| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew Ronald Sparrow | ||
| Date of birth | 3 October 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Wembley, London, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1999–2010 | Scunthorpe United | 336 | (36) |
| 2010– | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | (6) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:55, 2 January 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Matthew Ronald "Matt" Sparrow (born 3 October 1981 in Wembley, London) is an English footballer currently contracted to Football League Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion. Sparrow previously spent 11 years at Scunthorpe United before leaving in June 2010.
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Sparrow spent 11 years of his professional career at Scunthorpe United, playing in the bottom three tiers of league football for them. He formally signed for the club as a 16-year-old and played in the FA Youth Alliance final for Scunthorpe at the old Wembley stadium against West Bromwich Albion.[1]
After spending several months in prison in 2001, he became a regular in the Scunthorpe first team.[2]
In August 2007, he was offered a new three-year contract with the club.[3]
Sparrow scored the opening goal in the 2008/09 League One Play-Off Final at Wembley Stadium against Millwall which lead them to a 3-2 victory to clinch promotion to the Coca-Cola Championship.
On 24 June 2010 is was reported[4] that Sparrow had turned down a new contract offer and was looking elsewhere to continue his career.
Sparrow made his 300th appearance for Scunthorpe in April 2009, and subsequently played in a testimonial match which took take place on 1 May. Former Scunthorpe striker Billy Sharp and veteran midfielder Peter Beagrie returned for the match. Also involved were Jack Cork, Alex Calvo Garcia, Jamie McCombe, Jamie Forrester, John Eyre, Lee Ridley, Paul Wilson, Steve Housham, Andy Butler, Mark Jackson, Martin Carruthers, Steve Torpey, Lee Hodges, Paul Harsley, Wayne Graves, Lee Turnbull, Tony Daws, Andy Crosby, Ian Baraclough, Cleveland Taylor, Chris Hope, Kevin Sharp, Kevin Pressman, Paul Musselwhite, Justin Walker, Ross Hyslop, Brian Quailey, Sam Beagrie, Des Comerford and Simon Elliott – plus managers Brian Laws and Nigel Adkins.
On 29 June 2010, Sparrow signed for League One promotion hopefuls Brighton, penning a three-year contract. Brighton won League One that season (in which Sparrow scored four goals) and were promoted to the Championship. In Brighton's current season Sparrow has scored two goals, both in the Seagulls 3-0 win over Southampton.
He attended the John Leggott College in Scunthorpe between 1998 and 2000, studying Leisure and Tourism.[5]
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