Birchall pictured shortly before his debut for Gillingham in a friendly away to Ramsgate |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Adam Stephen Birchall | ||
| Date of birth | 2 December 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Maidstone, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Gillingham | ||
| Number | 30 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–2003 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003–2005 | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 2004 | → Wycombe Wanderers (loan) | 12 | (4) |
| 2005–2007 | Mansfield Town | 36 | (2) |
| 2006–2007 | → Barnet (loan) | 7 | (2) |
| 2007–2009 | Barnet | 97 | (17) |
| 2009–2011 | Dover Athletic | 78 | (64) |
| 2011– | Gillingham | 0 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2003–2006 | Wales U21 | 12 | (3) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:28, 31 May 2011 (UTC. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Adam Stephen Birchall (born 2 December 1984) is a footballer who plays as a striker for football league side Gillingham. Despite being born in England he has several caps for the Welsh under-21 team, scoring on his debut against the Finland under 21s.
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Birchall began his career at Arsenal, but never made it to the first-team. In the 2004–05 season, Birchall had a successful loan spell at Wycombe Wanderers, scoring four goals in twelve league games. He was released by Arsenal at the end of that season, and joined Mansfield Town in June 2005 on a two-year contract.
The move to Mansfield was something of a disappointment for Birchall. Big things were expected from the youngster, but despite occasional flashes of brilliance, he failed to live up to expectations, scoring only three goals and spending most of his time at Mansfield on the bench. He did, however, score in Mansfield's nationally televised FA Cup victory against Grays Athletic on his 21st birthday.
On 23 November 2006, Birchall was loaned to divisional rivals Barnet, where he was a hit, scoring the first goal in their 4–1 thrashing of Northampton Town in the FA Cup. A move was made permanent on 4 January 2007. During his time at Barnet, Birchall is credited with the idea for a now widely-used scheme whereby only the team captain can question referees' decisions, in order to reduce dissent and the yellow cards that follow.[1][2] Since the beginning of the 2007–08 season, when the rule was introduced, the club's disciplinary record has significantly improved, and the club has earned praise throughout the game.[3] Birchall was released in May 2009 after scoring only two league goals in the 2008–09 season.
Birchall signed for Conference South side Dover Athletic in July 2009.[4] Birchall made his league debut for Dover in the first game of the season against Maidenhead United, before scoring his first league goal for the club in the following fixture against Bishop's Stortford. Birchall scored both goals against Aldershot Town to take Dover to the FA Cup 3rd Round for the first time in their history. Birchall became the club's goalscoring record holder, and the Conference South record holder, at the end of the 2010–11 season with a total of 45 goals in 49 appearances. Birchall was once again attracting interest from clubs from higher up the football pyramid and in July 2011 Dover Athletic received substantial undisclosed bids from League Two sides Swindon Town, newcomers AFC Wimbledon, and local rivals Gillingham,[5] for whom he signed a three year deal on 12 July 2011.[6]
Birchall is engaged to Lianne and the couple are expecting their first child in October 2011.[7]
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