Exeter-born Tom's success at Saltergate was all the more remarkable when one remembers that, for the first three years of his Town career, he was a full-time student at Loughborough University and only trained with the team on Fridays. He had gone to university after an apprenticeship at Derby County had come to nothing and, despite the disruption that university life must have posed to his football career, he soon established himself and became a key member of the side.

His tigerish, ball-winning qualities were noticed first as the team battled through the Third Division play-offs, and the passing side of his game blossomed in the higher class of Second Division football. It was rumoured that West Bromwich Albion made an unsuccessful six-figure bid for him in 1995-6. He enjoyed shooting from distance and his long throw was a regular feature of Chesterfield attacks. Great composure was usually evident in his play, never more so than when dispatching the penalty kick that knocked Nottingham Forest out of the FA Cup in 1997.

Tom was preparing for life in Division Three with relegated Chesterfield in 2000 when Portsmouth came in with a £50,000 bid, with enhancements. He scored a belting goal on his Pompey debut, in a friendly at Woking, but injury deprived him of a chance to claim a first-team place under manager Tony Pulis before he was sacked a few months after signing Tom; successive managers in Steve Claridge, Graham Rix and Harry Redknapp didn't see Tom in their plans and he was allowed to join Mansfield Town on a free in December 2002. Given his Spireite connections it took a while for many Stags fans to warm to him but, by the time he followed manager Keith Curle to Chester in 2005, Tom had gone a long way towards achieving that. A year at Chester was followed by another at Notts County, but injury and a revolving door on the gaffer's office prevented his making more than just two appearances as a substitute. At the time of writing, Tom is back at Loughborough, coaching the college's first team players, and is playing for Nuneaton Borough.