Matthew Villis (born 13 April 1984) is an English

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 lea ...

who played for Taunton Town as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, having previously played for Bridgwater Town,

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

Weston-Super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...

, Tiverton Town,

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, South West England. It is the main town of the Torridge District, Torridge Districts of England, local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bi ...

and Yate Town

Career

Villis began his career as a junior with Bridgwater Town before signing as a trainee with

, turning professional in July 2003. He then joined

on a season-long loan deal in July 2004, making his league debut as an early substitute for Lee Canoville in a 4–2 defeat at home to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

. He went on to play 22 times that season as Torquay unsuccessfully battled against relegation from Division Two. He was released by Plymouth at the end of the season and joined Torquay on a free transfer in June 2005. Despite beginning the season as a regular squad member, he lost his place after Torquay's

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

draw against non-league Harrogate Town and was linked with a move to ambitious non-league side

Truro City Truro City Football Club is an Association football in England, English football club based in Truro, Cornwall. They currently compete in the National League (English football), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

. He returned to the Torquay side in February 2006 as the Gulls battled against a second successive relegation and was a regular until the end of the season under first

John Cornforth Sir John Warcup Cornforth Jr., (7 September 1917 – 8 December 2013) was an AustralianBritish chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme- catalysed reactions, becoming the only Nobel l ...

and then

Ian Atkins Ian Leslie Atkins (born 16 January 1957) is an English football manager, scout, and former player. Atkins amassed over 300 appearances for Shrewsbury Town, the club where he began his career. He also made appearances in the Football League for ...

. He was confined to the substitute's bench for the early part of the 2006-07 season, although was restored to the first team under new manager Lubos Kubik before missing the remainder of the season due to injury. He was released in May 2007 after Torquay's relegation to the

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

. He joined Bridgwater Town on trial in early July 2007 and was again linked with Truro City before joining Southern League side Tiverton Town later the same month. In the summer of 2010, Villis signed for

Conference South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 of the NLS and sixth-highest ti ...

side

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...

. As of April 2012, Villis had scored three goals in 103 appearances for the Seagulls. In the summer of 2013, Villis rejoined Tiverton Town. In July 2018, Villis was appointed as first team coach at Taunton Town.

Statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Villis, Matt 1984 births Living people Sportspeople from Bridgwater English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Bridgwater United F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Tiverton Town F.C. players Weston-super-Mare A.F.C. players Bideford A.F.C. players Yate Town F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players National League (English football) players Footballers from Somerset 21st-century English sportsmen