- Matthew Spring
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Matthew John Spring 
Personal information Full name Matthew John Spring Date of birth 17 November 1979 Place of birth Harlow, England Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Playing position Midfielder Club information Current club Leyton Orient Number 16 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– Leyton Orient 53 (2) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 November 2011.
† Appearances (Goals).Matthew John Spring (born 17 November 1979, in Harlow, Essex) is an English central midfielder who plays for Leyton Orient.
Contents
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.[1]
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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]
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.[5]
Charlton Athletic
On 9 January he joined Charlton on an 18-month contract.[6] He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–1 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday on 17 January 2009,[7] and then just ten days later he scored the winner against rivals Crystal Palace in his third game for his new employers.[8] 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.[9]
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. Meanwhile Watford supporters often regailed Spring with the chant of "Oh Springy, Springy, he used to be a scummer but he's alright now" during his time at the club.
Spring scored his first goal in 15 months in the 3–2 defeat to Notts County on Saturday 18 September 2010.
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 14 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 17 1 Leyton Orient Total 53 2 8 1 4 0 2 0 0 0 67 3 Career total 455 50 32 4 34 3 9 1 3 1 533 59 - As of 19 November 2011.[10]
References
- ^ "Leeds 1–1 Ipswich". BBC. 23 April 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/4451259.stm. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
- ^ "Gaffer looking for Spring goals". sufc.co.uk. 2008-08-05. http://www.sufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/PlayerFeatures/0,,10418~1355444,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ "Sheff Utd 3–1 Port Vale". bbc.co.uk. 2008-08-13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/7551379.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ "Spring's goal consolation". sufc.co.uk. 2008-11-25. http://www.sufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Reactions/0,,10418~1467488,00.html. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
- ^ "Spring loan finished". sufc.co.uk. 2009-01-09. http://www.sufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/PlayerFeatures/0,,10418~1514655,00.html. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ "Spring time at The Valley". cafc.co.uk. 2009-01-09. http://www.cafc.co.uk/newsview.ink?nid=33559. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
- ^ "Sheff Wed 4–1 Charlton". BBC. 17 January 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/7815960.stm. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
- ^ "Charlton 1–0 Crystal Palace". BBC. 27 January 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/7845592.stm. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
- ^ "O's snap up midfielder Spring". Leytonorient.com. 30 June 2010. http://www.leytonorient.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10439~2081669,00.html. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
- ^ "Matthew Spring Career Stats". Soccerbase. 30 December 2010. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=12593. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
External links
Leyton Orient F.C. – current squad 1 Jones · 2 Omozusi · 4 Chorley · 5 Cuthbert · 6 Forbes · 7 Cox · 8 Dawson · 9 Lisbie · 10 Cureton · 11 Daniels · 12 Butcher · 14 McSweeney · 15 Porter · 16 Spring · 17 Laird · 18 Téhoué · 19 Cestor · 20 Smith · 22 Odubajo · 23 Lobjoit · 24 Lovelock · 25 Clarke · 26 Alnwick · 27 Button · 39 Mooney · Manager: Slade
Categories:- 1979 births
- Living people
- People from Harlow
- English footballers
- Association football midfielders
- Watford F.C. players
- Leeds United A.F.C. players
- Leyton Orient F.C. players
- Luton Town F.C. players
- Sheffield United F.C. players
- Charlton Athletic F.C. players
- Premier League players
- The Football League players
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