Andrew Richard Thompson (born 9 November 1967 in

Featherstone, Staffordshire Featherstone is a village in the district of South Staffordshire, England, near to the border with Wolverhampton. History Originally a farming community consisting of a few scattered farms, it is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 and was ...

) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

, most associated with

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

. He was inducted into the Wolverhampton Wanderers Hall of Fame in 2017.

Career

Thompson began his career as a midfielder with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

, where he made his debut in the

Full Members Cup The Full Members' Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992. The ...

in November 1985. He scored in the penalty shoot-out, although Albion lost to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, who went on to win the competition. Thompson moved to rivals

with

Steve Bull Stephen George Bull (born 28 March 1965 in Tipton, Dudley) is an English former professional footballer who is best remembered for his 13-year spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers. He played there from 1986 until his retirement from playing in 19 ...

in November 1986 for a combined fee of £60,000 and made the transition to full-back. 'Thommo' became a fans favourite at Molineux, known for his speed and penalty taking. He was an integral part of the team that won back-to-back promotions to the (old) Second Division in the late 1980s (also lifting the

Associate Members' Cup The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

). He remained a vital player in the team as they twice failed in the play-offs, as they tried to break into the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

during the 1990s. He eventually left the club in 1997 to join

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

, after making a total of 451 appearances for the Midlanders. He played three seasons in the second flight at

Prenton Park Prenton Park is a large outdoor seated association football stadium in Birkenhead, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers, as well as Liverpool's women and reserves teams. The ground has had several rebuilds, with the most recent o ...

, helping the club to the League Cup final in 2000 (although he was an unused substitute at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

) before being released in May 2000, and subsequently joining

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

on a free transfer. His time in Wales was injury-ravaged, as he tore his stomach muscles in only his second game, and damaged his ankle ligaments in his comeback game. These setbacks and the arrival of

Alan Cork Alan Graham Cork (born 4 March 1959) is an English former professional footballer. He played as a striker for several clubs, most notably Wimbledon (where he spent 14 years, played in all four divisions of the Football League and gained an FA Cu ...

as manager, saw Thompson being loaned out to League Two

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

in January 2002. He made the move permanent in the close season, but his only full season with the club saw them lose their league state for the first time, during another injury plagued season for the defender. After being released, he moved to non-league

Hednesford Town Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park. History The club was established in 1880 as a merger of the Red & Whites and Hill Top.

but managed only one appearance before injury forced him to retire in 2003. Since retiring from playing, he has completed a sports science degree at

Wolverhampton University The University of Wolverhampton is a public university located on four campuses across the West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire in England. The roots of the university lie in the Wolverhampton Tradesmen's and Mechanics' Institute founded ...

and gained a UEFA B coaching licence. He now works as a PE Teacher and top G at

Chellaston Academy Chellaston Academy (formerly Chellaston Foundation School) is a comprehensive school and Academy in Chellaston in the Derby area of England, United Kingdom. In 2019 the academy partnered with Chellaston Junior School, Chellaston Infant School and ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

and is often co-commentator for Wolves matches on the official

website and app alongside Mikey Burrows.

Statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Andy 1967 births Living people People from South Staffordshire District English footballers Association football fullbacks West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Sports scientists Alumni of the University of Wolverhampton