Matt Bodkin

DOB: 16th September 1983

Position: Winger

Season of first appearance: 2011/12

Season of last appearance: 2017/18

Full Appearances: 143

Substitute: 48

Goals: 21

Also played for:

Nottingham Forest (0), Gillingham (1+2,0), Welling United, Grays Athletic, Thurrock, Dartford, Eastleigh, Dover Athletic, Maidstone United, Hastings United and Chatham Town.

Player Profile:

Creative 5' 6" tall player born in Chatham who started his career with Nottingham Forest. Matt was signed by the club as a 13 year-old in August 1997 and progressed through Forest's youth ranks where he played alongside future England defender Michael Dawson.

Matt was Forest's 'Academy Player of the Year' for the 2002/03 season and by then he was featuring regularly in the reserves. On 4.5.03, he was an unused substitute as Forest drew 2-2 at Rotherham in Division One.

Matt was given a first-team squad number for the 2003/04 campaign but he never played for Forest's senior side and in May 2004 he was released by manager Joe Kinnear.

After having a trial with Brentford, Matt was signed by Championship club Gillingham in August 2004 and he made his first-team debut in a 1-0 defeat at Portsmouth in the FA Cup on 8.1.05. Future Margate players Dean Beckwith and Paul Smith also played for the Gills that day. Matt then made his league debut as a substitute in a 1-0 home win over Plymouth on 15.1.05 and had one more outing from the bench before returning to the reserves for the remainder of the 2004/05 season. He was released by Gillingham in June 2005.

Matt joined Welling for the 2005/06 campaign and, after a successful season with the Wings, he trained with Gillingham again in the summer of 2006 but the Gills opted not to re-sign him.

Matt had scored four times in 54 appearances for Welling when he left the club to join Grays in December 2006.

The Essex club were full-time and Matt played six times in the Conference for them without scoring before being loaned to Thurrock in February 2007.

He scored once from five outings for Thurrock before going back to Grays in March 2007.

Matt then made six further Conference appearances before the end of the 2006/07 season and stayed with Grays for 2007/08 too.

In August 2007, he was loaned to Isthmian League Division 1 North club Dartford and Matt made five league appearances (one as sub) without scoring before briefly returning to Grays in September 2007.

He was almost immediately farmed out again and Matt started a second spell with Thurrock before the end of September 2007. He spent the rest of the campaign there and scored once from 33 Conference South outings.

Having not featured for Grays at all during 2007/08, Matt made two Conference appearances at the start of the 2008/09 season before being loaned to Eastleigh towards the end of August 2008. He scored three times in 14 Conference South outings for the Hampshire club and then returned to Grays in December 2008.

In February 2009, Matt joined Dover on a free transfer and he scored once from 12 Isthmian League Premier Division appearances (six as sub) before the end of the 2008/09 campaign as Dover won the title.

In July 2009, he signed for Thurrock and Matt scored 16 goals from 79 appearances during his third spell with the club.

In July 2011, he signed a one-year contract with Margate but within days Matt's deal had been extended to two years and manager Chris Kinnear told the club website: "He's going to make things happen. I've seen him play lots and lots of times. He wants to come and play for us. He's got a bit of pace and he whips balls in." Kinnear then told the Isle of Thanet Gazette: "He's been playing in the Conference South for god knows how long. He's a Kent lad and looks a real quality player."

On the eve of the new season, Kinnear again spoke to the Gazette about Matt and described him as "very sharp". He added: "He puts good crosses in and will create lots of chances. Hopefully he'll score a few goals as well."

On 20.8.11, Matt made his debut on the right wing as Margate drew 1-1 at Wealdstone on the opening day of the new Isthmian League Premier Division campaign and the Thanet Times praised his "excellent deliveries" from dead-balls. The Isle of Thanet Gazette's report on a 3-0 win over Aveley at Hartsdown Park on 23.8.11 then said Matt would "get the fans going this season".

On 27.8.11, he scored his first goal with what the Thanet Times called a "terrific strike" as Margate lost 4-1 at home to Lowestoft and the paper said Matt "burst into the box and thumped the ball past Reynolds into the top corner". He was on target again in a 3-1 win at Metropolitan Police on 14.9.11 and Chris Kinnear told the Isle of Thanet Gazette "Matt Bodkin ripped them apart" while the paper felt he "had his best game for the club".

After he'd turned in another classy display in a 3-0 win over visitors Tooting & Mitcham in the FA Cup on 17.9.11, Chris Kinnear told the Isle of Thanet Gazette "Matt Bodkin's really starting to get into it now" and he had another good game as the two sides met in the league at Hartsdown Park on 24.9.11. The Thanet Times said Matt "looked like making things happen" but he couldn't prevent Margate from losing 2-1.

He continued to earn plaudits from the local press and the Thanet Times said Matt was "once again the brightest player" in a 0-0 draw with visitors Thamesmead in the FA Cup on 1.10.11. The Isle of Thanet Gazette said he was "excellent" in the replay at Thamesmead on 4.10.11 and added that Matt "caused problems all evening and deserved a goal himself" as Margate won 6-1.

In its report on a 1-0 defeat against Carshalton at Hartsdown Park on 8.10.11, the Thanet Times said Matt had been "again a constant menace" and the paper said he "really gave the visitors a going-over in the first half" as Margate lost 3-2 at home to Bromley in the FA Cup on 15.10.11. Matt was said to have "caused all sorts of problems, running at his man and delivering quality balls into the box". On 25.10.11, he went off with a hamstring problem in the second half of a 1-1 draw at Concord Rangers and, having featured in each of Margate's first 18 matches, Matt then missed three games due to his injury.

He returned to action in a 5-0 win over Wingate & Finchley at Hartsdown Park on 12.11.11 and played on the left-hand side of midfield, rather than in his usual right-sided position. The Thanet Times said Matt played a "beautiful ball" to set up Dan Stubbs' header which gave Margate their second goal and from then on Matt was fixture in the side once more.

On 22.11.11, he scored his third goal of the season to secure a 1-0 win over visitors Ramsgate in a Kent Senior Cup tie and the Isle of Thanet Gazette said Matt's strike "crowned a man-of-the-match performance". He then scored twice in a 5-1 home win over Lewes on 21.1.12.

Having been virtually ever-present, Matt fell out of favour following a 2-1 defeat at Bury on 28.2.12 and after that he was used as a substitute in four of Margate's next five matches. He resumed his duties in the number seven shirt in a 2-1 win over Horsham at Hartsdown Park on 31.3.12 and the Thanet Times said Matt had "his best game in weeks". He kept his place for the last few weeks of the campaign and the Thanet Times said he was "one of the Blues' best players" in a 3-0 win over Hendon at Wembley FC on 7.4.12. Matt then scored his sixth goal in a 1-1 draw at Tooting & Mitcham on 14.4.12 and it was great strike as his free-kick from the left-hand side of the penalty area curled into the net. Matt finished the season having scored six times in 51 outings (seven as sub).

He made his first appearance of the 2012/13 campaign as a substitute in a 2-0 home win over Hendon in the Isthmian League Premier Division on 18.8.12 and Matt then featured as a sub five times in Margate's next nine games as he struggled to break into the side. On 2.10.12, he made his first start of the season in a 6-1 win over visitors Sittingbourne in the Kent Senior Cup and Matt was one of Margate's scorers. He then made one more sub appearance in the next two matches.

On 13.10.12, Matt started his first league game of the campaign as Margate took on Lewes at Hartsdown Park and he set up a goal for Sam Long as the match finished in a 1-1 draw. Chris Kinnear told Margate's website: "I thought he did very well. His passing was good, he's good on the ball and hopefully he can push on." Matt then featured in three of the next four matches, twice as a substitute, but after he'd played in a 2-1 win at Leiston on 6.11.12, he became a fixture in midfield once again.

On 1.12.12, Matt scored the winner as Margate beat hosts Hampton & Richmond 2-1 and on 11.12.12 he got his third goal of the season with a cheeky finish in a 3-1 home win over Carshalton. The Isle of Thanet Gazette described it as an "outrageous backheel".

Matt took his goal tally to four with a strike in a 2-2 draw with Canvey Island at Hartsdown Park on 23.3.13 and Margate's website said he was "influential" on the wing during a 4-2 home defeat against Wealdstone on 26.3.13. He finished the campaign with a record of four goals from 44 appearances (nine as sub) and Matt won the 'Supporters' Player of the Year' award. He told Margate's website: "It's a great honour to be honest. You go out there week in, week out to try and do your best and it's just nice to get that recognition from the fans because they're the guys that come down to watch us play."

In June 2013, Matt signed a new deal to stay with Margate for the 2013/14 season and told the club's website: "It's great to be re-signing, it's really encouraging to see the work that Craig (Holloway) and Simon (Osborn) are putting in to strengthen the side and I'm delighted to be a part of their plans."

Matt was our leading appearance maker that season with more than 40 starts and he scored seven goals.

Despite that, he signed for Maidstone ahead of 2014/15 and was part of their Isthmian League championship-winning team that season.

He stayed at Maidstone for 2015/16 in the National League South and played in the FA Cup 1st Round tie at home to Yeovil, which the visitors won 1-0. Matt then joined Hastings United for the following season.

Matt returned to Margate in 2017/18, joining as player/fitness coach on a one-year deal. He spent much of this season on the bench, however, with 17 starts and 26 sub appearances. He scored four goals in all competitions.

He then moved on to Chatham Town in 2018, where he won a series of honours, including back-to-back promotions from the SCEFL to the Isthmian Premier. Aged 39, Matt played against Margate in the Kent Senior Cup final at Priestfield on 03.05.23.

Ahead of the 2023-24 season, and still playing, he said in an interview: “Weirdly, there’s always that part of you that thinks you have still got it. So as long as my body can still move, I will keep trying.” He was also strength and conditioning coach for Chatham.

In June 2024, Matt was part of an England veterans team that won the Seniors World Cup, for players over 40, in Thailand. He announced his retirement from football that summer and took up a coaching role with Chatham. Early in the 2024-25 season, he became fitness coach at Ashford United.

Matt was also a useful cricketer and played for Medway-based club Newington at junior and senior level. His occupation was fitness trainer.