Tom Lawrence

This article is about the footballer. For Thomas Edward "T. E." Lawrence a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia, see T. E. Lawrence.
Tom Lawrence
Personal information
Full nameThomas Morris Lawrence[1]
Date of birth13 January 1994
Place of birthWrexham, Wales
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) [2]
Playing positionForward
Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
Leicester City
Number16
Youth career
Everton
2002–2013Manchester United
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2013–2014Manchester United1(0)
2013–2014→ Carlisle United (loan)9(3)
2014→ Yeovil Town (loan)19(2)
2014–Leicester City3(0)
2014→ Rotherham United (loan)6(1)
National team‡
2010–2013Wales U174(0)
2012–2013Wales U195(0)
2013–Wales U218(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:24, 26 April 2015 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14:49, 2 December 2013 (UTC)

Thomas Morris "Tom" Lawrence (born 13 January 1994) is a Welsh footballer who plays as a forward for English club Leicester City. Born in Wrexham, he joined Manchester United at the age of eight and made his way up through the age groups, but he was unable to make it as a first-team regular and spent time on loan at Carlisle United and Yeovil Town before joining Leicester in September 2014. He has also represented Wales at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level.

Club career

Manchester United

Born in Wrexham, Lawrence grew up in Penyffordd, Flintshire, and joined Manchester United from Everton at the age of eight. Tosh Farrell, an Everton coach at the time later commented that Lawrence was a "big Man U fan so we had no chance [of keeping him] when they wanted him!"[3] After progressing up through the age grades, he made his first appearance for the under-18s at the age of 15 in a friendly against Maltese side Hibernians in October 2009, coming on as a substitute to score the third goal in a 3–1 win. In July 2010, he appeared for the under-17s in the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland, scoring against County Down in the quarter-finals of the Slemish Trophy repechage competition. Off the back of that, he became a regular fixture in the under-18s team for the 2010–11 season, scoring five goals in 22 appearances in the Premier Academy League, as well as making three substitute appearances in the club's successful FA Youth Cup run. Towards the end of the season, he also got his first experience of the reserve team, being named as an unused substitute for the final game of the Premier Reserve League season, a 2–2 draw with Liverpool.

Another appearance at the Milk Cup followed in 2011, with Lawrence scoring the only goal in Manchester United's semi-final victory over Senegalese side Étoile Lusitana;[4] however, the team went on to lose the final 5–1 to Qatari youth academy ASPIRE. Lawrence began the 2011–12 season in good form, scoring four goals in his first four matches before suffering an injury in the fifth, a 3–1 home defeat to Manchester City. On his return two months later, he scored the opener in Manchester United's 4–0 FA Youth Cup win over Torquay United, only to suffer another injury to his groin and miss another five months of the season.[5][6][7] Nevertheless, he returned strongly, scoring three goals in the final three games of the season, including a brace against Stoke City on the final day.[8] After going unused in a Manchester Senior Cup game against Bury earlier in the season, Lawrence finally made his first appearance for the reserves in the final of the Lancashire Senior Cup against Accrington Stanley; after coming on as a 23rd-minute substitute for Luke Giverin, Lawrence opened the scoring shortly before half-time and Manchester United went on to win 4–0.[9]

After signing his first professional contract in July 2012,[10] Lawrence made the step up to the reserves on a permanent basis for the 2012–13 season; however, he found the transition difficult, as competing with the likes of Federico Macheda, Ángelo Henríquez and Joshua King meant he often found himself on the bench, rarely making it onto the pitch with any significant time left in games. Despite a lack of playing time, Lawrence managed to score four goals in 20 appearances during the season, including one goal in a 3–1 win against Oldham Athletic in the Manchester Senior Cup, and his assist led to Larnell Cole's 88th-minute winning goal against Tottenham Hotspur in the final of the Under-21 Premier League.[11] Will Keane's return to fitness meant Lawrence's opportunities continued to be limited going into the 2013–14 season, although he did manage to appear in seven of the team's first eight matches of the season.

Carlisle United loan

On 28 November 2013, Lawrence joined fellow Manchester United player Ben Amos at League One club Carlisle United on a month-long loan, due to last until 4 January 2014.[12][13] Lawrence made his debut the following weekend, coming on as a 59th-minute substitute for Paul Thirlwell in a 3–1 defeat away to Swindon Town.[14]

Yeovil Town loan

On 31 January 2014, Lawrence joined Football League Championship side Yeovil Town on a three-month loan.[15] He made 17 starts and two substitute appearances for Yeovil, scoring twice, as the club were relegated to League One. On 30 April, he was recalled by Manchester United.[16]

Return to Manchester United

On 6 May 2014, Lawrence was given his United debut by interim player-manager Ryan Giggs, starting in a 3–1 home Premier League win against Hull City. He was substituted in the 70th minute for Giggs himself. James Wilson made his debut in the same match.[17]

Leicester City

Lawrence was sold to recently promoted Leicester City on 2 September 2014 for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-year contract.[18]

Before making an appearance for Leicester, he was loaned to Championship club Rotherham United on 27 November, on a month-long deal.[19] He scored one goal in six appearances for Rotherham before returning to Leicester. He made his Leicester debut on 3 January 2015 in an FA Cup third round tie against Newcastle United, which Leicester won 1–0.[20]

International career

Lawrence's first experience of representative football came in 2003–04, when he played for the Flintshire Schools team while still a year young, and again in 2004–05. Both years, the team won the Tom Yeoman Shield North league titles, and in 2005, they were beaten to the national title by Swansea Schools.[21] That year, Lawrence was named as the Flintshire Schools FA's joint player of the year, along with George Baxter of Mynydd Isa CP.[22]

After progressing through the Wales under-17 and under-19 teams, Lawrence made his debut for the under-21s in a 3–0 home friendly victory over Iceland in February 2013, playing for 64 minutes before being substituted.[23] He scored his first goal for the under-21s a month later, scoring the only goal in a European Championship qualifying win over Moldova at Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli.[24] This was followed up by a brace of penalties in another qualifying win in October 2013, this time against Lithuania.[25]

22 May 2014, Lawrence was named in the Wales senior squad for the friendly match against Holland on 4 June 2014.[26]

References

  1. ↑ "Clubs submit retained and released lists". premierleague.com (Premier League). 7 June 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "Barclays Premier League Player Profile Tom Lawrence". web page. Premier League. 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  3. ↑ Tosh Farrell tweet on Twitter
  4. ↑ Marshall, Adam; McConnell, Helen (28 July 2011). "United reach Milk Cup final". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  5. ↑ Marshall, Adam (2 December 2011). "FAYC: United 4 Torquay 0". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  6. ↑ Lynch, James; Marshall, Adam (28 April 2012). "U18: Everton 2 United 1". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  7. ↑ Marshall, Adam (27 September 2013). "Lawrence's time to shine". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  8. ↑ Marshall, Adam (8 May 2012). "U18: United 2 Stoke 1". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  9. ↑ Butler, Cliff (8 August 2012). "Accrington 0 United Res 4". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  10. ↑ Coppack, Nick (5 July 2012). "Six sign pro forms". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  11. ↑ Marshall, Adam (20 May 2013). "Report: United 3 Spurs 2". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  12. ↑ "Carlisle: Craig Roddan, Josh Morris and Tom Lawrence join". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 28 November 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  13. ↑ Marshall, Adam (28 November 2013). "Reds duo go on loan". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  14. ↑ "Swindon 3–1 Carlisle". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 30 November 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  15. ↑ "Transfer Deadline Day: Man Utd's Tom Lawrence joins Yeovil Town". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 31 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  16. ↑ "Manchester United boss Ryan Giggs to cast eye over Tom Lawrence after Yeovil Town loanee returns north". Western Gazette. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  17. ↑ Stone, Simon (6 May 2014). "Man Utd 3–1 Hull". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  18. ↑ "Leicester sign Man Utd youngsters Nick Powell and Tom Lawrence". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 2 September 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  19. ↑ "Rotherham sign Tom Lawrence and Scott Wootton on loan". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 27 November 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  20. ↑ "Leicester 1-0 Newcastle". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 3 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  21. ↑ "Football: Manchester United’s former Flintshire Schools’ FA starlet Tom Lawrence scores first goal for Wales Under 21s in Moldova win". Daily Post (Trinity Mirror). 28 March 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  22. ↑ "Deeside/Flintshire Player of the Year Award". welshsfa.co.uk. Welsh Schools Football Association. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  23. ↑ "Wales v Iceland Under 21 Match". faw.org.uk (Football Association of Wales). 6 February 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  24. ↑ "European Championship qualifier: Wales U21 1–0 Moldova U21". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 22 March 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  25. ↑ "Wales U21 2–0 Lithuania U21". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 11 October 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  26. ↑ "Wales: Lawrence called up for Wales". BBC Sport. 22 May 2014.

External links