Matthew James Anthony Tootle (born 11 October 1990) is an English 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 ...

who plays as a defender for

National League North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...

side Peterborough Sports.

Career

Crewe Alexandra

Tootle was born in

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form th ...

, Cheshire. Joining Crewe as an eight-year old, Tootle signed his first professional contract after making an impression on Crewe manager Gudjon Thordarsson in July 2009. He made his full debut on 21 November for Crewe Alexandra in a 2–2 draw, away at

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

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 ...

, playing the full 90 minutes. Tootle became a regular in the first team after

Dario Gradi Dario Gradi, MBE (born 8 July 1941) is an Italian-English former amateur football player, coach and manager. He was associated for more than 36 years with Crewe Alexandra, where he was variously manager, director of football and director of t ...

took over for his third spell as Crewe manager. His first goal in senior football came in Crewe's 2–2 draw with

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

on Boxing Day 2009. Tootle appeared in the 2012 Football League Two play-off final at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

, as Crewe beat

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...

2–0 to win promotion to

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

after three seasons in

. Less than a year later, Tootle became a winner at Wembley for the second time, playing the whole match as Crewe defeated Southend 2–0 in the

2013 Football League Trophy Final The 2013 Football League Trophy Final was the 30th final of the English domestic football cup competition for teams from Football Leagues One and Two, the Football League Trophy. The final was played at Wembley Stadium in London on 7 April 20 ...

. As Crewe battled against relegation in the 2013–14 season, Tootle replaced teammate Abdul Osman as captain of the side in March 2014. Crewe stayed up following a final-day win over Preston North End, and following Osman's departure it was decided he would continue in this role for the 2014–15 season. Despite not featuring since October 2014 due to injury and illness, Crewe offered Tootle a contract extension at the end of the season.

Shrewsbury Town

Tootle moved to

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract on 16 June 2015. He made his debut on the opening day of the 2015–16 season against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

, and scored his first goal for the club in a

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

second-round tie against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

, but he did not feature again at first-team level following a defeat at

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

on 31 October. He was released from his contract one year early by mutual consent in June 2016.

Notts County

On the same day that he left Shrewsbury Town, Tootle joined

side

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

on a two-year contract. He signed a new contract with Notts County at the end of the 2017–18 season. At the end of the 2019–20 season, Tootle was released by the club.

Boston United

On 25 August 2020, Tootle signed for

side

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 ...

Style of play

Matt Tootle is a tenacious full back being comfortable on either the left or right back positions. He can also play as a winger. He's often praised for his work rate, athleticism, pace, stamina and adaptability which all make him an integral part for most teams.

Career statistics

Honours

Crewe Alexandra *

Football 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 ...

play-offs:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Individual *

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

Player of the Year: 2013–14

References

External links

Crewe Alexandra profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tootle, Matthew 1990 births Living people Men's association football defenders Boston United F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players English Football League players English men's footballers Footballers from Widnes Notts County F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players