Dom Bernard

Dominic Archie Bernard (born 29 March 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for League Two club Forest Green Rovers.

Dom Bernard
Personal information
Full name Dominic Archie Bernard[1]
Date of birth (1997-03-29) 29 March 1997[2]
Place of birth Gloucester, England
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Forest Green Rovers
Number 3
Youth career
Tredworth Tigers
2009–2015 Birmingham City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2019 Birmingham City 0 (0)
2018–2019 → Aldershot Town (loan) 35 (0)
2019– Forest Green Rovers 35 (0)
National team
2013 Republic of Ireland U17 2 (0)
2015 Republic of Ireland U18 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:23, 26 December 2020 (UTC)

Bernard began his football career with Birmingham City. He made his senior debut while on loan to Aldershot Town of the National League in 2018–19, and was released at the end of that season without having played senior football for Birmingham. He signed for Forest Green Rovers in July 2019.

Although born in Gloucester, England, Bernard has represented the Republic of Ireland internationally at under-17 and under-18 levels.

Club career

Early life and club career

Bernard was born in Gloucester.[3] and attended Upton St Leonards primary school.[4] He represented Gloucestershire Schools at football at primary school level, as well as playing for local team Tredworth Tigers,[4] before joining Birmingham's Academy at the age of 12.[5] He took up a scholarship with the club in July 2013.[6] By 2014–15 pre-season, he was captain of the under-18 team.[7]

Birmingham City

Bernard played in the Birmingham team, a mixture of first-team and reserve players, that won the 2014–15 Birmingham Senior Cup,[8] and signed his first professional contract, of two years, a few days later. According to coach Steve Spooner, "Dom is your thinking man's footballer. He is very calm and composed on the ball and seldom goes to ground. He sees things quickly and his reading of the game is excellent."[2] He was a member of the Birmingham reserve team that lost the 2016 Birmingham Senior Cup final to National League North champions Solihull Moors.[9] He was one of three youngsters – the others were Josh Dacres-Cogley and Wes Harding – who began their pre-season training with the first team,[10] but suffered an Achilles injury that kept him out for most of the 2016–17 season.[3]

The club took up the one-year option on Bernard's contract for the 2017–18 season,[11] and offered him a further year for 2018–19.[12] Initially a member of the U23 squad for pre-season training in Austria, Bernard was called into the senior party, and on their return to England, he played in several first-team friendlies. He then joined Aldershot Town of the National League on a six-month loan.[13] He became a regular in the side, and his loan was extended to the end of the season.[14] He won the club's Player of the Month award for January 2019,[15] and finished the season with 37 appearances in all competitions.[16]

In March 2019, Birmingham confirmed that Bernard would be released when his contract expired at the end of the season.[17]

Forest Green Rovers

After taking part in pre-season training with Forest Green Rovers, Bernard signed a one-year contract with the League Two club on 17 July 2019.[5] He made his debut on the opening day of the 2019–20 season, in the starting eleven for the match at home to Oldham Athletic.[18] He soon established himself as a regular in the starting eleven, playing on the right of the defence in a variety of formations, and in early November, his contract was extended to run until 2021.[19]

International career

Bernard was first called up to the Republic of Ireland under-17 squad for two friendly matches against Slovakia in September 2013.[20] He started the first and came on for the last few minutes of the second, both of which were defeats.[21] He played for the under-18s once in June 2015,[22] but was injured when under consideration for the under-19s a few months later.[23]

Career statistics
As of match played 26 December 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Birmingham City 2018–19[24] Championship 000000—00
Aldershot Town (loan) 2018–19[16] National League 35010—1[lower-alpha 1]0370
Forest Green Rovers 2019–20[18] League Two 28030201[lower-alpha 2]0340
2020–21[25] League Two 7000003[lower-alpha 2]0100
Total 350302040440
Career total 700402050820
  1. Appearance in FA Trophy
  2. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

References
  1. "Club list of registered players as at 19th May 2018" (PDF). The Football League. p. 5. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  2. Lewis, Peter (6 May 2015). "Youngsters sign first pro deals". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  3. Palmer, Jon (5 February 2018). "Gloucester born youngster progressing well at Birmingham City". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  4. Palmer, Jon (6 March 2018). "From Birmingham City to Bishop's Cleeve and from Manchester United to the England rugby team: Gloucester Primary Schools FA success stories". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  5. Gibbon, Tom (17 July 2019). "Forest Green Rovers unveil former Birmingham City player as latest new signing". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  6. "List of Players Registered as Scholars in Accordance with Rule C.3 Between 01/07/2013 and 31/07/2013" (PDF). The Football Association. p. 39. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  7. Poulson, Jeremy (29 July 2014). "U18s Holland diary – day one". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015.
  8. Lewis, Peter (30 April 2015). "Blues win the Senior Cup". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  9. Dick, Brian (5 May 2016). "Birmingham Senior Cup final: Birmingham City U21s 1 Solihull Moors 2". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  10. Dick, Brian (1 July 2016). "Birmingham City comment: Absentees, photographer's cases and the calm before the storm as Blues return to pre-season training". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  11. "New deals for Blues youngsters". Birmingham City F.C. 4 July 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  12. "Contract offers for Blues Under-23s". Birmingham City F.C. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  13. "Dominic Bernard makes loan move". Birmingham City F.C. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  14. "Aldershot extend loan deals". The Non-League Paper. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  15. "Dom Bernard wins January POTM". Aldershot Town Supporters Trust. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  16. "D. Bernard". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  17. Dick, Brian (21 March 2019). "The Under 23s Birmingham City have decided to release and retain". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  18. "Games played by Dominic Bernard in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  19. Iles, Robert (8 November 2019). "Former Birmingham City youngster signs new contract at Forest Green Rovers after impressive start". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  20. "Ireland U17s squad named for friendly games in Slovakia". Football Association of Ireland (FAI). 2 September 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  21. "Ireland U17s suffer friendly defeat in Slovakia". FAI. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
    "Ireland U17s suffer friendly loss to Slovakia". FAI. 12 September 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  22. "Ireland U18s beat Luxembourg in friendly". FAI. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  23. "Doolin names Ireland U19 squad for Italy friendly game". FAI. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  24. "Games played by Dominic Bernard in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  25. "Games played by Dominic Bernard in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
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