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A-Jay Leitch-Smith

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Jay Leitch-Smith (born 6 March 1990), known as A-Jay Leitch-Smith, is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Northern Premier League Division One West club Hanley Town.

A-Jay Leitch-Smith
Leitch-Smith in 2010
Personal information
Full name Jay Leitch-Smith[1]
Date of birth (1990-03-06) 6 March 1990 (age 34)[2]
Place of birth Crewe, England[3]
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[4]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Hanley Town
Youth career
1997–2008 Crewe Alexandra
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2014 Crewe Alexandra 103 (19)
2008 → Halifax Town (loan)
2009 → Newcastle Town (loan)
2009 → ÍBV (loan) 14 (4)
2010 → Curzon Ashton (loan) 10 (7)
2014–2015 Yeovil Town 33 (2)
2015–2016 Port Vale 37 (10)
2016–2018 Shrewsbury Town 16 (1)
2017–2018 → Dundee (loan) 28 (6)
2018–2021 Morecambe 53 (9)
2021–2022 Altrincham 19 (4)
2022 Nantwich Town 14 (2)
2022–2023 Warrington Rylands 9 (2)
2023 → Hyde United (loan) 5 (1)
2023 Nantwich Town 5 (0)
2023–2024 Stafford Rangers 21 (1)
2024– Hanley Town 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:23, 17 October 2024 (UTC)

A graduate of the Academy at Crewe Alexandra, he played on loan for Halifax Town, Newcastle Town, ÍBV (Iceland), and Curzon Ashton. He spent six years with Crewe, winning the League Two play-offs in 2012 and the Football League Trophy in 2013. He signed with Yeovil Town in June 2014 but moved on to Port Vale in July 2015 after a poor season with Yeovil. He finished as Port Vale's top-scorer before moving on to Shrewsbury Town in June 2016. He joined Scottish Premiership club Dundee on loan for the 2017–18 season. He signed with Morecambe in August 2018 and remained with the club for three seasons. He joined National League side Altrincham in August 2021 and moved on to Warrington Rylands via Nantwich Town in 2022. He joined Hyde United for a brief spell on loan in March 2023. He rejoined Nantwich the following season before a switch to Stafford Rangers and then Hanley Town.

Career

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Crewe Alexandra

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Whilst on the books at Crewe Alexandra as a youth player, Leitch-Smith was loaned out to non-League clubs Halifax Town in November 2008 and Newcastle Town in March 2009.[5] He signed his first professional contract in April 2009, before joining Icelandic club ÍBV on loan.[6] He was recalled from his loan, along with Chris Clements, in early September due to injury problems at Crewe.[7][8]

He made his League Two debut for Crewe at Gresty Road in a 3–2 defeat to Bury on 29 September 2009, replacing Joel Grant as a substitute in the 80th minute.[9] This was his only appearance of the 2009–10 season. He joined Curzon Ashton on loan in March 2010.[10] He scored seven goals in ten Northern Premier League appearances, which was enough to win him a new contract at Crewe.[11]

He scored his first goal in the English Football League on 21 August 2010, adding the final goal of the "Railwaymen's" 7–0 win over Barnet.[12] However, he was limited to only 18 appearances in the 2010–11 season as he struggled to step up to first-team football, and manager Dario Gradi devised a special pre-season fitness programme in the summer to help him to adapt to senior football.[13]

Leitch-Smith scored nine goals in 44 games in the 2011–12 campaign. He signed a new one-year contract in April 2012, and manager Steve Davis stated, "I'd like to think that he can become the 15 to 20 goal a season man we need."[14] On 27 May, he played the first 85 minutes of the League Two play-off final victory over Cheltenham Town at Wembley Stadium, providing the assist for Byron Moore's goal which secured the 2–0 victory and Crewe's promotion into League One.[15]

He scored six goals in 35 matches in the 2012–13 season. On 7 April he made another appearance at Wembley, as the Alex beat Southend United 2–0 in the Football League Trophy final; he was an 83rd-minute substitute for Max Clayton.[16] The next month he signed a one-year extension to his existing contract.[17] However, he played just 24 games in the 2013–14 season, scoring two goals. He left Crewe after an eleven-year association with his hometown club, saying he felt like a "part of the furniture" of the club.[18]

Yeovil Town

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In June 2014, Leitch-Smith signed for Gary Johnson's League One club Yeovil Town on a two-year contract.[19] He struggled in his first season for the "Glovers", as he was played mostly in a wide position.[20] He only scored twice in 38 appearances. He was one of four players offered a contract termination by new manager Paul Sturrock following Yeovil's relegation into League Two at the end of the season.[21]

Port Vale

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In July 2015, Leitch-Smith signed a 12-month deal with League One side Port Vale after agreeing to leave Yeovil.[22] He earned the contract after impressing manager Rob Page during pre-season training.[23] He scored his first goal for the "Valiants" on 14 November, with a header that opened the scoring in a 2–1 win at Barnsley.[24] This was to start a sequence of five goals in four games, which was the best scoring run of his career to that point.[25] For his performances he was short-listed for the League One player of the month award.[26] After scoring his sixth goal of the season in a 1–1 draw with Scunthorpe United at Vale Park on 12 December he was named in the Football League Paper's team of the day.[27] He scored four goals in four games in January to go into double figures for the season to earn himself a nomination for the PFA fans' Player of the Month award for League One.[28] Chairman Norman Smurthwaite confirmed that Leitch-Smith had rejected the offer of a new contract from the club in May 2016.[29]

Shrewsbury Town

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Leitch-Smith signed with League One side Shrewsbury Town in June 2016, along with former Port Vale teammates Ryan McGivern and Louis Dodds.[30] He scored his first goal for the club in the first minute of a first-round League Cup tie against Championship side Huddersfield Town, with Shrewsbury going on to win 2–1.[31] After an indifferent run of form in Micky Mellon's last weeks as manager, he was recalled to the starting eleven by new manager Paul Hurst for an FA Cup first round tie on 5 November, and scored the second goal in a 3–0 victory over Barnet.[32] He was limited to five goals in 12 starts and nine substitute appearances throughout the 2016–17 campaign, and was not allocated a squad number ahead of the following season as he was not in the club's future plans.[33]

On 31 August 2017, he joined Scottish Premiership club Dundee on a five-month loan deal.[34] He made his debut for the "Dee" on 9 September, coming on as a 38th-minute substitute for Scott Allan in a 4–1 defeat at Rangers.[35] He was given his first start at Dens Park seven days later, scoring twice in a 3–2 win over St Johnstone.[36] In January 2018, the loan agreement was extended to the end of the 2017–18 season after "Dee" manager Neil McCann was impressed by the link-up play he made with striker Sofien Moussa despite him being unable to secure a regular place in the starting eleven.[37][38] He was released by Shrewsbury at the end of the 2017–18 season.[39]

Morecambe

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On 8 August 2018, Leitch-Smith signed a one-year contract with League Two side Morecambe; manager Jim Bentley stated that he had "tried to sign him a couple of years ago."[40] He scored six goals in 29 appearances for the "Shrimps" in the 2018–19 season, having missed the second half of the campaign with a hamstring tear.[41] Despite only scoring six goals and missing half the season he ended the campaign as the club's top-scorer and went on to sign a new two-year contract at the Globe Arena.[42][43] However, he was restricted to just eight league starts in the 2019–20 season before football was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England.[44] He played just seven times in the 2020–21 promotion season, scoring one goal, and was released at the end of his contract.[45][46]

Non-League

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On 7 August 2021, Leitch-Smith joined National League side Altrincham.[47] He said that the attractive football played at Moss Lane reminded him of his time at Crewe.[48] He made just four starts during the 2021–22 season, though made a further 15 substitute appearances and scored four goals, claiming one assist.[49]

In July 2022, Leitch-Smith returned to his native Cheshire to join Northern Premier League Premier Division side Nantwich Town.[50] He scored two goals in sixteen games for the "Dabbers".[51] In November 2022, Leitch-Smith signed for league rivals Warrington Rylands.[52][53] He joined Hyde United on loan in March 2023.[54] He scored one goal in five games for Hyde.[55]

Leitch-Smith returned to Nantwich Town on 11 August 2023,[56] and made 11 appearances during the early part of the 2023–24 season, scoring four goals, before leaving to join Stafford Rangers.[57] He left the field injured as Stafford lost 1–0 to Ashton United at Marston Road as relegation from the Northern Premier League Premier Division was confirmed.[58] He switched to divisional rivals Hanley Town in October 2024.[59]

Style of play

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Though Leitch-Smith lacks natural athleticism and pace, he is an intelligent and creative attacker with good technical skills and a high work rate.[4][60] Former teammate Tom Pope stated that Leitch-Smith was "one of the most intelligent strikers... in League One".[61]

Career statistics

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As of match played 17 September 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Crewe Alexandra 2008–09[62] League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2009–10[63] League Two 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2010–11[64] League Two 16 5 1 0 0 0 1[a] 0 18 5
2011–12[65] League Two 38 8 1 0 1 0 4[a][b] 1[b] 44 9
2012–13[66] League One 28 4 0 0 2 1 5[a] 1[a] 35 6
2013–14[67] League One 20 2 1 0 1 0 2[a] 0 24 2
Total 103 19 3 0 4 1 12 2 122 22
ÍBV (loan) 2009[44] Úrvalsdeild 14 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 4
Yeovil Town 2014–15[68] League One 33 2 3 0 1 0 1[a] 0 38 2
Port Vale 2015–16[69] League One 37 10 3 2 2 0 1[a] 0 43 12
Shrewsbury Town 2016–17[70] League One 16 1 1 1 1 1 3[a] 2[a] 21 5
2017–18[71] League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 16 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 21 5
Dundee (loan) 2017–18[71] Scottish Premiership 28 6 3 1 1 0 0 0 32 7
Morecambe 2018–19[72] League Two 25 6 2 0 1 0 1[a] 0 29 6
2019–20[73] League Two 23 2 1 0 1 0 1[a] 0 26 2
2020–21[45] League Two 5 1 1 0 0 0 1[a] 0 7 1
Total 53 9 4 0 2 0 3 0 62 9
Altrincham 2021–22[44] National League 19 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 4
Nantwich Town 2022–23[51] Northern Premier League
Premier Division 		14 2 1 0 0 0 1[c] 0 16 2
Warrington Rylands 1906 2022–23[74] Northern Premier League
Premier Division 		9 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 2
2023–24[74] Northern Premier League
Premier Division 		0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 9 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 2
Hyde United (loan) 2022–23[55] Northern Premier League
Premier Division 		5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
Nantwich Town 2023–24[51] Northern Premier League
Division One West 		5 0 3 2 0 0 3[d] 2 11 4
Stafford Rangers 2023–24[75] Northern Premier League
Premier Division 		19 1 0 0 0 0 1[e] 0 20 1
2024–25[76] Northern Premier League
Division One West 		2 0 0 0 0 0 1[c] 0 3 0
Total 21 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 23 1
Hanley Town 2024–25 Northern Premier League
Division One West 		0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total[f] 358 61 21 6 11 2 26 6 415 75
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Appearance/s and goal/s in the EFL Trophy.
  2. ^ a b Appearance/s and goal/s play-offs.
  3. ^ a b Appearances in FA Trophy
  4. ^ Two appearances, one goal, in FA Trophy; one appearance, one goal, in Cheshire Senior Cup
  5. ^ One appearance in Staffordshire Senior Cup
  6. ^ Statistics for Halifax Town, Newcastle Town and Curzon Ashton unavailable.

Honours

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Crewe Alexandra

References

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  1. ^ "AJ Leitch-Smith: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Jay Leitch-Smith". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  3. ^ "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2015/2016". www.footballsquads.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b Baggaley, Mike (16 November 2015). "Michael O'Connor ready for the Leitch-Smith and Dodds show..." The Sentinel. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Leitch-Smith Joins Halifax". crewealex.net. 14 November 2008. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Club recall duo from Iceland". Crewe Mad. 31 August 2009. Archived from the original on 18 December 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  7. ^ "Crewe recall striker". Sky Sports. 2 September 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  8. ^ Morse, Peter (2 September 2009). "Teen duo recalled from loan in Iceland". Crewe Chronicle. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  9. ^ "Crewe 2 – 3 Bury". BBC Sport. 29 September 2009. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  10. ^ "Leitch-Smith joins Curzon Ashton on loan". crewealexandra-mad.co.uk. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  11. ^ "Loan move saved my career says rookie striker Leitch-Smith". The Sentinel. 18 May 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  12. ^ "Highlights – Crewe 7 – 0 Barnet". BBC Sport. 29 August 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  13. ^ "Dario Gradi wants Leitch-Smith fitness improvement". BBC Sport. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  14. ^ "AJ Leitch-Smith signs new one-year Crewe Alexandra deal". BBC Sport. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  15. ^ a b Begley, Emlyn (27 May 2012). "Cheltenham 0 – 2 Crewe". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  16. ^ a b Osborne, Chris (7 April 2013). "Crewe 2 – 0 Southend". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  17. ^ "Crewe Alexandra: AJ Leitch-Smith extends contract at Gresty Road". BBC Sport. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  18. ^ "Ajay Leitch-Smith aims to kickstart career at Yeovil Town after becoming part of Crewe Alexandra 'furniture'". Western Gazette. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 31 December 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
  19. ^ "AJ Leitch-Smith joins Yeovil Town following Crewe departure". BBC Sport. 27 June 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  20. ^ "Rob Page is confident goals will come for Ajay Leitch-Smith". The Sentinel. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  21. ^ "Yeovil Town: Paul Sturrock releases 11 players". BBC Sport. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  22. ^ "Port Vale: AJ Leitch-Smith agrees 12-month deal at Vale Park". BBC Sport. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  23. ^ Spinks, Martin (20 July 2015). "Ex-Crewe favourite Ajay Leitch-Smith joins Valiants". The Sentinel. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  24. ^ "Barnsley 1 – 2 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  25. ^ "Hitman Ajay praises boss and team-mates as he hits form of his career". The Sentinel. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  26. ^ Baggaley, Mike (4 December 2015). "Ajay Leitch-Smith shortlisted for League One player of the month award". The Sentinel. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  27. ^ Baggaley, Mike (15 December 2015). "Ajay Leitch-Smith and Ben Purkiss named in Football League Paper team of the day". The Sentinel. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  28. ^ Baggaley, Mike (28 January 2016). "Ajay Leitch-Smith shortlisted for League One award". The Sentinel. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  29. ^ Sharpe, Rich (31 May 2016). "Norman Smurthwaite reveals top scorer Ajay Leitch-Smith will leave the club". The Sentinel. Retrieved 31 May 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  30. ^ "Shrewsbury Town sign AJ Leitch-Smith and Ryan McGivern". BBC Sport. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  31. ^ "Shrewsbury Town 2–1 Huddersfield Town". BBC Sport. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  32. ^ "Paul Hurst post Barnet". Shrewsweb. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  33. ^ "Jayson Leutwiler left out of Shrewsbury Town squad numbers". Shropshire Star. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  34. ^ "Striker AJ Leitch-Smith joins Dundee on loan until January". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  35. ^ "Rangers 4-1 Dundee". BBC Sport. 9 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  36. ^ Sutherland, Jonathan (16 September 2017). "Dundee 3-2 St Johnstone". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  37. ^ "Dundee extend loan agreement for striker A-Jay Leitch-Smith". BBC Sport. BBC. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  38. ^ "Dundee: Neil McCann keen to extend A-Jay Leitch-Smith's loan deal". BBC Sport. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  39. ^ "Shrewsbury Town: Joe Riley, Shaun Rowley and AJ Leitch-Smith to be released". BBC Sport. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  40. ^ "AJ Leitch-Smith Signs". Morecambe FC Official Website. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  41. ^ "Leitch-Smith ruled out for remainder of the season". www.morecambefc.com. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  42. ^ "Retained & release list". www.morecambefc.com. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  43. ^ "A-Jay Leitch-Smith: Striker signs new Morecambe contract". BBC Sport. 29 May 2019.
  44. ^ a b c AJ Leitch-Smith at Soccerway
  45. ^ a b "Games played by A-Jay Leitch-Smith in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  46. ^ "Retained List". www.morecambefc.com. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  47. ^ "Phil boosts Alty firepower with A-Jay signing!". www.altrinchamfc.com. 7 August 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  48. ^ Edwards, John (11 August 2021). "Altrincham sign former Crewe and Morecambe striker". Messenger Newspapers. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  49. ^ "A-Jay Leitch-Smith | Altrincham Football Club". www.altrinchamfc.com. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  50. ^ Price, Liam (2 July 2022). "Dabbers sign up A-Jay Leitch-Smith". Nantwich Town Football Club. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  51. ^ a b c "Nantwich Town | Appearances | AJ Leitch-Smith | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  52. ^ @RylandsFC (4 November 2022). "✍🏻⚽️NEW SIGNING⚽️✍🏻 We are delighted to announce the signing of former @crewealexfc @YTFC @OfficialPVFC and @shrewsburytown attacker A-Jay Leitch-Smith. Welcome AJ! #WeAreRylands" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 November 2022 – via Twitter.
  53. ^ Turner, Matt (5 November 2022). "Warrington Rylands boosted by double signing". Warrington Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  54. ^ @hydeunited (23 March 2023). "Our first signing is the loan signing of AJ Leitch-Smith from @RylandsFC AJ is a former @crewealexfc @OfficialPVFC, forward and has also spent time @TheDabbers Welcome AJ and stay tuned for more signings" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 March 2023 – via Twitter.
  55. ^ a b "Hyde United | Appearances | AJ Leitch-Smith | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  56. ^ "@TheDabbers on Twitter". Twitter. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  57. ^ "AJ Leitch-Smith departs the Dabbers". Nantwich Town F.C. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  58. ^ Powell, Luke (20 April 2024). "Stafford Rangers 0-1 Ashton United - Report". Express and Star. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  59. ^ Allport, Darren (16 October 2024). "More comings and goings". Stafford Rangers FC. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  60. ^ Pope, Tom (25 July 2015). "They were all legends when I was a Port Vale fan". The Sentinel. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  61. ^ Baggaley, Mike (27 November 2015). "Tom Pope on Port Vale: Why defenders hate playing against Ajay Leitch-Smith". The Sentinel. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  62. ^ "Games played by A-Jay Leitch-Smith in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  63. ^ "Games played by A-Jay Leitch-Smith in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  64. ^ "Games played by A-Jay Leitch-Smith in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  65. ^ "Games played by A-Jay Leitch-Smith in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  66. ^ "Games played by A-Jay Leitch-Smith in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  67. ^ "Games played by A-Jay Leitch-Smith in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  68. ^ "Games played by A-Jay Leitch-Smith in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  69. ^ "Games played by A-Jay Leitch-Smith in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  70. ^ "Games played by A-Jay Leitch-Smith in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  71. ^ a b "Games played by A-Jay Leitch-Smith in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  72. ^ "Games played by A-Jay Leitch-Smith in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  73. ^ "Games played by A-Jay Leitch-Smith in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  74. ^ a b "Warrington Rylands | Appearances | AJ Leitch-Smith | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  75. ^ "Stafford Rangers – Appearances – AJ Leitch-Smith". Football Web pages. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  76. ^ "Stafford Rangers | Appearances | AJ Leitch-Smith | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  77. ^ "Starting Lineups - Crewe vs Southend". Sky Sports. 7 April 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
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