol City in January, he was elbowed in the face in the penalty area and had to come off with a black eye. He played Brighton's next match despite still having a heavily swollen eye. Mackail-Smith ended his goal drought by coming off the bench against the team he scored two against earlier in the season, Leeds United, to score at close range from a corner. Mackail-Smith's goal put Brighton 1–0 up and they eventually won the match 2–1.
On his 28th birthday he scored at the Amex Stadium for the first time in five months in a 3–0 win against Ipswich Town, and scored again the next weekend in a 1–1 draw with Doncaster Rovers. In total, Mackail-Smith scored 10 goals for Brighton, and he revealed his disappointment at his goal haul, which he largely put down to adapting to Brighton's passing style of football.
Mackail-Smith enjoyed a better start to the 2012–13 season, scoring four goals in two games, firstly against Barnsley and then scoring two spectacular goals against Burnley which saw him score a fantastic overhead kick during a 3–1 victory for the Seagulls.
Mackail-Smith has a unique record of scoring against Leeds United in every match he has played against them in his career. This includes five goals in three Brighton-Leeds matches.
Author: Sluffy
Born in Watford, Hertfordshire, Mackail-Smith started his career with the youth system at St Albans City in 1999. He was released at the end of the 2003 season and joined Arlesey Town where he played for only one season, a highlight of which was knocking Dagenham & Redbridge out of the FA Trophy.
He later joined Dagenham & Redbridge in 2004 when the club was in the Conference National. When he was at the club he scored 14 times in the league he picked up five yellow cards and he was also substituted three times, then on 29 January 2007 he was signed by Peterborough United with Dagenham retaining 15% of any future transfer fee.
Mackail-Smith had a slow start to life as a Peterborough United striker, playing only rarely in his first season in League Two. But when the side had reached league 1 he took up a regular forward position in the first team and he linked up well with the then Peterborough United striker Aaron McLean, Mclean would later move to Hull City in 2010.
Steve Claridge posted a scouting report on 23rd September 2008 on Mackail-Smith he described him as a "a rampaging Nordic Viking with his long blond hair", and he was impressed by the way he would pick up the ball and run at defenders, attacking at every opportunity in what Claridge described as a positive way. Mackail Smith managed to rack up 35 goals for the club during the 2010–11 season. The 35 goals that he scored during that season made him the most prolific scorer in England for the season and also bagged him the coveted prize of Football League One Player of the Year Award.
His then manager Darren Ferguson described him as a hard working front man who has an excellent goal to game ratio. When Mackail Smith was interviewed by BBC Sport in June 2011 he was quoted as saying that “I want to play at the highest level I can attain and I want to play in the Premier League, though obviously it all depends on what kind of club comes in for me”. On 29th May 2011 Mackail-Smith scored the second goal in the 3–0 win against Huddersfield Town at Old Trafford to clinch promotion for Peterborough United to the Championship. Prior to Mackail-Smith leaving for Brighton, Mackail Smith was the subject of bids from Premier League clubs including Queens Park Rangers.
In total Mackail-Smith scored 99 goals over 211 games in all competitions for Peterborough United.
On 4 July 2011 Mackail-Smith joined Brighton & Hove Albion for an initial £2.5million, possibly rising to £3.25million, signing a four-year deal. Mackail-Smith's first goal for Brighton was a winner against Portsmouth. Mackail-Smith then scored four goals in his next seven matches, including a double in a 3–3 home draw against Leeds United.
However, Mackail-Smith then hit a goal drought and struggled to score, hitting just one goal between October 2011 and February 2012, on 29th November against Derby County, although he was still a key player of Brighton's campaign, and was credited with more assists than any other player in the squad during that time.
In one match, a 2–0 win over Bristol City in January, he was elbowed in the face in the penalty area and had to come off with a black eye. He played Brighton's next match despite still having a heavily swollen eye. Mackail-Smith ended his goal drought by coming off the bench against the team he scored two against earlier in the season, Leeds United, to score at close range from a corner. Mackail-Smith's goal put Brighton 1–0 up and they eventually won the match 2–1.
On his 28th birthday he scored at the Amex Stadium for the first time in five months in a 3–0 win against Ipswich Town, and scored again the next weekend in a 1–1 draw with Doncaster Rovers. In total, Mackail-Smith scored 10 goals for Brighton, and he revealed his disappointment at his goal haul, which he largely put down to adapting to Brighton's passing style of football.
Mackail-Smith enjoyed a better start to the 2012–13 season, scoring four goals in two games, firstly against Barnsley and then scoring two spectacular goals against Burnley which saw him score a fantastic overhead kick during a 3–1 victory for the Seagulls.
Mackail-Smith has a unique record of scoring against Leeds United in every match he has played against them in his career. This includes five goals in three Brighton-Leeds matches.
Author: Sluffy
