Tom Pett

Pett began his career at Boreham Wood under the club's PASE youth system, before moving to play in the academy at hometown club Potters Bar Town.[3] He broke into the first-team and established himself as a regular starter at Potters Bar during the 2009–10 season, captaining the club at the age of 17.[4] He was described as "one of the standout performers" for the following two seasons.[3]

Pett was offered the chance to join up with Wealdstone midway through the 2011–12 season, who then played a division above Potters Bar, in the Isthmian League Premier Division.[3] He accepted the offer and signed on a permanent deal on 25 January 2012.[3] During Pett's final season with the club, he scored 18 times as the "Stones" won the Isthmian Premier Division title.[3] He spent two and a half seasons at Grosvenor Vale, in which he netted 29 times in 123 appearances in all competitions.[5][6][7] Manager Gordon Bartlett said that: "I can honestly say I always knew he would go on to play full-time football and I know he can make it in the professional game".[8]

In June 2014, Pett agreed terms with League Two club Stevenage, joining the club for an undisclosed fee on an initial one-year deal.[9] He made his debut on the opening day of the 2014–15 season, playing 88 minutes in the club's 1–0 home win over Hartlepool United on 9 August 2014.[10] Pett scored his first goal for the club a month into the new campaign, briefly restoring parity for ten-men Stevenage on the hour mark in an eventual 3–2 defeat to York City.[11] He started the new year with two goals in three games; his low-drilled effort opened the scoring in the club's 2–1 victory over AFC Wimbledon on 10 January 2015, taking the goal tally for the season to four.[12] A week later, he scored courtesy of a long-range 30-yard effort to double Stevenage's lead in a 2–0 away victory at York City.[13] Pett's scored with a "blistering strike" in a 1–0 home victory over Portsmouth towards the latter stages of the campaign, strengthening the club's place in the League Two play-off spots.[14] The club went on to meet Southend United in the play-off semi-finals, with Pett scoring in the second leg, although Stevenage ultimately lost 4–2 on aggregate over the two games.[15] He scored eight goals in 38 games in all competitions during his first season in professional football.[16]

Pett signed a new two-year contract with the club in July 2015.[17] During the 2015–16 campaign, he was once again a first-team regular under new manager Teddy Sheringham, albeit less prolific in terms of scoring goals in a Stevenage side that finished in 18th place in League Two.[18] Pett made 43 appearances during the season,[18] scoring once; his only goal of the season came in a 2–2 draw against Yeovil Town on 14 November 2015, heading in Connor Ogilvie's free-kick in the 88th minute to earn Stevenage a point.[19] He remained at Stevenage the following season under new permanent manager Darren Sarll, and made his first appearance of the campaign as a second-half substitute in Stevenage's 2–1 home win over Luton Town on 20 August 2016.[20] Pett came on after half-time with Stevenage trailing in the match and assisted both goals in the comeback.[20] Thereafter he was a regular starter in the team, scoring his first goal of the season when he turned in Ronnie Henry's low cross in the club's 6–1 victory against Hartlepool United on 3 September 2016.[21] Pett scored twice within the space of three days in December 2016,[22][23] before then making his 100th appearance for Stevenage four days later in a 2–0 loss to Blackpool on 10 December 2016.[24] Goals in home victories over Wycombe Wanderers,[25] Leyton Orient[26] and local rivals Barnet played a part in Stevenage's upturn in form, briefly finding themselves in the play-off positions before eventually finishing in tenth position.[27] Pett made 44 appearances during the season, scoring six times.[28] Shortly after the season had ended, Stevenage stated that Pett had been placed on the transfer-list after an agreement could not be reached between the two parties during contract extension discussions, with Pett's contract set to expire in the summer of 2018.[29][30]

Despite being transfer-listed, Pett remained at Stevenage for the start of the 2017–18 season, scoring the club's first goal of the new campaign when he capitalised on a defensive mistake to open the scoring in an eventual 3–3 draw with Newport County on 5 August 2017.[31] Pett went on to score seven times in 34 appearances during the first half of the campaign,[28] including his first brace for Stevenage in a 4–1 win against Cheltenham Town on 1 January 2018.[32] During his three-and-a-half year spell at Broadhall Way, Pett made 159 appearances and scored 22 goals.[33]

In January 2018, Pett informed Stevenage that he was going to be leaving the club when his contract expired later in June that year,[34] which would have meant he would have left on a free transfer upon the expiry of his contract.[34] However, Stevenage received a "significant five-figure" offer for Pett from fellow League Two club Lincoln City towards the end of the month,[34] which was accepted.[34] Pett agreed personal terms and subsequently signed for Lincoln on a ​2 ¹⁄₂-year deal on 31 January 2018.[35] He made his Lincoln debut as a 61st-minute substitute in a 2–2 draw with Swindon Town at Sincil Bank on 3 February 2018.[36] Pett scored his first goal for Lincoln in the club's 1–1 home draw with Yeovil Town on the final day of the regular season.[37] Pett's goal, a 20-yard equaliser late in the second-half, helped Lincoln earn the point they needed to secure their place in the League Two play-offs.[37] Lincoln would ultimately lose to Exeter City at the semi-final stage, with Pett coming on as a substitute in both matches.[28] He made 11 appearances for Lincoln during the second half of the 2017–18 season, scoring once.[28]

Pett scored his first goal of the 2018–19 campaign in a 2–1 away victory at Macclesfield Town on 15 September 2018.[38][39] He was named as the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Fans' Player of the Month for September.[40] He made 51 appearances during his first full season at Lincoln, scoring four times as they finished the season as League Two champions.[38][41] However, he suffered back problems ahead of the 2019–20 season and was then ruled out of action for six weeks with a knee injury, suffering a medial ligament tear.[42] During his time he did a study on mental health with Middlesex University.[43] By the time he regained his fitness the Cowley brothers had left the club and were replaced by Michael Appleton, who told Pett in February that he would not feature in any further League One matches and would instead train away from the first-team.[44] His departure from the club was confirmed on 28 May 2020.[45]

Pett rejoined League Two club Stevenage on 3 November 2020, until the end of the 2020–21 season.[46] Pett made his first appearance since returning to Stevenage in the club's FA Cup first round match with Concord Rangers on 7 November 2020, assisting the first goal in an eventual penalty shoot-out victory.[47] He scored his first goal since re-joining the club in a 2–1 defeat to Bolton Wanderers on 21 November 2020.[48]