Matthew James Somner (born 8 December 1982) is a

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 for Walton & Hersham. A

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

, Somner can play in numerous position across both

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

and

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

. Born in England, he made two appearances for the Wales U21 national team.

Career

Born in

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...

, London, Somner began his career with local club

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, situated just 2 km from his native Isleworth. His professional debut came on 1 May 2001, in a 6–0 defeat to

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 ...

. During his time at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

, he was called into the Wales-U21 squad to play Italy-U21s in 2003. The game finished disastrously for Wales as they lost 8–1. Somner spent four seasons at Brentford, where he played in 93 games, before his contract was cancelled my mutual consent on 31 January 2005. He joined

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

two days later, having had a

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

spell at the club in December 2004. He was offered a new contract at the end of the season, though turned it down and instead joined

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

on non-contract terms. He made only one appearance before signing for

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

side

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area i ...

on 19 August 2005. His contract not renewed at Aldershot, Somner joined

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

in 2006, playing in 62 games over two seasons. Somner was released by Notts County in 2008, and signed 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 ...

on 1 August 2008. He joined

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

on loan in November 2010. On 31 January 2011, Somner signed for

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

after being released by Mansfield. He made his debut for Forest Green on 5 February 2011 in a home win against Hayes & Yeading United. Somner revealed on his Twitter page ahead of Rovers final game of the season that he would not be offered a new contract by the club. He would go on to score for Forest Green in their last game of the season against Tamworth. Somner signed for

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

in July 2011. He then joined

Kingstonian Kingstonian Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London which currently plays in the Isthmian League Premier Division. The club was founded in 1885 by YMC ...

in the summer of 2012. After a lengthy spell at Kingsmeadow, which included taking the captain's armband, he dropped to the Isthmian Division One South for the 2014–15 season, joining Walton Casuals. Managing just two appearances for the Stags, he left at the end of August and took a short break from football. However, he returned to the league in late February, joining rivals Walton & Hersham.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Somner, Matt 1982 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Hounslow People from Isleworth English men's footballers Welsh men's footballers Wales men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football utility players Brentford F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Aldershot Town F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Lewes F.C. players Kingstonian F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Walton Casuals F.C. players Walton & Hersham F.C. players Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders