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. He moved into non-league with Carshalton Athletic, before joining Kingstonian and making his debut for The K's on 16 November 1996 against Bishop's Stortford. He moved briefly back up to professional football with Colchester United, making one substitute appearance, before returning to Kingstonian in 1997. 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.

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. 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. 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.

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. 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, before a heel injury kept him out for a prolonged period of time.

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. After continuing to struggle with the persistent heel injury, Pitcher returned to reserve team football with Brighton briefly in November 2002, before being loaned to Dagenham & Redbridge in the same month – though he only managed one appearance due to injury, with Brighton manager Steve Coppell describing the loan as "a nonsense."

A relatively successful loan spell with Farnborough Town was followed by less-successful loan stints at Stevenage Borough, Woking and Barnet, 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. He was released by Brighton at the end of the 2003–04 season.

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. 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. He briefly returned to Kingstonian, making five appearances. 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.

He joined St Francis Rangers for the 2007–08 edition of the Sussex County Football League, before returning to Haywards Heath the following season. 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. The pair were sacked in December 2011.

Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupOtherTotal DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsMillwall1993–94First Division000000—00Watford1994–95First Division1322020—1721995–96First DivisionColchester United1996–97Third Division100000—10Kingstonian1997–98Isthmian League409411010155101998–99Football Conference38560101435981999–00Football Conference399303014459132000–01Football Conference3576521434716Total1523019671421122048Brighton & Hove Albion2001–02Second Division1000000311312002–03First Division00000000002003–04Second Division0000000000Total100000031131Woking (loan)2001–02Football Conference1320000—132Dagenham & Redbridge (loan)2002–03Football Conference100000—10Farnborough Town (loan)2002–03Football Conference1040000—104Stevenage Borough (loan)2003–04Football Conference500000—50Woking (loan)2003–04Football Conference300000—30Barnet (loan)2003–04Football Conference510000—51Farnborough Town (loan)2003–04Football Conference300000—30Havant & Waterlooville (loan)2003–04Southern Football League600000—60Havant & Waterlooville2004–05Conference South1920000202122005–06Conference South3000000030Total282000020302Sutton United2005–06Conference South1410000–141Kingstonian2005–06Isthmian League500000–50Tooting & Mitcham United2010–11Isthmian League530000–53Career total2684521691471234564

Honours

Club Millwall FA Youth Cup Runner-up (1): 1993–94

Kingstonian 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

External links

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