Saturday’s game against Gainsborough Trinity marks the 500th time in which centre back Tom Coulthard has put on a Stockton Town shirt, making him the second in the squad to surpass the remarkable milestone.
Tom made his debut for the club in 2013 with the side in the Wearside League after being with the Anchors at youth levels. He has since developed considerably to still be a standout player, four divisions higher.
Coulthard fondly recalls the day he made the jump to the first team, a 6-1 victory away to Silksworth in the 2012/13 season, the year Stockton ended up winning the Wearside League title in: “I was 17 when I first started for the first team. It was a midweek game away to Silksworth. I remember both Max Craggs and Tom Atkinson went up to the first team at the start of the season, but I was a few months behind them and I was still playing for the 18s too. But once I got into the first team squad, I knew there was no looking back for myself.”
He scored his first goal for the club less than a month later in a 2-1 defeat at Cleator Moor Celtic, the first of what has already totalled to 56 first team goals. Averaging a goal in less than every 10 games, a fine return for a defender.
The tough-tackling centre back is still yet to turn 30 years old, he highlights this when describing his elation on the milestone: “It’s a great feeling. I’m only the second person to do it here but I am however the youngest to do it. Hopefully I’ve still got many more games in me to just keep pushing on and as long as I can help the team out then I’ll be here.” He further adds a personal goal he aims to achieve during his time at the club: “I’ve always said that I will beat Adi’s [Adam Nicholson] appearance record by one game, whatever that may be, and then I can retire.”
Since his debut in 2013, Coulthard has taken home a number of Player of the Season awards for the Anchors, most recently scooping both Managers and Players Player of the Season for the 2023/24 campaign. He takes great privilege in this achievement by exclaiming: “I’m not even sure if I can remember how many I’ve won, but that’s the one that everyone wants come end of the season, as you are getting that recognition for your work throughout the whole season. To get that acknowledgment off the lads and the staff is great and Jax [Tom’s son] loves to have the trophy in his room too.”
Now in his 13th season with the club, he jokes about what has made him stick with the Anchors for so long: “Because I live so close.” He later follows by giving a genuine reason on what has made him fall in love with the team throughout his tenure: “All jokes aside it is an easy one. It’s because of the lads and the togetherness of all the squads that I’ve been involved with here! When some players decide to move on, sometimes you have a doubt that when those replacements come in, you’re not sure how they are going to fit in, but pretty much everyone has across my time and it makes playing for your local team much more enjoyable.”
The 29-year-old touched upon his favourite moments for the club in a previous interview, where he enjoyed a flashback to the past to reminisce on some of his unforgettable memories during his long tenure at the club: “I think there’s two memories that immediately spring to mind, the 2017/18 FA Vase run and final at Wembley, obviously the final didn’t go our way on the day, but I think a lot of people forget we lost our opening eight games that season and our first win of that season came in the Vase qualifying round against Consett when we fell behind three separate times, and a late winner saw us win the game 4-3.“
Of course, Tom closed that 2017/18 FA Vase campaign by leading the Anchors out as captain at Wembley Stadium, and he recalls his emotions on the day: “Actually walking out at Wembley Stadium, captaining my hometown club, was a feeling I’ll never forget.”
Coulthard has enjoyed much more history with the club in recent years and, at only 29 years old, still has many years left in the tank to further extend that appearance number and play a crucial role in helping the Anchors continue to make a push up the Non-League pyramid.
Be there for Tom’s big day on Saturday by purchasing your ticket at https://stocktontownfc.ktckts.com/event/gainsb2425/gainsborough-trinity and join us in the clubhouse after the game for a celebration of the incredible occasion.
Words by Jordan Clarke
