Career
Despite being born in England he has several caps for the Welsh under-21 team, scoring on his debut against the Finland under 21s. Born in Maidstone, Kent, Birchall began his career at Arsenal, but never made it to the first-team In the 2004-2005 season, Birchall had a successful loan spell at Wycombe Wanderers, scoring four goals in twelve league games.
He was released by Arsenal at the end of that season, and joined Mansfield Town in June 2005 on a two-year contract.
The move to Mansfield was something of a disappointment for Birchall. Big things were expected from the youngster, but despite occasional flashes of brilliance, he failed to live up to expectations, scoring only three goals and spending most of his time at Mansfield playing on the right of midfield.
A move was made permanent on 4 January 2007. During his time at Barnet, Birchall is credited with the idea for a now widely used scheme whereby only the team captain can question referees" decisions, to reduce dissent and the yellow cards that follow.
Since the beginning of the 2007-2008 season, when the rule was introduced, the club"s disciplinary record has significantly improved, and the club has earned praise throughout the game.
After finishing as the top goalscorer for Barnet in the 2007-2008 season with 15 goals, Birchall struggled for form in 2009 and was released in May after scoring only two league goals in the 2008-2009 season. Birchall signed for Conference South side Dover Athletic in July 2009. Birchall made his league debut for Dover in the first game of the season against Maidenhead United, before scoring his first league goal for the club in the following fixture against Bishop"s Stortford.
Birchall became the club"s goalscoring record holder, and the Conference South record holder, at the end of the 2010-2011 season with a total of 45 goals in 49 appearances.
He also was the top goal scorer in the FA Cup that year and went on to receive the award at Wembley. He was seriously injured during a pre-season friendly, however, and missed the entire 2011-2012 season.
He was released by the club at the end of the 2013-2014 season. Soon after, Birchall signed for Bromley.