How would you sum up the work you've been doing for the club you love for over 20 years? Matt Perry chose the phrase "dreams come true."
On 31 October 1999, the young Matt Perry played his first game as Wolves' first team doctor, and the final whistle at the Estadio Molinue on the afternoon of 30 April 2022 ended his loyal career. His career with Wolves spanned 23 seasons, 12 managers, 4 promotions, 3 relegations...
In the late 1960s, when Matt Perry was a child, he watched the game in the North Stand in Molinho. And as an adult, most of the game days, he will be on the bench, taking care of the players of the club he loves. "If there's a medically perfect job, then Wolves' first-team doctor is. It was an honour for me, it was a wonderful experience, I was still a boy at heart and when you were at the Estadio Molinux you still had that crazy feeling that the pitch was shaking and you were a part of it, it was incredible. ”
In an era of more attention and respect for the medical team, team doctors are one of the most important jobs in football, but when Perry first entered the industry, the Championship club did not have a full-time team doctor, let alone a professional medical department. 'At that time, the FA recognised that top players would come with injuries, so they wanted to improve the status of team doctors so that the team wouldn't put pressure on the players to play in unhealthy situations.
"Wolves' original first-team team doctor left in 2002 and it was a Monday afternoon when I was at my clinic and the receptionist said the Wolves head coach was in the waiting room wanting to see me. Then Dave Jones walked in and said, 'Doctor, your waiting room is full, and I'll make a long story short, do you want to be a Wolves first-team doctor?' "The decision was effortless for Perry, who had dabbled in the life of a football team doctor in previous seasons." It was July 2002, and the next was just in time for Wolves' promotion season, and you were in a locker room full of talent and experience. Wolves at the time, Lescott, Matt Murray, Paul Ince, Dennis Elvin, Kenny Miller and other players. ”
Before that, when Perry was working as a mass doctor, he also needed to help the football field, of course he was happy to take on this role because of the opportunity to meet the players. "In my first game as a mass doctor, I was asked to come to the dressing room because they needed to fill out some insurance forms for a young lad named Robbie Keane. We beat Barnett 5-0 in the cup, with Steve Bull scoring three and Robbie Keane scoring two and they assisted each other. Just before that, we played against Barcelona in preseason and Bull scored. I was first invited into the dressing room, and the famous john Richards was inside, and he said, 'Hello, doctor, my name is John Richards.' He was my childhood hero and I was shaking hands with him. ”
"My first game as a full-time team doctor was in the Black Country derby at Hawthorn Stadium against West Brom, when the team doctor couldn't go. 10 minutes after the start of the game, Politt collided with the opponent and I was fully armed to take Politt to the hospital and then came back before the end of the game, the score was 1-1 and the atmosphere was very good. Then Colin Lee pulled me into the locker room, where George Enda was, and the examination found that his tibia was broken. ”
Matt Perry is sitting in the press room of the training base, looking back on the years. For most of his time with Wolves, this room didn't exist, like most of the base. "My first year at Wolves, we used to change clothes at the squash club next door and use their gym if they didn't have members using it. When we entered the Premier League in 2003, we had a mobile home, but no phones, no recording systems, no canteens. We had a couple of showers and the players would take turns going to see if they could take a hot shower. There was a physical therapist, a fitness coach, a part-time doctor, two massage therapists on match days, and that was the entire team of sports science and medical staff at the time. We compared ourselves to some similar clubs – Bolton Wanderers, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, West Brom, etc. – and found that some teams have five times as many medical staff as we do. We got into the Premier League with experienced and capable players, but the infrastructure was not up to par with the Premier League. Now, we have a manicured training ground and the service to the players in the youth echelon is far more than the level of the first team of that year. There have been dramatic changes in sports science, nutrition, rehabilitation facilities, load management, and more. ”
"On the medical side, the biggest change is now emergency care on the field. There is always a good course in the soccer team, and all professional clubs have highly trained medical staff, which can even save lives. In addition, I can do ultrasound scans every day to look at injuries, which helps to give players and doctors confidence in solving problems. The players are getting healthier, stronger, faster, and in addition to advances in tactical techniques, their bodies are better, which is a huge difference from the past. ”
In the 21st century, Dave Jones, Mick McCarthy, Kenny Jackett, and Nuno Santo have led the promotion of Matt Perry. Wolves have travelled to Shanghai in recent years for pre-season preparations, traveling almost half of Europe in the Europa League, following Perry on every trip to ensure that all medical work is in place and to the highest standards. Because of this, Wolves have rarely been injured in the 2019/20 double-line game.
'The love for Wolves is the most important thing because I really don't want to work for any other club.
'Mick McCarthy's team is full of youthful energy, they run fast, they take pleasure in scoring goals, they're a magical bunch of young lads."
"Kenny Jackett, who set a record with a team that has added a large number of young players from Wolves' academy, many of whom started their careers at Wolves, wouldn't have had that experience if Wolves were in the Premier League. The 6-4 pair of Rotherham and the more than 10,000 Wolves fans who went to away from Home against Milton Keynes are great memories. Although it was League One, for those players it was the starting point for their careers. ”
"After that, Nuno's team played exquisite technical football with players from other leagues. After the promotion, we have a group of very talented players, like Caldy, Neves, Joni, Moutinho and so on are very good. I've watched Wolves for so many years and now this group of players is the most talented. ”
Surprisingly, Wolves didn't plan to take the team doctor on the road before the 2003 upgrade play-off final with Cardiff City. But due to some injury problems, Perry ended up driving to South Wales, but there were no extra rooms at the hotel, so he slept on the floor of the treatment room before such an important race.
"At Cardiff City, the fans formed a sea of gold and black, it was an incredible game, a wonderful experience. But I left the post-match party early because I had to see someone at 7:30 the next morning. I drove home, barely slept, and spent the day treating patients — all Wolves fans. ”
"In 19/20, we fought on both sides. Trailing 2-0, Doherty's third goal against Manchester City allowed us to beat the defending champions. Away to Manchester City, we won with Traore's goal, and before that we came back to England from Istanbul at 5am on Friday, on the road on Saturday, and then we beat Manchester City 2-0 at noon on Sunday, and before that we also won in Istanbul, how did that work? ”
"There was also the away win over Tottenham. I've watched us lose so many times over the years, especially to the 1972 Europa League final, and I still remember them, so it's a pleasure to beat them at Tottenham's new stadium. And the first time I've ever won at Anfield, when Steven Ward embarrassed Renner, a left-back who played centre-forward in that game, it was even more special. ”
The moments mentioned by Matt Perry will be remembered forever by Wolves fans. In particular, the victory at the new home of Tottenham Hotspur in March 2020 was an important milestone as it was the last away league game Played by Wolves before the Premier League was shut down due to the pandemic, and Perry's job has changed since then.
A lot of things were unpredictable at the time, and Wolves went to Athens to play without a choice, which worried Perry. When the outbreak spread in Wolverhampton, club owners and doctors stepped forward, and Perry was involved in coordination between Wolves, Fosun and partners across Europe to save lives by procuring personal protective equipment and other medical supplies for local hospitals.
"Against Olympiacos, I knew we had to go, despite the risks. Then the league was suspended and then a lot of things happened. As a locally rooted club, we try to find personal protective equipment for the city. We work with Fosun Group and have a clinical alliance where doctors from China, London, Lisbon, Rome, New York, Coventry and Wolverhampton share expertise. ”
While many people's lives are limited by the pandemic, clubs are still functioning, preparing for the restart of football. "I was a medical advisor to the Premier League until 2018 and I was invited to help develop an agreement to revive the Premier League, trying to get the league back up and running as safely as possible. It feels very strange because being able to work during lockdown is obviously a privilege, why can the top leagues go ahead and people can't go to weddings and funerals? In some ways, it feels very unfair, but it's also what society needs. We made agreements to make everything as safe as possible, but also recognised that it couldn't be perfect, so players could still be at risk. Clubs, like the city, have suffered tremendously during the pandemic and we have lost some of our colleagues. The players and staff were separated from their families under intense pressure. While players are allowed to fly to their home countries for national team matches under special permission, just like everyone else, they cannot see their families, they cannot be present at the birth of their children, and they cannot attend family funerals. ”
"During the lockdown, we appointed another full-time doctor because apart from the ever-increasing workload, if I am unfortunate enough to be killed by the outbreak, Wolves has no protection. So we brought in Rob Chakraviti, which was a huge help for me. Around 20 years ago it was very special, we fought on two fronts because the epidemic season was very long, there was almost no summer offseason, straight into the next season without fans and no soul, and then there was the serious injury of Jimenez, so it was a very busy two years and I had almost no rest. ”
After Jimenez was injured at the Emirates Stadium, Matt Perry was one of the first to come to Jimenez's side, and his first aid at the scene played an integral role in the Mexicans' recovery.
And in 2017, Matt Perry also experienced an illness with veteran goalkeeper Carl Iqb. Ekim was diagnosed with leukemia during a pre-season medical check-up, and Perry was by his side all the time, acting impeccably, providing indispensable support to the former Wolves goalkeeper.
"Jimenez's injuries are exposed to everyone, while Iqm is more private, at least initially. These injuries are very rare in the football world, but not medically, I have worked as a general practitioner for 30 years and I see a lot of serious things every day, but the outside world does not know it. Both Jimenez and Iqm have wives and newborn children, while the two families have to face very severe tests. Ikem was being treated in Manchester and was unable to see his family. Jimenes is in the UK, his parents are in Mexico, and his wife cannot stay with him in the hospital because of the epidemic. It's tough for them. How difficult it is for me as a doctor, my family will be ten times harder than you. The doctor is trained and objective, but in both cases the patients are people I know and love, so it will have an impact, and this is the first time for the family to encounter this kind of thing. Fortunately, both of them are back to health, and it is good to see Jimenez on the field again, and Ikem has overcome the disease despite retiring due to illness. ”
Undoubtedly, Perry played an important role in the recovery of Iqm and Jimenez. Unfortunately, in the future, Perry will say goodbye to Wolves. After two seasons, Perry has been able to take a back seat this year, with Rob Chakraviti as the new head of medicine and a new first-team team doctor, Kay Win. In the future, Matt Perry will serve the England U21.
"I've had a great time with Wolves for over 20 years, but I'll be 64 next week and can't go on like this forever. So a new person is needed to take over. I have a sister in New Zealand and an older brother in the U.S. and I haven't seen them in a long time, so I wanted to go and find them. England U21 work only lasts two or three weeks at a time, instead of working for 12 months, and then another 12 months, there will be a lot of rest, which is more sustainable for me, it is a different challenge, and I will also join the FA's teaching courses as a teacher. Of course I'll still watch Wolves games, as a fan. ”
A Wolves behind-the-scenes legend! Good luck, Matt Perry!