Matthew James Piper (born 29 September 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 lea ...

and current coach, who played as a winger.

Career

Piper came through the youth ranks of hometown club

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. After signing a professional contract in 2000, he made his first team debut in the League Cup on 9 October 2001, playing the whole of a 6–0 home defeat to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

. After another appearance in a 4–1 league defeat to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, he was loaned to

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

, for whom he played eight times. He impressed there, and scored his first senior goal against

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

. On his return in January 2002, Piper played 27 games as Leicester fought relegation from the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

. Although Leicester were ultimately relegated with a mere five league wins all season, Piper made his mark in the club's history by scoring the last ever competitive goal at

Filbert Street Filbert Street was a football stadium in Leicester, England, which served as the home of Leicester City F.C. from 1891 until 2002. Although officially titled the City Business Stadium in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively b ...

on 11 May 2002, in a 2–1 win against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

signed Piper from Leicester in August 2002, for a fee of £3.5 million. Despite initially impressing, Piper's time at Sunderland was mostly an unhappy one as he suffered a number of serious injuries, resulting in him having ten operations in three years. Piper missed most of the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons due to injury and rehabilitation. Following Sunderland's promotion to the Premiership in the 2004–05, Piper was included in Sunderland's squad for the pre-season tour of the United States and Canada, playing in two friendlies against American opposition. Piper made just one start against

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

in the League Cup. This was to be Piper's final appearance for Sunderland, and his contract was terminated by mutual consent in January 2006 following an unsuccessful trial with

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

. He had made just 29 appearances, including 15 starts, in three and a half years at Sunderland. In the summer of 2007, Piper participated in pre-season training at Mansfield Town, in an attempt to rebuild his fitness. However, he decided to retire before the start of the 2007–08 season. In March 2008, he started training with local side

Anstey Nomads Anstey Nomads Football Club is a football club based in Anstey, Leicestershire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Cropston Road. History The club was established in 1946 by a merger of Anstey Methodists and St Mary's unde ...

. He managed just one appearance before retiring from football completely. Piper retired at the age of 26, and has since spoken about his battles with drink and drugs as a result.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Piper, Matt 1981 births Living people Footballers from Leicester English men's footballers Men's association football wingers Leicester City F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Anstey Nomads F.C. players GNG Oadby Town F.C. players Premier League players British people of Montserratian descent Leicester City F.C. non-playing staff 21st-century English sportsmen