Peter Till

Till was born in Walsall, West Midlands.[2] He came through the Birmingham City youth system after joining the club as a schoolboy and he signed a two-year professional contract on 4 July 2005.[1][3] He was included in the matchday first-team squad on a few occasions during the 2004–05 season,[4] with Academy manager Stewart Hall commenting "When he has trained and worked with the first team he has looked very good and he has had an excellent season in the reserves and looked a real threat".[5] He made his debut as an 85th minute substitute in a 2–0 victory over League One team Scunthorpe United in the League Cup on 20 September 2005.[6] Till was loaned to Scunthorpe United for a month on 5 October 2005 after being brought to their attention in the game weeks earlier, with manager Brian Laws commenting "I've watched him twice more since our game and I've liked what I've seen".[7] His debut came two days later in a 2–0 victory over Tranmere Rovers.[6] The loan deal was extended until January 2006 after Till impressed Laws.[8] He returned to Birmingham on 9 January 2006, having made only 10 appearances for Scunthorpe due to injury and illness.[9]

Till was loaned out again on 13 January 2006, joining League Two club Boston United.[10] He made his debut a day later in a 1–0 victory at Chester City and his only goal came in a 3–1 victory over Bury on 21 January 2006.[6] On 31 January 2006, the loan was extended until the end of the 2005–06 season and he finished his spell at the club with 16 appearances and one goal.[6][11] Till joined League One club Leyton Orient on a one-month loan on 6 October 2006.[12] His debut came the following day, making the starting line-up in a 0–0 draw with Chesterfield and he picked up an injury on his final appearance, a 3–1 defeat to Bristol City in the Football League Trophy on 1 November 2006.[13][14] Orient opted not to extend Till's loan and his period at the club ended on 4 November 2006 with five appearances to his name.[13][15][16]

Having failed to establish himself at Birmingham,[17] Till joined Grimsby Town of League Two on an initial one-month loan on 23 November 2006.[18] Tony Butcher of Cod Almighty described him as an "instant hit with wonderful wingery" on his debut in a 2–0 victory over Accrington Stanley on 25 November 2006.[13][19] After impressing manager Alan Buckley during his loan at Blundell Park, Grimsby agreed a deal with Birmingham and offered Till a permanent contract.[20] He eventually joined Grimsby on a two-and-a-half-year contract on 5 January 2007,[21] having already made seven appearances for the team during the 2006–07 season.[13] His first appearance following his permanent transfer was a 2–0 defeat to Chester on 9 January 2007.[13] Till received the first yellow card of his career in a 1–0 defeat to Swindon Town on 17 March 2007 and he finished the season with 22 appearances.[13]

His first appearance of the 2007–08 season came in a 1–1 draw with Notts County on 11 August 2007 and his first goal came in a 4–1 victory over Huddersfield Town in the Football League Trophy on 4 September 2007.[22] He played six games and scored two goals in Grimsby's Football League Trophy run in the 2007–08 season, which saw Grimsby reach the final.[22] Till started the game as Grimsby were beaten 2–0 by Milton Keynes Dons (MK Dons) at Wembley Stadium on 30 March 2008.[22] He finished the season with 44 appearances and four goals.[22]

Till started the 2008–09 season by playing in a 0–0 draw with Rochdale on 9 August 2008 and he scored in the local derby against League Two rivals Lincoln City at Sincil Bank in a 1–1 draw on 30 August.[23] Till joined fellow League Two club Chesterfield on a one-month loan on 15 January 2009,[24] having made 21 appearances and scored two goals for Grimsby up to that point during the season.[23] He made his debut in a 3–1 victory at Chester on 17 January 2009 and in February the loan was extended until the end of the season after impressing manager Lee Richardson.[23][25] Grimsby released him on 30 April 2009 and in retrospect he commented "It has been a wake-up call if I am honest. I have realised that I can't coast if I want to get to where I want to be. I have to give 110 per cent every day, not just in games".[26][27] Till finished the loan at Chesterfield with 16 appearances.[23]

Till signed for League One club Walsall on a free transfer on a one-year contract on 23 July 2009 following a successful trial with the club.[28][29] He commented "To be at my hometown club gives me an extra incentive to do well".[30] His debut came in a 1–0 victory at Brighton & Hove Albion on 8 August 2009, in which he was substituted in the 88th minute.[31] Till suffered a hamstring injury in September 2009,[32] which allowed midfielder Mark Bradley to get a run in the team.[33] After returning to fitness he made his comeback as a 74th-minute substitute in a 1–0 defeat at MK Dons on 10 October 2009 and started on his next appearance, which was a 2–1 defeat at Colchester United on 24 October.[31][34] He picked up a minor injury in a 1–1 draw with Charlton Athletic on 2 February 2010 and he was able to feature in the next game, a 0–0 draw with Bristol Rovers.[31][35] During Walsall's 2–1 victory at Leeds United on 16 February 2010 he picked up a hamstring injury and he returned to the team after entering a 2–0 defeat at Leyton Orient on 13 March as a 77th-minute substitute.[31][36] He finished an injury-hit 2009–10 season with 30 appearances for Walsall before the club released him on 10 May 2010.[31][37][38]

Till signed a one-year contract with Conference Premier club York City on 29 June 2010 and following the move he said "I spoke to a number of clubs but this felt right. The gaffer made me feel really wanted so that was a key decision in coming".[39] He made his debut in the opening game of the 2010–11 season as a 38th-minute substitute for Levi Mackin in a 2–1 defeat to Kidderminster Harriers on 14 August 2010.[40][41] His first goal for York came in his next appearance after he scored the equaliser in a 2–2 draw at Bath City on 21 August 2010 after entering the game as a 74th-minute substitute.[40][42] Till made his first start in a 3–0 victory against Altrincham on 28 August 2010 and he was substituted in the 82nd minute.[40][43] He scored his first home goal with the opener as York beat Rushden & Diamonds 2–0 on 4 September 2010.[40] He finished the season with 45 appearances and four goals.[40]

Till playing for Fleetwood Town in 2012

Till agreed on 25 May 2011 to sign for Conference Premier rivals Fleetwood Town on a two-year contract after the expiration of his York contract.[44] Due to a knee injury,[45] he had to wait until 12 November 2011 to make his Fleetwood debut, when he entered their 2–0 FA Cup first round victory over League One team Wycombe Wanderers as a substitute in stoppage time.[46] Till finished the season with 22 appearances and one goal as Fleetwood won the Conference Premier title and thus promotion to League Two,[47] before being released by the club after having his contract cancelled by mutual consent on 3 July 2012.[48]

Till signed for Conference Premier club Tamworth on 19 July 2012.[49] He made a scoring debut for Tamworth in the opening game of the 2012–13 season with the first goal of a 3–2 victory away at Hyde on 11 August 2012.[47] He finished the season with 34 appearances and one goal.[47]

Till signed for Solihull Moors of the Conference North on 6 June 2013.[50]

He signed for Solihull's Conference North rivals Leamington on 22 January 2014.[51]

Till joined newly promoted Northern Premier League Premier Division club Halesowen Town on 12 June 2014.[52] He made five appearances before signing for Halesowen's divisional rivals Stourbridge on 8 September 2014.[53] He stepped down a division when signing for Northern Premier League Division One South club Stafford Rangers during January 2015.[54] In July 2016, he left Rangers due to college commitments.[55]

He then spent the 2016–17 season with Chasetown, another Northern Premier League Division One South club,[56] before signing for Midland League Premier Division Walsall Wood.[57] Till rejoined Darren Byfield as player-assistant manager at Alvechurch in 2019, but left in October to return to Walsall Wood.[58][59][60]