Matty Kennedy

This article is about the Scottish footballer. For other people named Matthew Kennedy, see Matthew Kennedy (disambiguation).
Matty Kennedy

Kennedy in December 2013 at Everton's training ground.
Personal information
Full name Matthew Kennedy[1]
Date of birth (1994-11-01) 1 November 1994
Place of birth Irvine, Scotland
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position Winger
Club information
Current team
 Cardiff City
Number 23
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Kilmarnock 14 (0)
2012–2015 Everton 0 (0)
2014 → Tranmere Rovers (loan) 8 (0)
2014 → Milton Keynes Dons (loan) 7 (1)
2014–2015 → Hibernian (loan) 16 (1)
2015– Cardiff City 15 (0)
2016 → Port Vale (loan) 12 (0)
National team
2009 Scotland U15 1 (0)
2009–2010 Scotland U16 6 (3)
2010–2012 Scotland U17 13 (4)
2012 Scotland U18 2 (0)
2012 Scotland U19 10 (1)
2012 Scotland U21 1 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:00, 11 August 2016 (UTC).


Matthew "Matty" Kennedy (born 1 November 1994) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a winger for Championship club Cardiff City.

He began his career at Kilmarnock, and represented Scotland at all youth international levels. He was sold to Everton in August 2012, and was loaned out to Tranmere Rovers, Milton Keynes Dons, and Hibernian, before being sold on to Cardiff City in February 2015. Initially a first team regular at Cardiff, he was dropped in the 2015–16 season and joined Port Vale on loan in January.

Career

Kilmarnock

Kennedy had the opportunity to join the Celtic and Rangers youth academies, but chose to join Kilmarnock as the club were closer to his home and he felt played a style of football that suited him.[2] On 19 November 2011, aged 17, Kennedy made his first team debut as a substitute in a 1–1 draw with Hibernian at Easter Road.[3] He started his first game for "Killie" in a 2–1 win over St Mirren at Rugby Park on 2 January 2012.[4] He ended the 2011–12 campaign with 11 Scottish Premier League appearances. He played three games at the start of the 2012–13 season before leaving the club; manager Kenny Shiels expressed his concern that Kennedy had left Kilmarnock too soon and he had missed out on seeing Kennedy's "proper development" at the club.[5]

Everton

On 31 August 2012, the final day of the summer transfer window, Kennedy signed for English Premier League side Everton for a "nominal fee".[6] The fee was later revealed to be £225,000.[7]

On 9 January 2014, Kennedy signed on loan for League One side Tranmere Rovers.[8] Manager Ronnie Moore extended the loan spell for a further month after being impressed by his first six appearances at Prenton Park.[9] On 26 March 2014, Kennedy joined Milton Keynes Dons, also of League One, on a youth loan until the end of the 2013–14 season.[10] Manager Karl Robinson stated that Kennedy would bring "pace, trickery and excitement" to Stadium mk.[11] He scored his first goal in the Football League for the "Dons" in a 2–2 draw at Rotherham United on 26 April.[12]

On 8 August 2014, Kennedy joined Scottish Championship side Hibernian on a six-month loan deal after being signed by his former Everton under-21 manager Alan Stubbs.[13] He initially found himself on the bench at Easter Road, though Stubbs was keen to extend the loan deal until the end of the 2014–15 season.[14] On 29 October, he scored his second senior goal to help secure a 3–3 draw with Dundee United in the Scottish League Cup quarter-finals, however he missed his penalty in the resulting shoot-out.[15] He said that he was "devastated" by his miss, which eliminated "Hibs" from the competition.[16] He returned to Goodison Park on 5 January.[17]

Cardiff City

On 2 February 2015, Kennedy signed for Championship side Cardiff City on a three-and-a-half year contract for an undisclosed fee.[18] He made his full debut for the "Bluebirds" 15 days later in a 1–1 draw with Blackburn Rovers at Cardiff City Stadium, playing the full 90 minutes and producing a Man of the Match performance.[19] He settled in well at the club, and was touted as one of manager Russell Slade's best signings for the club.[20] He made a total of 14 league appearances in the second half of the 2014–15 season.

Kennedy was described as a "forgotten man" after playing just one league game in the first half of the 2015–16 season.[21] On 25 January 2016, he joined League One side Port Vale on a one-month loan.[22] He said that he was attracted to the "Valiants" by manager Rob Page, who Cardiff coaches told him was the best man to bring out his best qualities.[23] He began his time at Vale Park in good form, and was hopeful of extending his stay further than the initial month.[24] After late negotiations, Cardiff agreed to extend to loan until 26 April.[25] However he returned to Cardiff on 7 April after being demoted from the first eleven to a place on the bench.[26] Page said that "to go from under-21s football to playing week-in, week-out, two games a week at League One level caught up with him".[27]

International career

Kennedy has represented Scotland at under-15, under-16, under-17 and under-19 level.[28] He was selected by under-21 interim coach Ricky Sbragia to play Portugal under-21 at Estádio do Bonfim, Setúbal on 14 November 2012; he came on for Callum Paterson 66 minutes into a 3–2 defeat, in what was his only under-21 cap.[29]

Style of play

Able to play on either wing, Kennedy was described by Tranmere Rovers manager Ronnie Moore as "quick, [he] likes to take on defenders and [is someone] will create chances for his team-mates".[30]

Career statistics

As of 11 August 2016.
Club Season League Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Kilmarnock 2011–12[31] SPL 110000000110
2012–13[32] SPL 3000000030
Total 140000000140
Everton 2012–13[32] Premier League 0000000000
2013–14[33] Premier League 0000000000
2014–15[34] Premier League 0000000000
Total 0000000000
Tranmere Rovers (loan) 2013–14[33] League One 8000000080
MK Dons (loan) 2013–14[33] League One 7100000071
Hibernian (loan) 2014–15[34] Scottish Championship 130102100161
Cardiff City 2014–15[34] Championship 140000000140
2015–16[35] Championship 1010000020
2016–17[36] Championship 0000100010
Total 150101000170
Port Vale (loan) 2015–16[35] League One 120000000120
Career total 691203100742

References

  1. ↑ "Barclays Premier League Squad Numbers 2013/14". Premier League. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  2. ↑ Phillips, Terry (20 February 2015). "Who is Cardiff City starlet Matthew Kennedy? The story of the boyhood Glasgow Rangers fan who signed from Everton". Wales Online. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Hibernian 1 – 1 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 19 November 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  4. ↑ "Kilmarnock 2 - 1 St Mirren". BBC Sport. 2 January 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "Kilmarnock boss concern over Matthew Kennedy's Everton switch". BBC Sport. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "Everton: Matthew Kennedy secured from Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  7. ↑ Prentice, David (4 September 2012). "Everton FC: Teenage winger Matthew Kennedy says he's 'living the dream' after signing for Blues". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Everton Winger Joins Tranmere". Tranmere Rovers FC. 9 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "Tranmere Extend Kennedy Loan". Tranmere Rovers FC. 10 February 2014.
  10. ↑ "Dons swoop for Everton starlet". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 26 March 2014.
  11. ↑ "Everton's Matthew Kennedy joins MK Dons on loan". BBC Sport. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "Rotherham 2 - 2 MK Dons". BBC Sport. 26 April 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  13. ↑ "Winger Matthew Kennedy pens Hibernian loan deal". The Scotsman. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  14. ↑ "Hibs look to extend winger Matthew Kennedy's loan stay at Easter Road beyond January". Daily Record. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "Hibernian 3 - 3 Dundee Utd". BBC Sport. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  16. ↑ Forbes, Craig (15 November 2014). "Matthew Kennedy wants to payback fans for pen miss". The Scotsman. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  17. ↑ "Hibs' on-loan winger Matthew Kennedy returns to Everton". BBC Sport. BBC. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  18. ↑ "Scottish U21 international links up permanently from Everton". Cardiff City FC. 2 February 2015.
  19. ↑ Phillips, Tom. "Snapshot". cardiffcityfc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  20. ↑ Tucker, Steve (23 March 2015). "Cardiff City signings rated: How have Russell Slade's super seven performed since their January arrivals?". Wales Online. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  21. ↑ Phillips, Terry (7 September 2015). "Cardiff City's forgotten man Matthew Kennedy given chance to stake his claim for first team spot". Wales Online. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  22. ↑ "Port Vale sign striker Robinson and Cardiff loan winger Kennedy". BBC Sport. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  23. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (25 January 2016). "Matty Kennedy says Cardiff City recommended Vale and boss Rob Page". The Sentinel. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  24. ↑ "Port Vale: Cardiff City winger Matthew Kennedy eyeing loan extension". BBC Sport. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  25. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (26 February 2016). "Valiants clinch new deal for Cardiff winger Matty Kennedy". The Sentinel. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  26. ↑ Smith, Pete (7 April 2016). "Matty Kennedy recalled by Cardiff City". The Sentinel. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  27. ↑ Southcombe, Matthew (7 April 2016). "Cardiff City winger Matthew Kennedy returns early from Port Vale loan spell as first team opportunities dry up". Wales Online. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  28. ↑ "Matthew Kennedy SFA Profile". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  29. ↑ "International Challenge Match". scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  30. ↑ "Transfer window: Everton winger Matthew Kennedy joins Tranmere". BBC Sport. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  31. ↑ "Games played by Matty Kennedy in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  32. 1 2 "Games played by Matty Kennedy in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  33. 1 2 3 "Games played by Matty Kennedy in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  34. 1 2 3 "Games played by Matty Kennedy in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  35. 1 2 "Games played by Matty Kennedy in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  36. ↑ "Games played by Matty Kennedy in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
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