THE HARROLD FILES
Posted on: Mon 01 Sep 2008
By Matt Cecil
He was born in the same town as David Beckham, he's been cast in a TV documentary as a Prince Harry look-a-like and he attended the same school as an Olympic athlete, a soap actor and the lead singer of a popular British band. With connections like that, Matt Harrold should certainly be an interesting addition to Peter Taylor's Wanderers side.
Of course, it's the footballing reasons that persuaded Taylor to bring the 24-year-old to Adams Park on Monday, and Harrold arrives at the club with experience of every level in the Football League under his belt as well as successful stints with several non-league sides in his career so far.
The 6'1" forward was born in the East London town of Leyton - sharing a birthplace with Beckham - and was educated at the Trinity Catholic High School in Woodford Green along with former Hollyoaks actor Gary Lucy, Bloc Party singer Kele Okereke and British sprinter Christine Ohuruogu, who would have been in the same year group as the Blues' new striker.
After obtaining an A-Level in Sports Science, Harrold began his footballing career in the Centre of Excellence at Southend United before moving into the non-league scene with Grays Athletic. The striker enjoyed loan spells with Aveley, Wingate & Finchley and Harlow Town before being recommended to Brentford in 2003 by John Griffin, who joined the Wanderers as chief scout this summer.
It didn't take long to make an impact at Griffin Park as the youngster bagged a hat-trick in only his fourth appearance for the Bees in an FA Cup thrashing of Gainsborough Trinity in the 2003/04 season.
Harrold went on to score twice more for Martin Allen's men that campaign, including an equaliser in the 1-1 against Wycombe in April, and the League One club only failed to score in two of the fifteen games that the striker appeared in that year, perhaps proving what an asset he was to their strikeforce.
After making a bright start to his professional career, Harrold struggled to live up to the high standards he had set for himself and dropped into the Conference with a loan move to Dagenham & Redbridge in December 2004. He scored on his debut for the Daggers and repeated the trick in his first two games for Grimsby Town later that season after joining the League Two club on another loan deal before finishing the campaign back at Brentford.
In the summer of 2005, Bees boss Martin Allen allowed Harrold to move to newly-promoted Yeovil Town for a nominal fee and the striker was a popular man at Huish Park, featuring in virtually all of the Glovers' matches in the 2005/06 campaign and scoring nine times in the process.
And it was with Yeovil that Harrold revealed his interest in studying the performances of other strikers in a bid to improve his own game, telling the BBC's website: "It's good to watch the movement of other forwards. I watch a lot of football on television to see the way different strikers move inside the box, get in front of people and lose their markers."
Harrold actually appeared in the same team as current Wanderers midfielder Tommy Doherty for just eleven minutes of football as the Glovers won 3-0 at Chesterfield in March 2006. Doherty had joined on loan from QPR but was substituted early in the game through injury and never appeared for the club again before joining the Blues in September that year.
Six games into the 2006/07 season, Harrold earned a move to the Championship as he rejoined his first club Southend United for an undisclosed fee just hours ahead of the August transfer deadline - coincidentally the same scenario that saw him join the Wanderers on Monday.
During his time at Roots Hall, Harrold was regularly in the same team as Wanderers' new right-back Lewis Hunt and the pair could both make their debuts at Rochdale on Saturday after Peter Taylor declared that Hunt may be fit in time for the trip to Spotland.
His first goal for the Shrimpers came as a crucial late equaliser at the Hawthorns as Southend salvaged a draw with West Brom before finding the net against Peter Taylor's Hull City in a 3-2 defeat at Roots Hall. Harrold also scored at Molineux in a 3-1 loss against Wolves but as his side struggled at the foot of the table, he and his team mates found goals hard to come by.
Nevertheless, the forward remained a regular in the United strikeforce as they adapted to life back in League One the following season and scored in three successive cup ties against Watford, Blackpool and Rochdale.
Then, in November, he was bizarrely asked to feature in a television documentary about Prince Harry after being told that he bore an uncanny resemblance to the royal. At the time, he said: "I wasn't too sure whether I should do it, but the other lads all decided it would be good for the banter."
But while his acting career looked like it might be about to blossom, his football took a downward turn and a controversial red card against Yeovil in January spelled the end of his Roots Hall career. Manager Steve Tilson blasted the referee's decision but after returning from suspension, Harrold was unable to regain his place in the side before being placed on the transfer list in the summer along with fellow strikers Richie Foran and Charlie MacDonald.
It's been a difficult few weeks for the striker as he waited for a chance to rebuild his footballing career, but now that Peter Taylor has given him the chance to shine with the Wanderers, here's hoping that the 24-year-old will shrug off the "Prince Harry" tag and become the king of Adams Park.
He was born in the same town as David Beckham, he's been cast in a TV documentary as a Prince Harry look-a-like and he attended the same school as an Olympic athlete, a soap actor and the lead singer of a popular British band. With connections like that, Matt Harrold should certainly be an interesting addition to Peter Taylor's Wanderers side.
Of course, it's the footballing reasons that persuaded Taylor to bring the 24-year-old to Adams Park on Monday, and Harrold arrives at the club with experience of every level in the Football League under his belt as well as successful stints with several non-league sides in his career so far.
The 6'1" forward was born in the East London town of Leyton - sharing a birthplace with Beckham - and was educated at the Trinity Catholic High School in Woodford Green along with former Hollyoaks actor Gary Lucy, Bloc Party singer Kele Okereke and British sprinter Christine Ohuruogu, who would have been in the same year group as the Blues' new striker.
After obtaining an A-Level in Sports Science, Harrold began his footballing career in the Centre of Excellence at Southend United before moving into the non-league scene with Grays Athletic. The striker enjoyed loan spells with Aveley, Wingate & Finchley and Harlow Town before being recommended to Brentford in 2003 by John Griffin, who joined the Wanderers as chief scout this summer.
It didn't take long to make an impact at Griffin Park as the youngster bagged a hat-trick in only his fourth appearance for the Bees in an FA Cup thrashing of Gainsborough Trinity in the 2003/04 season.
Harrold went on to score twice more for Martin Allen's men that campaign, including an equaliser in the 1-1 against Wycombe in April, and the League One club only failed to score in two of the fifteen games that the striker appeared in that year, perhaps proving what an asset he was to their strikeforce.
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Stuart Nethercott keeps a close eye on Harrold in the 2004 encounter at Griffin Park. Photo courtesy of Paul Dennis. |
After making a bright start to his professional career, Harrold struggled to live up to the high standards he had set for himself and dropped into the Conference with a loan move to Dagenham & Redbridge in December 2004. He scored on his debut for the Daggers and repeated the trick in his first two games for Grimsby Town later that season after joining the League Two club on another loan deal before finishing the campaign back at Brentford.
In the summer of 2005, Bees boss Martin Allen allowed Harrold to move to newly-promoted Yeovil Town for a nominal fee and the striker was a popular man at Huish Park, featuring in virtually all of the Glovers' matches in the 2005/06 campaign and scoring nine times in the process.
And it was with Yeovil that Harrold revealed his interest in studying the performances of other strikers in a bid to improve his own game, telling the BBC's website: "It's good to watch the movement of other forwards. I watch a lot of football on television to see the way different strikers move inside the box, get in front of people and lose their markers."
Harrold actually appeared in the same team as current Wanderers midfielder Tommy Doherty for just eleven minutes of football as the Glovers won 3-0 at Chesterfield in March 2006. Doherty had joined on loan from QPR but was substituted early in the game through injury and never appeared for the club again before joining the Blues in September that year.
Six games into the 2006/07 season, Harrold earned a move to the Championship as he rejoined his first club Southend United for an undisclosed fee just hours ahead of the August transfer deadline - coincidentally the same scenario that saw him join the Wanderers on Monday.
During his time at Roots Hall, Harrold was regularly in the same team as Wanderers' new right-back Lewis Hunt and the pair could both make their debuts at Rochdale on Saturday after Peter Taylor declared that Hunt may be fit in time for the trip to Spotland.
His first goal for the Shrimpers came as a crucial late equaliser at the Hawthorns as Southend salvaged a draw with West Brom before finding the net against Peter Taylor's Hull City in a 3-2 defeat at Roots Hall. Harrold also scored at Molineux in a 3-1 loss against Wolves but as his side struggled at the foot of the table, he and his team mates found goals hard to come by.
 |
|
Harrold challenges for the ball with Tottenham's Hossam Ghaly in an FA Cup tie in January 2007. |
Nevertheless, the forward remained a regular in the United strikeforce as they adapted to life back in League One the following season and scored in three successive cup ties against Watford, Blackpool and Rochdale.
Then, in November, he was bizarrely asked to feature in a television documentary about Prince Harry after being told that he bore an uncanny resemblance to the royal. At the time, he said: "I wasn't too sure whether I should do it, but the other lads all decided it would be good for the banter."
But while his acting career looked like it might be about to blossom, his football took a downward turn and a controversial red card against Yeovil in January spelled the end of his Roots Hall career. Manager Steve Tilson blasted the referee's decision but after returning from suspension, Harrold was unable to regain his place in the side before being placed on the transfer list in the summer along with fellow strikers Richie Foran and Charlie MacDonald.
It's been a difficult few weeks for the striker as he waited for a chance to rebuild his footballing career, but now that Peter Taylor has given him the chance to shine with the Wanderers, here's hoping that the 24-year-old will shrug off the "Prince Harry" tag and become the king of Adams Park.
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