Not lingering long in Scotland, Tom Robertson established himself in the Football League with Stoke. But after an ever-present season in the First Division in 1899-1900, he moved to Liverpool, where he was fairly regular in the side that won that division in 1901. The following season he featured less often, but was in the team that crashed out of the FA Cup at Anfield in February 1902, when Southern League Southampton won 4-1 on their way to the Final. Shortly after that Final, Tom joined the Saints, very much against the wishes of the Liverpool management.

A reliable full-back, with a powerful kick and well-timed tackling, he hardly missed a game as the Saints won the Southern League Championship in 1903 and, recovered from an early injury, in 1903-04, to complete a solid run of appearances in the side’s retention of the title.

He was as retiring off the pitch as well as he was forceful on it, renowned for dodging reporters of whom he had a “holy horror”. After those two successful seasons, Tom had one more season in the Southern League, at Brighton. In retirement on the Sussex coast, he ran the Wick Inn in Hove and, later, the Fountain Inn in Worthing.