He served as a Lance Bombadier with the Royal Artillery in Afghanistan after joining the forces at age 19. Commenting has been disabled at this time but you can still, put it together myself. Clarke, who has never had any qualms about delving into the non-league game to recruit players, was even more impressed when he saw Broadbent in the flesh. Luckily I was in an armoured vehicle so I didn’t care too much. 25 year-old Tom Broadbent is a former soldier with the Royal Artillery. Danny’s an agent now, and that’s pretty much how it all started. I was like: ‘All right, mate!’”, By that stage Broadbent had notified the army of his desire to leave after concluding it was now or never in terms of trying to take his football career further. I wasn’t bothered about getting money,” he says. Weighing 90kg and 6ft 3in, Lance Bombardier Broadbent is leaving the army behind to embark on a career as a professional footballer after signing for Bristol Rovers. Then I started to play a little bit for the regiment, went straight into the army team after that and fell in love with football again.”, It was only two years ago that Broadbent started playing semi-professionally, when he joined Farnborough, who were in the seventh tier at the time. But I worked on my fitness to get in and went through all the basic training, so I didn’t really kick a ball for a while. Coming out of there and going into football – I’m 25 and I’d almost got to the point where I thought maybe it’s not going to happen for me. “I made a decision in February – and it’s quite a big decision because when you’re in the army you kind of feel there’s not a lot else out there for you to do. Tom Broadbent, right, in action for Bristol Rovers during a friendly against Hull City. “This definitely means more to me than others. Broadbent has been to most places, including a posting to Ascension Island – a remote outpost in the South Atlantic that is 1,000 miles from anywhere – and Afghanistan, where he spent five months in 2014. The 25-year-old, who operates mostly at centre-back, had been on trial with the League One side and has featured in a number of pre-season games. Broadbent “sort of fell into it” after his friend was unable to attend May’s showpiece between Chelsea and Arsenal. "I have enjoyed my time here so far," he told the club website.external-link, "The lads have been very welcoming, so that has been a great help as well. It’s a bit surreal, really. Broadbent, who was captain of Hayes and Yeading United in the Southern League Premier division last season, takes up the story. Tom, who also played representative football for the Army, had always harboured ambitions of playing league football and was handed his opportunity by Darrell in the summer. But I said: ‘I’m going to go for it. Tom Broadbent served as a Lance Bombardier in the Army after signing up when he was 19-years-old. Not yet though as I welcome Town defender Tom Broadbent onto the podcast. Quite fitting, really.”. “Nick asked me to send him a video – I had all the footage of the games so I just put it together myself. “Up until then I’d just been playing in the army and a little bit of county league with my mates, just for the love of playing. It’s 13 minutes long. The First Army Footballer To Sign For A League Club In 27 Years Then joining the army and playing in Non-League. Tom Broadbent leans across the table at a coffee shop in Bristol, stretching out the huge, muscular frame that impressed a few Chelsea players a couple of months ago, and casually tells the story about the time he was shot at in Afghanistan while listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He did a Google search and said: ‘You’ve never been anywhere.’”. Tom Broadbent Katerangan priangga Jeneng dawa Thomas William Broadbent Tanggal lair 15 Fèbruari 1992 (umur 29)Papan lair Basingstoke, Inggris Dhuwur 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Tom Broadbent (lair 15 Februari 1992) yaiku pemain bal-balan profesional Inggris sing main dadi Bek kanggo Swindon Town. On the flipside, there’s so much that you can’t really decide, so you end up staying in. He made his debut against Charlton Athletic on the opening day of the current season and has since made 16 appearances in all competitions. ‘I thought I’d get on TV but they were interviewing Arsène Wenger at the time I was handing the runners-up medals to the royal box, so I missed out,’ he says. “The UK armed forces manager is Nick de-Long and he mentioned he could try to help me out,” Broadbent says. I worked in Sainsbury’s serving chickens and then I did some labouring and a bit of carpentry before deciding I wanted to join the army at the age of 19. How to get into football - the most popular sport in the world, with clubs and facilities throughout the UK. “To be honest, I was excited when I first found out I was going. As the laughter passes, Broadbent looks himself up and down and makes a serious point. “But when my mum and my missus found out I was going, they weren’t happy at all. “My job is quite straightforward. “And then obviously there’s good times in the army but tough times as well. ‘Look at the size of you!’ Ruben Loftus-Cheek said when he saw me on the sideline. Summer signing Tom Broadbent is keen to keep working hard and improving following signing a new deal this morning. LIFE was going off the rails for Swindon Town defender Tom Broadbent prior to joining the army at the age of 19. It's a very interesting journey from his early days in Hampshire and his early attempts to make it in football. The Bristol Rovers central defender was still technically a serving soldier when this season began. An imposing central defender with a decent left foot – take a look at the footage of a curling 25-yard free-kick that found the top corner against the Royal Navy in March – Broadbent convinced the Rovers manager across 10 days of pre‑season training and two friendlies that he deserved a contract. Mar 1989 - Feb 19978 years From 1989 - 1997 I was with California Army National Guard both as a 12B (Combat Engineer) and as 19D (Cavalry Scout). It was a gamble that has paid off much quicker than Broadbent could have imagined as he prepares to follow in the footsteps of Maik Taylor, Guy Whittingham and Lee Bradbury, all of whom served in the army before playing professionally. Tom takes on our army v football quiz. I quickly put my headphones back in. Anyone who joins the army, they want to go on tour. It’s probably worse for the people back home than it is for the person out there, certainly emotionally – they’re worrying whether you’re safe. WATCH MORE: Broadbent's incredible journey - from the Army to Bristol Rovers Watch Football Focus on Saturday 21 October on BBC One from 12:00 BST “It still hasn’t sunk in yet that I’ve got the chance.”. Now it obviously has and I’m just really grateful for the opportunity.”, The defender describes being shot at in Afghanistan, having his biceps squeezed by Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek at the FA Cup final and reveals why he is leaving the army to pursue his dream, Bristol Rovers’ owner on a run-in with Abramovich and singing with the fans, From the army to Bristol Rovers: Tom Broadbent’s extraordinary journey, Bristol Rovers’ Tom Broadbent, who weighs 90kg and is 6ft 3in, says: ‘We do a bit of circuit training in the afternoon during pre-season and no one wants to pair up.’. Anyone who joins the army, they want to go on tour.’. Get latest scores and headlines sent straight to your phone, sign-up to our newsletter and learn where to find us on online. 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