Thomas Asher (21 December 1936 – 11 March 2017) was an English footballer who played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for Notts County. He also played for Peterborough United, Illkeston Town,

Ransome & Marles Ransome & Marles Bearing Company Limited was the owner of a business making ball and roller bearings founded during the First World War to make bearings for aircraft and other engines. Before the war most bearings had been imported and most of th ...

, Grantham Town,

Eastwood Town Eastwood Town Football Club was an English football club based in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire. The club last participated in the Northern Premier League Division One South, the eighth tier of English football. A new club, Eastwood C.F.C., was f ...

, and Keyworth United. During his youth, Tommy represented England Schoolboys and played alongside

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

Duncan Edwards Duncan Edwards (1 October 1936 – 21 February 1958) was an English footballer who played for Manchester United and the England national team. He was one of the Busby Babes, the young United team formed under manager Matt Busby in the mid ...

Early life

Asher was born on 21 December 1936 and was raised in

Dunscroft Hatfield is a town and civil parish in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 17,236 at the 2011 Census. The town is located on the A18 road between Doncaster and Scunthorpe, and to the west of the M18 motorw ...

, Yorkshire.

Youth career

Doncaster Schoolboys

As a young boy, Asher rose to prominence thanks to his performances with Doncaster Schoolboys. After impressing the England coaches with his ability, he was called up to play for his country at Schoolboy level. He went on to play three times at this level.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

When Asher was in his mid-teens, he was approached by top clubs. He was contemplating

and

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

. At this time, Sir Matt Busby visited Asher's home in

in an attempt to influence his choice. At the time, Wolves were the more successful team. This managed to turn Asher's head. He signed for the club's youth team. He was a key figure in the 1954 team that reached the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

of the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

against Manchester United. However, he could not play due to an injury. He scored twice in the cup run, against Derby County and

Spalding United Spalding United Football Club is a football club based in Spalding, Lincolnshire, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Sir Halley Stewart Field. History The club was established in 1905 when Fulney Institute and Vic ...

. He was instrumental in helping the Wolves youth team win the

Birmingham and District League The Birmingham and District Football League (formerly the Birmingham & District Amateur Football Association and often referred to as the Birmingham AFA) is an amateur association football competition covering the city of Birmingham, England, and ...

title in the same season.

Club career

Notts County

In 1954, Asher joined Notts County and played there for five years. In that time, he made 31 first-team appearances and scored 4 goals. To build up his confidence and ability, the club's coaches urged Asher to play in the team's reserve team before his debut. He spent three seasons with the reserves, before making his senior debut in a home game against Swansea Town (as they were then) in September 1957. Notts were beaten 4–2, but gained revenge in the return fixture a week later, winning 3–1, with Tommy scoring the first of his four goals for the Magpies. He continued to be a squad player for until 1959 when he left the magpies to join Peterborough United.

Peterborough United

Asher then dropped out o
League football
and moved to non League club Peterborough United, in 1959. At the time, they competed in the Midland League. Due to the sheer brilliance of rival inside forward

Dennis Emery Dennis Emery (4 October 1933 – 1 May 1986) was an English professional footballer who made 311 appearances and scored 229 goals as an inside forward for Peterborough United. Emery is a member of the club's Hall of Fame and in a Football League ...

, Asher struggled to forge a first team position so competed frequently for the reserves. He was described as "a clever little player who certainly knew how to score" and he showed that during his one and only season for the Posh as he scored 30 goals. He was a prolific goal scorer for the reserves and even scored 4 goals in one match against Harwich & Parkeston on 10 October 1959 in the

Eastern Counties League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suff ...

. He made two first-team appearances for the Posh, the first a 2–1 loss against Ashington. Asher kept his place for the next Posh game, away at

Spennymoor Town Spennymoor Town Football Club is a football club based in Spennymoor, County Durham, in the North East of England. They currently compete in and currently play their home matches at The Brewery Field. The club began playing in the Northern ...

, which Posh won 3–1, but it proved to be his final first-team game for the club as he left at the end of the season to join Illkeston Town.

Illkeston Town

After spending just one season at the Posh, he returned to Nottinghamshire to join Ilkeston Town in the Central Alliance League in 1960. He joined up with the squad just before the start of the 1960/61 season and scored the winning goal on his debut in an away win against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

. His footballing artistry was seen at first hand but not frequently enough which resulted in his release in 1961. His final appearance was against Sutton Town on 14 October 1961. Asher went on to appear for

, Grantham Town and

before playing for his final full-time club, Keyworth United in 1966.

Personal life

In 1957, aged 21, he married Glennis May Asher. They had three children together: Neil, Tracey and Sally. Their children are Tom, Poppy, Milly, Charlotte, Alex, Jack and Katie. Towards the end of his life, he became a great-grandad to Kieran and Evie-May.

Death

Tommy Asher died at the age of 80 on 11 March 2017 in his home in Gotham, Nottinghamshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asher, Tommy 1936 births 2017 deaths Men's association football forwards English men's footballers Ilkeston Town F.C. (1945) players Midland Football League players Notts County F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players English Football League players Footballers from South Yorkshire