Matthew William Glennon (born 8 October 1978) 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 lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. A graduate of the

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, he spent 1997 to 2001 at the club without making a first-team appearance. Instead he spent part of 1999 on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

, and part of 2000 on loan at

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

and then

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

; he played just one game for Rovers, and never made it onto the pitch for Port Vale or Stockport County. He did manage to find regular football on loan at

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

in the 2000–01 campaign before securing a £50,000 move to

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

in June 2001. He returned to Carlisle on a free transfer in October 2002. He helped the club to win

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

out of 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 ...

as winners of the 2005 play-off final. He then switched to the Scottish side

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

before signing with

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the , the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun (or Saint Johnstoun)—an old name o ...

in January 2006, where he managed to score a goal. Glennon returned to England in June 2006 to play for

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

. He spent four years with the club, making over 100 appearances, before he joined

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

in January 2010. He moved on to Stockport County in September 2010 and became the first-choice keeper from his arrival until his departure in January 2012. He then joined

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

and helped the club to win the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

title in 2011–12. He signed with

FC Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in the National League (division), National League, the fifth level of English football league system. They replac ...

in July 2012 and helped the club to win promotion out of the

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

in May 2013. He had a loan spell with

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Alston, Cumbria also claims this, but lacks a regu ...

in 2016. He also spent time with Scarborough Athletic before making his final appearance in football for AFC Emley in February 2017.

Club career

Bolton Wanderers

Born in

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

, Glennon started as a trainee at

, but could not break into the first-team and after unsuccessful

spells at

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

clubs

and

, he finally made his professional debut on loan at

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

side

in a 0–0 draw with

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

at the Memorial Stadium on 16 September 2000, and was described as "impressive" after making "important saves from

Kevin Nicholls Kevin John Richard Nicholls (born 2 January 1979) is an English former footballer who played in midfield. He most recently played for Luton Town, a club where he spent eight years at in two separate spells. At the beginning of his second stint ...

and

Simon Haworth Simon Owen Haworth (born 30 March 1977) is a Welsh former footballer who played as a striker. He won five caps for the Wales national football team during his career. He was since moved into football club management. Club career Born in Cardif ...

". However, he was not picked again by "Pirates" boss

Ian Holloway Ian Scott Holloway (born 12 March 1963) is an English professional football manager, former player, media personality and television pundit who is the manager of club Swindon Town. A midfielder, he notably played in the Premier League with ...

. He joined Third Division side

on loan in November 2000. He played 29 games for the "Cumbrians" in the 2000–01 season. In January 2001 he turned down a

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies * ...

to Bristol Rovers, that would have been worth around £250,000 for Bolton, saying that he was happy to remain on loan at

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 ...

's Carlisle.

Hull City

In June 2001, he moved to

after being signed by

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Brian Little Brian Little (born 25 November 1953) is an English football manager and former player. As a player, Little was a striker who spent his entire career for Aston Villa in a career that spanned from 1971 to 1980. He made 247 league appearances, ...

for a £50,000 fee to compete with Paul Musselwhite for a first-team place. He started the 2001–02 in goal despite struggling with his weight, but was replaced by Musselwhite in the second half of the campaign. Glennon regained the "Tigers" number one spot under

Jan Mølby Jan Mølby (; born 4 July 1963) is a Danish former professional footballer and manager. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1982 to 1998. After starting his career with Kolding, he moved on to Ajax before spending twelve years playing in Engl ...

's brief reign as manager before he was allowed to leave for

Roddy Collins Roderick Collins (born 7 August 1960) is an Irish former professional football player and manager. During a playing career of 18 years, Collins played for many sides across England, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. While towards the ...

's Carlisle United on a free transfer in October 2002 after being deemed surplus to requirements at

Boothferry Park Boothferry Park was a Association football, football stadium in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, England, which was home to Hull City A.F.C. from 1946 until 2002, when they moved to the MKM Stadium, KC Stadium (now the MKM Stadium). In later years, ...

by incoming manager

Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to: Arts * Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction * Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing Politic ...

Carlisle United

Glennon played for Carlisle at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

in the 2003 Football League Trophy final, where they were beaten 2–0 by

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

. He played a total of 52 games in the 2002–03 season as Carlisle avoided relegation by a one-point margin. He then featured 49 times in the 2003–04 campaign as Carlisle were

relegated Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

into the

Conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

. Manager Paul Simpson guided United to promotion at the first attempt as play-off winners in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

with a 1–0 win over

Stevenage Borough Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The club competes in EFL League One, the third level of the Engli ...

at the

Britannia Stadium The bet365 Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but was renamed on 1 June 2016 when the cl ...

. However, Glennon departed

Brunton Park Brunton Park is a football stadium and the home of Carlisle United. It is situated in the city of Carlisle and has a certified capacity of 17,949. The ground opened in 1909. Brunton Park's grandstand burned down in 1953 and the stadium floode ...

in June 2005 after declaring the

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

he was offered was 'unacceptably low'.

Falkirk & St Johnstone

He went to Scotland to join SPL club

in July 2005 after saying he had been "bowled over by the quality of the

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

and training facilities". He featured 23 times in the first half of the 2005–06 season before he decided to leave the club after being dropped for Allan Ferguson by manager

John Hughes John Hughes may refer to: Arts and Entertainment Literature *John Hughes (poet) (1677–1720), English poet *John Hughes (1790–1857), English author *John Ceiriog Hughes (1832–1887), Welsh poet *John Hughes (writer) (born 1961), Australian au ...

. He moved on to

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...

side

in January 2006 after manager

Owen Coyle Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Indian Super League club Chennaiyin. He played as a striker for several clubs in England and Scotland, and made one appearanc ...

released back-up goalkeeper

Mark Paston Mark Nelson Paston (born 13 December 1976) is a New Zealand former professional football goalkeeper. He played for the Wellington Phoenix in the A-League from 2007 to 2013 before he retired from professional football. Paston represented New Ze ...

. At St Johnstone he scored his only senior goal, as a desperate last-minute attempt to equalise paid off in a 2–2 draw at Ross County on 11 March. Coyle offered Glennon a contract to stay at

McDiarmid Park McDiarmid Park is a stadium in Perth, Scotland, Perth, Scotland, used mainly for association football. It has been the home ground of Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone F.C., St Johnstone since its opening in 1989. The stadium has an All-seat ...

, but he instead chose to return south of the border to sign with

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...

in June 2006.

Huddersfield Town

After moving to the

Galpharm Stadium Kirklees Stadium, currently known as the John Smith's Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of Huddersfield Town Association Football Club ...

, Glennon firmly established himself as the club's first-choice keeper. He achieved a rare feat in saving three

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

s – two penalties were awarded, but one had to be retaken – in the same game against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

on 24 February 2007, even though Town still lost the game 2–1. His perfect appearance record at Town was tarnished after he was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in Town's 4–1 defeat by

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

Roots Hall Roots Hall is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium located in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. The stadium is the home ground of the National League (English football), National League team Southend United F.C., Southend United. With a ...

on 5 December 2007, forcing 17-year-old

Alex Smithies Alexander Smithies (born 5 March 1990) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Smithies is a product of the Huddersfield Town A.F.C., Huddersfield Town ac ...

to come on in his place. Manager Andy Ritchie said that he would appeal the

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...

after striker

Leon Clarke Leon Marvin Clarke (born 10 February 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Clarke began his career with Wolverhampton Wanderers but then played for twenty-three clubs – in both permanent and loan deals ...

admitted that he had slipped rather than been fouled by Glennon. In May 2008, he signed a two-year extension to his contract with Huddersfield Town after manager

Stan Ternent Francis Stanley Ternent (born 16 June 1946) is an English former footballer and manager. He managed Blackpool, Hull City, Bury, Burnley, Gillingham and Huddersfield Town. He was a scout for Hull City until January 2017. As a manager, he won ...

declared him to be "an integral part of the squad". However, he did not feature under new manager Lee Clark, who took charge in December 2008 and kept faith in teenager Alex Smithies, and Glennon had his contract terminated in January 2010.

Bradford City

He then joined League Two side

on a deal until the end of the 2009–10 season after manager

Stuart McCall Andrew Stuart Murray McCall (born 10 June 1964) is a professional football coach and former player. He is currently assistant manager of Preston North End. McCall played in a total of 763 league games and in 40 full international matche ...

needed a replacement for departed loanee goalkeeper Simon Eastwood. Glennon departed

Valley Parade Valley Parade, currently known as University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater association football, football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium was built in 1886 as the home of Manningham F.C. ...

after he was released in May 2010.

Stockport County

In September 2010, Glennon joined his hometown club Stockport County on a permanent deal. He replaced

Owain Fôn Williams Owain Fôn Williams (born 17 March 1987) is a Welsh professional football coach and former professional Association football, footballer who is the Head of Goalkeeping for EFL League One side Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers. Williams pl ...

as the club's first choice stopper. He started 36 league games in

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

as the "Hatters" were relegated out of the Football League. Glennon made a further 26 appearances in 2011–12 but was released by manager

Jim Gannon James Paul Gannon (born 7 September 1968) is a professional football manager and former player who most recently was manager of Hyde United. He started and finished his career as a player in Ireland but made most of his professional appearanc ...

on 31 January 2012.

Non-League

On 24 February 2012, Glennon signed for

of the

Northern Premier League Premier Division The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system. Geographically, the league c ...

until the end of the season, keeping a

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...

on his debut against

. He helped the club to win the league title and promotion to the Conference in 2011–12, before leaving the

Deva Stadium Deva Stadium is an association football stadium which is the home of Chester F.C., the effective successor club to the liquidated Chester City. The stadium straddles the England–Wales border at Sealand, on the outskirts of Chester. The ...

in the summer. He signed with

, another reformed club, in July 2012 to battle Phil Senior for the first-team spot. He played 51 matches in the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

campaign, and kept a clean sheet in the

play-off final, as promotion was secured with a 1–0 victory over

Brackley Town Brackley Town Football Club is a Association football, football club in Brackley, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at St James Park. The club won the FA Trophy in 2018. History Established in 1890, the club sp ...

. He was an unused substitute in the

West Riding County Cup The West Riding County Cup is an annual association football, football competition held between the clubs of the West Riding County Football Association which was first competed in 1927. It is the senior county cup for the historic West Riding o ...

victory over

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is an area in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-west ...

. He missed just one league game in the 2013–14 season as he helped the club to secure a play-off spot, where they were beaten by

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

at the semi-final stage. He was an ever-present throughout the 2014–15 league campaign, as Halifax posted a ninth-place finish, and signed a new contract in the summer. Halifax were relegated at the end of the 2015–16 season, and Glennon spent the second half of the season as back-up goalkeeper to loan signing

Sam Johnson Samuel Robert Johnson (October 11, 1930 – May 27, 2020) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for in Congress from 1991 to 2019. He was a member of the Republican Party. In October and November 2015, he was the act ...

. He joined

on loan in January 2016. He announced his retirement after Halifax released him. However, he played once for Scarborough Athletic after being coaxed out of retirement by manager Steve Kittrick. He again came out of retirement in February 2017, to play one game for AFC Emley in a

Northern Counties East League The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the English football pyramid respectively. ...

Division One against

Brigg Town Brigg Town Football Club CIC is a football club based in Brigg, Lincolnshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Hawthorns. Established in 1864, not only are they are officially the 7th oldest football club in the world, ...

after regular goalkeeper Graham McLachlan picked up a suspension.

International career

Glennon represented England at a semi-professional level, making two appearances for the England C team during his time at

in 2005 when they were playing in the Conference National.

Personal life

In 2012, Glennon and wife Nicola opened two Hair & Beauty Lounges in Emley,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

, both named G27 in reference to his playing career.

Career statistics

Honours

Carlisle United *

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

runner-up: 2002–03 *

play-offs: 2004–05 Chester *

: 2011–12 FC Halifax Town *

play-offs:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

: 2012–13

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glennon, Matt Living people 1978 births Footballers from Stockport English men's footballers England men's semi-pro international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Falkirk F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Chester F.C. players FC Halifax Town players Buxton F.C. players Scarborough Athletic F.C. players Emley A.F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Football League players Northern Counties East Football League players