Biography
Defender Wicks joined the Tigers in January 2002 in a swap deal that saw midfield fop David Lee head to the South Coast. After a couple of months in the City first XI Wicks fell out of favour, by May 2002 he was in dispute with the City hierarchy and made no appearances in 2002/03. He received a pay-off from City in February 2003 and headed to Australia for a six month spell playing for Newcastle Jets.
Reading-born Wicks, son of renowned 1980s defender Steve Wicks, was the subject of a tussle between Arsenal and Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in his youth days. Ferguson relinquished his grip on the teenage Wicks to avoid a £1.5 million compensation payment and he returned to the Gunners who offered him a first professional contract in 1996. He never made the first team at Highbury and moved to Crewe Alexandra in 1998. This began a nomadic five year tour of the lower leagues that ended at Boothferry Park. After his spell in Australia Wicks returned to England to sell cars and eventually become a recruitment consultant in the Reading area.
Wicks was captain of the England under-17 team in his youthful days.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 8 September 1978, Reading
Hull City First Game: 12 January 2002, Plymouth Argyle A (League Division Three), 23 years, 126 days old
Hull City Final Game: 9 March 2002, Scunthorpe United H (League Division Three), 23 years, 182 days old
Clubs
Arsenal (1996-1998), Crewe Alexandra (1998-1999), Peterborough United (1999-2000), Brighton & Hove Albion (2000, loan), Brighton & Hove Albion (2000-2002), Hull City (2002-2003), Newcastle Jets (2003)
Hull City Record
Career: 14 apps, 0 goals
Matthew WicksSeason | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001/02 | 14 (0) | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
2002/03 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |