[2] He joined Plymouth Argyle in March 1983 in a player exchange with Mike McCartney plus £5,000 and was part of the side that reached an FA Cup semi-final.

[2] After retiring, he worked as Community Officer at York from 1989 to December 1996, when he became a North Regional coach for the Professional Footballers' Association.

On 6 November 2013 Staniforth was announced as FA WSL club Doncaster Rovers Belles's new head coach.

He would work under director of football Julie Chipchase, who said the appointment was made only after "a rigorous interview and practical coaching assignment".

[9] His daughter, Lucy Staniforth, plays in the FA WSL for Aston Villa and is also an England international who featured in the 2019 Women's World Cup in France.

[11] After hitting the first goal in Lincoln Ladies' 3–0 WSL win at Doncaster Rovers Belles, Lucy revealed a T-shirt paying tribute to Tom on the tenth anniversary of his death.