Matt Tootle

Matthew James Anthony Tootle (born 11 October 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for National League North side Peterborough Sports.

Matt Tootle

Personal information
Full name	Matthew James Anthony Tootle[1]
Date of birth	(1990-10-11) 11 October 1990 (age 34)[2]
Place of birth	Widnes, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2]
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Peterborough Sports
Youth career
1998–2009	Crewe Alexandra
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2015	Crewe Alexandra	199	(2)
2015–2016	Shrewsbury Town	16	(0)
2016–2020	Notts County	95	(4)
2019–2020	→ Chesterfield (loan)	3	(0)
2020–2022	Boston United	38	(0)
2022–2023	Grantham Town	37	(3)
2023–	Peterborough Sports	34	(4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:50, 15 January 2025 (UTC)

Career

Crewe Alexandra

Tootle was born in Widnes, Cheshire.^[3] Joining Crewe as an eight-year old,^[4] Tootle signed his first professional contract after making an impression on Crewe manager Gudjon Thordarsson in July 2009.

He made his full debut on 21 November for Crewe Alexandra in a 2–2 draw, away at Northampton Town in League Two, playing the full 90 minutes.^[5] Tootle became a regular in the first team after Dario Gradi took over for his third spell as Crewe manager. His first goal in senior football came in Crewe's 2–2 draw with Rochdale on Boxing Day 2009.^[6]

Tootle appeared in the 2012 Football League Two play-off final at Wembley, as Crewe beat Cheltenham Town 2–0 to win promotion to League One after three seasons in League Two.^[7] Less than a year later, Tootle became a winner at Wembley for the second time, playing the whole match as Crewe defeated Southend 2–0 in the 2013 Football League Trophy Final.^[8]

As Crewe battled against relegation in the 2013–14 season, Tootle replaced teammate Abdul Osman as captain of the side in March 2014. Crewe stayed up following a final-day win over Preston North End, and following Osman's departure it was decided he would continue in this role for the 2014–15 season.^[9]

Despite not featuring since October 2014 due to injury and illness, Crewe offered Tootle a contract extension at the end of the season.^[10]

Shrewsbury Town

Tootle moved to Shrewsbury Town on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract on 16 June 2015.^[11] He made his debut on the opening day of the 2015–16 season against Millwall,^[12] and scored his first goal for the club in a League Cup second-round tie against Crystal Palace,^[13] but he did not feature again at first-team level following a defeat at Port Vale on 31 October.^[14] He was released from his contract one year early by mutual consent in June 2016.^[15]

Notts County

On the same day that he left Shrewsbury Town, Tootle joined League Two side Notts County on a two-year contract.^[14]

He signed a new contract with Notts County at the end of the 2017–18 season.^[16]

At the end of the 2019–20 season, Tootle was released by the club.^[17]

Boston United

On 25 August 2020, Tootle signed for National League North side Boston United.^[18]

Style of play

Matt Tootle is a tenacious full back being comfortable on either the left or right back positions. He can also play as a winger. He's often praised for his work rate, athleticism, pace, stamina and adaptability which all make him an integral part for most teams.^[19]

Career statistics

As of match played 31 August 2024

Club statistics

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Crewe Alexandra	2009–10[20]	League Two	28	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	28	1
	2010–11[21]	League Two	39	0	1	0	2	0	2[a]	0	44	0
	2011–12[22]	League Two	37	0	1	0	1	0	5[b]	0	44	0
	2012–13[23]	League One	37	1	2	0	0	0	5[a]	0	44	1
	2013–14[24]	League One	43	0	0	0	1	0	2[a]	0	46	0
	2014–15[25]	League One	15	0	0	0	2	1	1[a]	0	18	1
	Total		199	2	4	0	6	1	15	0	224	3
Shrewsbury Town	2015–16[26]	League One	16	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	18	2
Notts County	2016–17[27]	League Two	33	2	3	0	1	0	1	0	38	2
	2017–18[28]	League Two	36	2	3	0	1	0	2[c]	0	42	2
	2018–19[29]	League Two	24	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	24	0
	2019–20[30]	National League	2	0	0	0	–		0	0	2	0
	Total		95	4	6	0	2	0	3	0	106	4
Chesterfield (loan)	2019–20[30]	National League	3	0	0	0	–		0	0	3	0
Boston United	2020–21[30]	National League North	13	0	0	0	–		2[d]	0	15	0
	2021–22[30]	National League North	25	0	0	0	–		3[d]	0	28	0
	Total		38	0	0	0	–		5	0	43	0
Grantham Town	2022–23[31]	NPL Division One East	37	3	4	1	–		2[e]	0	43	4
Peterborough Sports	2023–24[30]	National League North	26	3	0	0	–		3[d]	0	29	3
	2024–25[30]	National League North	8	1	0	0	–		0	0	8	1
	Total		34	4	0	0	–		3	0	37	4
Career total			422	13	14	1	10	3	28	0	474	17

1. Appearances in Football League Trophy
2. Two appearances in Football League Trophy, three in Football League Two play-offs
3. Two appearances in League Two play-offs
4. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
5. 1 appearance in FA Trophy, 1 appearance in Lincolnshire Senior Cup

Honours

Crewe Alexandra

• Football League Two play-offs: 2012
• Football League Trophy: 2012–13

Individual

• Crewe Alexandra Player of the Year: 2013–14^[32]

References

1. "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/02/2013 and 28/02/2013" (PDF). The Football Association. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
2. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2010). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2010–2011 (41st ed.). London: Headline. ISBN 978-0-7553-6107-6.
3. "Matt Tootle". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
4. "Matt Tootle leaves Crewe Alex for League One rivals Shrewsbury Town". Crewe Chronicle. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
5. "Northampton 2 – 2 Crewe". BBC Sport. 21 November 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
6. "Crewe 2–2 Rochdale". BBC Sport. 26 December 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
7. "Cheltenham Town 0–2 Crewe Alexandra". BBC Sport. 27 May 2012. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
8. "Johnstone's Paint Trophy final: Crewe 2–0 Southend". BBC Sport. 7 April 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
9. "Crewe Alexandra: Matt Tootle delighted to be named club captain". Stoke Sentinel. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
10. "Captain Matt Tootle 'wants to stay' at Crewe Alex". Crewe Chronicle. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
11. "Matt Tootle: Shrewsbury Town sign Crewe Alexandra captain". BBC Sport. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
12. "Shrewsbury Town 1–2 Millwall". BBC Sport. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
13. "Crystal Palace 4–1 Shrewsbury Town (AET)". BBC Sport. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
14. "Matt Tootle: Former Shrewsbury Town defender joins Notts County". BBC Sport. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
15. "Tootle moves on". Shrewsweb. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
16. "Notts County: Shola Ameobi and Alan Smith leave League Two club". BBC Sport. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
17. Watson, Chris (4 August 2020). "'Cruel' - Notts County release five players as retained list is revealed". Nottinghamshire Live.
18. Powell, Dave (25 August 2020). "Former Crewe Alex defender Matt Tootle joins National League North side Boston United". Cheshire Live. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
19. "Shrewsbury swoop for Crewe's Matt Tootle". Shropshire Star. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
20. "Games played by Matt Tootle in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
21. "Games played by Matt Tootle in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
22. "Games played by Matt Tootle in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
23. "Games played by Matt Tootle in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
24. "Games played by Matt Tootle in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
25. "Games played by Matt Tootle in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
26. "Games played by Matt Tootle in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
27. "Games played by Matt Tootle in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
28. "Games played by Matt Tootle in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
29. "Games played by Matt Tootle in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
30. "M. Tootle - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
31. "Grantham Town – Appearances – Matt Tootle – 2022-2023". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
32. "Matt Tootle Signs for The Magpies". Notts County FC. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2023.

External links

• Crewe Alexandra profile
• Matthew Tootle at Soccerbase