Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Bristol Post
Bristol Post
Sport
Richard Forrester

Former Bristol City playmaker Lee Tomlin on trial with League Two side in search for new club

Former Bristol City playmaker Lee Tomlin is on trial with Doncaster Rovers in his search for a new club.

The 33-year-old was named as a trialist in their pre-season 2-0 victory over Nuneaton Borough, starting the game in midfield for Gary McSheffery's side.

Tomlin is a free agent after Walsall opted against extending his short-term stay with the League Two side. He joined the Saddlers in February following his release from Cardiff but endured a frustrating period spell limited to just one start and four substitute appearances.

A bout of Covid saw him miss a handful of matches before pulling up with a groin injury in April that ruled him out for the rest of the season. Upon signing for Walsall, Tomlin spoke of his desire just to "enjoy football again" and his motivation to get back to the "machine" he was at Cardiff by getting his career back on track.

Doncaster currently ply their trade in League Two following their relegation last season. Tomlin was released by Cardiff in October following growing tension between him and former boss Mick McCarthy after a series of injury issues with his groin.

During his time in Wales, Tomlin struggled with consistency although did win the club's Player of the Year award following his stellar 2019/20 campaign. He then trained with non-league Wrexham and despite the eagerness to sign him permanently, the two parties failed to come to an agreement.

He made 60 appearances for City in an 18-month spell at Ashton Gate and after initially impressing in his loan spell from Bournemouth, failed to reach the same levels of performances after signing permanently on a three-year deal. He was then sold to Cardiff in 2017.

Tomlin would come back to haunt Lee Johnson by coming off the bench to score the winner in July 2020, wasting little time in revelling over his success by immediately writing "What happened?" on Twitter. It was also Johnson's final game as City boss after he was sacked soon after the full-time whistle.

The player has spoken openly about his struggles with mental health in the past, and earlier this year revealed how he feared slipping back to his "old self". He wrote online: "In the past few months I've been waking up like it’s an accident. I’m back on this and getting to the place where I was two years ago.

"Life is full of ups and downs that’s part of life, but dealing with it is a different matter. We all deal with it in different ways, so I dealt with it by getting fit for the first time in my life properly and mentally I was a machine.

"But over the last two years I've gradually gone back to my old self and I don’t like it and only I can change that.

"So what I’m trying to say is do what YOU want to do in life that makes you happy and do what YOU want in life that you enjoy and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t. Enjoy life we don’t have don’t have as much time as you think."

SIGN UP: For our daily Robins newsletter, bringing you the latest from Ashton Gate

READ NEXT

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.