Thomas Michael Aldred (born 11 September 1990) is a professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who plays as a
central defender
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
for
Brisbane Roar
Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat.
Brisba ...
. Born in England, he represented Scotland at youth level. He began his career with
Carlisle United in
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
before joining
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
in 2010 and
Colchester United
Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...
in 2011. He failed to make a first-team appearance for either club, but made loan appearances for
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
,
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional ...
and
Barrow. Aldred joined
Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete his ...
in 2013 and then
Blackpool two years later. He won promotion to
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
with Blackpool in 2017 before joining Bury. In January 2018, he moved on loan to
Motherwell, and then in August 2018, signed again on a season-long loan.
Club career
Carlisle United
Born in
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...
,
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...
,
Aldred began his senior career with
Carlisle United.
He was captain of the Carlisle youth team and signed his first professional contract with the club in December 2008.
Aldred won the 2008–09 season
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
Apprentice of the Year Award,
before winning Carlisle's youth team Player of the Year award.
In August 2009, Aldred joined
Workington
Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207.
Locat ...
on an initial month-long loan and earned rave reviews from the
Conference North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...
side's manager,
Darren Edmondson
Darren Stephen Edmondson (born 4 November 1971) is an English football coach and former player who currently manages Penrith.
Edmondson spent around half his professional playing career with Carlisle after signing as a youth player in 1990, la ...
, during a stay that was extended to the maximum three months following some excellent displays in the Cumbrian side's defence.
He went on to make his first team debut for Carlisle as a late substitute in a 1–0 home win over
Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their ho ...
on 12 December 2009.
[
In May 2010, following a promising campaign, Aldred was offered a one-year contract extension with Carlisle.] However, he rejected the offer and left the club, having made five first-team appearances for Carlisle.
Watford
Aldred joined Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
club Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
on a two-year deal on 1 July 2010, with a compensation offer made to Carlisle. He felt that the move south would benefit his career.
Still yet to make an appearance for Watford, Aldred joined Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
on loan in November 2010 until January 2011. He made seven appearances for County.[
On 21 June 2011, Aldred joined Scottish Premier League club ]Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional ...
on a six-month loan deal. He made his debut in a 3–0 away defeat to Motherwell on 23 July, and made four appearances in total, his last a 2–0 defeat to Rangers where he conceded a penalty as his loan was cut short only one month into the spell.
On his return to Watford, Aldred was released from the club having not made a first team appearance on 31 August 2011. He later reflected his time at Watford, saying: ''"I made a mistake when I was 19. I broke into Carlisle United’s first team, played five or six games, did really, really well and probably did too well. You know what it’s like at that age, a young centre-half, people were looking at me with that kind of potential and Watford paid money for me. That was great at the time, but realistically, looking back now, I moved too soon and then as a knock-on effect, I kind of struggled to settle for like the next two years."''
Colchester United
Colchester United
Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...
manager John Ward signed Aldred on a two-year deal following his Watford release on 1 September 2011. Two months later, he was loaned to Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
from 24 November to 2 January as injury cover, although he failed to make an appearance for the Gulls.
Having failed to break into the Colchester first-team setup, Aldred joined Barrow on loan on 27 August 2012. He made his debut in a 2–0 defeat to Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020.
Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 ...
. His loan was extended to the full 93 days allowed after he impressed during his initial month. Aldred completed his loan having made 13 appearances for Barrow.
After Colchester appointed Joe Dunne as manager, Aldred found himself further down the pecking order, and on 25 January 2013, the club announced that Aldred had been released from his contract.
Accrington Stanley
Following his release from Colchester, Aldred signed a contract until the end of the 2012–13 season with Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete his ...
on 31 January 2013. He signed a new two-year contract with the club on 18 June having started the final 12 games of the 2012–13 season.
Blackpool
Aldred signed for Championship side Blackpool on a 28-day emergency loan on 31 January 2015, before signing permanently two days later on a one-and-a-half-year contract. Aldred helped Blackpool win promotion to League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
in 2017.
Bury
Aldred signed for Bury in July 2017. He moved on loan to Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...
club Motherwell in January 2018. He made his debut for Motherwell on 20 January 2018, in a 2–0 win against Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scotti ...
in the Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,[Lanarkshire derby
The Lanarkshire derby is a football rivalry based in Lanarkshire, Scotland, with matches contested between any two from Motherwell, Airdrieonians, Hamilton Academical and Albion Rovers (based in Coatbridge).
Motherwell vs Airdrie
*First meeting ...](_blank)
.
Brisbane Roar
On 25 June 2019, Aldred signed for A-League club Brisbane Roar
Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat.
Brisba ...
on a one-year deal. Ahead of the 2019–20 season, he was named club captain. Aldred's first goal for Brisbane Roar came against Adelaide United
Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to fil ...
in February 2020. This goal came in the 74th minute and was the eventual winner in a 2–1 home victory.
International career
Aldred represented Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
at under-19 level.
Career statistics
Personal life
In October 2023, Aldred said he announced his intentions to apply for an Australian citizenship, having settled in the country for four years.
Honours
Blackpool
*EFL League Two play-offs
The EFL League Two play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from fourth to seventh in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are part of the annual Engl ...
: 2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldred, Tom
1990 births
Living people
Footballers from Bolton
English men's footballers
Scottish men's footballers
Scotland men's youth international footballers
English people of Scottish descent
Men's association football defenders
Carlisle United F.C. players
Workington A.F.C. players
Watford F.C. players
Stockport County F.C. players
Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. players
Colchester United F.C. players
Torquay United F.C. players
Barrow A.F.C. players
Accrington Stanley F.C. players
Blackpool F.C. players
Bury F.C. players
Motherwell F.C. players
Brisbane Roar FC players
National League (English football) players
English Football League players
Scottish Premier League players
Scottish Professional Football League players
A-League Men players