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Tommy Wright (footballer, born 1984)

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Tommy Wright
Wright with FA Trophy 2011
Personal information
Full name Thomas Andrew Wright[1]
Date of birth (1984-09-28) 28 September 1984 (age 40)[1]
Place of birth Kirby Muxloe, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2006 Leicester City 21 (2)
2003–2004 → Brentford (loan) 25 (7)
2005 → Blackpool (loan) 13 (6)
2006–2007 Barnsley 34 (2)
2006–2007 → Walsall (loan) 6 (2)
2007–2008 Darlington 54 (17)
2008–2010 Aberdeen 18 (1)
2010 Grimsby Town 14 (1)
2010–2011 Darlington 22 (4)
2011 Kidderminster Harriers 2 (0)
2011–2012 Luton Town 4 (1)
2012 Forest Green Rovers 7 (2)
2012–2013 Tamworth 41 (8)
2013 Harrogate Town 4 (1)
2013–2016 Corby Town 57 (7)
2016–2017 Nuneaton Town 1 (0)
Total 323 (61)
International career
2002–2003 England U19 10 (5)
2003 England U20 4 (0)
Managerial career
2013–2016 Corby Town (player-manager)
2016–2017 Nuneaton Town (player-manager)
2017–2019 Darlington
2019 Stratford Town
2020 Corby Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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, helping them into the Premier League in 2002–03. However he failed to hold down a regular first team place at the higher level, and was loaned out to Brentford and Blackpool, before transferring to Barnsley in 2006. He helped the club gain promotion out of League One via the play-offs, before he joined Darlington in January 2007 following a short loan spell at League Two champions Walsall. He was sold on to Scottish Premier League side Aberdeen in August 2008 for a £100,000 fee. He returned to England in January 2010, signing with Grimsby Town, who were soon relegated out of the Football League. He rejoined Darlington, helping the club to lift the 2011 FA Trophy. He then appeared for a string of non-league clubs, latterly as player-manager with Corby Town and Nuneaton Town. 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.[2]

Playing career

[edit]

Club

[edit]

Wright was born in Kirby Muxloe, Leicester.[1] He started his career at home town club Leicester City, making his Premier League debut under Dave Bassett on 23 March 2002, in a 2–0 home defeat to Leeds United, after he replaced Stefan Oakes on 86 minutes.[3] The Foxes were relegated at the end of the season, and new manager Micky Adams 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; his second goal was the only one of the game against rivals Nottingham Forest at the Walkers Stadium on 8 April. He was offered a new contract at the end of the campaign.[4]

Despite BBC Sport's Phil McNulty naming the youngster as "one to watch" ahead of the 2003–04 season[5] – 13 of the 20 he named went on to become full internationals – Wright did not feature for Leicester at all during the campaign. Instead, manager Wally Downes took him to Brentford on loan in September 2003.[6] He scored three goals in 25 Second Division matches in 2003–04 before his contribution to the team was ended by an ankle injury in April.[7] Leicester were relegated at the end of the season, and Wright played seven Championship and two cup games in the 2004–05 campaign. He joined League One Blackpool on loan at the start of the 2005–06 season, and hit six goals in fifteen games under the management of Colin Hendry and then Simon Grayson.

Wright signed for League One Barnsley on 1 January 2006 for a £50,000 fee.[8] 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 victory over Swansea City at the Millennium Stadium after coming on for Marc Richards after 70 minutes.[9] 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 League Two side Walsall.[10] Scoring on his debut at the Bescot Stadium,[11] he netted twice in five starts for the Saddlers, who went on to top the division under manager Richard Money.

Having failed to agree personal terms with Rotherham United,[12] Wright signed with Dave Penney's Darlington, also of League Two.[13] 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 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 Grimsby Town's Danny North.[14]

On 8 August 2008, Wright was transferred to Scottish Premier League club Aberdeen, manager Jimmy Calderwood paying a fee of £100,000; the deal had been delayed while Wright was recovering from a knee injury.[15] 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 defender Stephen Craigan.[16] He scored his first senior goal for the Dons from the edge of the area in a Scottish Cup fifth-round tie against East Fife at Pittodrie on 17 February.[17] 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.[18] 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.

His injury problems continued into the 2009–10 season.[19] 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.[20] League One club Stockport County failed to pursue their initial interest, and on 27 January, Aberdeen released Wright from his contract, which still had 18 months to run.[21][22]

Wright promptly signed an 18-month contract with Grimsby Town of League Two.[23] 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,[24] 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.[25] The team had fallen into the Conference Premier in his absence, and were now led by manager Simon Davey.[26] Davey left the club, and within a few weeks Wright went public with his praise of successor Mark Cooper.[27] Wright scored five goals in 29 games in 2010–11, and appeared in the 2011 FA Trophy Final against Mansfield Town at Wembley; at the very end of normal time, "from eight yards and unmarked, he somehow headed wide", but in the last minute of extra time, his header looped up off the crossbar for Chris Senior to win the game for Darlington.[28]

In September 2011, Wright was released from his Darlington contract,[29] and embarked on a series of short-team deals. He first signed for Conference rivals Kidderminster Harriers on non-contract terms with the view to earning himself a longer contract,[30] but made only two appearances for the club. On 18 October he joined fellow Conference side Luton Town for three months,[31] during which he scored three goals in six appearances,[32] including one against former club Grimsby.[33] He began training with League Two side Port Vale – managed by his former boss at Leicester, Micky Adams – in January 2012,[34] but then signed for Forest Green Rovers of the Conference Premier.[35] Wright made a goalscoring debut on 18 February in a 2–1 win against Gateshead,[36] 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.[37][38] In June 2013, he became Conference North side Harrogate Town's fourth summer signing,[39] but he was released in September to begin his managerial career.[40]

International

[edit]

Wright scored five goals from ten appearances for the England under-19 team.[41] He played at the 2003 European Championships in Liechtenstein. He played alongside Stewart Downing in defeats to Austria and the Czech Republic and a 2–0 win over France;[42] the English finished third in the group and were therefore eliminated.

He also made four appearances at under-20 level without scoring.[43] He was a member of the squad for the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates, starting in the defeat to Egypt and coming on as a substitute in the defeat to Japan and draw with eventual third-place finishers Colombia;[44] they finished bottom of their group and were eliminated without scoring a goal.

Managerial career

[edit]

In September 2013, Wright was released by Harrogate Town to take the post of joint manager of Southern Football League Premier Division club Corby Town, alongside former Histon coach Andrew Wilson.[40] At the end of the 2013–14 season, Wright was appointed as the sole manager by the club's new owners.[45] 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.[46] The club struggled in the National League North, and were relegated. After a poor start to the 2016–17 season, Wright was sacked.[45]

A few days later, Wright joined National League North club Nuneaton Town as player-coach.[47] He took over as manager in November,[48] 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.[49] 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.[50][51] Wright was announced as the new manager of Stratford Town on 7 June 2019.[52] He left the club in October 2019,[53] and returned to Corby as manager in May 2020.[54] However, he resigned in July 2020.[55]

Personal life

[edit]

Wright now works as a Police officer for Leicestershire Police.[56]

Career statistics

[edit]

Player

[edit]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup[a] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Leicester City 2001–02[57] Premier League 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 0
2002–03[58] First Division 13 2 1 0 0 0 — 14 2
2003–04[59] Premier League 0 0 — — — 0 0
2004–05[60] Championship 7 0 1 0 1 0 — 9 0
2005–06[61] Championship 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Total 21 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 24 2
Brentford (loan) 2003–04[59] Second Division 25 3 0 0 — 0 0 25 3
Blackpool (loan) 2005–06[61] League One 13 6 0 0 0 0 2[b] 0 15 6
Barnsley 2005–06[61] League One 17 1 2 0 — 3[c] 0 22 1
2006–07[62] Championship 17 1 0 0 2 0 — 19 1
Total 34 2 2 0 2 0 3 0 41 2
Walsall (loan) 2006–07[62] League Two 6 2 — — — 6 2
Darlington 2006–07[62] League Two 13 4 — — — 13 4
2007–08[63] League Two 40 13 2 1 1 1 2[d] 0 45 15
Total 53 17 2 1 1 1 2 0 58 19
Aberdeen 2008–09[64] Scottish Premier League 15 1 3 1 1 0 — 19 2
2009–10[65] Scottish Premier League 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Total 18 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 22 2
Grimsby Town 2009–10[65] League Two 14 1 — — — 14 1
Darlington 2010–11[66] Conference Premier 22 4 3 1 — 4[e] 0 29 5
2011–12[67] Conference Premier 0 0 — — — 0 0
Total 22 4 3 1 — 4 0 29 5
Kidderminster Harriers 2011–12[67] Conference Premier 2 0 — — — 2 0
Luton Town 2011–12[68] Conference Premier 4 1 1 1 — 1[e] 1 6 3
Forest Green Rovers 2011–12[67] Conference Premier 7 2 — — — 7 2
Tamworth 2012–13[37] Conference Premier 41 8 1 0 — 3[e] 2 45 10
Harrogate Town 2013–14[69] Conference North 4 1 — — — 4 1
Corby Town 2013–14[70] Southern League Premier 28 6 5 1 1 0 1[e] 0 35 7
2014–15[70] Southern League Premier 21 1 1 0 0 0 1[f] 0 23 1
2015–16[70] National League North 8 0 2 0 — 0 0 10 0
Total 57 7 8 1 1 0 2 0 68 8
Career total 321 57 22 5 6 1 17 3 366 66
  1. ^ Column includes appearances in Football League Cup, Scottish League Cup and Southern League Cup
  2. ^ Appearances in Football League Trophy
  3. ^ Appearances in League One play-offs
  4. ^ One appearance in Football League Trophy, one in League Two play-offs
  5. ^ a b c d Appearances in FA Trophy
  6. ^ Appearance in Northamptonshire Senior Cup

Manager

[edit]
As of match played 27 April 2019
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref
P W D L Win %
Nuneaton Town 18 November 2016 20 October 2017 42 18 9 15 042.86 [71]
Darlington 22 October 2017 27 April 2019 71 21 21 29 029.58 [71]
Overall 113 39 30 44 034.51

Honours

[edit]

Player

[edit]

Leicester City

Barnsley

Darlington

Player-manager

[edit]

Corby Town

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Hugman, Barry J, ed. (2007). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2007–08. Edinburgh: Mainstream. p. 445. ISBN 978-1-84596-246-3.
  2. ^ Mack, Tom (2 December 2020). "Leicester player Tommy Wright finds new career with police". LeicestershireLive. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Leeds shoot down Leicester". BBC Sport. 23 March 2002. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  4. ^ "Taggart offered new deal". BBC Sport. 7 May 2003. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  5. ^ McNulty, Phil (12 August 2003). "Premiership ones to watch". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Bees keen to keep Wright". BBC Sport. 10 October 2003. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  7. ^ "Bees set to lose Wright". BBC Sport. 15 April 2004. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  8. ^ "Barnsley move to seal Wright deal". BBC Sport. 31 December 2005. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Swansea 2–2 Barnsley (aet)". BBC Sport. 27 May 2006. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  10. ^ "Walsall capture Barnsley's Wright". BBC Sport. 23 November 2006. Retrieved 6 January 2008.
  11. ^ "Wright delighted with debut goal". BBC Sport. 28 November 2006. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  12. ^ "Rotherham fail in move for Wright". BBC Sport. 16 January 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  13. ^ "Quakers sign Ravenhill and Wright". BBC Sport. 16 January 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  14. ^ "Striker North lands January award". BBC Sport. 5 February 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  15. ^ "Aberdeen sign Tommy Wright". Aberdeen F.C. 8 August 2008. Archived from the original on 4 September 2008.
    "Wright completes Pittodrie move". BBC Sport. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  16. ^ "Motherwell 0–1 Aberdeen: Hot-headed Wright gives Aberdeen new impetus". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 18 August 2008. Archived from the original on 17 June 2011.
  17. ^ "Aberdeen 5–0 East Fife". BBC Sport. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  18. ^ Moffatt, Colin (3 March 2009). "St Mirren 1–1 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  19. ^ "Aberdeen v Motherwell". Aberdeen F.C. 28 August 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009.
  20. ^ McLeod, Liam (12 January 2010). "Dons will listen to Wright offers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  21. ^ Third, Paul (24 January 2010). "Window now a pain for McGhee". Press & Journal. Aberdeen. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012.
  22. ^ "Tommy Wright departs". Aberdeen F.C. 27 January 2010. Archived from the original on 3 March 2010.
  23. ^ "Woods get the right man". Grimsby Town F.C. 29 January 2010. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012.
  24. ^ "Tommy Wright: I'll fire Town back up to the Football League". Sport Grimsby (Grimsby Telegraph). 26 May 2010. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  25. ^ Walker, Martin (31 May 2010). "Striker returns to Quakers". Darlington F.C. Archived from the original on 8 June 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  26. ^ "Grimsby striker Tommy Wright seals Darlington return". BBC Sport. 1 June 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  27. ^ "Darlington striker Tommy Wright hails boss Mark Cooper". BBC Sport. 19 July 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  28. ^ a b Stoddart, Craig (9 May 2011). "Senior moment means delight for Darlington". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  29. ^ "No place for Tommy Wright, says Darlington boss Cooper". 2 September 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  30. ^ "Kidderminster Harriers sign striker Tommy Wright". BBC Sport. 22 September 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  31. ^ "Luton Town bring in journeyman striker Tommy Wright". BBC Sport. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  32. ^ "Team news for Southport trip". Luton Town F.C. 20 January 2012. Archived from the original on 23 January 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  33. ^ "Grimsby Town 0–1 Luton Town". BBC Sport. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  34. ^ "Port Vale: Vale can keep up with play-off race, says Grew". The Sentinel. Stoke-on-Trent. 24 January 2012. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  35. ^ "Forest Green Rovers add Michael Pook and Tommy Wright". BBC Sport. 27 January 2012.
  36. ^ "Forest Green 2–1 Gateshead". BBC Sport. 18 February 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  37. ^ a b "Tamworth FC: Squad". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 21 November 2017. Select season and competition required via dropdown menu.
  38. ^ "Lambs make sure on final day". Tamworth F.C. 20 April 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  39. ^ White, Ed (12 June 2013). "Harrogate Town sign Tommy Wright". Harrogate Advertiser. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  40. ^ a b Cook, Tim (10 September 2013). "Tommy Wright departs from Harrogate Town". Harrogate Informer. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
    "Corby Town: Ex-Leicester City man Tommy Wright becomes boss". BBC Sport. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  41. ^ "England's matches: the under 19's: 1991–2010". England Football Online. Chris Goodwin & Glen Isherwood. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  42. ^ "England 1–2 Austria". UEFA. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
    "France 0–2 England". UEFA. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
    "Czech Republic 3–0 England". UEFA. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  43. ^ "England's matches: the under 20's". England Football Online. Chris Goodwin & Glen Isherwood. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  44. ^ "FIFA Tournaments: Players and coaches: Tommy Wright". FIFA. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  45. ^ a b Dunham, Jon (9 October 2016). "Corby part company with manager Wright". Northamptonshire Telegraph. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  46. ^ a b "Nothing tops Corby promotion for boss Wright – even a Wembley win". Northamptonshire Telegraph. 26 April 2015. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  47. ^ Coney, Steven (12 October 2016). "Ex-Corby Town boss Tommy Wright joins Nuneaton Town as player-coach". The Non-League Football Paper. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  48. ^ Coney, Steven (22 November 2016). "New boss Tommy Wright keen to make the most of 'unexpected opportunity' at Nuneaton Town". The Non-League Football Paper. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  49. ^ Philpotts, Chris (17 October 2017). "Darlington approach turned down by Nuneaton Town boss". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
    Philpotts, Chris (20 October 2017). "Breaking news: Nuneaton Town boss joins Darlington FC". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
    Stoddart, Craig (21 October 2017). "Darlington: Tommy turns out to be Wright man for Darlington in the end". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  50. ^ Stoddart, Craig (26 April 2019). "Wright Leaves Darlington". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  51. ^ Simpson, Ray (26 April 2019). "Tommy Wright leaves as Darlington Manager". Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  52. ^ Bickley, Mark (7 June 2019). "Town gets the Wright Man". Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  53. ^ Stratford Town seeking successor to ex-Leicester City striker Tommy Wright The Non-League Football Paper, 10 October 2019
  54. ^ Tommy Wright is back at Corby Town to complete unfinished business The Non-League Football Paper, 16 May 2020
  55. ^ Tommy Wright ends second spell at Corby Town before it's even begun The Non-League Football Paper, 18 July 2020
  56. ^ "Former Grimsby Town footballer now fighting crime after joining police". Grimsbylive. 23 May 2021.
  57. ^ "Games played by Tommy Wright in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  58. ^ a b "Games played by Tommy Wright in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  59. ^ a b "Games played by Tommy Wright in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  60. ^ "Games played by Tommy Wright in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  61. ^ a b c "Games played by Tommy Wright in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  62. ^ a b c "Games played by Tommy Wright in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  63. ^ "Games played by Tommy Wright in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  64. ^ "Games played by Tommy Wright in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  65. ^ a b "Games played by Tommy Wright in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  66. ^ "Darlington FC: Squad". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 21 November 2017. Select season and competition required via dropdown menu.
  67. ^ a b c "Games played by Tommy Wright in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  68. ^ "Luton Town FC: Squad". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 21 November 2017. Select season and competition required via dropdown menu.
  69. ^ "Harrogate Town FC: Squad". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 21 November 2017. Select season and competition required via dropdown menu.
  70. ^ a b c "Tommy Wright". Aylesbury United FC and Luke Buckingham Brown. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  71. ^ a b "Managers: Tommy Wright". Soccerbase. Perform Group. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  72. ^ "Leicester City league performance history: League Division 1 table at close of 2002-03 season". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
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