Mat Bailey
Personal information
Full name	Matthew John Bailey
Date of birth	12 March 1986 (1986-03-12) (age 23)
Place of birth	Crewe, England
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Playing position	Centre-back Striker
Club information
Current club	Northwich Victoria
Number	4
Youth career
	Nantwich Town
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2003–2005 2004 2005 2005–2008 2005 2006 2006 2007 2008 2008– 2008	Stockport County → Scunthorpe United (loan) → Northwich Victoria (loan) Crewe Alexandra → Hereford United (loan) → Southport (loan) → Lancaster City (loan) → Barrow (loan) → Weymouth (loan) Northwich Victoria → Hinckley United (loan)	1 (0) 4 (0) 5 (0) 2 (0) 5 (1) 2 (0) 9 (0) 53 (5) 2 (1)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 07:49, 8 April 2009 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Matthew John "Mat" Bailey^[1] (born 12 March 1986 in Crewe) is an English footballer. When playing for Crewe Alexandra, he played at centre back or up front. He is currently playing for Conference North club Northwich Victoria.

[edit] Footballing career

[edit] Stockport County

As a youth, Bailey started his career at non-league outfit Nantwich Town, where he impressed Football League outfit Stockport County enough to earn a trial for The Hatters, whilst on trail he impressed manager Carlton Palmer to offer a Bailey a three-year contract, which Bailey duly signed. Bailey, under new manger Sammy McIlroy impressed in the reserves and was sent out on loan to League Two outfit Scunthorpe United at the start of the 2004–2005 season for a month, making his début against Rochdale, a 3-1 defeat for Scunthorpe, he played in 4 first team matches whilst at Glanford Park, scoring 0 goals. He returned to Stockport in October 2004 and his début under McIlroy in the in 2-0 defeat against Wrexham in the Football League Trophy, County lost this game 2-0, McIlroy was sacked in late November and was replaced by Chris Turner. Bailey made his league début, under Turner in the League One game Chesterfield as a 89th minute substitute, replacing Mark Robertson. Bailey was sent out on loan to Conference National outfit Northwich Victoria for a month, making his début at Carlisle United, a 1-0 defeat for Northwich, he played in 5 first team matches whilst at Victoria Stadium, scoring 0 goals. He was released by Stockport in May 2005.

[edit] Crewe Alexandra

Whilst on loan at Northwich Victoria, Bailey trained with Championship outfit Crewe Alexandra and scored twice in an under-18 game for The Railway Men and this performance impressed manager Dario Gradi enough to earn a one-year contract in May 2005. During the 2005–06 season, Bailey went out on loan to non-league outfits Hereford United, Southport and Lancaster City to gain vital first team match experience, but despite not breaking into the first team during the season and Crewe's relegation to League One, he was offered a one-year contract extension. In the 2006–07 season, it was a similar season for to the previous, failing into the first team and going out on loan, to Conference North outfit Barrow, playing in 10 games, scoring 0 goals, he was offered another one year extension to his contract. Bailey made his Alexandra début on September 1, 2007 in a 1-1 at Swindon Town, replacing Tom Pope in the 82nd minute.

[edit] Change of position

Bailey did not impress manager Dario Gradi as a striker, who had trained the likes of David Platt and Dean Ashton in their early years, and he announced to convert him from a striker to a defender, in the centre back positions. Gradi doesn't expect Mat to push through and challenge as a first team centre back until the start of 2008.^[3] Bailey then went on to mark his full debut for Alexandra away at outfit Oldham Athletic in the second round of the FA Cup, where he played at centre back.^[4] Bailey went on loan to Weymouth for a month in March 2008.^[5] Bailey played in 4 games for Weymouth, scoring no goals. When he returned to Crewe, Bailey did not feature in the team and he was released by the club on May 2008, after playing three games for Crewe, scoring no goals.

[edit] Northwich Victoria

Following his release from Crewe Alexandra Matt Bailey signed for Northwich Victoria in May 2008. Was loaned to Hinckley United in December 2008, scoring on his debut for the Conference North club. He put in a great performance against Charlton Athletic. Now he is referred to as the "BIG BOY".

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Mat Bailey career stats at Soccerbase