abstract
| - Tom Stanton is a former defender and midfielder who played for Rovers for eight years, between 1968 and 1976. He initially joined as a full back, but was later moved up into a midfield position, and made 168 league appearances in that spell, scoring seven times. Tom started out playing junior football with Liverpool, turning professional with them in 1965. He was unable to make an impact with the first team however and he moved to Arsenal in 1965, but again failed for make any first team appearances. He finally made his League debut in 1967 when he joined Mansfield Town, going on to notch up 37 league appearances in his only season with the Stags. In 1968 he moved to Rovers and when his eight-year spell came to an end he dropped down into non-league football, playing for Weymouth, Forest Green Rovers and Clevedon Town. He was actually player-coach at Weymouth and Clevedon, and was later appointed Clevedon's manager for a brief spell. From 1980 until 1982, between his spells with Forest Green and Clevedon, Stanton returned to Bristol Rovers as the reserve team coach, and he returned for a third spell with the club for a year in 1983–1984 as coach of the schoolboy teams. Following his retirement from football he opened an antiques business in the Clifton area of Bristol.
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