Matthew Liam Doughty (born 2 November 1981) 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 ...

and manager. He started his professional career at Chester City, but whilst at the club he was sent to prison for four months following an incident outside a nightclub in

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

, this meant he missed Chester City's last game in the Football League before they were relegated. In 2001, he joined

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 ...

where he spent three seasons before moving on to play for

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...

and

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 ...

respectively. In 2010, he moved to Witton Albion before joining Hyde in March 2011. He later returned to Altrincham, before playing for Warrington Town and

Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Ur ...

. Following his retirement from football, he had a brief spell as manager of Altrincham.

Career

Chester City

Born in

, he signed professional terms with Chester City at the age of 16. He played regularly in 1999–2000 and 2000–01. This period saw him and the club relegated from the Football League, with Doughty missing the decisive final game of the 1999–2000 season after being sent to prison for four months the day before, following an incident outside a nightclub in his home town of

. After his release from prison, he regained his place in the Chester side throughout the 2000–01 season.

Rochdale

He attracted the interest of many Football League clubs but he joined

in July 2001. Doughty established himself as the club's first choice left back. He was offered a trial with

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, but a broken leg prevented the move going through. Doughty's first game for Rochdale in August 2001 saw him score in a 2–1 win at

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 t ...

, the first Football League goal to be scored at the

Kassam Stadium The Kassam Stadium (also known as Grenoble Road) is the home of Oxford United Football Club, and is named after the ground's owner and former chairman of the football club, Firoz Kassam. The Kassam Stadium currently hosts League One (third t ...

. Doughty was not offered a contract renewal from Rochdale in the summer of 2004 and was left without a club.

Return to non-league

Despite interest from clubs, most notably

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 ...

, Doughty said he did not want to "up sticks" and move his young family a long way from home. During the off-season,

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete his ...

offered Doughty a contract and announced in the press that Doughty had signed, which he had not. Two days after the false announcement he had signed for Accrington, Doughty agreed terms with

. In 2008, after the relegation of Halifax Town, he joined Conference National side

. In 2010, he left Altrincham to join Witton Albion, after sustaining a major injury in a match against Salisbury City.

Hyde

On 25 March 2011, he left Witton Albion to join Hyde, making his debut the day after in a 0–0 draw against

Alfreton Town Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street. History The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alfr ...

Retirement and return to Altrincham

Still struggling with injury problems, Doughty fell out of football after his release from Hyde. After a year, he returned to former club Altrincham on trial. He eventually signed up for the season, and made his return to action as a substitute in a 4–1 defeat against Brackley Town. He later played for Warrington Town and

. He returned to Altrincham again when appointed Assistant Manager in 2016. After manager Jim Harvey was sacked in December 2016 he was appointed interim manager. In April 2017 the club announced he was to be replaced by Phil Parkinson.Robins unveil new manager and say he's the "right man to turn things around"
Altrincham Today, 28 April 2017

Honours

;Chester City *

Conference League Cup The Conference League Cup (formerly known as the Setanta Shield for sponsorship reasons, and before that the Bob Lord Trophy) was a football competition open to clubs playing in the Football Conference. History The competition was formed for t ...

winners: 2000–01 ;Halifax Town * Conference National play-off finalists: 2005–06

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doughty, Matt 1981 births Living people Footballers from Warrington Association football fullbacks English footballers Chester City F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players Witton Albion F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players Warrington Town F.C. players Trafford F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players English criminals English football managers Altrincham F.C. managers