| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas James Soares[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1986-07-10)10 July 1986 (age 39) | ||
| 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) | |||
Thomas James Soares (born 10 July 1986) is an English professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder. He has previously played forCrystal Palace,Stoke City,Bury,AFC Wimbledon andStevenage.
Born inReading, Berkshire, Soares came up through theCrystal Palace academy, playing incentral midfield.[citation needed] When he made the Palace first team he was used as awinger.[citation needed] Under the management ofNeil 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 the2007–08 season for Palace.[citation needed]
In August 2008 Soares joinedPremier League newcomersStoke City for a fee of £1.25 million.[3] He made an impressive start, as in his second match for Stoke he won twopenalty kicks in a 2–1 win againstTottenham Hotspur at theBritannia Stadium.[4] Soares played a few more matches for Stoke, againstSunderland,Manchester City,Portsmouth andWest Bromwich Albion.[5] After playing againstHartlepool United in theFA Cup, however, Soares failed to make a league appearance.[5] He was loaned out toCharlton Athletic for the remainder of the 2008–09 season,[6] but failed to help keep them in theChampionship.[7] Soares scored one goal for Charlton, on 3 February againstBristol City.[8]
Back at Stoke, he failed to make a Premier League appearance in the 2009–10 season.[9] On 26 November 2009 Soares joinedSheffield 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, againstCardiff 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 joinedScottish Premier League clubHibernian on loan until the end of the 2011–12 season.[16] He scored two goals in a 3–1 win againstKilmarnock on 25 February.[17]
He was released by Stoke at the end of the2011–12 season.[18]
On 16 August 2012, it was reported byThe News that Soares was training with Portsmouth.[19]
On 9 November 2012, Soares joinedBury 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 toLeague One.[22][23]
On 31 January 2017, Soares left Bury and signed for fellow League One sideAFC Wimbledon.[24] He scored his first goal for the club on 1 January 2018 againstSouthend United.[25]
After spending the pre-season withStevenage FC he officially signed for the club on 2 August 2019.[26]
In July 2021, Soares joinedSouthern Football League sideDorchester Town,[27] where he went on to make 25 league appearances.[28]
His brotherLouie is also a footballer, who has representedBarbados.
| 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 | ||
