Matthew Spring

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Matthew Spring
Personal information
Full name Matthew Spring
Date of birth November 17, 1979 (1979-11-17) (age 28)
Place of birth    Harlow, England
Height 6'0
Playing position Centre Midfield
Club information
Current club Luton Town
Number 7
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1997-2004
2004-2005
2005-2007
2007-		 Luton Town
Leeds United
Watford
Luton Town		 250 (26)
013 0(1)
045 0(8)
046 0(7)   

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 20:23, 5 March 2007 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Matthew Spring (born Harlow, 17 November 1979) is an English central midfielder currently playing for Luton Town.

[edit] Career

Spring started his career at Luton, making his debut as a half-time substitute in a 3-0 loss to Bristol City on 27 September 1997. He went onto make 12 further appearances that season, and in the 1998-99 season established himself as a first-team regular. In total he made 289 appearances for the Hatters, scoring 30 goals.

Despite missing the last three months of the 2003-04 season through injury, Spring was signed by newly appointed Leeds United manager Kevin Blackwell on a Bosman transfer, as he re-modelled his newly relegated side. Spring's first season in the Championship was an unhappy one, with a combination of injuries and personal problems restricting him to just 15 appearances.

As the 2005-06 season commenced Watford manager Adrian Boothroyd, who had worked with Spring when he was first team coach at Leeds, brought the midfielder to Vicarage Road to be part of his reshaped side. Spring scored on his debut, coming off the bench to put in a late third in a 3-1 victory over Burnley on 20 August 2006. As Boothroyd's side flew high in the Division, Spring, a regular in the side, scored 7 further goals from central midfield by January. However, he didn't score again until Watford reached the play-offs in May, when he scored the third goal in the 3-0 victory against Crystal Palace in the first leg of the semi-final.

Spring's chances were limited in Watford's Premiership campaign. Making only two starts all season, he found himself behind new signing Damien Francis and Al Bangura. On 18 January 2007 Luton signed Spring back from Watford for a fee of £200,000 (rising to £300,000).

[edit] Rivalry

Spring is one of the few players to have played for both Luton and their arch-rivals Watford. On the 10 September 2002 he scored a 30-yard goal in a 2-1 victory over Watford in the League Cup, the first meeting of the two sides for over three years. His subsequent transfer to Watford was controversial amongst Luton fans. Meanwhile Watford supporters often regailed Spring with the chant of "Oh Springy, Springy, used to be a scummer but he's alright now" during his time at the club. Spring was a vital cog in Watford's promotion and many fans have been disappointed to see him sold

[edit] External links

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Luton Town F.C. – current squad

1 Brill • 8 Bell • 9 Parkin • 15 O'Leary • 17 Emanuel • 19 Talbot • 20 Andrew • 21 Keane • 22 Langley • 24 Underwood • 25 Spring • 26 Davis • 29 Furlong • 32 Charles • 37 Beavan • 38 Asafu-Adjaye • 39 Hogarth • 40 Howells • Manager: Harford