Matthew Spring

Leeds United After leaving Luton, Spring was on the verge of joining Nottingham Forest and linking back up with former Luton manager Joe Kinnear until Leeds made a late bid to sign him. He was signed by newly appointed Leeds manager Kevin Blackwell on a Bosman transfer, as he re-modelled his newly relegated team. Spring scored on his debut, coming off the bench to put in a late third in a 3–1 victory over Burnley on 20 August 2005. As Boothroyd's team flew high in the Championship, Spring, a regular in the team, scored seven further goals from central midfield by the end of January. Spring played in the 3–0 Championship play-off final win over Leeds United at the Millennium Stadium, with Watford earning promotion to the Premier League.

During Watford's Premiership campaign, Spring's first team opportunities were limited after falling down the pecking order behind new signing Damien Francis and Al Bangura at Vicarage Road. As a result, he made only nine appearances for the club during the first half of the 2006–07 season. His first game since returning to the club came on 30 January in the 1–0 away defeat to Coventry City. At the end of the season, Luton were relegated to League One after two seasons in the Championship, with Spring making 14 appearances, scoring one goal.

On 31 July 2008, Spring joined Championship club Sheffield United on a season-long loan deal, with a view to a permanent move. He made his debut for the club on 13 August in the first round of the League Cup, a 3–1 victory at home over Port Vale. Injuries initially hampered his time at Bramall Lane, but by October, he began to feature regularly for the first team, scoring his first goal for the club on 25 November, a 3–1 defeat at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

On 9 January 2009, Spring was released from his loan deal with Sheffield United to allow him to seek a permanent move elsewhere, as agreed before the loan commenced.

Charlton Athletic On 9 January 2009, Spring joined Championship club Charlton Athletic from Luton on an 18-month contract for an undisclosed fee. He scored his first goal for the club on 17 January, a 4–1 away defeat to Sheffield Wednesday. He scored his second goal just ten days later in a 1–0 win over rivals Crystal Palace in only his third game for his new employers. Spring finished the 2008–09 season making 13 appearances, scoring two goals,

Spring failed to score in 15 appearances for Charlton during the 2009–10 season.

Leyton Orient On 30 June 2010, Spring signed a two-year contract with League One club Leyton Orient. He made his debut for the club on 7 August, a 2–1 defeat away to Yeovil Town. Spring scored his first goal for Leyton Orient in a 3–2 defeat away to Notts County. He finished the 2010–11 season making 50 appearances, scoring two goals. He scored his first league goal of the season on 31 December, a 1–0 win over his former employers and League One leaders Charlton. He finished the season making 45 appearances, scoring five goals.

Wycombe Wanderers On 2 July 2012, it was announced that Spring had signed a two-year contract with Wycombe Wanderers. He arrived as one of five new signings after a transfer embargo was lifted from the club. Spring ended the season making 29 appearances for Wycombe.

St Neots Town Following his release by Wycombe Wanderers, Spring signed for Southern League Premier Division club St Neots Town in August 2014.

After a re-shuffle of the coaching staff early in the 2014–15 season, Spring was appointed player-assistant manager.

Despite playing an important role in the St Neots Town team that made the Southern Premier Division play-off final, Spring was one of several players released by the club at the end of the 2014–15 season.

Hemel Hempstead Town and Hitchin Town After his release from St Neots Town, Spring moved up a division to sign with National League South club Hemel Hempstead Town in June 2015.

Spring signed a dual registration deal with Southern League Premier Division club Hitchin Town on 6 March 2017, scoring on his debut later that day in a 2–1 victory at home to Cirencester Town, having entered the match as a substitute. He re-signed for Hitchin on dual registration on 23 March 2018. Spring signed for Hitchin permanently as a player-coach on 24 May on a one-year contract.

Rivalry Spring is one of the few players to have played for both Luton and their arch-rivals Watford. On 10 September 2002, he scored a 30-yard goal for Luton in a 2–1 victory over Watford in the League Cup, the first meeting of the two clubs for over three years.

Career statistics

Honours Luton Town Football League Third Division runner-up: 2001–02

Watford Football League Championship play-offs: 2005–06