Matt Rhead
FullnameMatthew James Rhead[1]
Birth date31 May 1984 (age 42)
Birth placeStoke-on-Trent, England
Height6.3 ft (1.93 metres)[2]
PositionForward
CurrentclubKidsgrove Athletic (joint player-manager)
Years 120??–2004
Clubs 1Norton United
Years 22004–2007
Clubs 2Kidsgrove Athletic
Years 32007–2009
Clubs 3Eastwood Town
Caps 337
Goals 313
Years 42008
Clubs 4→ Kidsgrove Athletic (loan)
Years 52009–2010
Clubs 5Nantwich Town
Caps 517
Goals 57
Years 62009–2010
Clubs 6Congleton Town
Years 72010–2011
Clubs 7Eastwood Town
Caps 737
Goals 713
Years 82011–2012
Clubs 8Corby Town
Caps 822
Goals 88
Years 92012–2015
Clubs 9Mansfield Town
Caps 9120
Goals 915
Years 102015–2019
Clubs 10Lincoln City
Caps 10161
Goals 1043
Years 112019
Clubs 11Billericay Town
Caps 1111
Goals 112
Years 122020–2021
Clubs 12Boreham Wood
Caps 1232
Goals 121
Years 132021–2024
Clubs 13Alfreton Town
Caps 1380
Goals 1325
Years 142024–
Clubs 14Kidsgrove Athletic
Caps 1420
Goals 146
Manageryears 12025–
Managerclubs 1Kidsgrove Athletic (joint player-manager)
Club-update18:36, 11 February 2025 (UTC)

Matthew James Rhead (born 31 May 1984) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Kidsgrove Athletic where he holds the role of joint player-manager.

He notably spent two successful professional spells with both Mansfield Town and Lincoln City where he won promotion to the Football League with both and saw further success with The Imps that yielded an EFL Trophy triumph and later the EFL League Two title. Prior to his time at Mansfield he had come up through Non-League football and had played for Norton United, Kidsgrove Athletic, Eastwood Town, Nantwich Town, Congleton Town and Corby Town. Following his release from Lincoln he has returned to playing at a semi-professional level and has turned out for both Billericay Town and Boreham Wood.

Career

Early career

Rhead, age 41, was born in Stoke-on-Trent and played for nearby non-league sides Norton United and Stallington[3] before joining Kidsgrove Athletic ahead of the 2004–2005 season.[4] He moved on to join Eastwood Town, making a goal scoring debut in the club's 2–3 home defeat to Matlock Town on 16 October 2007.[5] The fee was a record for the two clubs and Rhead would end the season as Eastwood's top goalscorer of the season having netted 17 goals from 26 starts.[6] At the end of September 2008, he rejoined Kidsgrove Athletic on a month's loan[7] but with the loan restricting him only to league games, he started only a single game before returning to Eastwood at the end of the loan period.[8] He departed Eastwood to join Nantwich Town for the start of the 2009–2010 season[9] before joining Congleton Town on an initial month's loan, making a goalscoring debut in the club's draw with Squires Gate on 12 December 2009;[10] after a month's loan he agreed terms to join the club on a permanent basis until the end of the 2009–10 season.[11] Having been invited for pre-season training with Eastwood Town[12] he rejoined the club he had first joined for £4000 from Kidsgrove back in October 2007.[13] He joined Corby Town from Eastwood Town in June 2011.[14][15]

Mansfield Town

He signed for Mansfield Town in January 2012, and scored two goals in 17 games in the 2011–12 season. In July 2012, he quit his job as a team leader at JCB to become a full-time professional footballer.[16] He then scored five goals in 37 games in the 2012–13 campaign as the "Stags" won promotion into the Football League as champions of the Conference Premier.

Lincoln City

Rhead signed a two-year contract with Lincoln City on 14 May 2015.[17] The following year he handed in a transfer request and was set to join Barrow, but the arrival of Danny Cowley as Lincoln manager persuaded him to stay at the club,[18] and he finished the 2016-17 season as Lincoln's top scorer as they won the National League.[19] The same year he, played an important part in Lincoln's record-breaking run to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup,[20] gaining fame when Joey Barton took a dive in an attempt to get him sent off during Lincoln's win at Burnley.[21]

Billericay Town

Following two promotions from the National League to League One with Lincoln City, Rhead began to find his opportunities at Lincoln decreasing, and on 25 July 2019, Rhead signed for Billericay Town on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[22] On 16 October 2019, after only two months with the club, Rhead departed after the club's chairman and director resigned.[23]

Alfreton Town

On 2 July 2021, Rhead joined Alfreton Town following his departure from Boreham Wood.[24] Matt Rhead, dubbed 'Rheady' quickly became a fan favourite at the Impact Arena due to the desire and passion he displayed. The striker was awarded with the Supporters' Player of the Year Award following the conclusion of the 2021/22 campaign. The following season, 2022/23, Matt Rhead captained his side to a fifth placed finish, this put Alfreton into the playoffs in which they lost 1-0 to Kidderminster Harriers.

Kidsgrove Athletic

Following Rhead's release from Alfreton in 2024, he returned to Kidsgrove Athletic where he played 20 years prior. He scored his first goal back at 'The Grove' a month later in a 2-1 defeat to Belper Town in the FA Trophy.

In February 2025, Rhead was appointed joint player-manager of Kidsgrove Athletic alongside Tom Pope until the end of the season.[25]

Career statistics

[26]

ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Eastwood Town2008–09Conference North0020000020
2010–11Conference North371300003[a]14014
Total37132000314214
Corby Town2011–12[27]Conference North22864—2[a]13013
Mansfield Town2011–12[28]Conference Premier152——2[b]0172
2012–13[28]Conference Premier33451—2[a]0405
2013–14[28]League Two406101000426
2014–15[28]League Two32330001[c]0363
Total1201591105013516
Lincoln City2015–16[28]National League432033—1[a]04723
2016–17[28]National League4314[d]90—4[a]05614
2017–18[28]League Two43810105[c]1509
2018–19[28]League Two34131204[c]1433
Total163431643014219649
Billericay Town2019-20National League South112000000112
Boreham Wood2019–20National League5000—2[e]171
2020–21National League27141—1[a]0322
Total321410031393
Alfreton Town2021–22National League North471400—0052
Career total4329737104027545599
  1. ^ Appearances in FA Trophy
  2. ^ Appearances in Conference Premier play-offs
  3. ^ Appearances in EFL Trophy
  4. ^ Many sources claim that Rhead scored 15 goals in this season, but one of them was later awarded to Theo Robinson instead. "Robinson Credited With Chester Opener". weareimps.com. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  5. ^ Two appearances in National League play-offs

Honours

Mansfield Town

Lincoln City

References

  1. ^
  2. ^ "Matthew Read". Lincoln City F.C. Retrieved 11 April 2018.[dead link]
  3. ^ CHATWIN, MICHAEL (2020). ULTIMATE BOOK OF NANTWICH TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB.. [S.l.]: EMPIRE. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-9563068-2-1. OCLC 1199329275
  4. ^ "Transfer activity speeds up!". Gresley F.C. Official Website. 27 July 2004. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  5. ^ "Red hot debut for Burns". Buxton Advertiser. 20 October 2007. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Badgers players honoured". Eastwood Advertiser. 29 May 2008. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  7. ^ "Non-league: Rhead returns to boost Kidsgrove options". Stoke Sentinel. 26 September 2008. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  8. ^ "Non-league football: Rhead returns to Eastwood". Stoke Sentinel. 25 October 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2015.[dead link]
  9. ^ "Football: Nantwich No 2 wants to be top man". Stoke Sentinel. 26 June 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2015.[dead link]
  10. ^ "Non-league football: Rhead looks to make Congleton impact". Stoke Sentinel. 18 December 2009. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  11. ^ "Thompson fit to join Castle's title chase". Stoke Sentinel. 15 January 2010. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  12. ^ "Football: Old boy Haddrell returns to Congleton". Stoke Sentinel. 1 July 2010. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  13. ^ "Simpson can play key role for Eastwood". Nottingham Post. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2015.[dead link]
  14. ^ "Matt Rhead". corbytownfc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  15. ^ "Striker Matt Rhead makes Corby Town switch". BBC Sport. 7 July 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  16. ^ "Full-time Matt Rhead will only get better at Mansfield Town". Nottingham Post. 14 July 2012. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  17. ^ "Matt Rhead: Lincoln sign Mansfield Town striker". BBC Sport. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  18. ^ Coney, Steven (2016-08-03). "Imps' delight as top scorer Matt Rhead signs Lincoln City extension". The Non League Football Paper - Daily football news. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  19. ^ admin (2017-05-18). "Tony Williams' Stats Life! Top goalscorers make all the difference". The Non League Football Paper - Daily football news. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  20. ^ Bird, Simon (2017-02-15). "Giant-killers Lincoln's Rhead really digs the FA Cup — he used to build JCBs". mirror. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  21. ^ Davis, Callum (2017-02-18). "Joey Barton slammed for 'embarrassing' performance as old diving tweet comes back to haunt him". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  22. ^ "Matt Rhead signs for the Blues". 25 July 2019.
  23. ^ "Legend Rhead leaves Billericay". 16 October 2019.
  24. ^ "RHEAD BECOMES FIFTH SUMMER SIGNING". www.alfretontownfootballclub.com. 2 July 2021.
  25. ^ "Former Football League strikers appointed new Kidsgrove management duo". www.thenpl.co.uk. 11 February 2025. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  26. ^
  27. ^ Non-League Club Directory 2013. Tony Williams Publications. 2012. ISBN 978-1-869833-77-0.
  28. ^ "M. Rhead". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  29. ^ Anderson, John (ed.) (2013). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2013–2014. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 652–653. ISBN 978-0-7553-6413-8.
  30. ^ "League Two: 2018/19: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
    "Lincoln: Squad details: 2018/19". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  31. ^ Anderson, John (ed.) (2017). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2017–2018. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 640–641. ISBN 978-1-4722-3397-4.
  32. ^ Scott, Ged (8 April 2018). "Lincoln City 1–0 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 May 2018.