Mat Sadler

This article is about the footballer. For the chess player, see Matthew Sadler.
Mat Sadler
Personal information
Full nameMathew John Sadler[1]
Date of birth26 February 1985
Place of birthBirmingham, England
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing positionDefender
Club information
Current team
Oldham Athletic
(on loan from Rotherham United)
Number22
Youth career
?–2002Birmingham City
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2002–2008Birmingham City51(0)
2003–2004Northampton Town (loan)7(0)
2008–2011Watford30(0)
2010Stockport County (loan)20(0)
2010–2011Shrewsbury Town (loan)46(0)
2011–2012Walsall46(1)
2012–2014Crawley Town92(2)
2014–Rotherham United0(0)
2014Crawley Town (loan)10(0)
2015–Oldham Athletic (loan)8(0)
National team
2001–2002England U179(0)
2003England U181(0)
2003England U194(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:46, 12 April 2015 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Mathew John "Mat" Sadler (born 26 February 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays for Oldham Athletic on loan from Rotherham United. He is a left back who also played in the Premier League and the Football League for Birmingham City, and in the Football League for Northampton Town, Watford, Stockport County, Shrewsbury Town, Walsall and Crawley Town.

Club career

Born in Solihull, Sadler began his career as a junior with Birmingham City. He made his first team debut on 2 October 2002 in a League Cup tie away at Leyton Orient. On 2 November 2002 he made his FA Premier League debut in a 3–2 home win over Bolton Wanderers. He played a second League Cup three days later, a 2–0 loss to Preston North End. His final appearance of the 2002–03 season came on 28 December 2002 away at Manchester United, in which he was up against David Beckham, who played on the right wing directly against him.

In November 2003 Sadler went on a two-month loan to Northampton Town, playing eight games, and in May 2004, signed a new contract to keep him at Birmingham.

In the 2005–06 season, Sadler returned as a substitute for the Birmingham first team in a home FA Cup replay against Reading. This was his only appearance until April when he was in the first team to play Chelsea at home. His return coincided with the Blues starting to pick up points and make the club's relegation seem less likely. He stayed in the starting line-up for the remaining games.

Sadler joined Watford on 24 January 2008 for an initial fee of £750,000, rising to £900,000 depending on appearances. He signed a three-and-a-half-year contract.[2]

Sadler eventually fell from grace at Vicarage Road and made his final appearance for Watford in December 2008 in a 4–2 defeat to Bristol City at home. He joined Stockport County on loan in January 2010 and remained at Edgeley Park until the end of the season. His debut for the club took place on 30 January against Southampton.[3]

Sadler joined Football League Two club Shrewsbury Town on 7 July 2010 on loan for six months. According to manager Graham Turner, the player seemed reluctant initially to play in the fourth tier of English football but was won over by the club's ambition.[4]

Sadler joined Walsall on 27 June 2011 after being released by Watford.

On 8 June 2012, Sadler joined newly promoted League One side Crawley Town on a free transfer.[5]

Sadler joined Rotherham United on a free transfer from Crawley Town on 17 June 2014.[6] He played only once, in the League Cup, before returning to Crawley in September on loan for two months.[7] When his loan expired, he returned to Rotherham, and made no further first-team appearances until joining Oldham Athletic on a month's loan in March 2015.[8]

International career

Sadler played nine times for England under-17, including at the 2002 European Under-17 championships,[9] appeared once for the under-18s, and played four times at under-19 level.[10]

Club statistics

As of match played 11 April 2015
Club statistics
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Birmingham City 2002–03[11] Premier League20002040
2003–04[12] Premier League00000000
2004–05[13] Premier League00000000
2005–06[14] Premier League80100090
2006–07[15] Championship3603020410
2007–08[16] Premier League50002070
Total 5104060610
Northampton Town 2003–04[12] Division Three70001[lower-alpha 1]080
Watford 2007–08[16] Championship 150102[lower-alpha 2]0180
2008–09[17] Championship 1500020170
2009–10[3] Championship 00000000
2010–11[18] Championship 00000000
Total 300102020350
Stockport County (loan) 2009–10[3] League One 200200
Shrewsbury Town (loan) 2010–11[18] League Two 46010204[lower-alpha 3]0530
Walsall 2011–12[19] League One 46130102[lower-alpha 1]0521
Crawley Town 2012–13[20] League One 461303000521
2013–14[21] League One 46120101[lower-alpha 1]0501
Total 9225040101022
Rotherham United 2014–15[22] Championship 00001010
Crawley Town (loan) 2014–15[22] League One 1002[lower-alpha 1]0120
Oldham Athletic (loan) 2014–15[22] League One 8080
Career total 31031401601203523
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Appearances in Football League Trophy
  2. Appearances in Football League play-offs
  3. Two appearances in Football League Trophy, two in Football League play-offs

References

  1. "Search 1984 to 2006 – Birth, Marriage and Death indexes". Findmypast.com. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
  2. "Sadler joins Watford". Birmingham City F.C. 24 January 2008. Archived from the original on 27 January 2008.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Games played by Matt Sadler in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  4. "Defender Joins". Shrewsbury Town F.C. 7 July 2010. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012.
  5. "Crawley Town sign Mat Sadler and Nicky Adams". BBC Sport. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  6. "Rotherham sign Crawley Town defender Mat Sadler". BBC Sport. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  7. "Rotherham United allow Mat Sadler to extend Crawley Town stay". Crawley News. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  8. Chambers, Matthew (17 March 2015). "Loan arrivals can lift Latics". Oldham Chronicle. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  9. "UEFA Under 17 European Championship: England 1–0 Yugoslavia". UEFA. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
  10. "Matthew Sadler". The Football Association. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
  11. "Games played by Matt Sadler in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  12. 12.0 12.1 "Games played by Matt Sadler in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  13. "Games played by Matt Sadler in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  14. "Games played by Matt Sadler in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  15. "Games played by Matt Sadler in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  16. 16.0 16.1 "Games played by Matt Sadler in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  17. "Games played by Matt Sadler in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  18. 18.0 18.1 "Games played by Matt Sadler in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  19. "Games played by Matt Sadler in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  20. "Games played by Matt Sadler in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  21. "Games played by Matt Sadler in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 "Games played by Matt Sadler in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 January 2015.

External links