| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas William Broadbent [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 15 February 1992 [2] | ||
| Place of birth | Basingstoke, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) [3] | ||
| Position(s) | Central defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Southampton | |||
| Portsmouth | |||
| Bournemouth | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Bognor Regis Town | |||
| Chichester City | |||
| Pagham | |||
| Selsey | |||
| Army | |||
| 2015–2016 | Farnborough | ||
| 2016 | Petersfield Town | ||
| 2016–2017 | Hayes & Yeading United | 26 | (2) |
| 2017–2019 | Bristol Rovers | 29 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Swindon Town | 39 | (1) |
| 2021–2022 | Eastleigh | 30 | (1) |
| 2022–2025 | South Shields | 103 | (7) |
| Total | 227+ | (11+) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12:47, 29 March 2025 (UTC) | |||
Thomas William Broadbent (born 15 February 1992) is an English former professional footballer who played as a central defender.
Born in Basingstoke, [4] Broadbent spent time with the youth academies of Southampton, Portsmouth and Bournemouth. [5] He then began playing first-team football for Bognor Regis Town at the age of 16, before moving to Chichester City. [5] He also spent time with Pagham and Selsey. [6]
After working in a supermarket and as a carpenter and labourer, Broadbent joined the Army at the age of 19. [3] Broadbent spent 6 years in the Army, serving as a Lance Bombardier with the Royal Artillery in Afghanistan. [3] [7] He represented the Army at football, and in 2015 he began playing semi-professional non-league football, [3] appearing for Farnborough, Petersfield Town and Hayes & Yeading United. [2] He captained Hayes & Yeading for the 2016–17 season. [3]
After leaving the Army to start a career in professional football, [7] Broadbent signed for Bristol Rovers in July 2017. [8] He made his professional debut on the opening day of the 2017–18 season, playing the entirety of a 1–0 away defeat at Charlton Athletic. [9]
Broadbent scored his first professional goal on 8 January 2019 in a 2–1 EFL Trophy victory over Northampton Town, opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time, in the match which proved to be his final game for the club. [10]
He moved to Swindon Town in January 2019. [11] He made his debut on 26 January in a 1–0 home defeat to Crawley Town. [12]
He scored his first goal for Swindon on 10 November 2020 in an EFL Trophy group game against Forest Green Rovers. [13] Broadbent featured nine times in the league across the 2019–20 season when despite the league's early curtailment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Swindon were awarded the League Two title on a points-per-game basis. [14]
Broadbent's first league goal for the club came on 28 November 2020, when he scored an 85th-minute equaliser as Swindon produced an impressive comeback to defeat rivals Oxford United, Tyler Smith going on to score a late winner. [15] The 2020–21 season ultimately ended in disappointment for Swindon as immediate relegation back to League Two was confirmed with two matches remaining with a 5–0 defeat at Milton Keynes Dons, Broadbent being brought on as a substitute in the first half. [16] On 14 May 2021 it was announced that he would leave Swindon at the end of the season, following the expiry of his contract. [17]
In July 2021, Broadbent joined National League side Eastleigh following his release from Swindon. [18] Broadbent had to wait until 9 October to make his debut, playing the full ninety minutes as Eastleigh got a late winner at Wealdstone. [19] Broadbent joked after the match that he was so tired after his return from injury that he was unable to celebrate the last minute winner. [20] Broadbent was released at the end of the 2021–22 season. [21]
On 29 June 2022, Broadbent joined Northern Premier League Premier Division club South Shields, a deal described by Broadbent's new manager Kevin Phillips as a "massive coup". [22] On 10 April 2023, Broadbent headed home the game's only goal as South Shields defeated Whitby Town to secure the Northern Premier League title. [23]
On 25 April 2025, Broadbent announced his retirement from football following the conclusion of the 2024–25 season. [24] [25]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hayes & Yeading United | 2016–17 [2] | Southern League Premier Division | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 32 | 2 | |
| Bristol Rovers | 2017–18 [26] | League One | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 [a] | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| 2018–19 [27] | League One | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 [a] | 1 | 11 | 1 | |
| Total | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 36 | 1 | ||
| Swindon Town | 2018–19 [27] | League Two | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 2019–20 [28] | League Two | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 [a] | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 [29] | League One | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 [a] | 1 | 19 | 2 | |
| Total | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 44 | 2 | ||
| Eastleigh | 2021–22 [30] | National League | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
| South Shields | 2022–23 [31] | NPL Premier Division | 31 | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | 2 [b] | 0 | 37 | 5 | |
| 2023–24 [4] | National League North | 44 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 [b] | 0 | 46 | 1 | ||
| 2024–25 [4] | National League North | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1 | ||
| Total | 103 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 112 | 7 | ||
| Career total | 227 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 256 | 13 | ||
Swindon Town
South Shields