A loan signing made just before the start of the 2015-6 League Two campaign, striker Tom Hitchcock was signed by Stevenage gaffer Teddy Sheringham from neighbours MK Dons on a one-month deal. Sent off on his debut, it didn’t blot his copybook too much as deal was extended for another month.
The son of former Chelsea goalkeeper Kevin, Hitchcock came to the Lamex at the tender age of 22. Well, tender-ish. But he still came with a fair bit of Football League experience. And there was no shortage of goals to his name either. After starting at Blackburn Rovers in 2007, he made his way up the ranks and into the club’s reserve team two years later. A first team outing, however, was not easy to come by at Ewood Park though.
Tom Hitchcock: Before Boro’
In summer 2011, Plymouth Argyle signed the striker on an initial three-month loan spell. It gave him a first taste of Football League action, even if goals weren’t immediately flowing at the start. Blackburn Rovers opted to release Hitchcock in February 2012, but there was no time wasted in securing another club; QPR the next port of call for the youngster. And he only went and scored on his Hoops debut, didn’t he!
Despite a promising start, a string of loan spells came next for Hitchcock. Not that they weren’t successful, however. Bristol Rovers, Crewe and Rotherham were all three loan moves that saw goals aplenty. That led to interest from MK Dons, who swooped for the forward after QPR released him. After eight outings for the Dons, Hitchcock was off to Fleetwood on loan in October 2014; again scoring on debut.
