Tom Soares
English footballer (born 1986)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thomas James Soares (born 10 July 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. He has previously played for Crystal Palace, Stoke City, Bury, AFC Wimbledon and Stevenage.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas James Soares[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 10 July 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Reading, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2003 | Crystal Palace | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2008 | Crystal Palace | 149 | (11) |
| 2008–2012 | Stoke City | 7 | (0) |
| 2009 | → Charlton Athletic (loan) | 11 | (1) |
| 2009–2010 | → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 25 | (2) |
| 2012 | → Hibernian (loan) | 10 | (2) |
| 2012–2017 | Bury | 164 | (22) |
| 2017–2019 | AFC Wimbledon | 69 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | Stevenage | 15 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Dorchester Town | 25 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | Marlow | 19 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 2005–2007 | England U21 | 4 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15:02, 21 April 2025 (UTC) | |||
Career
Crystal Palace
Born in Reading, Berkshire, Soares came up through the Crystal Palace academy, playing in central midfield.[citation needed] When he made the Palace first team he was used as a winger.[citation needed] Under the management of Neil Warnock, however, Soares was played in central midfield.[citation needed] His driving runs, combined with his best goalscoring season to date, meant that he was a key performer in the 2007–08 season for Palace.[citation needed]
Stoke City
In August 2008 Soares joined Premier League newcomers Stoke City for a fee of £1.25 million.[3] He made an impressive start, as in his second match for Stoke he won two penalty kicks in a 2–1 win against Tottenham Hotspur at the Britannia Stadium.[4] Soares played a few more matches for Stoke, against Sunderland, Manchester City, Portsmouth and West Bromwich Albion.[5] After playing against Hartlepool United in the FA Cup, however, Soares failed to make a league appearance.[5] He was loaned out to Charlton Athletic for the remainder of the 2008–09 season,[6] but failed to help keep them in the Championship.[7] Soares scored one goal for Charlton, on 3 February against Bristol City.[8]
Back at Stoke, he failed to make a Premier League appearance in the 2009–10 season.[9] On 26 November 2009 Soares joined Sheffield Wednesday, initially on a month-long loan deal,[10] but he remained there until the end of the season. As with Charlton, Soares was part of a team who were relegated from the Championship.[11] His misery was compounded by it coming at the hands of former club Crystal Palace, who stayed up at Wednesday's expense.[12] Soares had now been relegated three times in his short career.[13] In March 2011, Soares played for Stoke for the first time in almost 18 months, against Cardiff City in the FA Cup.[14] Soares again failed to make a single Premier League appearance for Stoke during the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons.[14][15] His last league appearance for Stoke was in December 2008.[5]
On 23 January 2012, Soares joined Scottish Premier League club Hibernian on loan until the end of the 2011–12 season.[16] He scored two goals in a 3–1 win against Kilmarnock on 25 February.[17]
He was released by Stoke at the end of the 2011–12 season.[18]
On 16 August 2012, it was reported by The News that Soares was training with Portsmouth.[19]
Bury
On 9 November 2012, Soares joined Bury on non-contract terms.[20] He re-signed for Bury on a two-year deal on 2 July 2013.[21] Soares scored the winning goal against Tranmere Rovers on the last day of the 2014–15 season that gained Bury 3rd place and automatic promotion to League One.[22][23]
AFC Wimbledon
On 31 January 2017, Soares left Bury and signed for fellow League One side AFC Wimbledon.[24] He scored his first goal for the club on 1 January 2018 against Southend United.[25]
Stevenage
After spending the pre-season with Stevenage FC he officially signed for the club on 2 August 2019.[26]
In July 2021, Soares joined Southern Football League side Dorchester Town,[27] where he went on to make 25 league appearances.[28]
Personal life
Career statistics
- As of match played 4 February 2023
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[A] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Crystal Palace | 2003–04[29] | First Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2004–05[30] | Premier League | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
| 2005–06[31] | Championship | 44 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 1 | |
| 2006–07[32] | Championship | 37 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 3 | |
| 2007–08[33] | Championship | 39 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 6 | |
| 2008–09[5] | Championship | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 149 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 162 | 12 | ||
| Stoke City | 2008–09[5] | Premier League | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | 8 | 0 | |
| 2009–10[9] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ― | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11[14] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12[15] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
| Charlton Athletic (loan) | 2008–09[5] | Championship | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 2009–10[9] | Championship | 25 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ― | 0 | 0 | 26 | 2 | |
| Hibernian (loan) | 2011–12[15] | Scottish Premier League | 10 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 |
| Bury | 2012–13[34] | League One | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2 |
| 2013–14[35] | League Two | 30 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 6 | |
| 2014–15[22] | League Two | 43 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 8 | |
| 2015–16[36] | League One | 42 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 4 | |
| 2016–17[37] | League One | 26 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 32 | 2 | |
| Total | 164 | 22 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 187 | 22 | ||
| AFC Wimbledon | 2016–17[37] | League One | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| 2017–18[25] | League One | 31 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 1 | |
| 2018–19[38] | League One | 23 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 1 | |
| Total | 69 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 79 | 2 | ||
| Stevenage | 2019–20[39] | League Two | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Dorchester Town | 2021–22[40] | Southern League Premier Division South | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ― | 1 | 0 | 27 | 1 | |
| Marlow | 2022–23[41] | Isthmian League South Central Division | 9 | 1 | ― | ― | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24[42] | Isthmian League South Central Division | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ― | 2 | 0 | 15 | 1 | ||
| Total | 19 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ― | 3 | 0 | 25 | 2 | |||
| Career total | 494 | 42 | 33 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 563 | 44 | ||
- A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the English Football League play-offs, UEFA Europa League, EFL Trophy, FA Trophy, Berks & Bucks Senior Cup and Isthmian League Cup
