Thomas Widdrington (born 1 October 1971) is an English former football player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

who is manager of club

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...

. As a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, he made 372 appearances in the

English 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 Engl ...

in a 15-year career, before spending five years in Non-League football. His career began at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in 1990, where he spent the first six years of his career most of which were in 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 Fo ...

. In 1996, he moved to

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 t ...

, helping the "Mariners" to the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

and

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

out of the

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 ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. The next year he moved on to Port Vale for a two-year spell. Voted the club's

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

in 2000, he captained the "Valiants" to the League Trophy in 2001. Later in the year he was

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...

red to

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded i ...

, helping the club to win promotion out of

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 ...

in 2002–03, before he moved on 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 ...

. In 2005 his career in the Football League ended back at Port Vale. He then spent 2005 to 2010 at non-League Salisbury City. As a player, he enjoyed promotion four times with three clubs, and lifted the Football League Trophy twice.

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 s ...

at Salisbury City for the 2009–10 season, he returned to the Football League at

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

, as assistant manager but left the position in December 2010. He was appointed

Hemel Hempstead Town Hemel Hempstead Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Affiliated to the Hertfordshire County Football Association, they are currently members of the National League South and pl ...

manager in October 2011, before he was put it charge at Eastbourne Borough in February 2012. He left Eastbourne Borough in April 2017 and went on to work as head of recruitment at

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

and

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

, before becoming caretaker manager of the latter in November 2020. He returned to full-time management at King's Lynn Town in December 2021 and then moved on to take charge of Aldershot Town in April 2023.

Playing career

Southampton

Born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, Widdrington started his career as a

schoolboy trainee at the age of fifteen, having been scouted by the man who brought Alan Shearer to the club,

Jack Hixon John Hixon (7 February 1921 – 20 December 2009) was an English football talent scout. A familiar face at football games across the North East for decades, Hixon played a major part in furthering the careers of many footballers from the region. ...

. He signed a professional

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

with the First Division club in May 1990. He enjoyed a short

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

spell at Third Division club

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

at the start of the 1991–92 season.

Ian Branfoot Ian Grant Branfoot (born Gateshead, 26 January 1947) is an English former footballer and manager. He played as a defender, and after starting at Gateshead joined Sheffield Wednesday, making his Football League debut in 1965. After 42 senior ap ...

handed him his "Saints" debut at Everton on 1 March 1992. A tough, no-nonsense midfield player, he survived some frantic managerial changes to carve out a respectable

career over a four-year period for Southampton. He did not become a regular player until the 1994–95 season, when he made 28 league appearances without scoring as the "Saints" finished tenth in the league. He made a further 21 appearances in the 1995–96 season, scoring twice, as the "Saints" narrowly avoided

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

, but still reached the quarter finals of the FA Cup. He was not far short of making 100 appearances in total when, in July 1996,

came in with a club record offer of £300,000 – as "Saints" had yet another new

Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, and current TV pundit. A midfielder, Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player-manager of Ranger ...

. Widdrington decided to accept their terms and headed to Blundell Park.

Grimsby Town

Grimsby were a struggling First Division side, and suffered relegation at the end of the 1996–97 campaign, though Widdrington did score a memorable goal past

on the last day of the season. They enjoyed an immediate return in 1997–98 after winning the play-off final against

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

1–0. However injury meant that he missed out on the

Final

victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

over AFC Bournemouth at

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 ...

. Widdrington played his last game for the "Mariners" towards the end of the 1998–99 season, when he was loaned out to Port Vale for the final three months of the season.

Port Vale

At the end of the 1998–99 season Port Vale signed Widdrington (now out of contract, and

–listed) on a free transfer. He was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

on the final day of the 1998–99 season, and he returned to action in 1999–2000 by getting sent off in the opening minute of a 4–2 defeat at

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

. Supporters voted him

for the 1999–2000 season, as the "Valiants" suffered relegation into the

. Manager

Brian Horton Brian "Nobby" Horton (born 4 February 1949) is an English former footballer and manager. He spent 16 years as a professional player and 22 years as a manager, making 689 appearances and managing 1,098 matches. In addition to this he spent four ...

appointed Widdrington as club-captain for the 2000–01 season. He played every game of the club's League Trophy run, but played no part in the final. He made just over 80 appearances at

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...

, before being released at the end of the 2000–01 season.

Later career

Linked with

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 ...

, Widdrington instead moved

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

to join up with

. He was a regular for the club and earned

to the

with the club in the 2002–03 season, before he was released upon its conclusion. In July 2003 he was targeted by

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

, but instead Widdrington made his next port of call at

, managed by former boss

. He settled in quickly and became an indispensable player for the Third Division strugglers, acting as their captain for the 2004–05 season. In January 2005, Horton put him on the transfer list, and Widdrington then decided to call it a day at Macclesfield and in a twist, joined former club Port Vale on a non-contract basis.

Style of play

Widdrington was a

, but could also fill in at full-back. He was tough and combative.

Coaching career

Salisbury City

Widdrington joined Salisbury City in February 2005. His capture from Port Vale was an integral part of the club's development under manager Nick Holmes, helping the club to the highest point in its history. Over time his role became that of a coach, rather than a player. On 8 September 2007, Widdrington was involved in a

touchline The touch-line is the line on either side of the playing area of a game of rugby league, rugby union and association football. In many other sports it is called a side-line. The continuation of the touch-line beyond the goal line ending at the ...

incident with

Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town F.C., Ke ...

boss

Garry Hill Garry Hill is an English football manager who was last the manager of National League club Ebbsfleet United. He previously managed Woking, Heybridge Swifts, St Albans City, Dagenham & Redbridge, Hornchurch, Weymouth and Rushden & Diamond ...

. The pair began arguing and Hill

headbutt A headbutt is a targeted strike with the head, typically (when intentional) involving the use of robust parts of the headbutter's cranium as the area of impact. The most effective headbutts strike the most sensitive areas of an opponent, such as ...

ed Widdrington, breaking his nose. Both men received fines from their clubs and Hill was also given a ten match touchline ban and a fine of £1,500. Later that year Widdrington was suspended by the club pending an 'internal disciplinary inquiry', but was soon allowed to return to work, with a statement being released saying: "No charges have been brought against Tommy and everyone at the club looks forward to working with him towards continued success." The following year Rushden banned him from

Nene Park Nene Park was a sports stadium situated at Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England, along the bank of the River Nene, which could accommodate 6,441 spectators, with 4,641 seated and 1,800 standing. It formerly hosted football matches but at ...

in the return fixture, despite no authorisation from

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...

for the action. He took over as manager in July 2009 after Nick Holmes took the role of general manager. He won the Conference National Manager of the Month award in April 2010. However he left the club after they were expelled from the Conference National due to them entering

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

Southend United & Hemel Hempstead Town

In July 2010, Widdrington was named assistant to new

manager

Paul Sturrock Paul Whitehead Sturrock (born 10 October 1956) is a Scottish former football coach and former player. As a player, Sturrock spent his entire senior career with Dundee United, making more than five hundred appearances between 1974 and 1989. He w ...

. His employment was terminated on 15 December 2010 as Sturrock needed "a fresh impetus". The club promoted from within in appointing Graham Coughlan as his replacement. In October 2011, Widdrington was appointed as manager of struggling Southern League side

. His stay was short, as he found employment at a club in a higher league mid-way through the season.

Eastbourne Borough

In February 2012, Widdrington was appointed as manager of Eastbourne Borough, taking over from long-serving manager Garry Wilson, with the remit of keeping the club in the Conference South. He signed both Ronnie Bull and Stuart Anderson from Salisbury, and both Marvin Hamilton and Ellis Remy from Hemel Hampstead, also bringing in goalkeeper Mitch Walker on loan from

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

. They ended the 2011–12 season two places and two points above the drop zone, and went on to finish safely in 12th spot in

2012–13 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 ...

. After an unbeaten start to the 2013–14 season, Widdrington was named as the Conference South Manager of the Month for August. The "Sports" ended the 2013–14 campaign in tenth place. After guiding Borough to top of the table with four wins and two draws at the start of the 2014–15 season he was named as Conference South Manager of the Month for the second successive August. They ended the campaign in 11th place and then finished 17th in 2015–16. They won the Sussex Senior Challenge Cup in 2016 after beating

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Ho ...

1–0 in the final at

Falmer Stadium The Falmer Stadium, known for sponsorship purposes as the American Express Community Stadium and also referred to as the Amex, is a football stadium in the village of Falmer, in the City of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. With a capacity of 31, ...

. He left the club by mutual consent on 7 April 2017, leaving Borough 11th in the National League South table, 20 points clear of relegation and 18 adrift of the play-off places.

Backroom roles

Widdrington was appointed head of recruitment at

on 10 April 2017. On 1 May 2018, he left Coventry City and took up a similar position at

. His son, Theo, was signed up two months later. With the aim of recruiting players on a low wage to try and sell on for a profit, he also brought in: Jonson Clarke-Harris,

Abu Ogogo Abumere Tafadzwa "Abu" Ogogo (born 3 November 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for National League side Southend United. Career Youth and Arsenal Ogogo began his career as a striker with his local Sunday l ...

Anssi Jaakkola Anssi Valtteri Jaakkola (born 13 March 1987) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL League Two club Bristol Rovers and the Finland national team. Jaakkola was born in Kemi. He began his senior club career playing ...

, Josh Hare, Tom Davies, Mark Little and Luke Leahy. Widdrington become the club's caretaker manager following the sacking of Ben Garner on 14 November 2020, with Rovers sitting 18th in League One. He oversaw a 4–3 victory over Chelsea U21 in the EFL Trophy on 18 November, before Paul Tisdale was appointed as permanent manager the following day. On 10 February 2021, Widdrington was once again installed as caretaker manager following the dismissal of Paul Tisdale. He was in this position until

Joey Barton Joseph Anthony Barton (born 2 September 1982) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He made 269 appearances in the Premier League, including 130 for Manchester City. He is currently the man ...

was appointed as manager 11 days later, having overseen a 3–1 victory over

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and a 2–0 defeat to Gillingham. Following the club's relegation to

at the end of the 2020–21 season, the Director of Football role was removed from the club's board with Widdrington now taking on the role of Director in charge of outgoing loan deals and "ensuring the strategic vision is followed at all levels throughout the club". As the club moved into the new season, manager

and Widdrington had a strained relationship with Barton claiming in October 2021 that he had no relationship with Widdrington or his scouting team. On 3 December 2021, Widdrington departed Bristol Rovers.

King's Lynn Town

On 10 December 2021, Widdrington was appointed manager of King's Lynn Town, who were second-from-bottom of the National League. His first match in charge was the following day and saw his new side defeat bottom side Dover Athletic 2–1 thanks to a double from Josh Barrett whom had been brought in to Bristol Rovers under Widdrington. Lynn's relegation to 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 Syst ...

was confirmed in the penultimate match of the 2021–22 season with a 3–3 draw with

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, ...

. An impressive start to life back in the sixth tier saw Widdrington awarded the National League North Manager of the Month award for August 2022 having earned sixteen points from a possible eighteen. King's Lynn knocked League Two side

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

out of the first round of the FA Cup with a 1–0 win at the

Eco-Power Stadium The Eco-Power Stadium (formerly known as Keepmoat Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Doncaster, England, with a capacity of 15,231. It cost approximately £20 million to construct, as part of the wider Lakeside Sports Complex that i ...

. On 1 April 2023, following a 1–0 victory to keep his side second in the league, Widdrington's resignation was announced to allow him to take a new role at another club. The club noted that no agreement had been reached between the two clubs or between King's Lynn Town and Widdrington.

Aldershot Town

The following day to his resignation from King's Lynn Town, Widdrington was announced as the new manager of National League strugglers

. Aldershot ended the 2022–23 campaign in 18th-place, five points above the relegation zone.

Personal life

Widdrington celebrated his goal for Port Vale against Brentford on 24 October 2000 with five bottles of

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrela ...

, and subsequently crashed his BMW into a set of traffic lights in Hanley early the following morning. He was charged with refusing to take part in police drink-driving tests and entered a Guilty plea. He was banned from driving for 12 months and given a £500 fine. His eldest son Kai is a professional dancer. His younger son,

Theo Theo is a given name and a hypocorism. Greek origin Many names beginning with the root "Theo-" derive from the Ancient Greek word ''theos'' (''θεός''), which means god, for example: *Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, ...

, turned professional at

in April 2017.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

As a player

Grimsby Town *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

play-offs:

Port Vale *

: 2001 Hartlepool United *

second-place promotion: 2002–03 Salisbury City * Southern Football League Premier Division: 2005–06 * Conference South play-offs: 2007 Individual * Port Vale Player of the Year:

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

As a manager

Eastbourne Borough * Sussex Senior Challenge Cup: 2016 Individual * Conference National Manager of the Month: April 2010 * Conference South Manager of the Month: August 2013, August 2014 *

Manager of the Month: August 2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Widdrington, Tommy 1971 births Living people Footballers from Newcastle upon Tyne English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Wallsend Boys Club players Southampton F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players Salisbury City F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players English football managers Salisbury City F.C. managers Hemel Hempstead Town F.C. managers Eastbourne Borough F.C. managers Bristol Rovers F.C. managers King's Lynn Town F.C. managers Aldershot Town F.C. managers National League (English football) managers English Football League managers Association football coaches Macclesfield Town F.C. non-playing staff Southend United F.C. non-playing staff Coventry City F.C. non-playing staff Bristol Rovers F.C. non-playing staff