Matthew Heywood
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew Stephen Heywood | ||
| Date of birth | 26 August 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Chatham, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1998 | Burnley | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2001 | Burnley | 13 | (0) |
| 2001–2005 | Swindon Town | 183 | (8) |
| 2005–2006 | Bristol City | 24 | (2) |
| 2006–2008 | Brentford | 60 | (2) |
| 2008–2010 | Grimsby Town | 19 | (0) |
| 2010 | Barrow | 0 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Buxton | 9 | (0) |
| Total | 308 | (12) | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:02, 22 July 2010 (UTC). |
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Matthew Stephen Heywood (born 26 August 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender from 1997 until 2011.
Having started his career with Burnley as a trainee he signed professional terms in 1997. In 2001 after failing to establish himself a first team player he left to join Swindon Town where his career took over, becoming an established centre half for four years before moving on to Bristol City in 2005. A year later he joined Brentford and in 2008 following his final season at the club he was awarded the supporters player of the season award for the 2007–08 season. He then joined Grimsby Town who were the last professional club he was to play for inside the Football League before he was released in 2010 and briefly joined Barrow on a short term deal. He finished his career in Non-league football with a 6-month stay at Buxton.
Heywood began his career for Burnley in the summer of 1997, when he was promoted from the club's 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 midway through the 2000–2001 campaign, when he transferred to Swindon Town in January 2001, on a free transfer.
He made his Swindon debut in a 3–0 victory over Bury 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.
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