Tommy O'Sullivan

Thomas Paul O'Sullivan (born 18 January 1995) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for National League North club Brackley Town.

Tommy O'Sullivan
O'Sullivan in a Cardiff City kit in February 2013
Personal information
Full name Thomas Paul O'Sullivan[1]
Date of birth (1995-01-18) 18 January 1995[2]
Place of birth Mountain Ash, Wales[3]
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Brackley Town
Number 18
Youth career
2004–2012 Cardiff City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2017 Cardiff City 0 (0)
2015 → Port Vale (loan) 1 (0)
2015 → Port Vale (loan) 4 (0)
2015–2016 → Newport County (loan) 11 (1)
2016 → Newport County (loan) 9 (0)
2017–2018 Colchester United 4 (0)
2018 → Torquay United (loan) 7 (0)
2018–2020 Hereford 51 (2)
2020–2023 Gloucester City 83 (2)
2023– Brackley Town 8 (0)
International career
2011–2012 Wales U17 5 (0)
2013–2014 Wales U19 6 (6)
2013–2016 Wales U21 15 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:31, 17 September 2023 (UTC)

A Wales youth international, he began his professional career with Cardiff City in 2012, making his debut in the League Cup in August 2012. He made his English Football League debut on loan at Port Vale in February 2015. After two loan spells at Newport County during the 2015–16 season, he signed for Colchester United in January 2017. He joined Torquay United on loan for the remainder of the 2017–18 season in January 2018. Having been released by Colchester, he signed with Hereford in October 2018. He spent just under two years with Hereford before making the move to Gloucester City in August 2020. After three seasons with Gloucester he moved on to Brackley Town.

Club career

Cardiff City

Born in Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf,[4] O'Sullivan progressed through the Academy at Cardiff City to sign his first professional contract in 2012.[5] His made his professional debut when he came on as a substitute for Stephen McPhail 19 minutes into a 2–1 League Cup defeat to Northampton Town at Sixfields Stadium on 14 August 2012.[6] He also went on to make an FA Cup appearance on 5 January 2013, as City lost 2–1 to non-League side Macclesfield Town.[7]

O'Sullivan joined League One side Port Vale on a one-month loan on 2 February 2015; manager Rob Page signed O'Sullivan to replace injured creative midfielder Louis Dodds, having been familiar with him from his time as a coach with the Welsh youth teams.[8] He returned to Cardiff on 2 March after only one substitute appearance at Vale Park.[9] Ten days later he was re-signed by Page on another one-month loan, after the departure of Chris Lines created a midfield vacancy in Vale's first team picture.[10] The loan deal was later extended to cover the rest of the 2014–15 season.[11] He made five appearances for the Valiants.[12]

On 5 October 2015, O'Sullivan was named as Welsh Young Player of the Year by the Football Association of Wales.[13] Eight days later he joined Newport County on an initial one-month loan, subsequently extended until 7 January 2016.[14] He made his debut on 17 October in 1–0 home defeat by Portsmouth,[15] and on 24 October, he scored his first professional goal in Newport's 4–1 win at Bristol Rovers.[16] In total he made 13 appearances for the club during the loan spell, which was not extended despite Cardiff manager Russell Slade being encouraged by O'Sullivan's progress.[17] On 10 March 2016, O'Sullivan returned to Newport County on loan until the end of the 2015–16 season.[18] He made a further nine appearances for County during his second spell.[19]

Colchester United

After failing to make an impact on the Cardiff first team during the 2016–17 season, O'Sullivan joined Colchester United on trial in January 2017,[20] completing a transfer to the club for an undisclosed fee on 20 January 2017.[21] He made his debut as a substitute for Drey Wright after 78-minutes of Colchester's 4–0 League Two win at home to Stevenage on 8 April.[22] He made three first-team appearances in 2016–17.[23]

On 4 January 2018, O'Sullivan signed for National League side Torquay United on loan until the end of the season.[24] He made his debut two days later in a 4–0 defeat at Wrexham.[25] He played a total of seven games for Gary Owers's "Gulls", who ended the season being relegated into the National League South.[26] Upon his return to the Colchester Community Stadium at the end of the 2017–18 season he was released by manager John McGreal.[27]

Hereford

On 25 October 2018, O'Sullivan signed with National League North side Hereford after a successful trial period at Edgar Street.[28] He featured 31 times for the "Bulls" over the course of the 2018–19 season. He was re-united with former Cardiff manager Russell Slade in September 2019, following Marc Richards' departure from the club, and O'Sullivan's 96th-minute winner against Gateshead on 17 September secured Slade's first victory at Edgar Street.[29] He scored two goals in 22 appearances in the 2019–20 season, which was permanently suspended on 26 March due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, with Hereford in 15th-place.[30]

Gloucester City

On 7 August 2020, O'Sullivan joined Hereford's National League North rivals Gloucester City, becoming manager James Rowe's fifth summer signing.[31][32] He made 21 appearances before the 2020–21 season was curtailed due to the ongoing pandemic.[33][34] He featured 36 times under Lee Mansell in the 2021–22 season, in what O'Sullivan called "a transitional time" at Meadow Park.[33][35] He made 32 appearances in the 2022–23 campaign, including in the play-off quarter-final defeat at Brackley Town.[33]

Brackley Town

On 26 June 2023, O'Sullivan signed with Brackley Town upon the expiry of his contract with Gloucester.[36]

International career

O'Sullivan has represented Wales at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level.[37][38] He made his competitive debut for the under-17s starting in a 3–2 defeat to Armenia on 17 October 2011.[39] He made five appearances for the under-17 side.[37] On 13 November 2013, he had a goalscoring debut for the under-19 team, featuring as a substitute in Wales' 5–1 defeat to Georgia.[40] He scored six goals in six appearances for the under-19 team.[37] Prior to his under-19 debut, O'Sullivan had already made his under-21 debut, starting in their 4–0 victory over San Marino on 15 October 2013.[41] For his first goals at under-21 level, he scored a brace against Bulgaria during a 3–1 win on 31 March 2015.[42] He scored three goals in 15 competitive under-21 games between 2013 and 2016.[37]

Style of play

O'Sullivan is a creative box-to-box midfielder with a good touch, awareness and technique.[43]

Coaching career

In 2022, he was coaching in the academy at Cardiff City.[35]

Personal life

Tommy's elder brother, Sam O'Sullivan, played 152 times for Newport County before leaving the club in 2008.[44]

Career statistics
As of match played 9 September 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cardiff City 2012–13[45] Championship 0010100020
2013–14[46] Premier League 000000—00
2014–15[12] Championship 0000100010
2015–16[19] Championship 0000000000
2016–17[23] Championship 0000000000
Total 0010200030
Port Vale (loan) 2014–15[12] League One 5000000050
Newport County (loan) 2015–16[19] League Two 201200000221
Colchester United 2016–17[23] League Two 3000000030
2017–18[47] League Two 1010002[lower-alpha 1]040
Total 4010002070
Torquay United (loan) 2017–18[47] National League 70——0070
Hereford 2018–19[33] National League North 29000—2[lower-alpha 2]0310
2019–20[33] National League North 22200—00222
Total 51200—20532
Gloucester City 2020–21[33] National League North 18100—3[lower-alpha 3]0211
2021–22[33] National League North 35100—1[lower-alpha 4]0361
2022–23[33] National League North 30000—2[lower-alpha 5]0320
Total 83200—60892
Brackley Town 2023–24[33] National League North 8000—0080
Career total 178540201001945
  1. Appearances in 2017–18 EFL Trophy
  2. Appearances in 2018–19 FA Trophy
  3. Appearances in 2020–21 FA Trophy
  4. Appearances in 2021–22 FA Trophy
  5. 1 appearances in 2022–23 FA Trophy and 1 appearance in the play-offs

Honours

Individual

References
  1. "Professional Retain List & Free Transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. May 2013. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  2. Tommy O'Sullivan at Soccerbase
  3. "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2014/2015". www.footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  4. "Colchester United". FootballSquads. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  5. Waldron, Jonathan (10 January 2017). "Colchester United have given Cardiff City midfielder Tommy O'Sullivan a chance to impress". Colchester Gazette. Colchester. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  6. "Northampton 2–1 Cardiff". BBC Sport. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  7. Hughes, Dewi (5 January 2013). "Macclesfield 2–1 Cardiff". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  8. "Transfer Deadline Day: Port Vale sign O'Sullivan and Luer". BBC Sport. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  9. Baggaley, Mike (2 March 2015). "Port Vale: Loan pair Greg Luer and Tommy O'Sullivan leave Valiants". The Sentinel. Stoke On Trent. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  10. Baggaley, Mike (12 March 2015). "Port Vale: Valiants re-sign Cardiff's Tommy O'Sullivan". The Sentinel. Stoke On Trent. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  11. Baggaley, Mike (16 April 2015). "Port Vale agree new deal for Cardiff City midfielder Tommy O'Sullivan". The Sentinel. Stoke On Trent. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  12. "Games played by Tommy O'Sullivan in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  13. "Gareth Bale: Real Madrid forward named Welsh player of the year". BBC Sport. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  14. Tucker, Steve (13 October 2015). "Talented Cardiff City youngsters Tommy O'Sullivan and Jazzi Barnum-Bobb join Newport County on loan". Wales Online. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  15. "Newport County 0–1 Portsmouth". BBC Sport. 17 October 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  16. "Bristol Rovers 1–4 Newport County". BBC Sport. 24 October 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  17. Wathan, Chris (5 January 2016). "Young Cardiff City stars Tommy O'Sullivan and Jazzi Barnum-Bobb back with the Bluebirds after Newport County loan spells end". Wales Online. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  18. "Tommy O'Sullivan: Newport County loan Cardiff City midfielder". BBC Sport. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  19. "Games played by Tommy O'Sullivan in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  20. "Cardiff City youngster Tommy O'Sullivan in talks to sign for Colchester United". Wales Online. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  21. "Tommy O'Sullivan: Colchester United sign Cardiff City midfielder". BBC Sport. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  22. "Colchester United 4–0 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 8 April 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  23. "Games played by Tommy O'Sullivan in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  24. Hudson, Matt (4 January 2018). "U's Flash: Tommy Heads To Torquay". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  25. "Wrexham 4–0 Torquay United". BBC Sport. 6 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  26. "Torquay United release five players and transfer list three more after National League relegation". BBC Sport. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  27. "Colchester United: Doug Loft among four players leaving club". BBC Sport. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  28. Griffiths, Jamie (24 October 2018). "NEWS | Roberts and O'Sullivan Join The Bulls | Hereford FC - The official website of Hereford FC". www.herefordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  29. "Hereford FC 2 Gateshead 1 as it happened". Hereford Times. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  30. "National League clubs vote to end regular season immediately". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  31. "O'Sullivan signs for Bulls' league rivals Gloucester". Hereford Times. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  32. Phillips, Jenni (7 August 2020). "Gloucester City swoop for midfielder from rivals Hereford". gloucestershirelive. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  33. Tommy O'Sullivan at Soccerway
  34. Osborn, Oliver (18 February 2021). "National League Statement | Outcome Of Written Resolutions". Vanarama National League. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  35. "Youth Development Week | Dylan Rees & Tommy O'Sullivan | Cardiff". www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  36. Tymon, Chris (26 June 2023). "NEW SIGNING: Tommy O'Sullivan joins Brackley Town". www.brackleytownfc.com. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  37. "Thomas O'Sullivan". UEFA. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  38. "Matches of T. O'Sullivan". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  39. "Wales U17 vs. Armenia U17 – 2–3". Soccerway. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  40. "Georgia U19 vs. Wales U19 – 5–1". Soccerway. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  41. "Wales U21 vs. San Marino U21 – 4–0". Soccerway. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  42. "Wales U21 vs. Bulgaria U21 – 3–1". Soccerway. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  43. Phillips, Terry (6 October 2015). "Who is Cardiff City youngster Tommy O'Sullivan... and why does Wales' best young player not play for the Bluebirds?". Wales Online. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  44. Pearlman, Michael (14 October 2015). "Tommy can be a huge hit for Newport County says brother Sam O'Sullivan". South Wales Argus. Newport. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  45. "Games played by Tommy O'Sullivan in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  46. "Games played by Tommy O'Sullivan in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  47. "Games played by Tommy O'Sullivan in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
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