Ian joined Rudgwick as a player back in 2010/11 for our Sunday side. He would later take on that side and re-brand it as Rudgwick SX Panthers after a stint as Assistant Manager in 2014/15. His first trophy came two years later, after two promotions in the form of the Worthing and Horsham District Sunday League Division 2 Cup. Coupled with a second-place finish, he gained a third successive promotion in the 2016/17 season.

The following season, Ian ran both the Saturday First Team and Sunday section, which had grown to 3 sides under his guidance. This saw him win his last trophy with the Panthers, the Worthing and Horsham District Division 1 Title.

2017/18 was a great year for Ian, who also lifted the Chichester Charity Cup for the first time in Rudgwick First Team's history, the First trophy the club had won on a Saturday since 2005/06. The side, built from elements of Ian's Sunday team and poached from local rivals Alfold, was a force that narrowly missed out on promotion, finishing third.

The following season would see that promotion happen with the side coming second and, for the second time in its history, win the Sussex Blue Fin County Cup, something that had not been done since 1965/66. The squad had been strengthened by more recruits from the Panthers in what would be Ian's last season in charge of them, reaching two cup finals.

2019/20 was sadly disrupted by Covid, and the season was curtailed with the First Team in second place, 1 point behind first, with 4 games in hand. It was enough to earn them promotion to the Premier Division and the highest level Rudgwick had competed in their history for 2020/21.

Another season, another curtailment; however, we did compete and win the Covid Cup at the end of 2020/21, adding to the honours that the club has accumulated in a very strange time for the world.

2021/22 was a complete season and the first of the major rebuilds under Matthews's reign. Facing off in the league against Capel, it was a two-way shootout that ended in a second-place finish, the highest ever achieved by the First Team to date. Finishing 15 points clear of third place. Defeat in extra time in the Malcolm Simmonds Cup Final to Capel completed a season of almost for Ian and his side.

2022/23 was a season that started so well with Rudgwick victorious in the Walter Rossitor Cup Final, another first for the club. Unfortunately, that early success could not be replicated throughout the season, and the side slumped to a 4th place finish and early cup eliminations. The next big rebuild was conducted over the off-season.

2023/24, a fresher, younger-looking Rudgwick side entered a rebuilt Premier Division, which was boosted to 12 sides from 8 the year before. A season of bad weather is leaving the side playing 17 games in 42 days at the end of the season, culminating in an unbeaten run to win the Centenary Cup Final for the first time in Rudgwick's history. A third-place league finish with a newly built side was a great achievement.

2024/25, a year of early league form disappointment, leading to an eventual 4th place finish in the league. Just two days ago, Matthews led the team to another Cup win in the form of the Malcolm Simmonds Cup Final, which we narrowly missed out on a few years prior. The one that got away, as he would put it. Matthews and the First Team have now won every Cup available for them to win in the West Sussex Football League, quite an achievement to complete the set.

Matthews may still leave the side with two parting gifts, the first in the form of promotion to The Southern Combination League, more on this to follow, and with another trip to Arundel this Saturday, he could retain the Centenary Cup and complete a historic double.

Ian Matthews, we salute you. You have driven this side and the club forward in your time in charge of its teams, and Rudgwick is in a much better place than when you arrived. Record breaker, history maker, Rudgwick are massive because of your stewardship.

Our Gaffer.

Details of Ian's last game in charge can be found on our socials.