Matthew Carmichael (born 13 May 1964) is an English former

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 249 games in 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 ...

, scoring 48 times.

League career

A PT instructor in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, Carmichael signed for Lincoln City on a month's trial in 1989. Thrust straight into Lincoln's first team at centre-forward, Carmichael responded by scoring, on his debut against

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

. In his second season at the club, Carmichael made occasional appearances at centre-half as well as centre-forward and spent both the 1991–1992 and 1992–1993 seasons as a virtual ever present at the heart of Lincoln's defence. In 1991/92 he was Lincoln's Player of the Season. In the summer of 1993 he left Lincoln for

, in a part-exchange deal with

Dave Hill David John Hill (born 4 April 1946) is an English rock musician. He is the lead guitarist, a backing vocalist and the sole continuous member in the English band Slade. Hill is known for his flamboyant stage clothes and hairstyle. Early life B ...

. Restored to the forward line at Scunthorpe, Carmichael scored a total of 24 goals, with 18 in the league, during a highly successful 1993–1994 season. He also established a club record when between 28 December 1993 and 19 February 1994 he scored in eight successive matches. However, he struggled to maintain such form the following season and joined

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

on a month's loan in September 1994 before joining

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

in March 1995 for the remainder of the season, briefly playing alongside a young

David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...

. He made a solitary, goalscoring, appearance for

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

at the start of the 1995–1996 season before linking up with Doncaster Rovers and then, at the end of February,

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

. He helped Darlington reach the 1996 Endsleigh League Division Three

play-off final The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

where they were defeated 1–0 by

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, ...

on 25 May 1996 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

Post League career

Following his release by Darlington, Carmichael played four games for TPS Turku in the Finnish Veikkausliiga, and he scored one goal for them, on 30 June 1996 against HJK Helsinki. He then joined Aylesbury United, and he scored on his debut for them in the 2–1 away defeat to

Hitchin Town Hitchin Town Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. They are currently members of the . Founded in 1865 and known as 'The Canaries', Hitchin Town have been based at Top Field since their fou ...

on 17 August 1996. His last game for the Ducks was on 12 April 1997 against

Heybridge Swifts Heybridge Swifts Football Club is a football club based in Heybridge, near Maldon, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Scraley Road. History The club was established in 1880 as Heybridge Football Club. After joining t ...

. Carmichael then linked up with Ilkeston Town, under the management of the man who transferred him from Lincoln, Keith Alexander. Carmichael later played for

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...

in the 1998/99 season (where he scored 20 times in 34 matches), and had a 10-game spell with Grantham Town in the 1999–2000 season. He later joined

Wisbech Town Wisbech Town Football Club is a football club based near Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Fenland Stadium. History Although a Wisbech Town existed in the 1890s, the current club was estab ...

, then under the management of his former Boston United teammate

Ian Stringfellow Ian Robert Stringfellow (born 8 May 1969) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the nephew of former Mansfield Town and Leicester City winger Mike Stringfellow. Career Stringfellow began his career wi ...

, debuting in the 1–1 home draw with Histon on 26 September 2000. However, after just five league games and one goal for the Fenman, financial constraints saw six of the squad, Carmichael included, depart the club following the 2–0 home defeat to Newport IOW on 21 October 2000. Carmichael moved on to

Lincoln United Lincoln United Football Club is a football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Ashby Avenue. Nicknamed the Whites after their home kit colours, they have played at Ashby Avenue since thei ...

but a persistent back injury curtailed his appearances and he wound his career down with various clubs in the Lincoln & District Sunday League. After being kit manager at Lincoln City he was appointed in May 2012 as manager at Lincoln Moorlands Railway but he left the club after three months.

References/Notes

External links

*
Doncaster Rovers Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carmichael, Matt 1964 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Men's association football defenders English Football League players Veikkausliiga players Salisbury City F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Basingstoke Town F.C. players Bromley F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Turun Palloseura footballers Aylesbury United F.C. players Ilkeston Town F.C. (1945) players Stamford A.F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Grantham Town F.C. players Wisbech Town F.C. players Lincoln United F.C. players English expatriates in Singapore English football managers Doncaster Rovers F.C. players 20th-century British Army personnel Royal Artillery soldiers