Matthew Claude Mills (born 14 July 1986) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He spent the majority of his career in the English Football League Championship, representing Leicester City, Reading, Bolton, Nottingham Forest, Doncaster Rovers, and Barnsley. He retired from professional football in 2020.
Born in Swindon, Mills began his youth career with the academy of Swindon Town before joining the Southampton Academy in 1999. He turned professional in 2002 and had loan spells with Coventry City and AFC Bournemouth during his time at Southampton. In 2006, he signed for Manchester City; however, his playing opportunities were limited due to injuries.
Following loan moves to Colchester United and Doncaster Rovers, he joined the latter on a permanent basis in 2008. After one season, Mills signed for Reading for a fee believed to be around £2 million. In May 2011, he captained Reading in the Championship play-off final defeat against Swansea City, in which he also scored. Later that year, after turning down an offer from Wolverhampton Wanderers, Mills signed for Leicester City and was appointed club captain. In 2012, he moved to Bolton Wanderers, where he finished third in the voting for the club's Player of the Season award for 2014–15. He subsequently joined Nottingham Forest in 2015.
After three seasons at Forest, Mills went on to play for Barnsley, Pune City, and Forest Green Rovers before announcing his retirement from professional football.
Mills was capped at youth level for England, making eight appearances for the under-19 team. His younger brother, Joseph Mills, has also played for Forest Green Rovers. In February 2009, football pundit and former Leicester City player Steve Claridge described Mills as "an old-fashioned centre-half who relishes the physical side of the game".
Club career Southampton Born in Swindon, Wiltshire, Mills began his youth career at Swindon Town in 1999 before joining Southampton at the age of fourteen. Having progressed through the Southampton Academy and then the reserves, he signed his first professional contract with the club in 2002.
In order to gain first-team experience, Mills was loaned to Coventry City for one month on 18 September 2004. On the same day, he made his debut for Coventry City, just hours after completing the necessary paperwork, in a 0–0 draw against Rotherham United. He made three further starts, including scoring an own goal in a 2–1 defeat to Ipswich Town on 3 October 2004, which proved to be his final appearance for the club. Mills then returned to Southampton, making four appearances. Although Coventry City sought to extend his loan for a second month, Southampton declined the request.
On 21 February 2005, Mills joined AFC Bournemouth on a one-month loan. He made his Bournemouth debut the following day, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw against Torquay United. He subsequently scored his first goals for the club, against Tranmere Rovers and Swindon Town. His performances led to his loan being extended twice, eventually lasting until the end of the 2004–05 season. In the final game of the season, he scored his third goal for Bournemouth in a 4–2 defeat to Bradford City. He finished the campaign with twelve appearances and three goals in all competitions.
Following his loan spell at Bournemouth, Mills was among several young players included in the first-team squad ahead of the 2005–06 season. However, he remained out of the side for almost half the season before finally making his Southampton debut, starting in a 3–0 defeat to Watford on 26 December 2005. After making three further appearances, Mills' future at Southampton became uncertain, as his contract was set to expire in the summer and he began attracting interest from Manchester City.
Manchester City Mills signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Manchester City on 31 January 2006. There, he was reunited with Manchester City's reserve team manager Steve Wigley, who had previously worked with him during his time at Southampton's Academy. Mills described the opportunity as one he could not turn down.
He was initially assigned to the club's reserve side. However, while playing for the reserves, he suffered an ankle injury that sidelined him for several weeks. Mills made his first-team debut for Manchester City as a substitute for Danny Mills in the 84th minute of a 2–0 defeat to Chelsea on 25 March 2006. Two weeks later, on 8 April 2006, he made his first start for the club, playing at right-back in a 2–1 loss against Tottenham Hotspur. He finished the 2005–06 season with two appearances for Manchester City.
At the start of the 2006–07 season, Mills sustained another ankle injury but recovered to make his first appearance of the campaign in a 4–0 victory over Wigan Athletic on 21 October 2006. However, his first-team opportunities were limited, and on 26 January 2007, he was loaned to Colchester United on a one-month deal. He made his debut for Colchester on 30 January 2007, playing the full match and helping the team keep a clean sheet in a 1–0 win against Preston North End. His performances led to two extensions of the loan, during which he made nine appearances. Mills was recalled by Manchester City on 23 March 2007.
Doncaster Rovers On 17 August 2007, Mills joined Doncaster Rovers on a six-month loan deal, linking up with manager Sean O'Driscoll for the second time in his career. He made his debut for the club on 25 August 2007, coming on as a substitute in the 83rd minute for Gareth Roberts in a 2–1 defeat to Bournemouth. Mills then scored in consecutive matches for Doncaster, against Cheltenham Town and Walsall, on 29 September and 2 October 2007 respectively. After joining, he quickly established himself as a first-team regular, making seventeen consecutive appearances and helping Doncaster keep five clean sheets during that period. On 21 November 2007, his loan spell was cut short due to a knee injury, and he returned to his parent club.
On 14 January 2008, Mills rejoined Doncaster Rovers on loan for the remainder of the season. He immediately returned to the starting eleven, playing at centre-back. Mills helped Doncaster keep four consecutive clean sheets between 29 January and 12 February 2008. However, he was sent off with a straight red card in a 2–2 draw against Huddersfield Town on 5 April 2008. After serving his suspension, he returned to the starting line-up against Leyton Orient and subsequently scored his third goal for Doncaster in a 2–1 victory over Luton Town on 26 April 2008. Mills then played a key role in helping Doncaster secure promotion to the Championship, as they defeated Leeds United at Wembley Stadium in the League One play-off final on 25 May 2008. He finished the 2007–08 season with 41 appearances and three goals in all competitions.
Following promotion, Mills expressed a desire to join Doncaster permanently and was expected to sign during the close season. After two months of speculation, during which his move was in doubt due to a managerial change at Manchester City, he was finally unveiled as Doncaster Rovers' record signing on 30 July 2008, signing a three-year contract. Doncaster paid £300,000 for his services, which at the time was the highest transfer fee in the club's history.
Mills' first match after signing permanently came in the opening game of the season against Derby County, where he helped keep a clean sheet in a 1–0 win. Following the match, he was named in the Championship Team of the Week. In the following game against Cardiff City, Mills provided the assist for the opening goal in a 1–1 draw. He continued to establish himself as a regular starter at centre-back. Mills helped the club keep three consecutive clean sheets between 15 November and 25 November 2008. However, he was sent off with a straight red card in the 20th minute of a 2–1 defeat to Crystal Palace on 13 December 2008. After serving a one-match suspension, he returned to the starting line-up against Nottingham Forest on 26 December 2008, contributing to a 4–2 victory. Mills again helped Doncaster achieve three consecutive clean sheets between 20 January and 27 January 2009. Despite missing five matches during the season, he made 45 appearances in the 2008–09 season. For his performances, he was named Doncaster Rovers' Player of the Year.
In the summer of 2009, Mills attracted interest from several clubs, including Birmingham City and Newcastle United. On 10 June 2009, Nottingham Forest submitted an offer of £2 million, which was rejected by Doncaster. A subsequent offer from Reading was accepted, and Mills departed Doncaster in August 2009
Reading On 5 August 2009, Mills was officially unveiled as a Reading player, signing a three-year contract under manager Brendan Rodgers. The exact transfer fee was undisclosed, though it was believed to be in the region of £2 million.
Mills made his Reading debut on 11 August 2009, playing the full match in a 5–1 victory over Burton Albion in the first round of the League Cup. He then made his league debut for the club on 18 August 2009, starting and keeping a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw against Swansea City. Four days later, on 22 August 2009, he scored his first goal for Reading in a 3–1 defeat to Sheffield United. However, Mills initially found first-team opportunities limited and was often named on the substitutes' bench for tactical reasons, according to manager Rodgers. He also struggled with injuries during this period. Nevertheless, he scored his second goal for the club on 17 October 2009 in a 3–1 loss to West Bromwich Albion. By January, he had regained his place in the starting line-up, displacing Alex Pearce and Darren O'Dea.
Mills received praise for his performances, notably after helping the club defeat Liverpool in the FA Cup third round replay on 13 January 2010. However, on 7 February 2010, against his former club Doncaster Rovers, he was sent off in the 80th minute for handball, resulting in a penalty, though Reading went on to win 2–1. After serving a one-match suspension, he returned to the starting line-up against Crystal Palace on 17 February 2010, captaining the side in the absence of Ívar Ingimarsson as they won 3–1. He captained the team again in the following match against Blackpool, which Reading lost 2–0.
Following a 1–0 victory over Queens Park Rangers in March 2010, Mills was seen making an apparent obscene gesture towards Reading supporters, for which he later apologised. Manager Brian McDermott attributed the gesture to Mills' passion, describing his form as "inspirational" and stating that it would not affect his relationship with the fans. However, he was sent off for a second time that season on 3 April 2010 against Ipswich Town for a two-footed challenge in the 30th minute of a 2–1 defeat. After serving a four-match ban, he returned to the starting line-up and resumed captaincy duties against Watford on 24 April 2010, a match Reading lost 4–0. In Ingimarsson's absence, Mills captained the side for the remainder of the season. He finished the 2009–10 season with 30 appearances and two goals in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2010–11 season, Mills stated that he intended to focus on his fitness rather than the captaincy. However, he continued as captain in Ingimarsson's absence. In the opening match of the season, a 2–1 defeat to Scunthorpe United, Mills suffered an ankle injury that kept him out for one match. He returned on 21 August 2010 against Nottingham Forest and shortly afterwards scored twice in a 3–3 League Cup draw with Northampton Town. This was followed by scoring the winning goal in a 2–1 victory away at Leicester City three days later, in which he also made a crucial goal-line clearance and was named Man of the Match.