Matthew Heywood
Encyclopedia
Matthew Stephen Heywood (born 26 August 1979 in Chatham
, England
) is a professional footballer who plays as a Defender
and is currently without a club.
Heywood has played in the Football League for Burnley
, Swindon Town
, Bristol City
, Brentford
and Grimsby Town
, before moving into Non-League for Barrow
and Buxton
.
in the summer of 1997, when he was promoted from the clubs youth team. He was nurtured into first team action at Turf Moor
under the stewardship of Adrian Heath
, and finally made his full professional debut in a league tie at home against York City
. He came on at half time to replace veteran defender Steve Blatherwick
in the game that was eventually lost 1-0. In total Heywood went on to make 14 appearances in all competitions in his stay at the club, which came to an end mid way through the 2000-2001 campaign, when he transferred to Swindon Town
in January 2001, on a free transfer.
a few days later, and managed to score his first senior goal during a victory over Brentford
, in which Matt's goal was the only one of the game. Heywood went on to cement himself as a regular centre back for Swindon, and played over 200 times for the club from between 2001 and 2004. In the 2003-2004 season, he was part of the team that was defeated in the Second Division play-offs.
on a free transfer. He was signed by manager Brian Tinnion
, however he was soon sacked, and replaced by Gary Johnson
. Heywood was originally one of the first choice defenders at Ashton Gate
but fell out of contention in the first team, due to some injury problems he sustained. At the close of the 2005-2006 season, Heywood was released by City.
on 27 July 2006 in a one-month loan deal. The transfer was made permanent on 18 August 2006, and he became club captain in January 2008, following the departure of John Mackie
. Brentford struggled under new manager Leroy Rosenior
and he was eventually dismissed before being replaced by Scott Fitzgerald
, and then later Barry Quinn
. Heywood and his new club eventually lost their League One status after finishing bottom of the league. This was Heywood's first taste of relegation. In the 2007-2008 season, Brentford finished 14th in the League Two table, with Matt winning the "Supporters Player of The Season" award.
, and signed a two year contract with Grimsby Town
. He was named Grimsby's club captain for the 2008–09 season by his new manager Alan Buckley
, but The Mariners began to struggle in the league, and Buckley was dismissed early on into the new campaign. Following increasingly worrying poor performances from Heywood, Buckley's replacement as manager, Mike Newell
opted to re-sign former Grimsby centre back Rob Atkinson
to replace Matt in defence. The club captaincy was also given to youngster Ryan Bennett
. Heywood would only make 18 appearances for Grimsby in his first season, and spent a good chunk of that sat on the substitutes bench. During the 2009-10 season, Heywood continued to struggle in the sense of finding any way into the first team, and failed to even make the bench on a regular basis, even under the clubs new manager Neil Woods
. On 13 January 2010, Woods told Heywood, along with Danny Boshell
, Barry Conlon
and Jamie Clarke that they are free to leave the club in the January transfer window, this following Heywood only featuring once in the season, playing in a 4-0 away defeat against Port Vale
in September 2009. On 1 February 2010, Heywood along with Clarke and Boshell were released from the club.
on 15 February. He did not sign for them, however, and remained unattached until July 2010, when he signed for Barrow AFC
.
On 11 October 2010, Heywood was released from the club having failed to make a single appearance for them.
on the 25th of October 2010, after 9 appearances during the 2010-11 season he left the club in May 2011.
Chatham, Medway
Chatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped into a business and residential community as well as a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot,...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) is a professional footballer who plays as a Defender
Defender (football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
and is currently without a club.
Heywood has played in the Football League for 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...
, Swindon Town
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
, Bristol City
Bristol 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...
, Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
and Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town F.C.
Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England, who compete in the Conference National. They were formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham and later became Grimsby Town...
, before moving into Non-League for Barrow
Barrow A.F.C.
Barrow A.F.C. are an English football club founded in 1901 based in the town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. Following promotion at the end of the 2007–08 season, they currently play in the Conference National. The club spent over fifty years in the Football League between 1921 and 1972, and have...
and Buxton
Buxton F.C.
Buxton Football Club are an English football club based in Buxton, Derbyshire. They were established in 1877 and joined the Combination League in 1891. They then joined the Manchester League in 1899 and won the championship in 1932. They reached the 3rd round of the FA Cup in the 1951-52 season....
.
Burnley
Heywood began his career for BurnleyBurnley 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...
in the summer of 1997, when he was promoted from the clubs youth team. He was nurtured into first team action at Turf Moor
Turf Moor
Turf Moor is a football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire. It is the home ground of Burnley Football Club, which has played there since moving from its Calder Vale ground in 1883. The stadium, which is situated on Harry Potts Way, named so after the club's longest serving Manager, has a capacity of...
under the stewardship of Adrian Heath
Adrian Heath
Adrian Paul Heath is an English football manager and former player. He manages American USL Pro Orlando franchise. As a player he is remembered as part of the Everton side of the 1980s, where he won several trophies...
, and finally made his full professional debut in a league tie at home against York City
York City F.C.
York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...
. He came on at half time to replace veteran defender Steve Blatherwick
Steve Blatherwick
Steven Scott Blatherwick is an English former footballer who spent much of his career playing for Chesterfield, as a defender. He retired from the game at the age of 32, on medical advice after suffering a back injury...
in the game that was eventually lost 1-0. In total Heywood went on to make 14 appearances in all competitions in his stay at the club, which came to an end mid way through the 2000-2001 campaign, when he transferred to Swindon Town
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
in January 2001, on a free transfer.
Swindon Town
He made his Swindon debut in a 3-0 victory over BuryBury F.C.
Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the...
a few days later, and managed to score his first senior goal during a victory over Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
, in which Matt's goal was the only one of the game. Heywood went on to cement himself as a regular centre back for Swindon, and played over 200 times for the club from between 2001 and 2004. In the 2003-2004 season, he was part of the team that was defeated in the Second Division play-offs.
Bristol City
In the summer of 2005, Heywood joined League One rivals 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 a free transfer. He was signed by manager Brian Tinnion
Brian Tinnion
Brian Tinnion is a British former footballer and ex-manager. He made over 450 appearances for Bristol City, including a spell as player-manager...
, however he was soon sacked, and replaced by Gary Johnson
Gary Johnson (footballer)
Gary Johnson is an English football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Npower League Two's Northampton Town....
. Heywood was originally one of the first choice defenders at Ashton Gate
Ashton Gate
Ashton Gate Stadium is a stadium in Ashton Gate, Bristol, England, and is the home of Bristol City F.C. Located in the south-west of the city, just south of the River Avon, it has an all-seated capacity of 21,497, with an effective capacity for football matches of around 19,500, with an average...
but fell out of contention in the first team, due to some injury problems he sustained. At the close of the 2005-2006 season, Heywood was released by City.
Brentford
He joined BrentfordBrentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
on 27 July 2006 in a one-month loan deal. The transfer was made permanent on 18 August 2006, and he became club captain in January 2008, following the departure of John Mackie
John Mackie (footballer)
John George Mackie is a professional footballer who is currently playing for Hertford Town F.C. Mackie is a central defender....
. Brentford struggled under new manager Leroy Rosenior
Leroy Rosenior
Leroy Rosenior is a professional football coach and pundit. He is a former professional footballer whose clubs included Fulham, Queens Park Rangers , Bristol City and West Ham United.As one of the few black football managers in England, Rosenior has spoken openly about the racism...
and he was eventually dismissed before being replaced by Scott Fitzgerald
Scott Fitzgerald (footballer born 1969)
Scott Fitzgerald is a football coach, who is employed by Millwall as youth team manager. Fitzgerald is a former footballer, and the former manager of League One side Brentford.-Career:...
, and then later Barry Quinn
Barry Quinn
Barry Scott Quinn is an Irish footballer, currently out of contract. His position is DefenderQuinn was signed up by Coventry City in August 1996 as a trainee from Manortown United. He went on to appear seventy-four times for the club...
. Heywood and his new club eventually lost their League One status after finishing bottom of the league. This was Heywood's first taste of relegation. In the 2007-2008 season, Brentford finished 14th in the League Two table, with Matt winning the "Supporters Player of The Season" award.
Grimsby Town
On 25 June 2008 Matt turned down a fresh contract at Griffin ParkGriffin Park
Griffin Park is a football ground situated in the London Borough of Hounslow, west London. It has been the home ground of League One side Brentford since it was built in 1904. It is known for being the only English league football ground to have a pub on each corner, and is situated in a...
, and signed a two year contract with Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town F.C.
Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England, who compete in the Conference National. They were formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham and later became Grimsby Town...
. He was named Grimsby's club captain for the 2008–09 season by his new manager Alan Buckley
Alan Buckley
Alan Peter Buckley is an English football manager. He was manager of League Two side Grimsby Town until his dismissal in September 2008...
, but The Mariners began to struggle in the league, and Buckley was dismissed early on into the new campaign. Following increasingly worrying poor performances from Heywood, Buckley's replacement as manager, Mike Newell
Mike Newell (footballer)
Michael Colin "Mike" Newell is an English football manager and former professional footballer. As a player he notably was a member of the Blackburn Rovers team which won the Premier League in 1995, as well also playing for Crewe Alexandra, Wigan Athletic, Luton Town, Leicester City, Everton,...
opted to re-sign former Grimsby centre back Rob Atkinson
Robert Atkinson (footballer)
Robert Guy "Rob" Atkinson is an English footballer who plays for Fleetwood Town as a defender. He has previously played for Barnsley, Scarborough, Halifax Town, Rochdale and Grimsby Town.-Barnsley:...
to replace Matt in defence. The club captaincy was also given to youngster Ryan Bennett
Ryan Bennett (footballer)
Ryan Bennett is an English footballer who plays for Peterborough United and currently represents England U21 as a defender. He has previously played for and captained Grimsby Town.-Grimsby Town:...
. Heywood would only make 18 appearances for Grimsby in his first season, and spent a good chunk of that sat on the substitutes bench. During the 2009-10 season, Heywood continued to struggle in the sense of finding any way into the first team, and failed to even make the bench on a regular basis, even under the clubs new manager Neil Woods
Neil Woods
Neil Stephen Woods is a former English footballer who played as a striker and former manager of Grimsby Town where he also played between 1990 and 1998. He now works as the Head of Youth at Football League One side Walsall...
. On 13 January 2010, Woods told Heywood, along with Danny Boshell
Danny Boshell
Daniel Kevin "Danny" Boshell is an English football player who currently plays for Conference North club Guiseley AFC. Boshell played in the Football League notably for Grimsby Town where he made 118 appearances in all competitions...
, Barry Conlon
Barry Conlon
Barry John Conlon is an Irish footballer who plays as a striker and is currently without a club.Conlon's career started with Queens Park Rangers but he moved to Manchester City before he had played a game. He made his Football League debut with City...
and Jamie Clarke that they are free to leave the club in the January transfer window, this following Heywood only featuring once in the season, playing in a 4-0 away defeat 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 September 2009. On 1 February 2010, Heywood along with Clarke and Boshell were released from the club.
Barrow AFC
Heywood began training with Mansfield TownMansfield Town F.C.
Mansfield Town Football Club is an English football club from the former mining town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The club was formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans and changed its name to Mansfield Wesley in 1906 before settling on Mansfield Town in 1910...
on 15 February. He did not sign for them, however, and remained unattached until July 2010, when he signed for Barrow AFC
Barrow A.F.C.
Barrow A.F.C. are an English football club founded in 1901 based in the town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. Following promotion at the end of the 2007–08 season, they currently play in the Conference National. The club spent over fifty years in the Football League between 1921 and 1972, and have...
.
On 11 October 2010, Heywood was released from the club having failed to make a single appearance for them.
Buxton
Heywood signed for BuxtonBuxton F.C.
Buxton Football Club are an English football club based in Buxton, Derbyshire. They were established in 1877 and joined the Combination League in 1891. They then joined the Manchester League in 1899 and won the championship in 1932. They reached the 3rd round of the FA Cup in the 1951-52 season....
on the 25th of October 2010, after 9 appearances during the 2010-11 season he left the club in May 2011.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | Level English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for association football clubs in England, with six teams from Wales also competing... |
League The Football League The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football... |
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... |
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... |
FL 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... |
Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| 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... |
1997–98 1997-98 in English football The 1997-1998 season was the 118th season of competitive football in England.-Premier League:Arsenal overhauled Manchester United's lead during the final weeks of the season to win the Premiership title... |
Second Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 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... |
Second Division | 3 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| 1999–00 | Second Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000–01 2000-01 in English football The 2000–01 season was the 121st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Manchester United secured their 3rd Premiership title in succession and their 7th title in just nine seasons... |
First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Swindon Town Swindon Town F.C. Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011... |
2000–01 2000-01 in English football The 2000–01 season was the 121st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Manchester United secured their 3rd Premiership title in succession and their 7th title in just nine seasons... |
Second Division | 3 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 2 |
| 2001–02 2001-02 in English football The 2001-02 season was the 122nd season of competitive football in England.-Arsenal cruise to title glory:In what had earlier been one of the most closely fought Premiership title races for years, Arsenal won the championship by seven points. Their crown was won in the penultimate game of the... |
Second Division | 3 | 44 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 4 | |
| 2002–03 2002-03 in English football The 2002-03 season was the 123rd season of competitive football in England.-Most Memorable rise:*Wigan Athletic marked their 25th season of Football League membership by winning the Division Two championship and reaching the league's second tier for the very first time.-Most Memorable... |
Second Division | 3 | 45 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 50 | 1 | |
| 2003–04 2003-04 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.... |
Second Division | 3 | 44 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 1 | |
| 2004–05 2004-05 in English football The 2004–05 season was the 125th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*2004–05 was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League... |
League One | 3 | 31 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 38 | 1 | |
| Bristol City Bristol 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... |
2005–06 2005-06 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... |
League One | 3 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 |
| Brentford Brentford F.C. Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One.... |
2006–07 2006-07 in English football The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five... |
League One | 3 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 1 |
| 2007–08 2007-08 in English football The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool... |
League Two | 4 | 32 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 1 | |
| Grimsby Town Grimsby Town F.C. Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England, who compete in the Conference National. They were formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham and later became Grimsby Town... |
2008–09 | League Two | 4 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| 2009–10 | League Two | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Barrow AFC Barrow A.F.C. Barrow A.F.C. are an English football club founded in 1901 based in the town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. Following promotion at the end of the 2007–08 season, they currently play in the Conference National. The club spent over fifty years in the Football League between 1921 and 1972, and have... |
2010–11 | Conference National Conference National Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system... |
5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |