Matthew Spring

Matthew Spring

Personal information
Full name	Matthew John Spring
Date of birth	(1979-11-17) 17 November 1979
Place of birth	Harlow, England
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Wycombe Wanderers
Number	9
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1997–2004	Luton Town	250	(26)
2004–2005	Leeds United	13	(1)
2005–2007	Watford	45	(8)
2007–2009	Luton Town	58	(10)
2008–2009	→ Sheffield United (loan)	11	(1)
2009–2010	Charlton Athletic	25	(2)
2010–2012	Leyton Orient	80	(6)
2012–	Wycombe Wanderers	25	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:24 1 May 2013 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

Matthew John Spring (born 17 November 1979, in Harlow, Essex) is an English central midfielder who plays for Wycombe Wanderers.

Career

Luton Town

Spring started his career at Luton, making his debut as a half-time substitute in a 3–0 loss to Bristol City on 27 September 1997. He went onto make 12 further appearances that season, and in the 1998–99 season established himself as a first-team regular. In total he made 289 appearances for the Hatters, scoring 30 goals.

Leeds United

Despite missing the last three months of the 2003–04 season through injury, Spring was signed by newly appointed Leeds United manager Kevin Blackwell on a Bosman transfer, as he re-modelled his newly relegated side. Spring's first season in the Championship was an unhappy one, with a combination of injuries and personal problems restricting him to just 15 appearances and one goal against Ipswich Town.

Watford

As the 2005–06 season commenced Watford manager Adrian Boothroyd, who had worked with Spring when he was first team coach at Leeds, brought the midfielder to Vicarage Road to be part of his reshaped side. Spring scored on his debut, coming off the bench to put in a late third in a 3–1 victory over Burnley on 20 August 2006. As Boothroyd's side flew high in the Division, Spring, a regular in the side, scored 7 further goals from central midfield by January. However, he did not score again until Watford reached the play-offs in May, when he scored the third goal in the 3–0 victory against Crystal Palace in the first leg of the semi-final.

Spring's chances were limited in Watford's Premiership campaign, making only two starts all season, he found himself behind new signing Damien Francis and Al Bangura.

Luton Town

On 18 January 2007 Luton signed Spring back from Watford for a fee of £200,000 (rising to £300,000).

On 31 July 2008, Spring joined Sheffield United on a year long loan deal, signalling the end of a disappointing second stint at Luton Town. He made his debut for the Blades in the first round of the League Cup, a home tie against Port Vale in August of that year. Injuries initially hampered his time at Bramall Lane but by October he began to feature regularly for the first team. He netted his first goal for the Blades at the end of November against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Spring's loan deal with The Blades was cut short and he was released at the start of January to seek a permanent move elsewhere following his lack of first team opportunities.

Charlton Athletic

On 9 January 2009 he joined Charlton on an 18-month contract. He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–1 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday on 17 January 2009, and then just ten days later he scored the winner against rivals Crystal Palace in his third game for his new employers. Charlton decided against renewing Spring's contract for the 2010/11 season.

Leyton Orient

On 30 June 2010, Spring signed a two year contract with Leyton Orient. He made 95 appearances over two seasons but was not offered a new contract.

Wycombe Wanderers

On 2 July 2012, it was announced that Spring had signed a two year contract with Wycombe Wanderers. He arrived as one of five new signings after a transfer embargo was lifted from the club.

Rivalry

Spring is one of the few players to have played for both Luton and their arch-rivals Watford. On the 10 September 2002 he scored a 30-yard goal in a 2–1 victory over Watford in the League Cup, the first meeting of the two sides for over three years.

Miscellaneous

Matthew grew up a fan of Everton FC.^{[citation needed]} He attended the Broxbourne School in Hertfordshire, two years below Stephen Clemence, son of goalkeeping legend Ray Clemence, who also pursued a career in professional football, playing in midfield for Tottenham Hotspur, Birmingham City and Leicester City.^{[citation needed]}

Career statistics

Club

Season	Club	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Football League Trophy		Football League Play-Offs		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1997–98	Luton Town	Division 2	12	0	1	0	-		-		-		13	0
1998–99			45	3	2	0	7	0	-		-		54	3
1999–00			45	6	5	2	1	0	1	0	-		52	8
2000–01			41	4	5	0	4	0	1	0	-		51	4
2001–02		Division 3	42	6	1	0	-		-		-		43	6
2002–03		Division 2	41	6	2	1	2	1	1	0	-		46	8
2003–04			24	1	3	0	2	0	1	0	-		30	1
Luton Town Total			250	26	19	3	16	1	4	0	0	0	289	30
2004–05	Leeds United	Championship	13	1	0	0	2	0	-		-		15	1
Leeds United Total			13	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	15	1
2005–06	Watford	Championship	39	8	-		2	0	-		3	1	44	9
2006–07		Premier League	6	0	-		3	0	-		-		9	0
Watford Total			45	8	0	0	5	0	0	0	3	1	53	9
2006–07	Luton Town	Championship	14	1	-		-		-		-		14	1
2007–08		League One	44	9	5	0	4	2	1	1	-		54	12
Luton Town Total			58	10	5	0	4	2	1	1	0	0	68	13
2008–09	Sheffield United (Loan)	Championship	11	1	-		2	0	-		-		13	1
Sheffield Utd Total			11	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	68	13
2008–09	Charlton Athletic	Championship	13	2	-		-		-		-		13	2
2009–10		League One	12	0	-		1	0	2	0	-		15	0
Charlton Athletic Total			25	2	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	28	2
2010–11	Leyton Orient	League One	39	2	7	0	2	0	2	0	-		50	2
2011–12			41	4	2	1	2	0	0	0	-		45	5
Leyton Orient Total			80	6	9	1	4	0	2	0	0	0	95	7
2012–13	Wycombe Wanderers	League Two	25	0	1	1	1	0	2	0	-		29	1
Wycombe Wanderes Total			25	0	1	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	29	1
Career total			507	54	34	5	35	3	11	1	3	1	590	64

As of 1 May 2013.

External links

• Matthew Spring career stats at Soccerbase