Matthew Stephen Gregg (born 30 November 1978) is an English retired professional

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

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He now runs a goalkeeper coaching school in Ireland.

Playing career

Gregg played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

for

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

up to under-16 level before deciding to concentrate on his football career. He played for Gloucester Primary Schools alongside future

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

teammate Wayne Thomas. He began his senior career as an apprentice with Torquay United, making his debut while still aged only 16 in the 1–1 draw with

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

on 16 September 1995. He then returned to the reserves and his apprenticeship, appearing once more, in the last match of the 1996–97 season away to Doncaster Rovers, before turning professional in July 1997. He played another 30 times for Torquay, including the 1997–98 play-off final due to regular keeper

Ken Veysey Kenneth James Veysey (born 8 June 1967) is an English former professional football goalkeeper. He was born in Hackney, London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United ...

being suspended, before moving to Crystal Palace in October 1998 for a fee of £400,000. He joined

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

on loan in February 1999, before making his Palace debut in a 1–0 defeat against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

at Craven Cottage in April 2000. He struggled to win a place in the first team, and the arrival of Matt Clarke from

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

pushed Gregg further out of contention and on 14 September 2001 he joined Exeter City on loan.

Career in Ireland

He left

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon which is the home ground of Premier League side Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted international footba ...

on 25 October 2001, joining Irish side

Bray Wanderers Bray Wanderers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Fánaithe Bhré) are an Irish association football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club in its present form was founded in 1942 in Bray, and was known until 2010 as ''B ...

on a free transfer. Gregg impressed at Bray and earned a move in April 2003 to then champions,

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

. He spent four years at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as D ...

where he established himself as first choice and making numerous European appearances and later moved to UCD for the 2007 season. He made his UCD debut in a 1–0 defeat to

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí Shligigh) is an Irish professional football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 ...

on 1 April 2007 and started his UCD career with five clean sheets in his first eight appearances. He traded places with Darren Quigley through the 2007 season and his performances became shaky as he faded to second choice by season's end. Gregg appeared to have rejoined Bray Wanderers for the 2008 season, but re-signed for UCD when Quigley left the club. He began the 2008 season as first choice keeper and firmly claimed the number one spot as his own with some vastly improved performances including a dramatic equalising injury time headed goal against Cobh Ramblers. In December 2008, he was short-listed for the Eircom/Soccer Writers Association of Ireland Goalkeeper of the Year award, but lost out to Bohemians keeper Brian Murphy. With UCD relegated to Division One at the end of the 2008 season, Gregg rejoined Bohemians in January 2009. He was released in November 2009 after his contract expired. Gregg signed for

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

on 18 January 2010 to battle Peter Cherrie for the number one spot. Gregg's appearances for Dundalk were limited due to Cherrie's excellent form in goal. Gregg left Dundalk by mutual agreement on 24 June 2010, citing lack of first team football as the main reason for his departure. Gregg moved back to Bray in July 2010 in time for the friendly against Spanish side Villarreal and was substituted on at half time. Bray lost 5–0 although Gregg put in a good performance. His performances continued in this vein with Gregg being instrumental in turning around Bray's season and helping them overhaul a ten-point deficit at the bottom of the league to retain their Premier League status. Bray manager Pat Delvin hailed Gregg's professionalism in helping keep his team in the Premier Division. Gregg went on to play one more year for the Seagulls, helping them to a mid table finish. He then decided to hang up the Gloves (despite numerous offers) to concentrate on his Goalkeeper Coaching Career with Just4Keepers, where he has helped several young keepers achieve their dream of becoming professionals.

Honours

Bohemians * League of Ireland:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

* League of Ireland Cup:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gregg, Matt 1978 births Living people Sportspeople from Cheltenham English footballers Association football goalkeepers English Football League players Torquay United F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players League of Ireland players Bray Wanderers F.C. players Bohemian F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players University College Dublin A.F.C. players English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland