Matty Fryatt

Matthew Charles Fryatt (born 5 March 1986) is an English football coach and former professional footballer, who played as a striker.

He is the U15s coach at Walsall.

He made his first team debut as a substitute in a 3–1 League Cup second round defeat to Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium on 24 September 2003, replacing Steve Corica after 67 minutes.

His first appearance in The Football League came on 14 October, starting in a 1–1 away draw against Watford in the First Division.

On 18 December 2003, Fryatt moved to Third Division Carlisle United on loan for a month to gain vital first team experience.

He made his debut for the Cumbrians two days later, starting in a 2–0 win over Torquay United at Brunton Park, and scored his first professional goal on 3 January 2004, the winner as his team came from behind to win 2–1 against Boston United, heading in Brendan McGill's cross for the bottom-ranked club.

Twelve days later, Fryatt's loan was extended by another month, and he returned to Walsall on 23 February after playing ten games.

On 20 March, he scored his first goal for the Saddlers, in the first two minutes of a 2–1 win at Preston North End, but the season ended with relegation to League One.

Fryatt began the 2004–05 season with a 12th-minute penalty to open a 3–2 win over West Midlands neighbours Port Vale on 7 August.

A week later he netted two – including another penalty – in a 5–3 loss at Oldham Athletic.

He scored 15 goals in 36 appearances across the season, including a hat-trick in a 4–3 win over Huddersfield Town on 29 January 2005, being assisted on the winner by player-manager Paul Merson.

On 12 March, he scored within seven seconds of the start of a home match against AFC Bournemouth, who won 2–1 nonetheless.

He also collected the goal of the season and the player of the season awards at Walsall at the end of the season.

Nottingham Forest made a £850,000 offer for him on 17 August 2005, which was rejected by Walsall because it was "derisory."

On 24 August, Merson believed Birmingham City and Sunderland would bid for Fryatt.

Despite signing a 12-month extension to his existing contract on 27 September, Fryatt was told by the club they would not block a transfer to a bigger club.

On 13 December 2005, Fryatt said he expected to be sold by the end of the 2005–06 season.

A concrete offer was made by Danish club Odense Boldklub, which was managed by Bruce Rioch, but Fryatt had no intention of moving to Denmark.

He scored 18 goals in his final season at Walsall.

Fryatt holds the record for fastest goal ever scored by a Leicester City player when he scored after 9 seconds in a 2–1 defeat by Preston North End on 15 April 2006.

Fryatt signed a three-and-a-half year deal with Leicester City for an undisclosed fee on 9 January 2006, while Walsall would receive a share of the profit should he be sold in future.

He was handed the number 12 shirt, which he also wore at Walsall.

He made his debut in a 2–1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on 14 January, scoring his first goal in a 2–1 defeat to Cardiff City on 21 January.

On 6 February 2006, Fryatt admitted he was a bit shocked when manager Craig Levein was sacked within 16 days of his arrival, after a run of poor results.

Nonetheless, he still believed he made the right move from Walsall, even if Leicester suffer relegation.

He also pleaded to the board of directors to allow caretaker boss Rob Kelly to remain as manager until the end of the season.

Fryatt scored a total of six league goals, helping Leicester avoid relegation.

He ended their last home game of the season with a 1–0 win over Plymouth Argyle on 22 April.

Fryatt was picked by the BBC as Leicester's key player for the 2006–07 season, remarking that he "has the attitude and talent to play in the Premiership".

However, he was plagued with injuries during that season, suffering an ankle injury in October 2006 which sidelined him for over two weeks.

Fryatt was further frustrated by a foot problem during the second half of the season, forcing him to use an insole in his boots to take some pressure away from his ankle.

Despite playing 34 competitive games, he scored only four goals, one of them in a 4–3 FA Cup defeat by Fulham.

Fryatt nonetheless attracted interest from Wolves in July 2007, whose £2 million bid was turned down by then-manager Martin Allen because "the offer was nowhere near high enough."

His form worsened in the 2007–08 season, scoring only two goals in 30 league games and receiving one red card as Leicester were relegated from the Championship.

One goal he did contribute however, gave Leicester a shock victory over Aston Villa in the League Cup on 26 September 2007.

He was even the transfer loan target of Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Crewe Alexandra.

He broke two further records during his time at Leicester in the 2008–09 season: firstly, becoming the first player in 42 years to score 20 goals before Christmas, and secondly, being the first in 83 years to hit hat-tricks in successive matches.

Born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, Fryatt rose through the ranks at youth level at Walsall.

Fryatt made a positive start to the 2008–09 season, scoring five goals in four league games, earning him a nomination for League One player of the month for August.

By November 2008, then-teammate Paul Dickov told Fryatt he thinks "he might have 20 goals by Christmas."