Thomas Andrew Wright (born 28 September 1984) is an English former professional footballer and manager. A former England under-19 and under-20 international, Wright started his career with

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

, helping them into the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

in 2002–03. However he failed to hold down a regular first team place at the higher level, and was loaned out to

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

, before transferring to

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

in 2006. He helped the club gain promotion out of

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 ...

via the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, before he joined

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

in January 2007 following a short loan spell at

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

champions

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

. He was sold on to

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...

side

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in August 2008 for a £100,000 fee. He returned to England in January 2010, signing with

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

, who were soon relegated out of

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 ...

. He rejoined Darlington, helping the club to lift the 2011 FA Trophy. He then appeared for a string of

non-league Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

clubs, latterly as

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

with

Corby Town Corby Town Football Club is a football club based in Corby, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Steel Park. History The club was established in 1948, taking over from Stewarts & Lloyds as the main team i ...

and

Nuneaton Town Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football. In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton to ...

. In October 2017, he joined Darlington for a third spell, this time as manager. He left Darlington by mutual consent at the end of the 2018–19 season after a lower mid table finish. Wright is now a police officer, having taken a career change in December 2020.

Playing career

Club

Wright was born in

Kirby Muxloe Kirby Muxloe is a large village and civil parish that forms part of the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England. Located to the west of Leicester, its proximity to the city has resulted in its inclusion in the Leicester Urban Area. The Leic ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. He started his career at home town club

, making his

debut under

Dave Bassett David Thomas Bassett (born 4 September 1944 in Stanmore) is an English football manager and a former player. During his career he has managed Wimbledon, Watford, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Barnsley, Leicester City and ...

on 23 March 2002, in a 2–0 home defeat to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

, after he replaced

Stefan Oakes Stefan Trevor Oakes (born 6 September 1978) is an English former professional footballer, who notably represented Leicester City in the Premier League during a career which began in 1998 and ended in 2013. Career Leicester City Oakes was born i ...

on 86 minutes. The Foxes were relegated at the end of the season, and new manager

Micky Adams Michael Richard Adams (born 8 November 1961) is an English former professional association football, footballer and football manager. As a player, he was a Full-back (football), full back, and made a total of 438 league appearances in a ninete ...

played Wright 13 times in the 2002–03 First Division promotion campaign. He scored his first senior goal on 18 January, in a 3–2 win over Gillingham at

Priestfield Stadium Priestfield Stadium (popularly known simply as Priestfield and officially known from 2007 to 2010 as KRBS Priestfield Stadium and from 2011 as MEMS Priestfield Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent. It has ...

; his second goal was the only one of the game against

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

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 ...

at the

Walkers Stadium King Power Stadium (also known as the Leicester City Stadium due to UEFA sponsorship regulations and formerly known as the Walkers Stadium) is a football stadium in Leicester, England. It has been the home of Premier League club Leicester City ...

on 8 April. He was offered a new contract at the end of the campaign. Despite

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

's Phil McNulty naming the youngster as "one to watch" ahead of the 2003–04 season13 of the 20 he named went on to become full internationalsWright did not feature for Leicester at all during the campaign. Instead, manager

Wally Downes Walter John Downes (born 9 June 1961) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He was most recently manager of AFC Wimbledon. As a footballer, Downes played the majority of his career for Wimbled ...

took him to

on loan in September 2003. He scored three goals in 25

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

matches in 2003–04 before his contribution to the team was ended by an ankle injury in April. Leicester were relegated at the end of the season, and Wright played seven

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 ...

and two cup games in the 2004–05 campaign. He joined

on loan at the start of the 2005–06 season, and hit six goals in fifteen games under the management of

Colin Hendry Edward Colin James Hendry (born 7 December 1965) is a Scottish football coach and former professional footballer. Hendry, who played as a defender notably played in the Premier League for Blackburn Rovers where he was part of the title winning ...

and then

Simon Grayson Simon Nicholas Grayson (born 16 December 1969) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Indian Super League club Bengaluru. As a player, he was a right back, but he was also utilised in m ...

. Wright signed for League One

on 1 January 2006 for a £50,000 fee. Manager Andy Ritchie led the Tykes to promotion via the play-offs in 2005–06; Wright scored once in 22 appearances. He appeared in the

play-off final The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

victory over

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...

after coming on for

Marc Richards Marc John Richards (born 8 July 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker and is now, upon retiring, a first-team coach at Northampton Town. A youth team player at Hednesford Town, he turned professional at Blac ...

after 70 minutes. Barnsley's promotion to the Championship saw Wright figure more from the bench for the Yorkshire side during the 2006–07 season, and in November he was sent on a two-month loan to

side

. Scoring on his debut at the

Bescot Stadium Bescot Stadium, also known as the Poundland Bescot Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Walsall, England, and the current home ground of Walsall Football Club. It was built in 1989–90, by GMI Construction, with a reporte ...

, he netted twice in five starts for the Saddlers, who went on to top the division under manager

Richard Money Richard Money (born 13 October 1955) is an English former footballer and manager who was most recently manager of National League club Hartlepool United. Before this, he managed Cambridge United, overseeing the side's return to the Football Leag ...

. Having failed to agree personal terms with

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

, Wright signed with

Dave Penney David Mark Penney (born 17 August 1964) is an English football manager and former player. Born in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, Penney entered professional football at the relatively late age of 21. He had been working as a bricklayer and ...

, also of League Two. He finished the season with four goals in 13 appearances for the Quakers. He fired Darlington into the play-offs in 2007–08, where they were knocked out by

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

at the semi-final stage; Wright finished as the club's top scorer with thirteen goals. He was nominated for the League Two player of the month award for January after scoring three goals in the space of six games, but lost out to

Danny North Daniel Jamie North (born 7 September 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Barton Town, where he is also assistant manager. North started his professional career with home town club Grimsby Town in 2004 where ...

. On 8 August 2008, Wright was transferred to

club

, manager

Jimmy Calderwood James Calderwood (born 28 February 1955) is a Scottish former football player and manager. Calderwood played for Birmingham City and Dutch clubs Sparta Rotterdam, Willem II Tilburg, Roda JC and Heracles Almelo. After retiring as a player, Calder ...

paying a fee of £100,000; the deal had been delayed while Wright was recovering from a knee injury. Wright caused a stir in his first appearance in an Aberdeen shirt, receiving a yellow card for a reckless challenge, and allegedly attempting to headbutt

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

defender

Stephen Craigan Stephen James Craigan (born 29 October 1976) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer. He played in central defence, and spent his entire playing career in Scotland, playing for Motherwell (twice) and Partick Thistle. He has also pl ...

. He scored his first senior goal for the Dons from the edge of the area in a

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,East Fife at

Pittodrie Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for Association football, football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen ...

on 17 February. Shortly after, on 3 March, he netted his first SPL goal, a "wonderful" header from the edge of the area for a last-minute equaliser in a 1–1 draw with St Mirren. He finished the 2008–09 campaign with two goals in nineteen games, and Aberdeen finished fourth to secure a place in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

. His injury problems continued into the 2009–10 season. By January it became clear that new manager Mark McGhee had little faith in Wright, and he told the striker that he was available for a transfer. League One club

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, 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 wer ...

failed to pursue their initial interest, and on 27 January, Aberdeen released Wright from his contract, which still had 18 months to run. Wright promptly signed an 18-month contract with

of League Two. He struggled to hold a place in the team and finished the season with just one goal in fourteen games as the team were relegated from the League. Despite initially making public his desire to stay at the club, he rejoined his former club Darlington a few days later having exercised a clause in his Grimsby contract allowing him to leave with immediate effect. The team had fallen into the

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...

in his absence, and were now led by manager

Simon Davey Simon Davey (born 1 October 1970 in Swansea) is a Welsh former professional footballer and football manager. He is now Head Director of a youth club in America called Southern Soccer Academy. He played for Swansea City, Carlisle United and Pr ...

. Davey left the club, and within a few weeks Wright went public with his praise of successor Mark Cooper. Wright scored five goals in 29 games in 2010–11, and appeared in the

2011 FA Trophy Final The 2011 FA Trophy Final was the 42nd final of the Football Association's cup competition for levels 5–8 of the English football league system. The match was contested by Mansfield Town and Darlington. Neither team had ever reached the FA tr ...

against

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

; at the very end of normal time, "from eight yards and unmarked, he somehow headed wide", but in the last minute of

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

, his header looped up off the crossbar for Chris Senior to win the game for Darlington. In September 2011, Wright was released from his Darlington contract, and embarked on a series of short-team deals. He first signed for Conference rivals

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...

on non-contract terms with the view to earning himself a longer contract, but made only two appearances for the club. On 18 October he joined fellow Conference side

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

for three months, during which he scored three goals in six appearances, including one against former club Grimsby. He began training with League Two side

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

managed by his former boss at Leicester,

in January 2012, but then signed for

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

of the Conference Premier. Wright made a goalscoring debut on 18 February in a 2–1 win against

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

, and contributed two goals from seven appearances before being released at the end of the season. Wright spent 2012–13 as a first-team regular with Tamworth, and scored five goals from 41 Conference Premier matches as the team avoided relegation on the final day of the season. In June 2013, he became Conference North side

Harrogate Town Harrogate Town A.F.C. is a professional association football club in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the Sulphurites, due to the ...

's fourth summer signing, but he was released in September to begin his managerial career.

International

Wright scored five goals from ten appearances for the England under-19 team. He played at the 2003 European Championships in Liechtenstein. He played alongside

Stewart Downing Stewart Downing (born 22 July 1984) is an English former 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, Ameri ...

in defeats to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and a 2–0 win over

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

; the English finished third in the group and were therefore eliminated. He also made four appearances at

under-20 Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...

level without scoring. He was a member of the squad for the

2003 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in United Arab Emirates between 27 November and 19 December 2003. U20 Brazil claimed their fourth title. The 2003 championship was the 14th contested. The tournament was originally planned to be ...

in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

, starting in the defeat to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and coming on as a substitute in the defeat to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and draw with eventual third-place finishers

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

; they finished bottom of their group and were eliminated without scoring a goal.

Managerial career

In September 2013, Wright was released by Harrogate Town to take the post of joint manager of

Southern Football League Premier Division The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foot ...

club

, alongside former

Histon Histon is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is immediately north of Cambridge – and is separated from the city – by the A14 road (England), A14 road which r ...

coach Andrew Wilson.
At the end of the 2013–14 season, Wright was appointed as the sole manager by the club's new owners. On the final day of the 2014–15 season, Corby Town won the Southern Premier title by beating league leaders Poole Town, who earlier in the season had been well clear in the table. The club struggled in the

National League 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 Sy ...

, and were relegated. After a poor start to the 2016–17 season, Wright was sacked. A few days later, Wright joined National League North club

as player-coach. He took over as manager in November, and led the team to a mid-table finish. In October 2017, he was approached by Darlington to replace Martin Gray, who had resigned as manager earlier that month. He initially turned them down, but changed his mind within days, much to the disappointment of Nuneaton's chairman, and took up the appointment at Darlington on 20 October. He led Darlington to a mid-table finish in 2017–18. Darlington announced on 26 April 2019 that Wright would be leaving the club after the final game of the season the following day. Wright was announced as the new manager of Stratford Town on 7 June 2019. He left the club in October 2019, and returned to Corby as manager in May 2020. However, he resigned in July 2020.

Personal life

Wright now works as a Police officer for

Leicestershire Police Leicestershire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Leicestershire and Rutland in England. Its headquarters are at Enderby, Leicestershire. History Leicestershire Police was formed in 1839. In 1951 it amalgamated ...

Career statistics

Player

Manager

Honours

Player

Leicester City *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

runner-up : 2002–03 Barnsley *

Football 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 ...

play-off winner:

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Darlington *

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Player-manager

Corby Town * Southern League: 2014–15

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Tommy 1984 births Footballers from Leicester Living people English footballers Association football forwards Leicester City F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Tamworth F.C. players Harrogate Town A.F.C. players Corby Town F.C. players Nuneaton Borough F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Scottish Premier League players National League (English football) players Southern Football League players English football managers Corby Town F.C. managers Nuneaton Borough F.C. managers Darlington F.C. managers Stratford Town F.C. managers Southern Football League managers National League (English football) managers