Tommy Elphick

Brighton & Hove Albion

Born in Brighton, England, as a youngster he played for the youth side of local team Woodingdean, before joining Brighton & Hove Albion's youth academy. Elphick progressed through the youth ranks at Brighton & Hove Albion, alongside his brother Gary, and in 2004, he signed his first year apprentice at the club. Then on 25 April 2005 Tommy played along with his brother in a reserve match against Woking. At some point during his early Brighton & Hove Albion career, Elphick was loaned out to non–league side Bognor Regis Town. It was not until 12 December 2005 that Elphick made his Brighton debut, when he played alongside his brother, who was sent–off during the match, and came on as a substitute for Leon Knight, in a 5–1 loss against Reading. Elphick's development at the youth ranks at the club resulted him being awarded a contract in the summer of 2006. The 2006–07 season changed for Elphick when his brother was released by the club at the end of the 2005–06 season. Having been told by Manager Mark McGhee that he won't be loaned out, due to defensive crisis and deemed "too inexperienced", it was not until on 7 April 2007 when Elphick made his first start in central defence, in a 2–0 loss against Doncaster Rovers. Elphick made another start on the last game of the season, in a 1–1 draw against Cheltenham Town. In the 2007–08 season proved to be Elphick's breakthrough season at Brighton & Hove Albion and made his first appearance of the season,…

On 1 September 2021, it was announced that Elphick had taken on a position coaching the AFC Bournemouth development squad. In December 2022, he was promoted to the first-team coaching staff at AFC Bournemouth to assist head coach Gary O'Neil. In May 2026, he rejected the opportunity to become manager at Bristol City. On 2 July 2026, Elphick was appointed first-team coach at Liverpool.

As of 19 August 2021

His older brother Gary was released by Brighton at the end of the 2005–06 season and went on to play in non-league football. His father is a racehorse owner. Because of his father's interest, Elphick bought his first horse, which he called his "release from football". Despite being born and raised in Brighton, Elphick grew up supporting Liverpool. While playing for Bournemouth, Elphick was involved in a superstitious episode, when he was pictured clutching a goalpost pre–match but was not included in the match photo. In January 2012, Elphick was among six footballers arrested following an allegation of a sexual assault. After being questioned by the police and released on bail, Elphick was informed that no charges were to be brought against him in relation to the allegation and he was eliminated from the enquiry. After being cleared, Elphick spoke out about being named in the media in an allegation of a sex attack and described feeling "sick to a stomach". The other footballers in the enquiry were all ultimately cleared in court of any wrongdoing. On 4 June 2016, Elphick married his girlfriend, Hannah Kearney, having become engaged in August 2014. However, their honeymoon was short-lived: he cut it short to sign for Aston Villa. Elphick, being the captain of Bournemouth during the club's first-ever promotion to the Premier League, was chosen to feature in a mural entitled "Bournemouth – A History of Shaping the Future", which is painted on a wall of a building in the…