Matthew Phillip Carbon (born 8 June 1975) 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 played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Biography

Matt Carbon is Head of Football at Sports Gateway after retiring from professional football in 2007-08. Carbon was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

. Until the end of the 2007–08 season, he played for

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

. Prior to that, he played for the

New Zealand Knights New Zealand Knights Football Club (formed from the Football Kingz Football Club in 2004) were the only professional association football club in New Zealand before they became defunct. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, they played in the A-League ...

in the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

in Australia. He has previously played in the

English Premiership The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

for

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

and the English First Division for

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

and

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

, alongside spells in lower divisions. Carbon started his career with Lincoln City in the lower English league, before signing for

Derby County F.C. Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

in 1996 in a £385,000 deal. Carbon helped Derby win promotion to the Premier League and contributed to Derby's impressive mid-table finish in 1996–97, playing twelve times. Carbon made a further four appearances in 1997–98, before sealing an £800,000 move to First Division side West Brom. Carbon became a regular during his time at ''

The Hawthorns The Hawthorns is an all-seater association football, football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of EFL Championship, Championship club West Bromwich Albion F ...

'', making over 100 league appearances before his free transfer move to

in 2001. Over fifty league appearances were made for the Saddlers, with a free transfer to

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

also bringing 50 games and a goal against Port Vale. In 2006, Carbon moved to the

to play for

but never featured, spending only one game on the bench before being released. He signed for Milton Keynes on an initial two-month deal on 4 December 2007 before retiring. Carbon played four times for the

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

under-21 side.

References

External links

*
Unofficial Matt Carbon Profile
a
The Forgotten ImpEngland profile
at The FA {{DEFAULTSORT:Carbon, Matt Living people 1975 births Footballers from Nottingham Association football central defenders English footballers Lincoln City F.C. players New Zealand Knights FC players Barnsley F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Expatriate association footballers in New Zealand Premier League players English expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand English expatriate footballers