Samson Tovide

Samson Tovide

Personal information
Full name	Samson Jolaoluwa Gbolahan Tovide [1]
Date of birth	(2004-01-04) 4 January 2004 (age 20) [2]
Place of birth	Hackney, England [3]
Position(s)	Centre-forward
Team information
Current team	Colchester United
Number	9
Youth career
	Leyton Orient
	Colchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2020–	Colchester United	63	(9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:15, 2 October 2024 (UTC)

Samson Jolaoluwa Gbolohan Tovide (born 4 January 2004) is an English footballer who plays as a centre-forward for EFL League Two club Colchester United.

Career

Tovide began his career in the academy at Leyton Orient, before moving on to Colchester United. ^[4]

Tovide travelled with Colchester's first-team squad for their season-opening fixture at Bradford City on 12 September 2020. He made the bench but did not make an appearance. ^[2] He made his first-team debut as a substitute for Jevani Brown during Colchester's 6–1 Essex derby win against Southend United in the EFL Trophy on 10 November 2020. ^[5] He made his league debut on 8 October 2021, coming on as a late substitute for Frank Nouble in Colchester's 2–0 defeat by Tranmere Rovers. ^[6]

He was sent off on his first league start for the club when he handled the ball in the penalty area during Colchester's 3–1 home defeat by Sutton United on 26 October 2021. ^[7]

After that unfortunate start Tovide found first team opportunities hard to come by - appearing just four more times that season, each time coming off the bench late on in matches with just a few minutes left.

The 2022–23 season started in a similar vein with his first team opportunities limited to appearances off the bench and then by injury. It wasn't until after Colchester, then struggling against relegation near the bottom of EFL League Two, appointed Matt Bloomfield as Head Coach in September 2022 that Tovide got his next start, appearing in a 1–0 defeat at Crewe Alexandra, ^[8] putting in a performance Bloomfield described as "Absolutely brilliant". ^[9]

Tovide was picked to start the next game and scored his first league goal – a long-range, left footed shot from outside the area – in a 3–0 win over Doncaster Rovers to help move Colchester out of the EFL League Two relegation zone. This goal was nominated for the EFL League Two 'Goal of the Month' for November. ^[10]

Tovide signed a new two-year contract at the beginning of the 2023–24 season, the club have an option of a further year.

Career statistics

As of match played 21 September 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Colchester United	2020–21 [11]	League Two	0	0	–		–		1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	1	0
	2021–22 [12]	League Two	6	0	1	0	0	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	10	0
	2022–23 [13]	League Two	28	2	1	0	1	0	1	0	31	2
	2023–24 [14]	League Two	21	4	1	0	1	0	2	1	26	5
	2024–25 [15]	League Two	9	3	0	0	2	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	12	3
Total			64	8	3	0	4	0	8	1	80	10

1. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

References

1. "EFL Club List of Registered Players as at 15th May 2021" (PDF). EFL.com. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
2. Waldron, Jonathan (14 September 2020). "Colchester United had 16-year-old Samson Tovide on the bench". Daily Gazette. Colchester. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
3. Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.
4. "Young Duo Sign First Pro Deals". Colchester United F.C. 1 January 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
5. "Colchester 6–1 Southend". Sky Sports. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
6. "Tranmere Rovers 2–0 Colchester United". BBC Sport. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
7. "Colchester United 1–3 Sutton United". BBC Sport. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
8. "Crewe Alexandra 1 Colchester United". BBC Sport. 12 November 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
9. "Colchester United included Samson Tovide in their starting line-up". Daily Gazette. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
10. "See the latest Goal of the Month winners". Daily Gazette. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
11. "Games played by Samson Tovide in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
12. "Games played by Samson Tovide in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
13. "Games played by Samson Tovide in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
14. "Games played by Samson Tovide in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
15. "Games played by Samson Tovide in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 August 2024.

External links

• Profile at the Colchester United F.C. website
• Samson Tovide at Soccerbase