Matthew Connolly

Matthew Connolly

Connolly playing for Cardiff City in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Matthew Thomas Martin Connolly [1]
Date of birth	(1987-09-24) 24 September 1987 (age 36)
Place of birth	Barnet, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) [2]
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1997–2006	Arsenal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2008	Arsenal	0	(0)
2006–2007	→ AFC Bournemouth (loan)	5	(1)
2007–2008	→ Colchester United (loan)	16	(2)
2008–2012	Queens Park Rangers	116	(2)
2012	→ Reading (loan)	6	(0)
2012–2020	Cardiff City	137	(7)
2015	→ Watford (loan)	6	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:42, 6 March 2018 (UTC)

Matthew Thomas Martin Connolly (born 24 September 1987) is an English professional footballer who last played as a defender for EFL Championship club Cardiff City.

Having started his career at Arsenal, he moved to Queens Park Rangers, going on to win the Football League Championship in 2011. It would be the first of three titles in four years, as he won the same division again on loan at Reading in 2012 and Cardiff in 2013, which he had joined permanently one year earlier.

Career

Arsenal

Born in Barnet, London, Connolly started his career as a youth at Arsenal, eventually making the reserve side. In September 2006 he was made captain of Arsenal's reserves. ^[3] He made his first-team debut for Arsenal on 24 October 2006, starting a League Cup third round match against West Bromwich Albion. ^[4]

On 23 November 2006, Arsenal announced that Connolly was going on loan to AFC Bournemouth until 2 January 2007. ^[5] In total, he played seven games for Bournemouth (five in League One and two in the FA Cup), and scored his first goal at senior level in a 2–0 win over Nottingham Forest, on 5 December 2006. ^[6] He returned to Arsenal as scheduled at the start of January 2007, ^[7] and came on as a substitute for Armand Traoré against Liverpool in the League Cup Quarter-finals on 9 January. ^[8]

On 9 July 2007, Arsenal announced that Connolly would be spending the whole of the 2007–08 season on loan to Colchester United, ^[9] although he was eventually recalled midway through the loan on 2 January 2008. ^[10]

Queens Park Rangers

The same day, his transfer to Queens Park Rangers was announced, after a lack of first-team opportunities were offered by Arsenal. ^[11] His debut came on 5 January, in a 1–0 loss to Chelsea in the FA Cup. He scored his first goal for QPR against Blackpool on 16 January 2010. ^[12] In the meantime, in November, he received his first call-up to the England U-21 squad, where he joined Arsenal teammate Theo Walcott. ^[13] His second goal came on 6 March against West Bromwich Albion in a 3–1 win.

During the 2010–11 season, Connolly played a part in QPR's Championship title win playing 36 out of 43 games.

He joined Reading on a loan on 31 January 2012 until the end of the 2011–12 season. ^{[14] [15]} He made his debut on 11 February 2012 in a 2–0 win against Coventry City. He only played 6 times during Reading's promotion push which resulted in Reading winning the Championship title.

Cardiff City

Connolly playing for Cardiff City in 2012

On 20 August 2012, QPR had accepted a £500,000 bid from Cardiff City for Connolly's services. ^[16] On 22 August, the deal was completed and Connolly signed a contract that would keep him at the Cardiff City Stadium for 3 years. ^[17] He made his debut in the Severnside derby against Bristol City on 25 August. He scored his first and second goal for the club in a 3–0 win over Blackpool on 29 September. His third goal came a month later against Burnley, and later scored his fourth against Middlesbrough. Making thirty-six appearances and scoring five goals, Connolly was a key figure as Cardiff won the Championship title, the third time in successive seasons that Connolly has achieved the feat.

Connolly playing for Cardiff City in 2015.

He started the Premier League season playing at right back until new signing Kevin Theophile-Catherine became a permanent fixture in the side. Cardiff were relegated after just one season in the top flight. Connolly had then returned to the starting eleven partnering Mark Hudson in a 1–1 draw at Blackburn Rovers. ^[18]

On 19 March 2015 Connolly joined another Championship side, Watford, on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season, despite having played 26 times for Cardiff that season. Manager Russell Slade stated the deal was a business rather than a footballing decision, with Connolly expressing his surprise at the move. ^[19] Whilst at Watford, Connolly achieved the feat of being promoted to the Premier League for the fourth time with four clubs (QPR, Reading, Cardiff and Watford). At Watford, Connolly scored once; in a 3–1 win at Nottingham Forest. ^[20]

Connolly rejoined the Cardiff squad for the 2015–16 season, earning himself a permanent place in the side alongside Sean Morrison. He had become of interest to other clubs during the January transfer window due to his impressive performances that season. These feats thus earned him a contract extension till 2019 and also the club's Player of the Year award. ^{[21] [22]} He was released by Cardiff at the end of the 2019–20 season. ^{[23] [24]}

Personal life

Connolly attended Nicholas Breakspear School in St Albans.

Career statistics

Updated 28 August 2018

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total		Discipline
Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Arsenal	2006–07	Premier League	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	0	0
AFC Bournemouth (Loan)	2006–07	League Two	5	1	2	0	2	0	9	1	1	0
Colchester United (Loan)	2007–08	Championship	16	2	0	0	0	0	17	2	1	1
Queens Park Rangers			20	0	1	0	0	0	21	0	4	0
	2008–09		35	0	0	0	4	0	39	0	4	1
	2009–10		19	2	0	0	2	0	21	2	5	0
	2010–11		36	0	0	0	1	0	36	0	2	2
	2011–12	Premier League	6	0	0	0	1	0	7	0	0	0
Reading (Loan)		Championship	6	0	0	0	-	-	6	0	2	0
Queens Park Rangers Total			116	2	1	0	8	0	125	2	17	3
Cardiff City	2012–13	Championship	36	5	0	0	0	0	36	5	5	0
	2013–14	Premier League	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	0	2	0
	2014–15	Championship	23	0	2	0	1	0	26	0	7	0
Watford (Loan)	2014–15	Championship	6	1	-	-	-	-	6	1	1	0
Cardiff City	2015–16	Championship	43	1	0	0	2	0	45	1	7	0
	2016–17	Championship	28	1	0	0	1	0	29	1	4	1
	2017–18	Championship	4	0	0	0	1	0	5	0	2	0
	2018–19	Premier League	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
	2019–20	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cardiff City Total			137	7	2	0	7	0	146	7	27	1
Career Total			280	13	5	0	19	0	304	13	49	5

Honours

Queens Park Rangers

• Football League Championship: 2010–11 ^[25]

Reading

• Football League Championship: 2011–12 ^[25]

Cardiff City

• Football League Championship: 2012–13 ^[25]

Watford

• Football League Championship runner-up: 2014–15

Individual

• Cardiff City Player of the Year: 2015–16 ^[22]

References

1. "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Cardiff City" (PDF). English Football League. p. 12. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
2. "Premier League Player Profile Matthew Connolly". web page. Premier League. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
3. "Banfield: 'The senior players impressed me'". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014.
4. "West Brom 0–2 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 24 October 2006. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
5. "Cherries sign Arsenal youngster". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
6. "Bournemouth 2–0 Nottm Forest". BBC Sport. 5 December 2006. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
7. "Cherries v Bees". Vitalfootball. Archived from the original on 20 December 2007. Retrieved 4 January 2007.
8. "Liverpool 3–6 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 9 January 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
9. "Matthew Connolly joins Colchester United on loan". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
10. "Colchester to lose on-loan Gunner". BBC Sport. 30 December 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
11. "Sky Sports – Football – Premier League – News – Connolly links up with QPR". Sky Sports.
12. "Blackpool 2 – 2 QPR". BBC Sport. 16 January 2010. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
13. "Matt Connolly called up for Under-21 action". Arsenal.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014.
14. "Reading sign QPR defender Matthew Connolly on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
15. "Royals swoop for Matthew Connolly". Reading Football Club. 10 October 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
16. "Cardiff City close to signing QPR defender Matthew Connolly". South Wales Echo. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
17. "DEAL DONE: CONNOLLY SIGNS FOR CITY". Cardiff City FC. 22 August 2012. Archived from the original on 24 August 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
18. "Blackburn Rovers 1–1 Cardiff City". BBC Sport. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
19. "Matt Connolly says the Watford squad is more talented than the QPR, Reading and Cardiff City sides he was promoted to the Premier League with". Watford Observer. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
20. "Nottm Forest 1–3 Watford". BBC Sport. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
21. "Connolly signs long-term deal". Cardiff City F.C. Official Site. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
22. "Cardiff City end of season awards RECAP: Matt Connolly named Player of the Year". Wales Online. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
23. "Matthew Connolly | Departing professionals | Cardiff". cardiffcityfc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
24. Connolly released by Cardiff
25. "Matthew Connolly". Eurosport.com.

External links

• Matthew Connolly profile at Queens Park Rangers F.C.
• Matthew Connolly at Soccerbase
• Matthew Connolly on Twitter