Matty McNeil

He signed for Chester in June 2011, after he left Southport the previous month. McNeil suffered a knee injury in his first pre-season friendly against Tranmere, and missed the rest of pre-season. He then managed to recover in time to make the first game of the season, where he scored on his debut. His season would be cut short due to a career threatening knee injury, which meant he would miss the last 10 games of the season, However, he still went on to win Supporters player of the year and the Managers player of the year. The team also went on to secure the league title and win their second successive promotion in two years.

McNeil signed for Southport on 12 May 2010, after he left Stockport County earlier on in the year. He made a good start to the season, hitting two goals against Kidderminster in a thrilling 4–3 away win, but soon after that he had a groin injury which kept him out for a few weeks. When he came back he helped the club to a money spinning home tie, live on ITV with league one side Sheffield Wednesday in the first round of the FA Cup. McNeil and his teammates battled on in the league but they couldn't do enough to keep the club from finishing fourth bottom of the Conference. However the club stayed up because Rushden was kicked out of the league due to breaking the rules.

He was offered a new twelve-month contract by Stockport, but the first half of his 2008–09 season also turned out to be plagued by injury. After being sent off shortly into the second match of the season, McNeil suffered a knee injury in training, and missed the remainder of August, all of September, and the first half of October. He returned to face Colchester United on 18 October, scoring in the first half, but being hospitalised with a head injury by a clumsy challenge in the second half. After a further month out through injury, McNeil returned to the first team for a spell of games in November, before a recurrence of a back problem forced him to limp out of the pre-match warmup for an FA Cup tie against Gillingham on 9 December, and spend the next six weeks on the sidelines. McNeil was out of contract at the end of the season, and with the club going into administration, plus the management being made redundant, he wasn't offered a new contract.

He made 22 appearances for Stockport, scoring six goals and won the player of the month for both September and November, before injury interrupted his 2007–08 season. He returned to feature briefly in Stockport's final game of the season, coming on as a substitute for the final few minutes of their Wembley play-off victory.

McNeil made a scoring and man of the match performance on his professional debut in the 2005–06 Northern Final, second leg against Carlisle United and took the tie to extra time, but Macclesfield lost on away goals. Following a successful two-month loan spell, he signed a permanent contract with League Two side Macclesfield Town in June 2006. He made 35 league appearances in the 2006–07 season, scoring five goals. The highlight of the season was playing at Chelsea in the third round of the FA Cup, and getting an assist for the goal in the 6-1 defeat. He Also had a good end to the season, helping keep the club in the football league. He was offered a new contract at Macclesfield, but joined Stockport County in July 2007, where manager Jim Gannon said of him, "He has all the qualities we want. He's very strong, hard working and well equipped for his role."

After impressing in a cup tie for Woodley Sports against Stalybridge Celtic he was then quickly snapped up by them in 1999, where he went on to win an Historic Treble and gain promotion to the conference National. McNeil also attracted the attentions of a lot of league clubs throughout the season, with Bury being the most notable. At the end of the season the Management team and several players had left the club for Southport, leaving the club to rebuild for the new season. McNeil and his new teammates found it very difficult in the Conference and he opted to move to Runcorn in January for an undisclosed fee. He helped the club have a strong finish to their season and the following year the club reached the first round proper of the FA Cup, in which he scored in every round.

Matthew McNeil (born 14 July 1976) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker/defender.