Matthew Oakley

Football player infobox
playername = Matthew Oakley


fullname = Matthew Oakley
height = height|m=1.78
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1977|8|17
cityofbirth = Peterborough
countryofbirth = England
currentclub = Leicester City
clubnumber = 8
position = Midfielder
youthyears = 1993–1994
youthclubs = Southampton
years = 1994–2006
2006–2008
2008–
clubs = Southampton
Derby County
Leicester City
caps(goals) = 262 (14)
056 0(9)
029 0(2)
nationalyears = 1997
nationalteam = England U21
nationalcaps(goals) = 004 0(0)
pcupdate = 05:57, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 20:12, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Matthew Oakley, (born August 17, 1977 in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire), is an English football player currently playing for Leicester City.

Club career

outhampton

Oakley joined the club through the youth training scheme, and made his debut at Everton on 6 May 1995, whilst still a trainee.

The midfielder possesses fine vision and is an astute link between midfield and attack with a gritty edge to his game. When he gets forward, he possesses a strong shot from distance, but rarely gets on the scoresheet as his holding role prevents him getting forward as often as he would like. Those strikes that do find the net tend to be something special. Two of them against Saints' rivals Portsmouth in the FA Cup and another against Hull City.

Derby County

On August 4 2006, Oakley signed for Derby County and was automatically named team captain sharing the arm band with Michael Johnson. His first action as a Derby player came as an unused substitute against his old side when they clashed for the club's first game of the season.

Oakley's first goal for Derby came in the first away win of the season against Hull City. His lashed half volley sent Derby on their way to a 2-1 win. He also scored the winner in the home match against West Bromwich Albion. His thunderous 30 yard strike capped off a fine comeback by the Rams. And following his trend in scoring sublime goals, Matt scored a 16 yard half volley into the top of the net proving to be the winner in a 2-1 win. He went on to captain the side to play-off success confirming their return to the Premiership with a 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.

Leicester City

Oakley moved to Leicester City on January 11, 2008 for a fee of £500,000, [cite news| title = Oakley secures Leicester switch| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/leicester_city/7182920.stm| publisher =BBC| date = 2008-01-11| accessdate = 2008-01-11] signing a three-and-a-half year contract. He made his league debut in an M69 derby on January 12, beating Coventry 2-0.cite news
title = Leicester 2-0 Coventry
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/7172833.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2008-01-12
accessdate = 2008-01-12] Oakley played 20 league games as Leicester were relegated at the end of the season.

In the 2008/09 season, Oakley replaced teammate Stephen Clemence as temporary captain while he remained sidelined with a lengthy knee injury. He scored his first league goal for the club in a 4-0 win over Cheltenham on August 30 2008.cite news | title = Cheltenham 0-4 Leicester | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_2/7578327.stm | publisher = BBC Sport | date = 2008-08-30 | accessdate = 2008-08-30]

International career

Oakley showed tremendous promise as a teenager and many tipped him for the England squad. Although he has four caps for the England U21 team, he was never considered consistent enough to be called up to the main squad.

Other Interests

Oakley has always had a passion for wines and in 1999cite news
title = About Us
url = http://www.nezzar.com/aboutus/
publisher = Nebuchadnezzar Wines
date = 2007-12-02
accessdate = 2008-02-28] , after meeting sommelier Barry Skarin (who has worked as Head Sommelier for Marco Pierre White and Michael Caine) in a pub decided to join their passion for wine together and form the wine (including fine and rare wines) company Nebuchadnezzar Wines.

Honours

;Southampton
*Runner-up
**FA Cup: 2003

;Derby County
*Play-off Final Winner
**Championship: 2007

References

External links

*soccerbase|id=5958