Tom Knowles (footballer)

Tom Knowles

Personal information
Full name	Thomas Andrew Knowles [1]
Date of birth	(1998-09-27) 27 September 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth	Cambridge, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [2]
Position(s)	Midfielder, Forward
Team information
Current team	Forest Green Rovers
Number	11
Youth career
	Newmarket Town
2016–2017	Cambridge United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2020	Cambridge United	4	(1)
2017	→ St Neots Town (loan)	11	(0)
2017	→ Cambridge City (loan)	21	(9)
2018	→ St Ives Town (loan)	15	(4)
2018	→ Dartford (loan)	3	(0)
2018–2019	→ Hemel Hempstead Town (loan)	5	(1)
2019	→ Kettering Town (loan)	1	(1)
2019	→ Royston Town (loan)	9	(3)
2019–2020	→ Chelmsford City (loan)	18	(4)
2020–2022	Yeovil Town	74	(16)
2022–2024	Walsall	77	(5)
2024–	Forest Green Rovers	5	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:23, 30 August 2024 (UTC)

Thomas Andrew Knowles (born 27 September 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and forward for National League club Forest Green Rovers.

Having started his career at his hometown club Cambridge United, he has previously played on loan at St Neots Town, Cambridge City, St Ives Town, Hemel Hempstead Town and Kettering Town. Most recently, he spent two years with Yeovil Town before his move to Walsall.

Career

Cambridge United

Knowles graduated through the Cambridge United Shadow Scholars Academy to win a place in the club's youth-team in 2016. ^[3] He was a part of the under-18 team that reached the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup in the 2016–17 season. ^[4] On 4 February 2017, he joined Southern League Premier Division side St Neots Town on a one-month loan deal, along with "U's" teammate Fernando Bell-Toxtle. ^[5] He made 12 appearances for the "Saints". He signed a six-month development contract with United at the end of the 2016–17 season, with Academy manager Mark Bonner commenting that Knowles had "taken ownership for his development and shown a willingness to learn and improve". ^[6] On 3 August 2017, he joined Southern League Division One Central club Cambridge City on an initial one-month loan deal. ^[7] He scored a hat-trick for the club in a 7–3 win over Arlesey Town on 23 October. ^[8] Having scored ten goals in 28 appearances for the "Lilywhites", he was recalled by United manager Shaun Derry in order to sit on the bench in a league fixture against Notts County. ^[9]

On 8 January 2018, he joined St Ives Town of the Southern League Premier Central on an initial 28-day youth loan. ^[10] He signed a one-year contract extension with United the following month. ^[9] He was recalled to Cambridge United by new manager Joe Dunne on 20 April after picking up several Man of the Match awards and scoring four goals during his 16 appearances for the "Saints". ^[11] He made his first-team debut on the final day of the 2017–18 season, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute for David Amoo in a 5–0 victory over Port Vale at the Abbey Stadium on 5 May. ^[12]

On 31 August 2018, Knowles joined Dartford on an initial month's loan. ^[13] After returning to Cambridge United later that season he scored his first goal for them in a 2-1 defeat to Morecambe on 27 April 2019. ^[14]

He was offered a new contract by Cambridge United at the end of the 2018–19 season. ^[15]

On 17 October 2019, Knowles signed for Chelmsford City on an initial one-month loan. ^[16] On 3 March 2020, after previously having his loan deal extended until the end of the season, Knowles was recalled by Cambridge. ^[17]

Yeovil Town

On 30 November 2020, Knowles joined National League side Yeovil Town for an undisclosed fee signing a contract until the end of the 2021–22 season. ^[18]

Walsall

On 4 August 2022, Knowles signed for League Two side Walsall for an undisclosed fee. ^[19]

Following the conclusion of the 2023–24 season, the club confirmed that they were in talks with Knowles regarding a new contract. ^[20]

Forest Green Rovers

On 5 June 2024, Knowles agreed to join Forest Green Rovers following their relegation to the National League. ^[21]

Career statistics

As of match played 26 August 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Cambridge United	2016–17 [22]	League Two	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2017–18 [23]	League Two	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2018–19 [24]	League Two	3	1	0	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	5	1
	2019–20 [25]	League Two	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
	2020–21 [26]	League Two	0	0	1	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	1	5	1
	Total		4	1	1	0	3	0	4	1	12	2
St Neots Town (loan)	2016–17 [27]	SL Premier Division	11	0	0	0	—		1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	12	0
Cambridge City (loan)	2017–18 [27]	SL East Division	21	9	4	1	—		3 [lower-alpha 3]	0	28	10
St Ives Town (loan)	2017–18 [27]	SL Premier Division	15	4	—		—		1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	16	4
Dartford (loan)	2018–19 [28]	National League South	3	0	0	0	—		0	0	3	0
Hemel Hempstead Town (loan)	2018–19 [27] [28]	National League South	5	1	0	0	—		3 [lower-alpha 4]	1	8	2
Kettering Town (loan)	2018–19 [27]	SL Premier Division Central	1	1	0	0	—		0	0	1	1
Royston Town (loan)	2018–19 [27]	SL Premier Division Central	9	3	0	0	—		0	0	9	3
Chelmsford City (loan)	2019–20 [27] [28]	National League South	18	4	0	0	—		6 [lower-alpha 5]	1	24	5
Yeovil Town	2020–21 [28]	National League	33	7	—		—		0	0	33	7
	2021–22 [28]	National League	42	9	5	0	—		3 [lower-alpha 6]	2	50	11
	Total		75	16	5	0	—		3	2	83	18
Walsall	2022–23 [29]	League Two	44	5	4	0	2	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	52	5
	2023–24 [30]	League Two	33	0	4	1	0	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	1	40	2
	Total		77	5	8	1	2	0	5	1	92	7
Forest Green Rovers	2024–25 [28]	National League	5	0	0	0	—		0	0	5	0
Career total			244	44	18	2	5	0	26	6	293	52

1. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
2. Appearance in Huntingdonshire Senior Cup
3. Two appearances in FA Trophy, one appearance in Southern Football League Cup
4. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
5. Four appearances and one goal in FA Trophy, two appearances in Essex Senior Cup
6. Two appearances and one goal in FA Trophy, one appearance and one goal in Somerset Premier Cup

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Cambridge United" (PDF). English Football League. p. 16. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
2. "Tom Knowles". cambridge-united.co.uk. Cambridge United F.C. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
3. "Shadow Scholar trials for top young footballers". camre.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
4. Mason, Aaron (13 January 2017). "Valiant effort from United under-18s in FA Youth Cup defeat". cambridgenews. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
5. Mason, Aaron (4 February 2017). "Cambridge United youngsters join St Neots Town on loan". cambridgenews. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
6. "Youngster Town Knowles Signs Contract Extension Until 2019". .cambridge-united.co.uk. 7 February 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
7. Dunn, Andrew. "Norman and Knowles added to squad". www.cambridgecityfc.com. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
8. "Tom Knowles fires a hat-trick for Cambridge City in Arlesey Town victory". Cambridge Independent. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
9. Georgeson, Andrew (7 February 2018). "Cambridge United youngster agrees a new deal with the club". cambridgenews. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
10. "St Ives Town sign Cambridge United winger Knowles | Non League Daily". nonleaguedaily.com. Archived from the original on 8 January 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
11. "Tom Knowles recalled by Cambridge United". stivestownfc.co.uk. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
12. "Cambridge United 5-0 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
13. "PLAYER NEWS: Tom Knowles". Dartford F.C. Official website. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
14. "Cambridge 1-2 Morecambe". BBC. 27 April 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
15. "David Forde: Cambridge United release former Millwall keeper". BBC Sport. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
16. "Knowles joins on loan". Chelmsford City F.C. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
17. "Knowles returns to Cambridge United". Chelmsford City F.C. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
18. "Transfer | Tom Knowles signs for Yeovil Town". ytfc.net. Yeovil Town F.C. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
19. "Saddlers snap up Tom Knowles from Yeovil Town". Walsall F.C. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
20. "Club Statement - Released and Retained list". www.saddlers.co.uk. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
21. "Tom Knowles joins FGR". www.fgr.co.uk. 5 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
22. "Games played by Tom Knowles in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
23. "Games played by Tom Knowles in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
24. "Games played by Tom Knowles in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
25. "Games played by Tom Knowles in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
26. "Games played by Tom Knowles in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
27. "Tom Knowles Profile | Aylesbury United FC". www.aylesburyunitedfc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
28. "T. Knowles: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
29. "Games played by Tom Knowles in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
30. "Games played by Tom Knowles in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 August 2022.