Damian Matthew
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 23 September 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Islington, London, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Charlton Athletic (First-team Coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Chelsea | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1989–1994 | Chelsea | 21 | (0) |
| 1992 | → Luton Town (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 1994–1996 | Crystal Palace | 24 | (1) |
| 1996 | → Bristol Rovers (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 1996–1998 | Burnley | 45 | (6) |
| 1998–1999 | Northampton Town | 2 | (0) |
| Total | 77 | (7) | |
| National team | |||
| 1989–1991 | England U21 | 9 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Damian Matthew (born 23 September 1970) is an English football coach and former player. He is the first-team coach at Championship side Charlton Athletic.
As a player he was a midfielder from 1989 until 1999, notably in the Premier League with Chelsea and Crystal Palace. He also played in the Football League for Luton Town, Bristol Rovers, Burnley and Northampton Town.
After his playing days were over, Matthew was briefly a pundit for Chelsea TV.
Playing career
He began his professional playing career as a midfielder for Chelsea in the early 1990s, playing 21 league games and being issued with the number 8 when FA Premier League squad numbers were introduced in 1993-94. He next played for Crystal Palace but once again his first team chances were limited.
He then played for Burnley and Northampton Town before retiring from playing professionally in 1999 at the age of 29 due to injury.
Coaching career
Matthew is a UEFA qualified coach and after retiring as a player became a scout for Wolverhampton Wanderers, before returning to Chelsea as a Youth Development Officer. In 2003 he became assistant manager of Bedford Town.[1]
He joined Charlton Athletic in 2006 as the U18s coach, and in 2007 he shared this role with coaching at Maidstone United.[2] He became Charlton's Reserve Development Coach in 2008, before later also becoming Academy Development Coach in 2010.[3] In January 2011, he was promoted to first-team coach by new manager Chris Powell.