Biography
Gritty midfielder Mick Matthews joined his hometown club in August 1991 after a lengthy Football League career that started in the bright lights of Wolverhampton. City had just been relegated to the Third Division as new manager Terry Dolan was unable to arrest the decline previously overseen by Stan Ternent, Matthews was seen as a key component of a remodelled City midfield. After starting the first game of the season at Reading Mick was absent with injury for several weeks and was on the fringes of the first XI when he returned, a pattern he repeated for the rest of the season. He scored his first goal in his second first team start in October 1991, an Associate Members’ Cup tie against Bradford City, then finally got a run of six first team starts in January 1992. Another absence of two months ended in late March 1992 with a run of substitute appearances, then Mick started the last five games of the season at right back and scored goals against Bolton and Swansea. After such a disrupted first season it was no surprise when Matthews moved on in the 1992 close season.
Michael “Mick” Matthews was born in Hull and was on City’s books as a schoolboy, but by the age of 16 he had attracted the attention of several top flight clubs and joined the youth team system at Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1976. Turning professional in 1978, Matthews had to wait until May 1981 for his first team debut on the last day of the First Division season against Everton. He opened the 1981/82 season with a winning goal against Liverpool and quickly became a first team regular, but his emergence coincided with a slump in Wolves’ form and they were relegated in May 1982. Bouncing straight back by winning promotion in the 1982/83 season, Matthews missed only two League games all season and netted five times. Mick picked up an injury during a pre-season tour ahead of the 1983/84 season and was used sparingly by Wolves on their return to the top flight. He left Wolves in December 1983 having scored 7 times in 83 senior appearances.
Matthews dropped down the Third Division in December 1983, signing for Scunthorpe United and making his debut against Hull City on Boxing Day 1983. Despite scoring in three consecutive matches in March 1984, Matthews was unable to turn around The Iron’s form and the club was relegated to the Fourth Division. Mick dropped out of the first team in February 1985 and didn’t return until the following September, however he struggled to maintain a first team place and left Scunthorpe in June 1986 having made 75 senior appearances and scored eight goals for The Iron.
Having played top flight football only three years earlier, Matthews began the 1986/87 season at non-league side North Ferriby United, however in late September he joined Halifax Town. He found his form at The Shay and was a first team regular for two and a half seasons as The Shaymen drifted in the lower half of the Fourth Division. By December 1988 Matthews had made 115 senior appearances for Halifax Town and scored eleven times when he switched to divisional rivals Scarborough. He made only nine appearances and scored once for the Seadogs in two months before joining Stockport County in February 1989. He made 41 appearances and scored four times for the Hatters in ten months before returning to Scarborough in December 1989. A further 71 appearances and six goals for Scarborough in a season and a half preceded his transfer to Hull City in the 1991 close season.
Matthews returned to Halifax Town for the 1992/93 season, scoring twice in 26 games and making his final senior appearance in March 1993, taking his career tally to 441 appearances and 42 goals in a 12 season career. He spent the final weeks of the 1992/93 season at Boston United and started the next term at York Street before moving to Hong Kong at the end of 1993, staying in the Far East for two years. Matthews returned to England to play for Gainsborough Trinity in 1995 and joined Hall Road Rangers as player-manager two years later to bring his playing days to a close. In the mid 1990s Matthews established a sports medicine practice and served a varied set of clients that included Hull City, Hull FC, the Great Britain ice hockey squad and the St Vincent and Grenadines international football team. In 2012 he became a youth coach educator for the Football Association, based in Hull but working around the world for a few years before advising several Northern league clubs. He then assessed English academy setups for the Football Association before joining Manchester United in October 2023 as development manager for the club’s numerous academy coaches.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 25 September 1960, Hull
Hull City First Game: 17 August 1991, Reading A (Division Three), 30 years, 326 days old
Hull City Final Game: 2 May 1992, Swansea City H (Division Three), 31 years, 220 days old
Clubs
Wolverhampton Wanderers (1976-1984), Scunthorpe United (1984-1986), North Ferriby United (1986), Halifax Town (1986-1988), Scarborough (1988-1989), Stockport County (1989), Scarborough (1989-1991), Hull City (1991-1992), Halifax Town (1992-1993), Boston United (1993), Kitchee (1993-1994), Kiu-Tan (1994-1995), Gainsborough Trinity (1995-1997), Hall Road Rangers (1997-1998)
Hull City Record
Career: 20 apps, 3 goals
Mick Matthews| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991/92 | 10 (6) | 2 | 1 (0) | 0 | - | - | - | - | 3 (0) | 1 |