Tom Lawrence, born on a bitterly cold 13th of January, 1994 in the valleys of Wales, is shockingly not an opera singer; he's a footballer. Oh, not just any old footballer, mind - he’s a midfielder. Central attacking, to be precise. Playing for Rangers, a team pearl-clutchingly far enough from Celtic to be on another celestial sphere. He hurtles around the pitch with an alleged height of 1.8m (that's a respectable 5ft 10in for us folks from the steam age) and muscular heft amounting to 75kg (11st 11lb). Loves the number 11, our Tom does; he’s got it embroidered on the back of his jersey and everything.
The year 2013 saw him galloping from Manchester United to Carlisle United. Who could blame him? That distinction between Premier to League Two must have been too enticing to resist. He was loaned, of course. First team saw him nine times, and he managed to net three goals. Not entirely shambolic, I suppose.
Bored of the cold, Tom took a stroll south in January 2014, from Manchester United to Yeovil Town. It’s always summer in Yeovil, you see. Must’ve felt like a holiday. He pounded grass for them in 19 matches and graced their net with two balls.
Posh cats came ringing in September 2014, when Leicester City decided to throw around a sum of £1.2m to bring him to the Premier League. He did get to wear a shiny new jersey all of three times. The tale continues with a loan to Rotherham United, where he tolerated the fans’ adoration in six matches. Even scored once, likely grudgingly. After tangoing with Blackburn Rovers (21 appearances, two goals) and Cardiff City (14 appearances, more tan than goals), he found himself with Ipswich Town, scoring nine times in 34 matches.
2017 saw Tom probably breezing past the £5m pounds that he was sold for to Derby County. He graced Derby's pastures for five seasons, a vivid study in consistency with about 6 goals each in the first three seasons, finally hitting double-digits in his fourth. The fifth saw him return to form, scoring 11 times. You wonder if watching paint dry might’ve brought more excitement, but who am I to judge?
In July 2022, Lawrence took his holiday in Scotland, joining Rangers. Over three seasons (still on-going), he's been seen on the field a sparse 34 times and has scored a whopping 7 goals. Clearly, a force to be reckoned with.
At Rangers, he's tried his luck in the League Cup, Scottish Cup, Europa League, and Champions League Qualifiers. An eclectic mix of bench-warming, starting, and strutting on and off the field as a substitute. Even tried his foot at goal a couple of times. Something different, eh Tom?
