Matthew Lawrence (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew James Lawrence | ||
| Date of birth | 19 June 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Northampton, England | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Right back, Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1995 | Hartwick College | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1996 | Grays Athletic | ? | (?) |
| 1996–1997 | Wycombe Wanderers | 16 | (1) |
| 1997–1998 | Fulham | 60 | (0) |
| 1998–2000 | Wycombe Wanderers | 63 | (4) |
| 2000–2006 | Millwall | 228 | (0) |
| 2006–2010 | Crystal Palace | 121 | (1) |
| 2010–2012 | Gillingham | 69 | (0) |
| 2012–2014 | Whitehawk | 35 | (1) |
| 2014–2015 | Burgess Hill Town | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 May 2013 (UTC). |
|||
Matthew James "Matt" Lawrence (born 19 June 1974) is an English footballer. He is a centre back.
Lawrence began his career as a midfielder, starting out late at Grays Athletic in August 1995, age 21, having taken an American Literature degree, whilst playing college football (soccer, to distinguish from American football) in the USA for Hartwick College. In February 2009, Hartwick inducted Lawrence into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.
Five months later, he became a Football League player, when he joined Wycombe Wanderers, for £20,000. He made 21 appearances for Wycombe before moving on to Fulham, for an undisclosed fee. He spent a strong 20 months at the West-London side, making over 60 appearances, before going back to Wycombe, on a free transfer, following Fulham's failure to gain promotion to Division One.
He had a more successful spell at The Chairboys this time, before going to Millwall in March 2000, for £200,000. At The Lions, he began a new role, as a right-back, and starred, only missing one game and being voted the fans' "Player of The Year", as Millwall were promoted to Division One as champions in 2000–01 season. He started the 2001–02 season well, but sustained concussion, the results of which kept him out of the side for some time. On his return, he found his best form to date for the Lions, as they reached the Division One play-offs.
At the start of the 2003–04 campaign, Lawrence fell out with Lions boss Mark McGhee, and looked to be on his way out The New Den. However, McGhee was replaced by Dennis Wise, and Lawrence got his place back. It was then that he switched to central defence, playing alongside Darren Ward, and the duo stood out, with the Lions reaching the 2004 FA Cup Final, for which Lawrence was captain, and thus qualifying for the UEFA Cup.
...
Wikipedia