Matthew James Fletcher (born 12 May 1992) is an Australian

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 plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Green Gully Green Gully Soccer Club is an Australian association football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Green Gully is one of the largest clubs in Melbourne, having participated in the now defunct National Soccer League between 1984–1986. The club ...

NPL Victoria The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional association football, soccer league in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the high ...

. Fletcher played professionally 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 ...

in England and went on to play for Central Coast Mariners.

Club career

Career in England

Born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia, Fletcher started out his career in England, with Curl Curl before moving to

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, where he spent three years and was released in 2011. Following his departure from Sunderland, Fletcher signed a short-term deal with

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

on 11 December 2011. Fletcher and Oxford United mutually agreed to parted ways in January 2012. After leaving Oxford United, Fletcher joined Championship side Sheffield Wednesday in the summer. In early 2013, Fletcher moved to Cambridge United on loan from Sheffield Wednesday. Fletcher made his Cambridge Unite debut the next day, where he played 76 minutes, in a 0-0 draw against Grimsby Town. After making another appearance for the club, Fletcher returned to his parent club. Upon returning to his parent club, Fletcher was released by the club. In September 2013, Fletcher joined Hull City on a free transfer after joining the club on trial and impressed the club management when he played in a friendly match. Having been in the development squad for the whole season, Fletcher was released by the club.

Central Coast Mariners

Fletcher returned to Australia and signed for Central Coast Mariners in January 2016. Fletcher made his Central Coast Mariners debut on 23 January 2016, where he made his first start and played 65 minutes, in a 2-1 loss against Western Sydney Wanderers. Fletcher went on to make seven appearances for the side this season. However, Fletcher struggled in the first team under the management of Paul Okon and in January 2017, he was released by the club.

Manly United

Fletcher went to join Manly United, but was injured in his third game with the club, against

Blacktown City Blacktown City Council is a local government area in Western Sydney, situated on the Cumberland Plain, approximately west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1906 as the Blacktow ...

on 29 April 2017. He began coaching, starting as an assistant, and it was announced in November that Fletcher would assume the role of head coach of the under-15 boys team.

International career

Fletcher was a member of the

Young Socceroos The Australia national under-20 soccer team, known colloquially as the Young Socceroos, represents Australia in international under-20 soccer. The team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia (FA), which ...

squad selected for the

2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 18th FIFA U-20 World Cup. Colombia hosted the tournament between 29 July and 20 August 2011, with matches being played in eight cities. The tournament was won by Brazil who claimed their fifth title. At a FIFA ...

. Fletcher represented Australia under-23 as a substitute in a victory over Singapore on 14 June 2011.

Personal life

Despite being born in Australia, Fletcher said he considered himself English.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Matthew Living people 1992 births Soccer players from Sydney Men's association football forwards Oxford United F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Central Coast Mariners FC players Manly United FC players National League (English football) players A-League Men players Australia men's under-20 international soccer players Australian men's soccer players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England