Andy Thomson (Scottish footballer)

Last updated

Andy Thomson
Personal information
Full name Andrew Thomson [1]
Date of birth (1971-04-01) 1 April 1971 (age 53)
Place of birth Motherwell, Scotland
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1988–1989 Jerviston Boys Club
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1989–1994 Queen of the South 175 (93)
1994–1998 Southend United 122 (28)
1998–1999 Oxford United 38 (7)
1999–2001 Gillingham 52 (14)
2001–2003 Queens Park Rangers 67 (28)
2003–2004 Partick Thistle 21 (5)
2004–2006 Falkirk 28 (9)
2006–2007 Queen of the South 27 (5)
2007–2008 Stenhousemuir 18 (5)
Total548(194)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Andrew Thomson (born 1 April 1971) is a Scottish former professional footballer. Thomson played in 548 league matches, scoring 194 league goals in a career that saw him play for Queen of the South, Partick Thistle, Falkirk and Stenhousemuir in Scotland and Southend United, Oxford United, Gillingham and Queens Park Rangers in England. [2]

Contents

Playing career

Queen of the South (first spell)

Thomson was born in Motherwell. He signed on 28 July 1989 for Dumfries club Queen of the South from Motherwell-based boys' club Jerviston as an 18-year-old. As Thomson became more experienced the goals started to flow and never stopped in his five seasons at Palmerston Park. Arguably his finest achievement with Queens was the 1990–91 Scottish League Cup run to the quarter finals, where Queens eliminated higher division opponents Dundee and Dunfermline Athletic, before being defeated by a late goal versus Celtic at Parkhead. [3]

Thomson scored 109 goals in all competitions during his first spell in Dumfries, with 93 of those goals scored in 175 league appearances. In season 1993–94, Thomson was Queens Player of the Year and was also awarded the Scottish Second Division's Player of the Year Award, that he also won for the 1991–92 season. Thomson was also Scottish football's top scorer for the 1993–94 season. [3]

Aberdeen offered "Queens" £150,000 for Thomson but the club rejected the "Dons"' bid. Southend United then offered £250,000 and a deal was agreed between the two clubs that led to Thomson leaving for Essex on 4 July 1994 to join Peter Taylor's Shrimpers [4] at Roots Hall. [5] As well as being a record transfer fee paid at that particular time by the "Shrimpers", this still remains the highest fee received by Queens. [3]

Andy Thomson returned to Scotland to play for a Queen of the South Select on 23 April 1995. The opposition in the 2–2 draw was Rangers in a match to mark Queens' 75th anniversary and the opening of the new East Stand. Other guests for Queens included Ted McMinn, Davie Irons and Rowan Alexander. [3] [6]

Southend United and Oxford United

Thomson played for Southend United from 1994–95 until 1997–98, where he scored 28 goals in 122 league appearances, then spent the 1998–99 season playing for Oxford United, where he scored 7 goals in 38 league appearances. [3]

Gillingham

Thomson signed for Gillingham on 5 August 1999 for £25,000 just before the season started. Peter Taylor had now signed Thomson for the second time in his managerial career and later described the transfer deal as the best £25,000 he had ever spent. [3] [7]

On 28 May 2000, Thomson scored the winning goal for Gillingham in the Football League Second Division play-off final at Wembley Stadium. Thomson had come on as an extra time substitute in the 97th minute of the game. Thomson scored with two minutes of play left on the clock. Following Ty Gooden's centre from the left, the diving Thomson stole in front of Stuart Balmer to glance the ball into the far corner of the net. The 3–2 win versus Wigan Athletic ensured the Kent club's first ever promotion to the second tier of English football. [8] The club's website described the goals as, "The most iconic moment in the long history of Gillingham Football Club encapsulated in a few moments of extra time football". [3] [7] The anniversary of the match is also commonly referred to as "St. Thommo's Day" amongst Gillingham fans in honour of the goal. Thomson became the second former "Queens" player to win a Wembley play-off final after Ted McMinn. [3]

Thomson also scored four goals in consecutive rounds of Gillingham's 1999–2000 FA Cup run, versus Cheltenham Town, Walsall, Bradford City and Sheffield Wednesday. [9] The "Gills" were knocked out of the FA Cup in the quarter finals, the first time they had ever reached so far, at Stamford Bridge, when they lost 5–0 to Chelsea. [3]

Thomson scored 14 goals in 52 league appearances for the "Gills" in his two seasons at Priestfield, which were 1999–2000 and 2000–01.

Queens Park Rangers

Thomson then signed on a free transfer for Queens Park Rangers on 22 March 2001 and stayed at Loftus Road until the end of the 2002–03 season. [10] During his time with the London side Thomson featured as a 60th minute substitute in the 1–0 loss in the 2003 Football League Second Division play-off final to Cardiff City. [11]

Thomson then returned to Scotland on 10 July 2003. [3] [12]

Thomson scored 28 goals in 67 league appearances for QPR in his two seasons at Loftus Road, which were 2001–02 and 2002–03.

Return to Scotland

Thomson played for Partick Thistle in the 2003–04 season, where he scored 5 goals in 21 league appearances and then Falkirk for two seasons, which were 2004–05 and 2005–06, where he scored 9 goals in 28 league appearances and won the 2004–5 Scottish First Division title. [13]

Thomson returned to the Doonhamers at the start of the 2006–07 season. Thomson said on his return to Queens, "Things have changed quite a bit while I've been away – a new stand, a completely new set-up and a more modern type of training system". Thomson added, "Norman Blount was an excellent chairman." [3]

During his second spell at Palmerston Park, Thomson scored 5 goals in 27 league appearances and overall, Thomson scored 114 goals in his two spells in Dumfries and is currently the fifth highest all-time goalscorer for the Doonhamers. Thomson was surpassed by Derek Lyle during the 2017–18 season as Lyle finished his Queens career with 117 goals, who was then surpassed by Stephen Dobbie at the start 2018–19 season when he scored a brace versus Edinburgh City on 21 July 2018 in the Scottish League Cup.

Thomson then joined Stenhousemuir for the 2007–08 season, where he scored 5 goals in 18 league appearances until he was troubled by injuries and was forced to announce his retirement to the media on 18 March 2008. [14]

Coaching career

Thomson started his coaching career as head coach of the University of Strathclyde's men's football team and he led them to the British Universities and Colleges League Championship in 2014 and 2015. Thomson then joined Edusport Academy as head coach, a football academy for young French players studying in Scotland, who currently play in the Lowland League. Thomson then joined the University of Stirling's men's football team, as assistant manager to the club's manager Shelley Kerr. In August 2017, Thomson was appointed assistant coach of the SWNT, joining up again with Shelley Kerr. [15] He remained with the SWNT and the University of Stirling until March 2022, when he was appointed as Football Development Manager at the Motherwell F.C. Community Trust. [16] [17]

Thomson is also a UEFA A-Licence holder and as of August 2017 and holds an MSc in Performance Coaching from the University of Stirling. [9] Also, since August 2017, Thomson has been coaching at the Scottish Football Association's Performance School at Braidhurst High School in Motherwell. [15]

Honours

Player

Falkirk

Gillingham

Individual

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen of the South F.C.</span> Association football club in Dumfries, Scotland

Queen of the South Football Club is a Scottish professional football club formed in 1919 in Dumfries. The club plays in Scottish League One, the third tier of Scottish football. They are traditionally nicknamed the Doonhamers but are more usually referred to as Queens or QOS. Their home ground is Palmerston Park.

Colin McMenamin is a Scottish former professional football player, and was the assistant manager of Annan Athletic.

Rowan Samuel Alexander is a Scottish former football player and manager.

Roderick McKenzie is a Scottish retired professional association footballer who played as goalkeeper. He is currently running a football business called first choice goalkeeping. After leaving Queen of the South by mutual consent on 10 January 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Dobbie</span> Scottish footballer

Stephen Dobbie is a Scottish former professional footballer. He is a first-team coach at Blackpool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Lyle</span> Scottish footballer

Derek Lyle is a Scottish former footballer who played as a striker. Lyle played for Partick Thistle, Queen of the South (two spells), Dundee, Hamilton Academical (two spells), Greenock Morton, Cowdenbeath, Peterhead and Broomhill. Lyle also had loan spells with East Stirlingshire, Stirling Albion, Dunfermline Athletic and the Doonhamers. Lyle's longest time in his career was spent with Queen of the South in Dumfries, where he scored 117 goals in 365 appearances over two spells with the club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darren Barr</span> Scottish footballer (born 1985)

Darren Barr is a Scottish football coach and former player, whose most recent position was assistant manager at Scottish League Two club Annan Athletic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Thomson (footballer, born 1971)</span> Scottish footballer

James Thomson is a Scottish footballer. Nicknamed 'JT', Thomson was a central defender. Thomson's greatest achievements were during his 358 appearances for Queen of the South, where he was club captain. Thomson also enjoyed some success in shorter periods at Clyde and Arbroath and also played for Stenhousemuir. Thomson had a short spell as caretaker manager of Queen of the South during November and December 2016 and was most recently player-manager of Kilsyth Rangers in the SJFA West Region Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Aitken (footballer, born 1978)</span> Scottish footballer

Andrew Robert Aitken is a Scottish former professional footballer who made over 300 appearances for Queen of the South. A left sided defender, he also played for Gretna and Ayr United. Andrew now works as a first team coach at Annan Athletic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davie Irons</span> Scottish football manager and former player

David John Irons is a Scottish former football player and coach.

Darren Lee Smith is a Scottish former professional footballer.

David Ian Crown is an English retired professional footballer who played as a forward in the Football League, most notably for Cambridge United and Southend United. He also played for Reading, Gillingham, Brentford, Portsmouth and Exeter City. Until March 2021, Crown's 24 goals in a Football League season stood as Cambridge United's club record. He later player-managed Purfleet in non-League football and served as assistant manager at Concord Rangers and Southend United.

Alistair Slowey Graham is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a striker.

James Patterson was a Scottish professional footballer. Patterson is the all-time record goalscorer for Dumfries club Queen of the South, with 252 goals.

James Robertson is a Scottish footballer who played as a left winger from 1977 until 1993. Roberston played for Motherwell, Stranraer, Queen of the South, Morton and Clydebank.

Robert"Nobby"Clark is a Scottish former professional footballer who played for Partick Thistle and then served Queen of the South as both player and manager.

Maurice Elliott was a Scottish professional footballer who was a forward. Elliott was born in Dumfries and played for his home town club Queen of the South and went on to play for Heart of Midlothian, Montrose and Stenhousemuir.

George Rowe is a former Scottish professional footballer who played as a centre-back for Clydebank, Arbroath, Queen of the South and Stirling Albion.

Robert Scott Thomson is a Scottish football coach and a former goalkeeper who is the goalkeeping coach with Raith Rovers. He has played for Celtic, Stenhousemuir, Airdrie United, Rochdale, Cowdenbeath, Queen of the South, Hamilton Academical, Falkirk and Raith Rovers.

Andy Stirling is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Lowland League club East Kilbride. Stirling has previously played for Stenhousemuir, East Stirlingshire, Kitsap Pumas, Dunfermline Athletic, Stirling Albion, Dumbarton, Queen of the South, Alloa Athletic, Stranraer F.C and Darvel.

References

  1. ↑ "Andy Thomson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  2. ↑ Andy Thomson at Soccerbase
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "QosFC: Legends – Andy Thomson". qosfc.com. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  4. ↑ LTD, Digital Sports Group. "Southend United News – Shrimpers24 – Southend United". www.southendunited-mad.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "Contact Us – Southend United". www.southendunited.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "The Queens" by Iain McCartney on Creedon Publications, 2004
  7. 1 2 3 "Gillingham | Club | Past Players | Past Players | Andy Thomson". Gillingham F.C. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  8. ↑ "Play-Off Finals". The Football League. Archived from the original on 5 April 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  9. 1 2 Waddell, Gordon (17 March 2019). "The former Queen of the South star heading to the World Cup". Daily Record . Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  10. ↑ "Thomson makes Rangers switch". BBC . 22 March 2001. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  11. ↑ "Cardiff seal promotion". BBC . 25 May 2003. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  12. ↑ "Andy Thomson - Queens Park Rangers FC - Football-Heroes.net". Sporting-heroes.net. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  13. 1 2 "2004-2005 First Division | SPFL Archive". spfl.co.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  14. ↑ "Dumbarton v Stenhousemuir – Scotsman.com Sport". Sport.scotsman.com. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  15. 1 2 "New Scotland Women's National Team assistant coach appointed". Scottish Football Association. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  16. ↑ "Well Society looking for female coaches". Motherwell Football Club. 15 November 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  17. ↑ "Scots Turf donation will 'change lives' at Motherwell FC Community Trust". landscapeandamenity.com. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  18. ↑ "QosFC: Queens Duo Scoop Another Double at PFA Awards". Queen of the South F.C. 5 May 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.