Matt Tubbs


Matthew Stephen Tubbs is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker, most recently for Southern League South Division club Gosport Borough.

Club career

Salisbury City

Born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, Tubbs played for Bournemouth as a schoolboy before joining Bolton Wanderers, where he regularly played in the reserve team. Two years later he rejoined Bournemouth on non-contract terms in 2003, before dropping into non-League football with Dorchester Town. He signed for Salisbury City in October 2003, making his debut against Fleet Town. He helped Salisbury rise through the leagues, becoming a regular goalscorer within the side. In the 2005–06 season he helped Salisbury pick up promotion and as a reward was picked out in the Southern Premier League's Team of the Year.
The following season, he was again a major part of City's success in the Conference South, scoring many important goals for the side. He scored an equaliser against Nottingham Forest in the second round of the FA Cup to take the tie to a replay, in front of the BBC cameras. He got sent off for the fourth time of the season against his former club, Dorchester Town. This resulted in a six-game ban for the striker. In the 2007 Conference South play-off Final, he scored the winner in the 81st minute to send his side to the Conference Premier. This was the 30th goal of the season for the striker, and he was rewarded with an England National Game XI call up that summer.
He scored on his international debut, before picking up an injury which left him out of the remainder of the Four Nations Tournament. During the same summer, he was linked with a £100,000 move to Leicester City. However, he committed his long-term future to Salisbury by signing a full-time contract with the club.
In the season to follow, he scored his 100th goal for the club in a 3–3 draw against Histon, with a last minute equaliser, and finished as the club's leading goalscorer.
On 20 November 2008, Tubbs returned to former side Bournemouth on loan until the new year, in a move to reduce playing costs at Salisbury. During his time back at Dean Court, Tubbs made just eight league appearances and scored on one occasion. He was expected to sign for Bournemouth when the transfer window opened on 1 January 2009 but the move never materialised. After his return from loan, he struggled for form, scoring only three goals in the 2008–09 season.
He remained with the club, despite much speculation surrounding his future. In the 2009–10 season, he scored many goals to help the club climb out of the relegation zone after a points deduction for going into administration. 2010 saw the club demoted two leagues for 'breaking rules'. On 10 February 2010, Tubbs committed to a further two years to the Whites.

Crawley Town

On 1 July 2010, Tubbs signed a two-year deal with Conference Premier club Crawley Town for a club record fee, officially undisclosed but later confirmed to be £55,000. In Crawley's FA Cup tie against Swindon Town on 27 November 2010, Tubbs scored Crawley's equaliser in the 1–1 draw. In January 2011, Tubbs scored the only goal in Crawley's 1–0 win over Torquay United in the fourth round of the FA Cup, which meant Crawley would face Manchester United in the fifth round. Tubbs played in the 1–0 loss to Manchester United in the fifth round tie on 19 February 2011. He was named in the Conference Team of the Year for the 2010–11 season after Crawley won the title and so promotion to League Two. His first season at the club saw him score 40 goals in 48 appearances.
During his second season with the club in League Two, Tubbs' goalscoring exploits for Crawley led to clubs becoming interest in signing him, and he was the top scorer in League Two until his move.

Bournemouth

On 30 January 2012, Tubbs signed for League One club Bournemouth for a fee believed to be in the region of £800,000 on a -year contract. He scored on his debut for his new club against Exeter City in a 2–0 win and set-up Scott Malone for a second goal in the match. Crawley manager Steve Evans admitted to "shedding a tear" when he tried right up until the final minutes to persuade Tubbs to stay. Tubbs even admitted it was a tough decision to leave Crawley. After scoring his first goal on his debut, Tubbs expressed his relief and delight on scoring on his debut and told BBC Radio Solent "On your debut you want to try and get your first goal as quickly as you can and I was lucky enough to get mine tonight, it was great to be back. This is my home-town club and the one I supported as a kid. The standing ovation at the end was nice." Tubbs struggled for form at Bournemouth during his first half-season before undergoing a groin operation in April 2012 which led to him missing the rest of the season.

Rotherham United

On 27 July 2013, Rotherham United signed Tubbs on loan from Bournemouth until the end of January. On the opening game of the season, Tubbs made his debut in a 3–3 draw against Crewe, coming on as a substitute. Tubbs scored his first goal, in a 2–2 draw against Colchester United on 2 November 2013. However, Tubbs was unable to reproduce his goalscoring form, only scoring once. On 6 January 2014, Rotherham United announced that Tubbs had returned to his parent club after his loan spell came to an end.

Return to Crawley Town

On 6 January 2014, Matt Tubbs made a one-month loan return to Crawley Town. On 16 January 2014, Crawley Town announced that the loan had been extended until the end of the 2013–14 season. On 25 January he scored in a 2–2 draw against his former loan-club Rotherham United and then netted in the next three fixtures, as the club extended their unbeaten run to six matches.

AFC Wimbledon

On 16 June 2014, Tubbs joined AFC Wimbledon on a season-long loan. On 9 August, Tubbs scored on his competitive debut for Wimbledon against Shrewsbury Town in a 2–2 draw. On 6 January 2015, Tubbs was recalled early from his loan ahead of a permanent transfer to another club.

Portsmouth

Tubbs terminated his contract with Bournemouth, and shortly after, on 8 January, he signed a -year deal for League Two club Portsmouth. Tubbs made his debut on 10 January 2015 in the 1–0 loss against Newport County, and scored his first goal for the club on 7 February of the same year at home against Hartlepool United in a 1–0 win. On 21 February 2015, Tubbs scored his first Pompey hat-trick in a 6–2 away victory against Cambridge United. On 9 February 2016, he joined National League club Eastleigh on loan until the end of the season.

Forest Green Rovers

On 13 July 2016, Tubbs joined Forest Green Rovers on a one-year contract after terminating his contract with Portsmouth. He made his debut on the opening day of the 2016–17 season as a substitute in a 1–0 away loss at Boreham Wood. His first goal for Forest Green came in his next appearance on 9 August 2016 in a 1–1 home draw with Sutton United.
On 28 September 2016, Tubbs joined Woking on loan for one month. Three days later, Tubbs scored his first Woking goal on his debut in a 3–3 draw against Eastleigh.

Sutton United

On 1 December 2016, Tubbs signed for Sutton United on a permanent contract. Two days later Tubbs made his club debut and scored the first goal in a 2-1 victory over League Two side Cheltenham Town in the second round of the FA Cup at Gander Green Lane, helping to send Sutton through to the third round for the first time in 22 years. On 21 January 2017, Tubbs scored his first league goal for Sutton in a 1-1 home draw against Eastleigh.

Eastleigh

On 10 March 2017, Tubbs re-signed for Eastleigh on a contract until the end of 2016–17.

Havant & Waterlooville

On 15 May 2017, Tubbs signed a two-year contract with newly promoted National League South club Havant & Waterlooville.
On 3 October 2017, Tubbs joined Weymouth on a one-month loan deal.

Gosport Borough

In June 2018, Tubbs was appointed as player-coach at Gosport Borough, assisting Craig McAllister, the club's newly-appointed manager. On 1 May 2019, both Tubbs and manager Craig McAllister parted ways with the club after a disappointing season.

International career

Tubbs earned two caps for England C in which he scored one goal in each game.

Career statistics

Honours

Salisbury City
Crawley Town
Bournemouth
Individual