Matthew Etherington

Personal information
Full name	Matthew Etherington
Date of birth	14 August 1981 (1981-08-14) (age 28)
Place of birth	Truro, England
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Left winger
Club information
Current club	Stoke City
Number	26
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1997–2000	Peterborough United	51	(6)
2000–2003	Tottenham Hotspur	45	(1)
2001	→ Bradford City (loan)	13	(1)
2003–2009	West Ham United	165	(16)
2009–	Stoke City	27	(2)
National team‡
	England U21	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:22, 5 December 2009 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:33, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

Matthew Etherington (born 14 August 1981) is an English footballer. Etherington, a left-sided midfielder and winger, plays for Premier League club Stoke City.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Peterborough United

Born in Truro, Cornwall, Etherington came through the youth ranks at Peterborough United and made his league debut aged 15 years 262 days, in a 2–1 win at Brentford on 3 May 1997.^[1] He made a further two appearances in the following season but made his breakthrough into the first team in 1998–99 when he made 33 appearances in all competitions scoring three goals.^[1] He went on trial at Manchester United in July 1999, but at the end of December 1999, he joined Tottenham Hotspur in a deal that valued him at £500,000.^[1] He made a total of 58 appearances for Peterborough in all competitions, scoring six goals.^[1]

[edit] Tottenham Hotspur

Etherington joined Tottenham Hotspur from Peterborough in a move that saw Simon Davies join the North London club as part of the same deal. He struggled to establish himself during his three year stint at Spurs and, in 2001, spent two months on loan to Bradford City,^[2] where he made 13 appearances and scored one goal against Watford.^[3][1] Having only started five Premiership games since arriving from Peterborough in 1999, he handed in a transfer request in June 2002 saying that he had decided that his career would be best served away from Spurs.^[4] However, no transfer was forthcoming but he broke into the first team during the 2002/03 season, when he made 25 appearances^[1] despite a lay-off with an ankle injury.^[5] In August 2003, he joined West Ham in an exchange deal plus cash for Fredi Kanouté amid a formal complaint made to the FA by Peterborough at the valuation placed on Etherington, who would have benefited from a sell-off clause had it been greater than £500,000, the price at which Peterborough sold Etherington to Tottenham in 1999.^[6] Etherington made 51 appearances for Tottenham, 28 of these as a substitute, scoring two goals against Bolton in the FA Cup^[7] and Everton in the league.^[8][1]

[edit] West Ham United

Etherington joined West Ham at the beginning of their two year spell in the second-tier of English football, playing the final season of the First Division and the first of the Championship. Etherington was a big hit at Upton Park, winning the "Hammer of the Year" award in his first season at the club and he played a huge part in helping the club get to the 2004 Championship play-off final by scoring in the 2–0 win over Ipswich Town in the play-off semi final second leg. However, Etherington was seen in tears at the final whistle of a 1–0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the final. The following year, West Ham reached the play-off final again, with Etherington setting up the goal in the final against Preston North End with a perfectly timed cross which was scored by Bobby Zamora, which sent West Ham back into the Premiership. He was a regular member of the team for seasons 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06, his appearances being more sporadic in the following three seasons. Etherington eventually lost his place in the starting eleven due to Gianfranco Zola's preference to play younger players. He completed 195 games for West Ham, in all competitions, scoring 18 goals,^[9] before being sold to Stoke City on 8 January 2009.

[edit] Stoke City

On 8 January 2009, Etherington completed a transfer, thought to be for £2million, from West Ham United to Stoke City, signing a three and a half year contract.^[10][11] He made his debut for Stoke City two days after his transfer, against Liverpool in the Premier League, in a game which finished goalless.^[12] He was sent off in his fifth game with Stoke for kicking out at Danny Collins as his side lost 2–0 to Sunderland.^[13] He scored his first goal for Stoke in a 4-3 Carling Cup win over Blackpool on 22 September 2009.^[14] Etherington scored his first League goal for Stoke in a 2–2 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers.^[15]

[edit] International career

Etherington appeared for the England Under-20 team at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, playing alongside players such as Stuart Taylor, Ashley Cole, Peter Crouch and Andy Johnson. However, the team failed to score a single goal in their three group matches, and finished bottom of their group.

[edit] Personal life

Etherington had a gambling addiction while he was at West Ham United, who paid him a £300,000 loan, after he accumulated debts in excess of £800,000. He also spent time at Tony Adams' Sporting Chance Clinic.^[16]

[edit] Career statistics

Statistics accurate as of match played December 2009.^[17]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Matthew Etherington at Biogs.com
• Matthew Etherington at FootballDatabase
• Matthew Etherington career stats at Soccerbase
• Profile at UpThePosh! The Peterborough United Database