Matthew Spring
Encyclopedia
Matthew John Spring is an English central midfielder
who plays for Leyton Orient
.
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.
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.
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
.
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.
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.
, 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.
, 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.
|-
!rowspan="2"|Season
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Division
!colspan="2"|League
!colspan="2"|FA Cup
!colspan="2"|League Cup
!colspan="2"|Football League Trophy
!colspan="2"|Football League Play-Offs
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|1997–98||rowspan="7"|Luton Town
||rowspan="4"|Division 2
||12||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||13||0
|-
|1998–99||45||3||2||0||7||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||54||3
|-
|1999–00||45||6||5||2||1||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||52||8
|-
|2000–01||41||4||5||0||4||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||51||4
|-
|2001–02||Division 3
||42||6||1||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||43||6
|-
|2002–03
||rowspan="2"|Division 2
||41||6||2||1||2||1||1||0||colspan="2"|-||46||8
|-
|2003–04||24||1||3||0||2||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||30||1
|-
!colspan="3"|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||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||15||1
|-
!colspan="3"|Leeds United Total
!13!!1!!0!!0!!2!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!15!!1
|-
|2005–06||rowspan="2"|Watford
||Championship
||39||8||colspan="2"|-||2||0||colspan="2"|-||3||1||44||9
|-
|2006–07
||Premier League||6||0||colspan="2"|-||3||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||9||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Watford Total
!45!!8!!0!!0!!5!!0!!0!!0!!3!!1!!53!!9
|-
|2006–07||rowspan="2"|Luton Town
||Championship
||14||1||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||14||1
|-
|2007–08||League One
||44||9||5||0||4||2||1||1||colspan="2"|-||54||12
|-
!colspan="3"|Luton Town Total
!58!!10!!5!!0!!4!!2!!1!!1!!0!!0!!68!!13
|-
|2008–09||Sheffield United
(Loan)||Championship
||11||1||colspan="2"|-||2||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||13||1
|-
!colspan="3"|Sheffield Utd Total
!11!!1!!0!!0!!2!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!68!!13
|-
|2008–09||rowspan="2"|Charlton Athletic
||Championship
||13||2||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||13||2
|-
|2009–10
||League One
||12||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||15||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Charlton Athletic Total
!25!!2!!0!!0!!1!!0!!2!!0!!0!!0!!28!!2
|-
|2010–11
||rowspan="2"|Leyton Orient
||rowspan="2"|League One
||39||2||7||0||2||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||50||2
|-
|2011–12
||15||0||1||1||2||0||0||0||0||0||18||1
|-
!colspan="3"|Leyton Orient Total
!54!!2!!8!!1!!4!!0!!2!!0!!0!!0!!68!!3
|-
456||50||32||4||34||3||9||1||3||1||534||59
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
who plays for Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...
.
Luton Town
Spring started his career at Luton, making his debut as a half-time substitute in a 3–0 loss to Bristol CityBristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
on 27 September 1997. He went onto make 12 further appearances that season, and in the 1998–99
1998-99 in English football
-Premier League:Manchester United overcame close competition from Arsenal, Aston Villa and Chelsea to win their fifth Premiership title in seven seasons thanks to the comeback of Roy Keane after his long-term injury and a transfer raid totalling nearly £30 million which netted Aston Villa striker...
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 2003–042003-04 in English football
The 2003-04 season was the 124th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Arsenal completed the entire campaign without losing a single league game....
season through injury, Spring was signed by newly appointed Leeds United manager Kevin Blackwell
Kevin Blackwell
Kevin Patrick Blackwell is an English former professional football goalkeeper who since retiring as a player has worked as a coach and a manager. He has an identical twin, Noel.-Early career:...
on a Bosman transfer
Bosman ruling
Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of association, and direct effect of article 39 of the EC Treaty...
, as he re-modelled his newly relegated side. Spring's first season in the Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
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 2005–062005-06 in English football
The 2005–06 season was the 126th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*The rebuilt Wembley Stadium was due to open in time for the FA Cup final in May. However, in August 2005, The Football Association reserved the Millennium Stadium as a backup, as there was some doubt whether...
season commenced Watford manager Adrian Boothroyd
Adrian Boothroyd
Adrian Neil "Aidy" Boothroyd is an English former footballer and is currently managing Northampton Town after being sacked as manager of Coventry City on March 14, 2011. He was manager of Watford of the Championship until 3 November 2008...
, who had worked with Spring when he was first team coach at Leeds, brought the midfielder to Vicarage Road
Vicarage Road
Vicarage Road, a stadium in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, is the home of the football club Watford and their tenants, the Saracens rugby union club. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 17,477.-History:...
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
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
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
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
in the first leg of the semi-final.
Spring's chances were limited in Watford's Premiership
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
campaign. Making only two starts all season, he found himself behind new signing Damien Francis
Damien Francis
Damien Jerome Francis is a retired Jamaican international footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.-Early career:As a child Francis followed Wimbledon, and was a ball boy at their ground...
and Al Bangura
Alhassan Bangura
Alhassan "Al" Bangura is a Sierra Leone footballer who plays for Forest Green Rovers as a midfielder.He has played for the Sierra Leone national team and is notable for having been the victim of human trafficking when he was a teenager and also the subject of a deportation case in the United...
.
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
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
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
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
in August of that year. Injuries initially hampered his time at Bramall Lane
Bramall Lane
-Cricket at the Lane:Bramall Lane opened as a cricket ground in 1855, having been leased by Michael Ellison from the Duke of Norfolk at an annual rent of £70. The site was then away from the town's industrial area, and relatively free from smoke. It was built to host the matches of local cricket...
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 he joined CharltonCharlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
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
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
in his third game for his new employers.
Charlton decided against renewing Spring's contract for the 2010/11 season.
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 CupFootball League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
, 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. He attended the Broxbourne School in Hertfordshire, two years below Stephen ClemenceStephen Clemence
Stephen Neal Clemence is a retired English football midfielder who last played for Leicester City where he was team captain....
, son of goalkeeping legend Ray Clemence
Ray Clemence
Raymond Neal "Ray" Clemence, MBE is one of English and European football's most decorated goalkeepers ever and was part of the Liverpool team of the 1970s.-Scunthorpe United:...
, who also pursued a career in professional football, playing in midfield for Tottenham Hotspur, Birmingham City and Leicester City.
Club
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"|-
!rowspan="2"|Season
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Division
!colspan="2"|League
!colspan="2"|FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
!colspan="2"|League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
!colspan="2"|Football League Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
!colspan="2"|Football League Play-Offs
Football League Play-Offs
The Football League play-offs are an annual series of football matches to determine some of the promotion places within the Football League. Essentially, each division of the league offers a certain number of automatic promotion places to the top two or three clubs. A further promotion place is...
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|1997–98||rowspan="7"|Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
||rowspan="4"|Division 2
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
||12||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||13||0
|-
|1998–99||45||3||2||0||7||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||54||3
|-
|1999–00||45||6||5||2||1||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||52||8
|-
|2000–01||41||4||5||0||4||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||51||4
|-
|2001–02||Division 3
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
||42||6||1||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||43||6
|-
|2002–03
2002–03 Luton Town F.C. season
The 2002–03 season was the 117th season in the history of Luton Town Football Club. The club's promotion from Division Three in the previous season meant they competed back in Division Two, their 82nd consecutive year in the Football League...
||rowspan="2"|Division 2
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
||41||6||2||1||2||1||1||0||colspan="2"|-||46||8
|-
|2003–04||24||1||3||0||2||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||30||1
|-
!colspan="3"|Luton Town Total
!250!!26!!19!!3!!16!!1!!4!!0!!0!!0!!289!!30
|-
|2004–05
2004–05 Football League Championship
The Football League 2004–05 , was the thirteenth season under its current league division format. It began in August 2004 and concluded in May 2005, with the promotion play-off finals. This was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League...
||Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
||Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
||13||1||0||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||15||1
|-
!colspan="3"|Leeds United Total
!13!!1!!0!!0!!2!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!15!!1
|-
|2005–06||rowspan="2"|Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
||Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
||39||8||colspan="2"|-||2||0||colspan="2"|-||3||1||44||9
|-
|2006–07
2006–07 Watford F.C. season
During the 2006–07 English football season, Watford F.C. competed in the FA Premier League, after being promoted from the Football League Championship last season...
||Premier League||6||0||colspan="2"|-||3||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||9||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Watford Total
!45!!8!!0!!0!!5!!0!!0!!0!!3!!1!!53!!9
|-
|2006–07||rowspan="2"|Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
||Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
||14||1||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||14||1
|-
|2007–08||League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
||44||9||5||0||4||2||1||1||colspan="2"|-||54||12
|-
!colspan="3"|Luton Town Total
!58!!10!!5!!0!!4!!2!!1!!1!!0!!0!!68!!13
|-
|2008–09||Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
(Loan)||Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
||11||1||colspan="2"|-||2||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||13||1
|-
!colspan="3"|Sheffield Utd Total
!11!!1!!0!!0!!2!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!68!!13
|-
|2008–09||rowspan="2"|Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
||Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
||13||2||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||13||2
|-
|2009–10
2009–10 Football League One
The Football League 2009–10 , was be the seventeenth season under its current league division format. It began in August 2009 and ended on 8 May 2010....
||League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
||12||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||15||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Charlton Athletic Total
!25!!2!!0!!0!!1!!0!!2!!0!!0!!0!!28!!2
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 Leyton Orient F.C. season
The 2010–11 Leyton Orient F.C. season was the 112th season in the history of Leyton Orient Football Club, their 95th in the Football League, and fifth consecutive season in the third tier of the English football league system.-Playing staff:...
||rowspan="2"|Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...
||rowspan="2"|League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
||39||2||7||0||2||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||50||2
|-
|2011–12
2011–12 Leyton Orient F.C. season
The 2011–12 Leyton Orient F.C. season will be the 113th season in the history of Leyton Orient Football Club, their 96th in the Football League, and sixth consecutive season in the third tier of the English football league system.-Squad:...
||15||0||1||1||2||0||0||0||0||0||18||1
|-
!colspan="3"|Leyton Orient Total
!54!!2!!8!!1!!4!!0!!2!!0!!0!!0!!68!!3
|-
456||50||32||4||34||3||9||1||3||1||534||59