Former Bristol City playmaker Lee Tomlin has signed for seventh-tier Ilkeston Town as a player/coach - less than two months after announcing his retirement.
Tomlin released a statement on October 5 detailing how the professional game and injuries had taken its toll on his body and after 585 appearances for a host of clubs, with Doncaster Rovers his final team, he was calling time on his career.
However, on Thursday night, Ilkeston - who play in the Southern League Premier Division Central - announced his arrival with the 33-year-old also in contention to play this weekend against Redditch United.
Ikeston are managed by former Derby County and Sheffield United forward Jamie Ward who, coincidentally, was part of the loan swap deal that sent Tomlin from Nottingham Forest to Cardiff City in 2018.
The club, who play at the 3,000-capacity Microlise New Manor Ground, was only founded in 2017 out of the ashes of Ilkeston FC and they have been making their way up through the divisions, sealing the Northern Premier League title in 2021/22.
Tomlin made 60 appearances over an eventful period for City in which the first half of his time at the club was mesmerising, as he helped Robins stay in the Championship under Lee Johnson with a series of inspirational goals and performances, but the second part proved deeply disappointing.
After making his loan deal into a permanent switch in the summer of 2016, Tomlin’s performances under Johnson fell away, with former teammates noting how his attitude changed amid constant tension with the coaching staff.
He was loaned out to Forest before signing for Cardiff and then became something of a pantomime villain for City fans, often goading supporters on social media and then infamously providing the assist for Danny Ward to score in the 2020 Severnside Derby, which ultimately proved Johnson’s final game in charge.
He signed for League Two Doncaster Rovers this summer but made just 10 appearances and was sent off on his debut after receiving two yellow cards in the space of just 17 seconds.
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