Matt Tubbs
Matthew Stephen Tubbs is an English professional footballer who was most recently manager of Poole Town.
Having started his football career, Tubbs joined Salisbury City and quickly made an impact throughout his time at the club, having "played a key role in Salisbury City's rise up the non-league pyramid in recent seasons". This is due to his "great pace and being an effective striker." After joining Crawley Town, he continued his success by helping the club get promoted to League Two in the 2010–11 season. However, after leaving Crawley Town, The False Nine website mentioned about his career decline despite being the League Two's top scorer in the 2014–15 season while playing for AFC Wimbledon and Portsmouth.
Club career
Early career
Born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, Tubbs played for AFC Bournemouth as a schoolboy and his performance earned him a contract until the end of the 2000–01 season, having progressed through the club's youth system. However, Tubbs was told by Bournemouth that he would not be offered a new contract when the 2000–01 season ends. As a result, he went on a trial with different clubs before winning a two-year scholarship with Bolton Wanderers. Tubbs regularly played in the reserve team.Two years later, Tubbs rejoined Bournemouth on non-contract terms in 2003, before dropping into non-League football with Dorchester Town. His time at Dorchester Town lasted two months after they let him go. By the time he departed from the club, Tubbs made eleven appearances and scoring two times for Dorchester Town.
Salisbury City
Tubbs signed for Salisbury City in October 2003, making his debut against Fleet Town. He previously went on a trial with the club two months prior before joining them. After adding three more goals, including a brace in a 2–0 win against Corby Town on 15 November 2003, Tubbs signed a two–year contract with Salisbury City. He went on to score four more braces on four separate occasions later in the 2003–04 season. At the end of the 2003–04 season, Tubbs made forty–two appearances and scoring twenty–one times in all competitions.At the start of the 2004–05 season, Tubbs continued to be in the first team regular for Salisbury City despite his goal scoring form dropped, only scoring three goals in the first half of the season. He found himself plagued with injuries along the way. Despite this, Tubbs went on to score five more goals in the second half of the season. At the end of the 2004–05 season, he made thirty–three appearances and scoring times in all competitions.
At the start of the 2005–06 season, Tubbs continued to regain his first team place and coming a regular goal scorer within the side. Despite suffering injuries throughout the season, it didn't affect his goal scoring form, as he scored a total of eighteen goals, including two braces against Chesham United on 10 December 2005 and Northwood on 31 December 2005. Tubbs helped Salisbury City rise through the leagues, helping the club's promotion to the Conference South. As for the reward, he was picked out in the Southern Premier League's Team of the Year. At the end of the 2005–06 season, he made thirty–one appearances and scoring eighteen times in all competitions.
In the 2006–07 season, Tubbs continued to his regain his place in the first team, forming a partnership with Paul Sales once more. He was again a major part of City's success in the Conference South, scoring many important goals for the side. Tubbs 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. After the match, Mark Lawrenson said about his performance, saying: "This fella, on that evidence, can play at a higher level, which is the best compliment you can give him." However, in the replay match, the club lost 2–0, eliminating them from the tournament. 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. Tubbs previously got sent–off three times earlier in the 2006–07 season. 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. Despite being sidelined on several occasions throughout the 2006–07 season, Tubbs made forty–two appearances and scoring thirty times in all competitions. During the same summer, he was linked with a £100,000 move to Leicester City. However, Tubbs committed his long-term future to Salisbury by signing a full-time contract with the club. As a result, he quit his job as leisure attendant to play football full-time.
Ahead of the 2007–08 season, Tubbs suffered a knee injury during Salisbury City's pre–season tour, but managed to recover quickly weeks later. He started the season well by scoring three goals in the first five league matches of the season. His performance earned him a nomination for the Blue Square Premier player of the month award but lost out to Leo Fortune-West. Since the start of the 2007–08 season, Tubbs continued to regain his first team place, as he continued to score regular for the club. This includes scoring three braces on three separate occasions throughout the season. He then scored his 100th goal for Salisbury City in a 3–3 draw against Histon, with a last minute equaliser on 21 March 2008. Despite being sidelined on several occasions throughout the 2007–08 season, Tubbs finished as the club's leading goal scorer with sixteen goals in forty–two appearances in all competitions.
However, in the 2008–09 season, Tubbs continued to regain his first team place, but struggled to score as he did in the previous season. Tubbs only scored once on 23 August 2008, in a 1–0 win against Grays Athletic. After his return from loan at Bournemouth, he returned to the first team, coming on as a 48th-minute substitute, in a 2–0 loss against Oxford United on 2 January 2009. However, Tubbs struggled for form, scoring only three goals in the 2008–09 season. At the end of the season, he made thirty–four appearances and scoring three times in all competitions.
At the start of the 2009–10 season, Tubbs continued to regain his first team place, as he began to regain his goal scoring form for Salisbury City. It wasn't until on 3 September 2009 when Tubbs scored a hat–trick, in a 4–3 win against Hayes & Yeading United. His goal scoring form continued, as he eventually scored eleven in the first fifteen matches of the season. Tubbs remained with the club, despite much speculation surrounding his future. Having scored four more goals, including a brace against Histon on 23 January 2010, it was announced on 10 February 2010 that he committed to a further two years to the Whites. Shortly after, Tubbs, once again, scored four more goals in the next three matches, including a brace against Crawley Town on 2 March 2010. Later 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 that saw the club demoted two leagues for 'breaking rules'. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Tubbs went on to make fifty–two appearances and scoring thirty–two appearances in all competitions, making the league's top–scorer alongside Richard Brodie.
AFC Bournemouth (loan)
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.He made his Bournemouth debut, coming on as a 73rd-minute substitute, in a 3–3 draw against Grimsby Town on 21 November 2008. 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.
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. Upon joining Crawley Town, Manager Steve Evans said: "Two weeks ago it was never in my wildest dreams that Matt Tubbs would have been signing for us but he is here and he will prove to be a very valuable player for us in the season ahead. As everyone knows his main attribute is that he is a top class goalscorer but as importantly he is also a team player and that was also a key decision of mine when I decided to sign him."Tubbs made his Crawley Town debut, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against Grimsby Town in the opening game of the season. In a follow–up match against Cheltenham Town, he scored his first goals for the club, in a 2–2 draw. His impact at Crawley Town resulted in a transfer bid from an unnamed League One club, which the club rejected despite his being there for only a month. Tubbs quickly established himself in the starting eleven, as the club's key striker. He scored six goals in four matches between 18 September 2010 and 29 September 2010, including braces against Gateshead and Tamworth. Tubbs' goal scoring form continued when he again scored six goals in five matches between 30 October 2010 and 26 November 2010, including a hat–trick against Altrincham and a FA Cup tie against Swindon Town. At the start of the second half of the season, Tubbs scored important goals for Crawley Town, including two braces against Eastbourne Borough, Forest Green Rovers and Bath City; the only goal in Crawley's 1–0 win over Torquay United in the fourth round of the FA Cup, enabling the club to face Manchester United in the fifth round; and a hat–trick against Wrexham. Tubbs' goal scoring form continued to play a role, including a brace in a 3–0 win against Tamworth on 9 April 2011 that saw the club clinch the title, resulting in their promotion to League Two; and another hat–trick against Rushden & Diamonds. He was named to the Conference Team of the Year for the 2010–11 season. His first season at the club saw him score 37 goals in Conference Premier ties, and 40 goals in 48 appearances across all competitions, making him the league's top–scorer. This remained the league record until 2016.
At the start of the second season with Crawley Town in League Two, Tubbs started the season well for the club when he scored the winning goal in a 3–2 win against AFC Wimbledon in the preliminary round of the League Cup. Tubbs continued to be Crawley Town's main striker, scoring four goals in the club's first six league matches of the season, including a brace against Southend United on 16 August 2011. Tubbs went on a goal scoring spree when he scored six goals in four matches between 3 December 2011 and 26 December 2011, including a hat–trick against Redbridge in the second round of the FA Cup. His goal scoring led to other clubs becoming interest in signing him. Amid transfer speculation, he scored two goals in the FA Cup, winning both matches against Bristol City and Hull City. By the time Tubbs departed from the club at the end of January, he was the top scorer in League Two, scoring twelve times in thirty–one season appearances and eighteen times across all competitions. Despite his departure, his contributions helped Crawley Town gain promotion to League One that season.