Matthew Ronald Fry (born 26 September 1990) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played for West Ham United, Gillingham, Charlton Athletic, Bradford City, Concord Rangers, Dartford, Chelmsford City, Eastleigh Braintree Town, York City and Herne Bay.

Matt Fry
Fry playing for West Ham United in 2009
Personal information
Full name Matthew Ronald Fry[1]
Date of birth (1990-09-26) 26 September 1990 (age 34)[1]
Place of birth Longfield, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
Gravesend & Northfleet
0000–2009 West Ham United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2012 West Ham United 0 (0)
2009–2010Gillingham (loan) 11 (0)
2010Charlton Athletic (loan) 0 (0)
2010–2011Charlton Athletic (loan) 25 (1)
2012 Bradford City 6 (0)
2013 Concord Rangers ? (?)
2013–2014 Dartford 15 (0)
2014 Concord Rangers 7 (0)
2014 Chelmsford City 1 (0)
2014 Eastleigh 3 (0)
2014–2015 Concord Rangers 30 (0)
2015–2016 Braintree Town 27 (0)
2016–2017 York City 21 (2)
2018 Herne Bay ? (?)
Total 146 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:45, 25 January 2022 (UTC)

Career

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Early career

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Fry was born in Longfield, Kent.[1] He is a product of Gravesend & Northfleet's youth team.[2] Aged eleven he joined West Ham United's youth team, and captained the under-18 team in the 2008–09 season, before signing his first professional contract in June 2009.[3]

He signed for League One club Gillingham on a one-month loan on 15 October 2009.[4] He made his debut on 17 October 2009, in a 2–0 away defeat against Milton Keynes Dons.[5] In November 2009, his loan with Gillingham was extended for a further month,[6] and in December extended again for another month.[7] Fry suffered a knee injury in Gillingham's away match against Exeter City on 28 December 2009, ruling him out of action for six weeks.[citation needed] On 7 January 2010, he returned to West Ham.[8]

On 25 March 2010, he signed for League One club Charlton Athletic until the end of the season,[9] but returned to West Ham without having played for Charlton due to a persisting knee problem suffered earlier in the year.[10] On 5 August 2010, Fry again joined Charlton on loan, this time until January 2011.[11] On 28 August 2010, Fry made his first appearance for Charlton and scored his first goal, in a 3–1 away defeat to Huddersfield Town.[12] On 22 March 2011, Fry returned to West Ham having made 32 appearances, scoring one goal, for Charlton.[13]

Fry had his contract cancelled by mutual consent with West Ham on 2 February 2012 allowing him to seek first-team football on a regular basis.[14]

Bradford City

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On 10 February 2012, Fry joined League Two club Bradford City on a free transfer.[15] He made his debut in a 1–1 draw at home to Port Vale on 14 February 2012, in which he played 79 minutes before being substituted.[16]

Concord Rangers

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After leaving Bradford, Fry played for Concord Rangers, helping them win promotion from the Isthmian League Premier Division to the Conference South in 2012–13 via the play-offs.[17] In May 2013, Fry played for Concord against Lowestoft Town in the play-off final at Crown Meadow, with Concord winning 2–1 to gain promotion.[18]

Dartford, Concord, Braintree

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In June 2013, Fry signed for Dartford,[17] but returned to Concord in March 2014 having made 15 appearances.[citation needed] In June 2015, he signed for Braintree Town.[19]

York City

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Fry signed for newly relegated National League club York City on 16 June 2016 on a two-year contract.[20] His contract with York was cancelled by mutual consent on 26 September 2017 to retire from full-time football on medical advice.[21]

Herne Bay

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Fry signed for Isthmian League South East Division club Herne Bay on 20 July 2018.[22]

Career statistics

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As of 26 September 2017
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
West Ham United 2009–10[5] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0
2010–11[12] Premier League 0 0 0 0
2011–12[16] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gillingham (loan) 2009–10[5] League One 11 0 2 0 13 0
Charlton Athletic (loan) 2009–10[5] League One 0 0 0 0
2010–11[12] League One 25 1 4 0 0 0 3[a] 0 32 1
Total 25 1 4 0 0 0 3 0 32 1
Bradford City 2011–12[16] League Two 6 0 6 0
Dartford 2013–14[23] Conference Premier 15 0 3 0 0 0 18 0
Concord Rangers 2013–14[23] Conference South 7 0 7 0
Chelmsford City 2014–15[23] Conference South 1 0 1 0
Eastleigh 2014–15[23] Conference Premier 3 0 3 0
Concord Rangers 2014–15[23] Conference South 30 0 3 0 3[b] 0 36 0
Braintree Town 2015–16[23] National League 27 0 1 0 2[c] 0 30 0
York City 2016–17[23] National League 21 2 1 0 1[b] 0 23 2
Career total 146 3 14 0 0 0 9 0 169 3
  1. ^ Appearances in Football League Trophy
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
  3. ^ Appearances in National League play-offs

Honours

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Concord Rangers

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 159. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ^ "Ebbsfleet United Youth Teams". Ebbsfleet United F.C. 14 July 2009. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011.
  3. ^ "Fry signs up". West Ham United F.C. 25 June 2009. Archived from the original on 28 June 2009.
  4. ^ "Gillingham snap up Vernon and Fry". BBC Sport. 15 October 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
  5. ^ a b c d "Games played by Matt Fry in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  6. ^ "Fry extends loan deal". Gillingham F.C. 13 November 2009. Archived from the original on 16 November 2009.
  7. ^ "Fry agrees one month extension". Gillingham F.C. Retrieved 20 May 2010.[dead link]
  8. ^ "Fry returns". West Ham United F.C. 7 January 2010. Archived from the original on 11 January 2010.
  9. ^ "Charlton sign Nicky Forster, Matt Fry and Tony Warner". BBC Sport. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Fry feeling good". West Ham United F.C. 20 May 2010. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016.
  11. ^ "Fry joins Addicks". West Ham United F.C. 5 August 2010. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016.
  12. ^ a b c "Games played by Matt Fry in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Fry returns to Upton Park". Charlton Athletic F.C. 22 March 2011. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012.
  14. ^ "Driver on the right road". West Ham United F.C. 2 February 2012. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016.
  15. ^ "Fry signs up". Bradford City A.F.C. 10 February 2012. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012.
  16. ^ a b c "Games played by Matt Fry in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  17. ^ a b "Dartford sign former West Ham man Matt Fry". BBC Sport. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  18. ^ a b Bailey, Michael (7 May 2013). "Heartbreak again as Lowestoft Town lose out to Concord Rangers". Eastern Daily Press. Norwich. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  19. ^ Lambert, Luke (22 June 2015). "Ex-Concord Rangers defender Matt Fry concedes Danny Cowley was a big factor in Braintree Town switch". The Echo. Basildon. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  20. ^ Martini, Peter (16 June 2016). "York City sign ex-Braintree Town defender Matt Fry". The Press. York. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  21. ^ Martini, Peter (26 September 2017). "York City defender Matt Fry's contract is cancelled". The Press. York. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  22. ^ Fordham, Josh (20 July 2018). "Herne Bay add three central defenders to squad". KentOnline. KM Group. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g "M. Fry: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
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