Louis Matthew Bird (born 31 October 1990) is an English former 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 defender from 2008 to 2011. He played 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 ...

for Grimsby Town, as well as playing for Frickley Athletic and

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 ...

on loan.

Career

Grimsby Town

Bird came through the youth team Grimsby Town. He was invited to trial with

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in January 2008 but this was cut short due to a recurring knee injury. Bird signed his first professional contract in March 2008, tying him to Grimsby Town until 2010, with youth team coach Neil Woods saying, ''"He's got great potential. He's 6ft 1in, left-footed, got good pace, and I think that it's the right move at this time for Matthew and for us."'' ''"GRIMSBY have rewarded teenage defender Matthew Bird with his first professional contract. The young centre-half ... has committed himself to the Mariners until 2010. Grimsby youth team coach Neil Woods said: "He's got great potential. He's 6ft 1in, left-footed, got good pace, and I think that it's the right move at this time for Matthew and for us."'' He made his first-team debut as a substitute in a 0–1 defeat to Rotherham United in April 2008. Bird played no part in the 2008–2009 season, failing to even make the subs bench under

Alan Buckley Alan Peter Buckley (born 20 April 1951) is an English former professional footballer and football manager who now works as a sports co-commentator for BBC Humberside. As a player, he was a forward from 1967 to 1987 for Nottingham Forest, Wa ...

and his replacement Mike Newell After failing to make a single first team appearance in little under two years, Bird was loaned too Frickley Athletic on 5 November 2009. Bird returned to

Blundell Park Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1899, but only one of the original stands remains. The current capacity of the ground is 9, ...

a month later on 5 December, but returned to Frickley again for a second spell on the 21st. Bird signed for

on loan in March 2010. Whilst in his month loan spell with United, he helped them to promotion from the Unibond Premier League via the play-offs to ensure Boston United play football in the Conference North next season.

Non League

Bird was released by Grimsby Town on 12 May 2010. He re-joined Frickley Athletic ahead of the 2010–2011 season. In October 2010 he joined Goole. He left Goole in January 2011 after suffering an injury that had kept him on the sidelines since October.

Honours

Grimsby Town

* Football League Trophy runner up: 2007–08

Boston United

* Northern Premier League Premier Division play-off winners: 2009–10

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Matthew Bird profile
Grimsby Town FC official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Matthew 1990 births Living people Footballers from Grimsby Men's association football defenders English men's footballers English Football League players Grimsby Town F.C. players Frickley Athletic F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Goole A.F.C. players