PLAYER PROFILE

Matthew Etherington

Position: Midfield

Height: 5'10

Weight: 10st 7lbs

Date of Birth: 1981-08-14 Truro, England

Matthew Etherington

Matty Etherinton is a rare breed of Englishman. A good young player who is naturally left-footed. He signed from Peterborough together with midfielder Simon Davies in January 2000.

The 19-year-old made his debut for Tottenham against Liverpool at Anfield in April 2000 before making his full debut at Old Trafford against Manchester United. He has featured regularly as a substitute for the seniors and fulfilled his pre-season ambition of staying in and around the first team scene.

Etherington finally felt he had made his first team mark when he scored his first senior goal for the club against Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup fourth round tie at the Lane in February 2002.

It was a culmination of events for the young winger, who had only weeks before returned from a two-month loan spell at First Division Bradford City. He certainly made an impression at Valley Parade and was virtually ever-present in the first team 16 after returning. He enjoyed short spells in the starting X1 when Christian Ziege was missing and continued to progress under the Spurs coaching staff.

In the 2002/03 campaign Etherington played got the first Spurs� goal of the season against Everton and then went on to play in 25 more games. He continued to impress and although his first team opportunities were been restricted in the past, he began to impress all with his skill and determination down then left flank.

The 2003/04 campaign was billed as his biggest season yet but he was ushered out of White Hart Lane to join West Ham as part of the £3.5million deal that took Freddie Kanoute away from Upton Park.

He has been a regular for West Ham United ever since and played a key role in their promotion in 2004/05 and once again in the 2005/06, as he scored three times in forty games.

He was once more a useful figure in 2006/07 as he played 24 games, and continued to play well in 2007/08.