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Adam Birchall

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Adam Birchall
Adam Birchall in full Arsenal training gear at London Colney
Birchall with Gillingham in 2011
Personal information
Full name Adam Stephen Birchall[1]
Date of birth (1984-12-02) 2 December 1984 (age 39)[1]
Place of birth Maidstone, England
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1]
Position(s) Striker / Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Arsenal (U18 Head Coach)
Youth career
1994–2003 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2005 Arsenal 0 (0)
2004 → Wycombe Wanderers (loan) 12 (4)
2005–2007 Mansfield Town 36 (2)
2006–2007 → Barnet (loan) 7 (2)
2007–2009 Barnet 97 (17)
2009–2011 Dover Athletic 76 (49)
2011–2014 Gillingham 17 (0)
2012 → Dartford (loan) 6 (1)
2013 → Dartford (loan) 23 (2)
2014–2016 Bromley 25 (1)
2015–2016 → Maidstone United (loan) 16 (1)
Total 315 (79)
International career
2002–2006 Wales U21 12 (3)
Managerial career
2022–2024 Arsenal U17
2024– Arsenal U18
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Adam Stephen Birchall (born 2 December 1984) is a retired footballer who played as a forward and is the current head coach of the Arsenal Under-18s.[2]

Despite being born in England he has several caps for the Welsh under-21 team, scoring on his debut against the Finland under 21s.

Career

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Born in Maidstone, Kent,[1] Birchall began his career at Arsenal, but never made it to the first-team. In the 2004–05 season, Birchall had a successful loan spell at Wycombe Wanderers, scoring four goals in twelve league games. He was released by Arsenal at the end of that season, and joined Mansfield Town in June 2005 on a two-year contract.

The move to Mansfield was something of a disappointment for Birchall. Big things were expected from the youngster, but despite occasional flashes of brilliance, he failed to live up to expectations, scoring only three goals and spending most of his time at Mansfield playing on the right of midfield. He did, however, score in Mansfield's nationally televised FA Cup victory against Grays Athletic on his 21st birthday.

On 23 November 2006, Birchall was loaned to divisional rivals Barnet, where he was a hit, scoring the first goal in their 4–1 thrashing of Northampton Town in the FA Cup. A move was made permanent on 4 January 2007. During his time at Barnet, Birchall is credited with the idea for a now widely used scheme whereby only the team captain can question referees' decisions, to reduce dissent and the yellow cards that follow.[3] Since the beginning of the 2007–08 season, when the rule was introduced, the club's disciplinary record has significantly improved, and the club has earned praise throughout the game.[4] After finishing as the top goalscorer for Barnet in the 2007–08 season with 15 goals, Birchall struggled for form in 2009 and was released in May after scoring only two league goals in the 2008–09 season.

Birchall signed for Conference South side Dover Athletic in July 2009.[5] Birchall made his league debut for Dover in the first game of the season against Maidenhead United, before scoring his first league goal for the club in the following fixture against Bishop's Stortford. Birchall scored both goals against Aldershot Town to take Dover to the FA Cup 3rd Round for the first time in their history. Birchall became the club's goalscoring record holder, and the Conference South record holder, at the end of the 2010–11 season with a total of 45 goals in 49 appearances. He also was the top goal scorer in the FA Cup that year and went on to receive the award at Wembley. Birchall again attracted interest from clubs higher up the football pyramid and in July 2011 Dover Athletic received substantial undisclosed bids from League Two sides Swindon Town, newcomers AFC Wimbledon, and local rivals Gillingham,[6] for whom he signed a three-year deal on 12 July 2011.[7] He was seriously injured during a pre-season friendly, however, and missed the entire 2011–12 season.

Birchall finally made his competitive debut for Gillingham on 14 August 2012, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 away win against Bristol City in the League Cup.[8] He scored his first goal for the Gills in their 4–0 FA Cup win over Scunthorpe United on 3 November, but after playing only 21 games in 2 seasons he was released by the club at the end of the 2013–14 season.[9]

Soon after, Birchall signed for Bromley. He scored his first competitive goal for the club in a 5–1 win over Uxbridge in the FA Cup. His first league goal for the club was a 90th-minute winner against Bishop's Stortford on 9 December.

Coaching career

[edit]

In July 2016 Birchall returned to his former club Arsenal as a youth coach.[10] He became under-17s head coach in 2022 having previously been with the age-group below, as well as becoming assistant head coach for the under-18s to newly appointed Jack Wilshere.[11] Two years later, he was appointed under-18s head coach after the departure of Wilshere.[12]

Personal life

[edit]

In July 2011 Birchall became engaged to Lianne, and the couple's first child was due to be born in October that same year.[13]

Career statistics

[edit]
As of match played 25 April 2015.
Club statistics
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Wycombe Wanderers (loan) 2004–05[14] League Two 12 4 0 0 1 0 2[a] 1 15 5
Mansfield Town 2005–06[15] League Two 31 2 3 1 2 0 1[a] 0 37 3
2006–07[16] League Two 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Total 36 2 3 1 2 0 1 0 42 3
Barnet 2006–07[16] League Two 23 6 3 1 — — 26 7
2007–08[17] League Two 42 11 6 2 1 1 1[a] 1 50 15
2008–09[18] League Two 39 2 2 0 1 0 1[a] 2 43 4
Total 104 19 11 3 2 1 2 3 119 26
Dover Athletic 2009–10[19] Conference South 34 15 3 1 — 6[b] 2 43 18
2010–11[20] Conference South 42 34 7 11 — 1[c] 0 50 45
Total 76 49 10 12 — 7 2 93 63
Gillingham 2011–12[21] League Two 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2012–13[22] League Two 15 0 2 1 1 0 1[a] 0 19 1
2013–14[23] League One 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Total 17 0 2 1 1 0 1 0 21 1
Dartford (loan) 2012–13[24] Conference Premier 6 1 — — — 6 1
2013–14[24] Conference Premier 23 2 — — 2[c] 0 25 2
Total 29 3 — — 2 0 31 3
Bromley 2014–15[24] Conference South 25 1 0 0 — 2[c] 0 27 1
Career total 299 78 26 17 6 1 17 6 348 102
  1. ^ a b c d e Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  2. ^ Four appearances and two goals in FA Trophy, two appearances in Conference South play-offs
  3. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in FA Trophy

Honours

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Gillingham

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0.
  2. ^ "Adam Birchall-Staff-Under 23". Arsenal F.C. 14 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Barnet lead the way in war on abusing referees". The Independent. 4 October 2007. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  4. ^ "Sir Trevor Praises Bees". Barnet F.C. 29 January 2008. Archived from the original on 1 February 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2008.
  5. ^ "Birchall signs". Dover Athletic F.C. 13 July 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
  6. ^ "Dover accept Birchall bids". Sky Sports. 10 July 2011.
  7. ^ "Dover Athletic's Adam Birchall joins Gillingham". BBC News. 12 July 2011. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  8. ^ "Bristol City 1–2 Gillingham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  9. ^ "Gillingham FC announce retained list". Gillingham F.C. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  10. ^ "Adam Birchall". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  11. ^ "Ali and Wilshere handed academy Head Coach roles". Arsenal F.C. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  12. ^ "Adam Birchall takes over as Under-18s head coach". Arsenal F.C. 23 October 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  13. ^ "I'm Forever in Debt to Dover", The Non-League Paper, p. 4, 17 July 2011
  14. ^ "Games played by Adam Birchall in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  15. ^ "Games played by Adam Birchall in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  16. ^ a b "Games played by Adam Birchall in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  17. ^ "Games played by Adam Birchall in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  18. ^ "Games played by Adam Birchall in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  19. ^ "Fixtures and Results: 2009/2010". Dover Athletic F.C. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  20. ^ "Fixtures and Results: 2010/2011". Dover Athletic F.C. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  21. ^ "Games played by Adam Birchall in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  22. ^ "Games played by Adam Birchall in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  23. ^ "Games played by Adam Birchall in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  24. ^ a b c d "A. Birchall". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
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