Matthew James Bodkin (born 16 September 1983) is an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

, who plays as a winger for Chatham Town.

Career

Bodkin began his career as a trainee with

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

, turning professional in May 2003. He failed to make the first team with Forest and was released in May 2004. In August 2004, Bodkin joined Gillingham, making his debut in the 1–0

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

defeat away to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

on 8 January 2005. His league debut came the following week when he replaced

Andy Hessenthaler Andrew Hessenthaler (born 17 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player who is head of recruitment at club Gillingham. He began his career in non-league football and did not turn professional until he joined Watford at ...

as a second-half substitute in the 1–0 win at home to

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

. He made one further appearance, away to

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

on 22 January before being released by Gillingham at the end of the season, joining

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football. History Welling United Foot ...

in August 2005. His form for Welling was impressive enough to earn an invitation to join pre-season training with Gillingham in 2006, but a move back to

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

did not materialise. Bodkin left Welling to join

Grays Athletic Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Parkside in nearby Aveley. History The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former S ...

in December 2006, attracted by a return to full-time football. In February 2007, he was allowed to join

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

side

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The l ...

on loan. On 21 August 2007, Bodkin was sent on loan to

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

, dropping down three leagues to the

Isthmian League Division One North The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 teams ...

. Exactly a month later he rejoined Thurrock on loan until the end of the season. He made a further two appearances for Grays Athletic at the start of the 2008–09 season, before being sent out on loan to

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

until January 2009. On 3 February 2009, Bodkin joined

Isthmian League Premier Division The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 teams ...

club

Dover Athletic Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 198 ...

on a free transfer until the end of the season. He made his debut in a 3–0 victory over

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

and scored his first goal in a 6–0 victory over

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional football club in Sutton, South London, England, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They play home games at Gander Green Lane in Sutton about 11 miles sout ...

. Despite being a regular first-team player in the run-in to Dover's championship winning season, he was not offered a new contract and was subsequently released. Shortly afterwards he signed a one-year contract with former loan club Thurrock. Bodkin signed a one-year deal with

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

of the

on 16 July 2011. Four days later, he accepted an offer to extend his contract by a further year. Bodkin signed with

Maidstone United Maidstone United Football Club is a professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league system. The current club filled the void left by the ol ...

of the

on 8 May 2014. On 25 May 2016, Bodkin was released by Maidstone.

References

External links

*
Dover Athletic profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodkin, Matt 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Chatham, Kent Footballers from Kent English footballers Association football wingers Association football forwards English Football League players National League (English football) players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Welling United F.C. players Grays Athletic F.C. players Thurrock F.C. players Eastleigh F.C. players Dover Athletic F.C. players Margate F.C. players Hastings United F.C. players Maidstone United F.C. players Chatham Town F.C. players