I really can't tell if these are the same two people.. But I know for a fact that the one I just uploaded is the Hashtag player.
They're different people, the researchers used the wrong “Tom Anderson” profile. I don't know how exactly the mixup occured, but transfermarkt have made the same mistake. I'll see if I can try and uncover the truth of the matter because it does seem very confusing.
Hashtag's Tom Anderson (I'll call him Tom #1 for clarity): (sources for his previous clubs here) started at East Thurrock United, moved to Tilbury in 2016, then Basildon United in 2019, Hashtag in 2020, Aveley and Great Wakering Rovers in 2021, before returning to Hashtag in 2022. Hashtag list 26 November 1999 as his birth date.
Confusingly there's another transfermarkt page for a Tom Anderson (who I'll call Tom #2) who used to play for East Thurrock United until 2015, and a matching playmakerstats profile (listing 13 first team appearances for East Thurrock until 2017) - both of which list a birth date of 2 July 1990. East Thurrock's Pitchero website lists 32 first team appearances from 2014-16, but Pitchero websites are often outdated so he might have played for them for longer. This is the picture of Tom #2, then aged 18, from East Thurrock's facebook page, and he does look quite similar to Tom #1…. He's currently 32 years old, quite a lot older than the 23 years old Hashtag claim Tom #1 to be.
And finally we have Tom Anderson who played for Birmingham City's academy (Tom #3). This is the player whose profile this originally was in-game before the researchers repurposed it to be for Tom #1. He moved to Billericay Town and Brentwood in 2019. Crucially, his birthdate is listed as 26 November 1999, i.e. the same as Tom #1. I can't find any more recent data on Tom #3 after 2020, so it might be that he was released and retired.
What I suspect is that Tom #1 is actually Tom #2 (so the Hashtag player would actually be 32 years old, not 23), but because research data is bad at lower levels, at some point someone saw Tom #3 was released from a big club's academy and without a club; Tom #2 had a club but no date of birth listed, and combined the two, creating a data profile of Tom #1.
They're different people, the researchers used the wrong “Tom Anderson” profile. I don't know how exactly the mixup occured, but transfermarkt have made the same mistake. I'll see if I can try and uncover the truth of the matter because it does seem very confusing.
Hashtag's Tom Anderson (I'll call him Tom #1 for clarity): (sources for his previous clubs here) started at East Thurrock United, moved to Tilbury in 2016, then Basildon United in 2019, Hashtag in 2020, Aveley and Great Wakering Rovers in 2021, before returning to Hashtag in 2022. Hashtag list 26 November 1999 as his birth date.
Confusingly there's another transfermarkt page for a Tom Anderson (who I'll call Tom #2) who used to play for East Thurrock United until 2015, and a matching playmakerstats profile (listing 13 first team appearances for East Thurrock until 2017) - both of which list a birth date of 2 July 1990. East Thurrock's Pitchero website lists 32 first team appearances from 2014-16, but Pitchero websites are often outdated so he might have played for them for longer. This is the picture of Tom #2, then aged 18, from East Thurrock's facebook page, and he does look quite similar to Tom #1…. He's currently 32 years old, quite a lot older than the 23 years old Hashtag claim Tom #1 to be.
And finally we have Tom Anderson who played for Birmingham City's academy (Tom #3). This is the player whose profile this originally was in-game before the researchers repurposed it to be for Tom #1. He moved to Billericay Town and Brentwood in 2019. Crucially, his birthdate is listed as 26 November 1999, i.e. the same as Tom #1. I can't find any more recent data on Tom #3 after 2020, so it might be that he was released and retired.
What I suspect is that Tom #1 is actually Tom #2 (so the Hashtag player would actually be 32 years old, not 23), but because research data is bad at lower levels, at some point someone saw Tom #3 was released from a big club's academy and without a club; Tom #2 had a club but no date of birth listed, and combined the two, creating a data profile of Tom #1.
the Hashtag player is definitely 23 altough ive found some other hashtag players that arent the right age for example Alex Teniola is 30 irl and not 26 like the game says so its all really confusing
the Hashtag player is definitely 23 altough ive found some other hashtag players that arent the right age for example Alex Teniola is 30 irl and not 26 like the game says so its all really confusing
I did some more digging, based on photos he posted on facebook back in 2010/11 where he looked at least 13 years old, I think his birth date is most likely 25 September 1997 (or could be 1996 because this facebook post from 2015, just a few days before his birthday, says he was 18 at the time) - he would've been 23 back when in his first full season with Hashtag in 2020/21 though. Hopefully one of the real Toms will be able to clarify the matter once and for all at some point! 😂
Background and Stadium Packs
I really can't tell if these are the same two people.. But I know for a fact that the one I just uploaded is the Hashtag player.