| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Geoffrey Pitcher | ||
| Date of birth | (1975-08-15) 15 August 1975 | ||
| Place of birth | Sutton, Berkshire, England | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Millwall | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993–1994 | Millwall | 0 | (0) |
| 1994–1996 | Watford | 13 | (2) |
| 1996 | Carshalton Athletic | ||
| 1996–1997 | Kingstonian | ||
| 1997 | Colchester United | 1 | (0) |
| 1997–2001 | Kingstonian | 152 | (30) |
| 2001–2004 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 10 | (0) |
| 2002 | → Woking (loan) | 13 | (2) |
| 2002 | → Dagenham & Redbridge (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2003 | → Farnborough Town (loan) | 10 | (4) |
| 2003 | → Stevenage Borough (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2003 | → Woking (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | → Barnet (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 2004 | → Farnborough Town (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2004 | → Havant & Waterlooville (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Havant & Waterlooville | 22 | (2) |
| 2005–2006 | Sutton United | 14 | (1) |
| 2006 | Kingstonian | 5 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Haywards Heath | ||
| 2007 | Burgess Hill Town | ||
| 2007–2008 | St Francis Rangers | ||
| 2008–2009 | Haywards Heath | ||
| 2009–2010 | St Francis Rangers | ||
| 2010–2011 | Tooting & Mitcham United | 5 | (3) |
| International career | |||
| England C | 10 | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Geoffrey Pitcher (born 15 August 1975) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Career
Early career
Born in Sutton, Berkshire, Pitcher played in The Football League for Millwall, though he made no league first team appearances, and Watford, before being released after Watford's relegation to Division Two.1 He moved into non-league with Carshalton Athletic,1 before joining Kingstonian and making his debut for The K's on 16 November 1996 against Bishop's Stortford.2 He moved briefly back up to professional football with Colchester United, making one substitute appearance, before returning to Kingstonian in 1997.2 He contributed two goals to Kingstonian's 2000–01 FA Cup run in wins against Brentford and Southport, helping The K's reach the fourth round proper.34
Brighton & Hove Albion
He joined Brighton & Hove Albion after a three-year stint at Kingstonian, with the Second Division club reportedly paying a transfer fee somewhere between £25,000 and £50,000.56 The move marked a return to professional football, as Pitcher had been training at most two times a week with Kingstonian, while working as a builder.6 His career with Brighton started well, and he was involved in Bobby Zamora's goal in The Seagulls' 3–0 friendly win against Folkestone Invicta.7
He was eased into the squad by manager Micky Adams, making three substitute appearances before his full debut came away against Wrexham on Friday 14 September 2001, followed by another start against Stoke City the following Tuesday.6 He struggled with injuries during his time at Brighton, first suffering a recurrence of a wrist injury he had sustained at Kingstonian in November 2001,8 before a heel injury kept him out for a prolonged period of time.910
With the arrival of David Lee from Hull City, Pitcher saw his already-limited playing time further decrease, and he moved on loan to Woking in January 2002.11 After continuing to struggle with the persistent heel injury, Pitcher returned to reserve team football with Brighton briefly in November 2002,12 before being loaned to Dagenham & Redbridge in the same month13 – though he only managed one appearance due to injury, with Brighton manager Steve Coppell describing the loan as "a nonsense."14
A relatively successful loan spell with Farnborough Town was followed by less-successful loan stints at Stevenage Borough, Woking and Barnet,15 before a second loan spell Farnborough Town, where he only made three appearances. His last loan spell came in February 2004, when he joined Southern Football League club Havant & Waterlooville on a short-term deal.16 He was released by Brighton at the end of the 2003–04 season.17
Later career
Following his departure from Brighton, he joined Havant & Waterlooville on a permanent basis, but after being injured during the season, it was reported that he was close to mutually terminating his contract with the club.18 He joined Sutton United in 2005, marking his debut against Weston-super-Mare on 3 September with a goal in a 2–1 home loss.19 He briefly returned to Kingstonian, making five appearances.2 He then retired to focus on becoming a firefighter and property developer, while playing for amateur club Haywards Heath, before returning to the semi-professional game in February 2007 with Ryman League club Burgess Hill Town.20
He joined St Francis Rangers for the 2007–08 edition of the Sussex County Football League, before returning to Haywards Heath the following season.21 He spent the 2009–10 season back with St Francis Rangers, before moving to Tooting & Mitcham United in 2010, serving occasionally as captain as well as assistant manager to Mark Beard. He made at least five appearances, scoring three goals.22 The pair were sacked in December 2011.23
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National Cupa | League Cupb | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Millwall | 1993–94 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Watford | 1994–95 | First Division | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 17 | 2 | |
| 1995–96 | First Division | |||||||||||
| Colchester United | 1996–97 | Third Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Kingstonian | 1997–982 | Isthmian League | 40 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10c | 1 | 55 | 10 |
| 1998–992 | Football Conference | 38 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14d | 3 | 59 | 8 | |
| 1999–002 | Football Conference | 39 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14e | 4 | 59 | 13 | |
| 2000–012 | Football Conference | 35 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 4f | 3 | 47 | 16 | |
| Total | 152 | 30 | 19 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 42 | 11 | 220 | 48 | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2001–02 | Second Division | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3g | 1 | 13 | 1 |
| 2002–03 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2003–04 | Second Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 1 | ||
| Woking (loan) | 2001–0224 | Football Conference | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 2 | |
| Dagenham & Redbridge (loan) | 2002–0324 | Football Conference | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Farnborough Town (loan) | 2002–0324 | Football Conference | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 4 | |
| Stevenage Borough (loan) | 2003–0424 | Football Conference | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |
| Woking (loan) | 2003–0424 | Football Conference | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| Barnet (loan) | 2003–0424 | Football Conference | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 1 | |
| Farnborough Town (loan) | 2003–0424 | Football Conference | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| Havant & Waterlooville (loan) | 2003–0425 | Southern Football League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |
| Havant & Waterlooville | 2004–0526 | Conference South | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 2 |
| 2005–0627 | Conference South | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 2 | ||
| Sutton United | 2005–06 | Conference South | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 14 | 1 | |
| Kingstonian | 2005–062 | Isthmian League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | |
| Tooting & Mitcham United | 2010–11 | Isthmian League | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 3 | |
| Career total | 268 | 45 | 21 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 47 | 12 | 345 | 64 | ||
- Includes FA Cup and qualifying rounds
- Includes Football League Cup, Alan Turvey Trophy and the Bob Lord Trophy
- One appearance in the FA Trophy, two appearances in the FMC and seven appearances and one goal in the Surrey Senior Cup
- One appearance and one goal in the Charity Shield, eight appearances and one goal in the FA Trophy and five appearances and one goal in the Surrey Senior Cup
- One appearance in the Charity Shield, eight appearances and three goals in the FA Trophy and five appearances and one goal in the Surrey Senior Cup
- Three appearances and three goals in the FA Trophy and one appearance in the Surrey Senior Cup
- Appearances in the FA Trophy
Honours
Club
- FA Youth Cup Runner-up (1): 1993–94
- FA Trophy Winner (2): 1998–99, 1999–2000
- Conference League Cup Runner-up (1): 1999–2000
- Conference Shield Winner (1): 1999–2000
- Conference Shield Runner-up (1): 2000–2001
References
References
- "Pitcher dreams of resurrecting career". The Standard. 6 February 2001. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Geoff Pitcher". K's Web. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Brentford 1-3 Kingstonian". BBC Sport. 18 November 2000. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Conference sides humble League opponents". Gazette and Herald. 11 December 2000. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Pitcher signs for Seagulls". The Argus. 19 June 2001. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Pitcher loves the high life". The Argus. 20 September 2001. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Zamora starts with double". The Argus. 19 July 2001. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Injuries mar first win for reserves". The Argus. 14 November 2001. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Albion fitness boost". The Argus. 26 September 2002. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Football: Pitcher ready for FA Cup test". The Argus. 5 December 2002. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Lee promises to stick it out". The Argus. 24 May 2002. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Kitson steps up battle". The Argus. 2 November 2002. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Pitcher on loan". The Argus. 30 November 2002. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Wilkinson cuts short loan spell". The Argus. 4 January 2003. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "December 20: Loan ranger Pitcher wants to make his mark". The Argus. 19 December 2003. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "February 11: Albion boss defends Knight". The Argus. 11 February 2004. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Piercy gets short-term deal". BBC Sport. 2 June 2004. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Ex-Tottenham star is lined up to help out Hawks". Daily Echo. 14 January 2005. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "2005/06 MATCH REPORTS". From the Lane. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Football: Geoff pitches in to lift Hillians". The Argus. 2 February 2007. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Pitcher scores four goals for Heath". The Argus. 28 October 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Isthmian Football League 2010/11". Mitoo. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "Beard sacked by Tooting & Mitcham". Your Local Guardian. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- Geoff Pitcher at Soccerbase
- "2003–04 Statistics". Hawks Stats. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "2004–05 Statistics". Hawks Stats. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "2005–06 Statistics". Hawks Stats. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- "FA Youth Cup Honours". Coludaybyday.co.uk.
- "FA Trophy Honours". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- "Other Award - Non League Honours". Coludaybyday.co.uk.
External links
External links
- Geoff Pitcher at Soccerbase
- Geoff Pitcher at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
- Geoff Pitcher at Colchester United Archive Database
- Geoff Pitcher at Stevenage Archive Database
- Geoff Pitcher at Barnet Database
- 2003–04 Havant & Waterlooville statistics
- 2004–05 Havant & Waterlooville statistics
- 2005–06 Havant & Waterlooville statistics