Tom Broadbent (English footballer)

Tom Broadbent
Personal information
Full name Thomas William Broadbent[1]
Date of birth (1992-02-15) 15 February 1992[2]
Place of birth Basingstoke, England
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[3]
Position(s) Central defender
Youth career
Southampton
Portsmouth
Bournemouth
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Bognor Regis Town
Chichester City
Pagham
Selsey
Army
2015–2016 Farnborough
2016 Petersfield Town
2016–2017 Hayes & Yeading United 26 (2)
2017–2019 Bristol Rovers 29 (0)
2019–2021 Swindon Town 39 (1)
2021–2022 Eastleigh 30 (1)
2022–2025 South Shields 103 (7)
Total 227+ (11+)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12:47, 29 March 2025 (UTC)

Thomas William Broadbent (born 15 February 1992) is an English former professional footballer who played as a central defender.

Career

Born in Basingstoke,[4] Broadbent spent time with the youth academies of Southampton, Portsmouth and Bournemouth.[5] He then began playing first-team football for Bognor Regis Town at the age of 16, before moving to Chichester City.[5] He also spent time with Pagham and Selsey.[6]

After working in a supermarket and as a carpenter and labourer, Broadbent joined the Army at the age of 19.[3] Broadbent spent 6 years in the Army, serving as a Lance Bombardier with the Royal Artillery in Afghanistan.[3][7] He represented the Army at football, and in 2015 he began playing semi-professional non-league football,[3] appearing for Farnborough, Petersfield Town and Hayes & Yeading United.[2] He captained Hayes & Yeading for the 2016–17 season.[3]

Bristol Rovers

After leaving the Army to start a career in professional football,[7] Broadbent signed for Bristol Rovers in July 2017.[8] He made his professional debut on the opening day of the 2017–18 season, playing the entirety of a 1–0 away defeat at Charlton Athletic.[9]

Broadbent scored his first professional goal on 8 January 2019 in a 2–1 EFL Trophy victory over Northampton Town, opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time, in the match which proved to be his final game for the club.[10]

Swindon Town

He moved to Swindon Town in January 2019.[11] He made his debut on 26 January in a 1–0 home defeat to Crawley Town.[12]

He scored his first goal for Swindon on 10 November 2020 in an EFL Trophy group game against Forest Green Rovers.[13] Broadbent featured nine times in the league across the 2019–20 season when despite the league's early curtailment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Swindon were awarded the League Two title on a points-per-game basis.[14]

Broadbent's first league goal for the club came on 28 November 2020, when he scored an 85th-minute equaliser as Swindon produced an impressive comeback to defeat rivals Oxford United, Tyler Smith going on to score a late winner.[15] The 2020–21 season ultimately ended in disappointment for Swindon as immediate relegation back to League Two was confirmed with two matches remaining with a 5–0 defeat at Milton Keynes Dons, Broadbent being brought on as a substitute in the first half.[16] On 14 May 2021 it was announced that he would leave Swindon at the end of the season, following the expiry of his contract.[17]

Eastleigh

In July 2021, Broadbent joined National League side Eastleigh following his release from Swindon.[18] Broadbent had to wait until 9 October to make his debut, playing the full ninety minutes as Eastleigh got a late winner at Wealdstone.[19] Broadbent joked after the match that he was so tired after his return from injury that he was unable to celebrate the last minute winner.[20] Broadbent was released at the end of the 2021–22 season.[21]

South Shields

On 29 June 2022, Broadbent joined Northern Premier League Premier Division club South Shields, a deal described by Broadbent's new manager Kevin Phillips as a "massive coup".[22] On 10 April 2023, Broadbent headed home the game's only goal as South Shields defeated Whitby Town to secure the Northern Premier League title.[23]

On 25 April 2025, Broadbent announced his retirement from football following the conclusion of the 2024–25 season.[24][25]

Career statistics

As of end of 2024–25 season
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hayes & Yeading United 2016–17[2] Southern League Premier Division 26 2 0 0 — 6 0 32 2
Bristol Rovers 2017–18[26] League One 22 0 1 0 1 0 1[a] 0 25 0
2018–19[27] League One 7 0 0 0 1 0 3[a] 1 11 1
Total 29 0 1 0 2 0 4 1 36 1
Swindon Town 2018–19[27] League Two 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0
2019–20[28] League Two 9 0 0 0 1 0 3[a] 0 13 0
2020–21[29] League One 18 1 0 0 0 0 1[a] 1 19 2
Total 39 1 0 0 1 0 4 1 44 2
Eastleigh 2021–22[30] National League 30 1 2 0 — 0 0 32 1
South Shields 2022–23[31] NPL Premier Division 31 5 4 0 — 2[b] 0 37 5
2023–24[4] National League North 44 1 1 0 — 1[b] 0 46 1
2024–25[4] National League North 28 1 1 0 — 0 0 29 1
Total 103 7 6 0 0 0 3 0 112 7
Career total 227 11 9 0 3 0 17 2 256 13
  1. ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in FA Trophy

Honours

Swindon Town

South Shields

References

  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Swindon Town" (PDF). English Football League. p. 72. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Profile". Aylesbury United F.C. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e Stuart James (20 July 2017). "From the army to Bristol Rovers: Tom Broadbent's extraordinary journey". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Tom Broadbent at Soccerway. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  5. ^ a b Jack Vittles (20 July 2017). "The remarkable journey Tom Broadbent has taken before signing for Bristol Rovers". Bristol Post. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  6. ^ Lewis Mason (19 July 2017). "Ex-Rocks defender joins Bristol Rovers". Bognor Regis Observer. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Broadbent's incredible journey - from the Army to Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Tom Broadbent: Bristol Rovers sign former Army defender". BBC Sport. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  9. ^ "Charlton Athletic 1–0 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 5 August 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Checkatrade Trophy Match Report: Northampton Town 1-2 Bristol Rovers". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Tom Broadbent: Swindon Town sign Bristol Rovers defender". BBC Sport. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  12. ^ "Swindon Town 0–1 Crawley Town". BBC Sport. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Tom Broadbent scores winning goal as Swindon beat Forest Green in EFL Trophy". swindonadvertiser.co.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  14. ^ "League Two: Swindon champions, Crewe and Plymouth promoted as clubs vote to end season". Sky Sports. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Oxford United 1–2 Swindon Town". BBC Sport. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Milton Keynes Dons 5–0 Swindon Town:Robins relegated after one season". BBC Sport. 24 April 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  17. ^ "2021 RETAINED AND RELEASED LIST". www.swindontownfc.co.uk. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  18. ^ "TOM BROADBENT JOINS THE SPITFIRES". www.eastleighfc.com. 8 July 2021.
  19. ^ "Wealdstone 1–2 Eastleigh". BBC Sport. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  20. ^ "Injury returnee Broadbent so 'knackered' he couldn't celebrate last-gasp winner". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  21. ^ "2021/22 RELEASED AND RETAINED LIST". www.eastleighfc.com. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Defender Tom Broadbent signs for Mariners". southshieldsfc.co.uk. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Shields clinch title after 1-0 win at Whitby". www.southshieldsfc.co.uk. 10 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  24. ^ (25 April 2025). "End of a chapter. On to the next ❤️⚽️" (Tweet). Retrieved 26 April 2025 – via Twitter.
  25. ^ "Retained List: 2024/25". www.southshieldsfc.co.uk. 28 April 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  26. ^ "Games played by Tom Broadbent in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  27. ^ a b "Games played by Tom Broadbent in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  28. ^ "Games played by Tom Broadbent in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  29. ^ "Games played by Tom Broadbent in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  30. ^ "Games played by Tom Broadbent in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  31. ^ "South Shields – Appearances – Tom Broadbent – 2022-2023". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  32. ^ "League One & League Two clubs vote to end seasons early". BBC Sport. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
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