From Dallas to Cheltenham: Tomkinson on the importance of asking for opportunities, why British football culture is unique, his Great Dane and playing out of position to help The Robins to safety.
Watch the full interview with Jonathan Tomkinson below:
On the surface Jonathan Tomkinson already personifies a great story. A towering and charismatic Texan flourishing for Cheltenham Town FC in a new position – left-back – and living in Prestbury with his partner and their Great Dane.
But arguably the tale of the footballing Cowboy coming to the Cotswolds is even more remarkable than it seems on the label.
Because this wasn’t the story of a sensational American youth bedazzling the MLS before catching the eye of clubs across the pond. Rather it’s a story that hinged on one bold call by his father.
“My dad likes to say you create your own luck. And he created that luck for me. One summer we were over visiting my grandparents and I said to my dad ‘is there anything I can do to stay fit?’
“So he drew up a résumé of my football career to date. I would have been, I think, 15. And we showed up at Ipswich’s training ground. Didn’t ask for a trial or anything, just wanted to train.
“Their head of recruitment Steve McGavin ended up offering me a trial instead. West Brom also took notice. We returned to both clubs in November that same year. Spent a week at both clubs and got told ‘no’ from both clubs.
“But in that gap Steve had moved to Norwich, and I got offered a scholarship,” Tomkinson told Sport and Life.
So was pitching up at Ipswich unannounced just a quirky passage in the career of a player always destined to make it pro or something more pivotal? Would Tomkinson have made it anyway?
“No, absolutely not. And my dad is a huge credit to why I am where I am. He’s made sure that I can get any opportunity he can possibly find for me. We have zero connections in the game.”
Tomkinson’s dad is English. A football lover. He didn’t play at a high level. But raising his son in a place devoted to America Football he was determined to give his boy a shot at making it as a soccer player- as long as Jonathan was committed.
“So I remember sitting down with him (dad) and he asked me ‘are you serious about wanting to be a professional?’
“I had to sit there and tell, him, ‘yeah, I’m serious.’
“And he said, ‘ok, well make sure your grades are right in school and I’ll take you to Europe and we’ll do trials if that’s the case.”
Making it pro was a dream come true, but Tomkinson’s career hasn’t been all plain sailing.
In three years at Norwich City he made just one league appearance for The Canaries and had loan spells in different regions of the country at Stevenage, Bradford City and Ross County.
Released by Norwich in the summer of 2025, Tomkinson and his partner faced an uncertain few months in limbo until he agreed a deal with Cheltenham in early autumn.
“It’s been an absolute roller coaster. We’ve been pretty much all over the UK now.
When we started dating, I was at Bradford so we were living in Leeds at the time.
“Then had a period in Norwich and then up in Inverness and now over here in Cheltenham. We’ve been absolutely all over the place.
“But it’s been just as enjoyable as it has been tough at times.”
At the time of speaking to Sport and Life, Tomkinson wasn’t sure what next season would bring – a renewed deal with Cheltenham or another hunt for a new club.
But he’s in no mood to contemplate returning home. He says although the MLS is garnering more kudos with the likes of Lionel Messi drawing new fans to soccer, the broader structure of the professional game in the US isn’t comparable to the UK.
“What holds it back a little bit, is not having an under 21s or under 23s, so you get a lot of people who pretty much find themselves thinking ‘okay, well I’m going to go play in university and that’s probably it.’
“Or you maybe hope through the draft you sign for an MLS club. So you get two very opposite ends of the spectrum. And that is a very big void.”
It’s clear the 6-foot-four-inch defender has taken a shine to this part of the world.
“We’re living on the edge (of Cheltenham), kind of right under Cleeve Hill, so he (the dog) absolutely loves it and it’s good for us. It’s convenient. We’re 10 minutes from town and 10 minutes from training and even closer to the stadium.”
Tomkinson has also relished being a part of the Steve Cotterill comeback story at Cheltenham, which has seen the manager’s return revitalise the club he led into the football league back in 1999.
“It’s very clear to the fans how much he (Cotterill) means to them. It’s been really special to be a part of. It’s come at a very welcome time in my life. It’s probably the most football I’ve played in a season.”
Robins fans have grown used to seeing Tomkinson chasing up the flanks – often from left-back this season. The position is a relatively new one for him and he says he has had to work on his left-foot deliveries.
“I won’t turn down a cross on my left foot. Would I prefer to cross on my right? Absolutely. So sometimes I will check back onto that right foot.
“But if the chance is there, I’m going to take it with my left foot because you can’t waste opportunities in these leagues.”
Some people from the American South might find adapting to life in South West England difficult from a cultural perspective. That’s not a problem for Tomkinson who is closely connected to his English heritage.
But raised on bright blue big Texan skies he has found the dark and dreary months of the British winter difficult.
“I’d say there was probably no culture shock at all. The only part that I think you can never really prepare for is that deep winter weather.
“For me, it’s not even so much cold, but just the daylight. You know, waking up and it’s dark and leaving training and it’s dark. So it’s definitely a bit different to back home, but we get through it just fine now.”
Tomkinson tries to counteract the dip in vitamin D over winter with supplements but says he does now have to take extra precautions in the hot Texan sun when he returns home.
His skin, it seems, has adjusted to the more watery rays on offer in the Cotswolds.
“It sounds silly, but I never wore sunscreen growing up in Texas ever. Never ever got a sunburn. And after spending so many years here, the first time I went back I got a sunburn.”
Texas will always be ‘home’ to Tomkinson, but he’s been putting down roots in the UK. He lives with his partner and their Great Dane is only 18 months old and Tomkinson can’t envisage taking him back to live in the USA.
Cheltenham fans shouldn’t worry about their player getting tired walking his long-legged pet because Great Danes don’t need a lot of exercise.
“We went for just a little over a mile because he’s still adjusting to the
warmer temperatures today.
“Two walks a day. He takes a real short one in the morning just to have a sniff around and then I take him for a longer one in the afternoon, and then he’ll just sleep for the rest of the day.
“I’m very conscious, especially the day before a game, we’re not going on a huge walk. I’ll try and find ways to get his energy out other ways.
‘For example, we just play in the backyard where I can stand still and just throw a ball for him. Instead of chasing him up a hill or something outside.”
Tomkinson may not be relocating back home anytime soon. But he’s well aware that the USA will become the epicentre of world football this summer with the World Cup taking place there.
His home city of Dallas will host nine games and he’s hoping to catch some of the action.
“Yeah, I will be back in June for a bit of time. So if I can get myself to a game, I absolutely will. My mum is actually doing some volunteering at the World Cup, so she’s really excited.”
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