Andrew Thomson (born 1 April 1971) is a Scottish former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

er. Thomson played in 548 league matches, scoring 194 league goals in a career that saw him play for Queen of the South,

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

and

Stenhousemuir Stenhousemuir (; gd, Featha Thaigh nan Clach) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in ...

in Scotland and

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

, Gillingham and

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

in England.

Playing career

Queen of the South (first spell)

Thomson was born in

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

. He signed on 28 July 1989 for

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

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 Palmerston Park is a football stadium on Terregles Street in Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish League One club Queen of the South, who have played there since 1919. South of Scotland League club He ...

. Arguably his finest achievement with Queens was the 1990–91

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

run to the quarter finals, where Queens eliminated higher division opponents

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

and

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...

, before being defeated by a late goal versus

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

Parkhead Parkhead ( sco, Pairkheid) is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road (now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road) and Westmuir Street. Glasgow's Eastern Necropo ...

. Thomson scored 109 goals in all competitions during his first spell in

, 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 The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SFL ...

'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.

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

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 Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

on 4 July 1994 to join

Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to: Arts * Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction * Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing Politic ...

's ''Shrimpers'' at

Roots Hall A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

. 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. 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 Kevin Clifton "Ted" McMinn (born 28 September 1962) is a Scottish former association footballer who played as a winger. His nickname is ''The Tin Man''. Playing career Early years Born in Castle Douglas and raised in nearby Dumfries, McMinn ...

Davie Irons David John Irons (born 18 July 1961 in Glasgow) is a Scottish former football player and coach. Irons' playing career spanned 26 years as a central defender or midfielder for a host of clubs, most notably for Ayr United, Clydebank, Dunfermli ...

and

Rowan Alexander Rowan Samuel Alexander (born 28 January 1961) is a Scottish former football player and manager. Alexander was a prolific goal-scoring striker for Queen of the South and Greenock Morton. Alexander also played for St Mirren, Brentford and Gr ...

Southend United and Oxford United

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

, where he scored 7 goals in 38 league appearances.

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. On 28 May 2000, Thomson scored the winning goal for Gillingham in the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

play-off final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. 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 Ty Gooden (born 23 October 1972) is an English former professional footballer. Gooden, who played as a midfielder, featured for teams Arsenal, Wycombe Wanderers, Swindon Town, Gillingham and Canvey Island. He was the first player to be signed i ...

'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 goal was reminiscent of

Keith Houchen Keith Morton Houchen (born 25 July 1960) is an English former professional footballer and football manager. A forward, he scored 184 goals in 687 league and cup games. He started his professional career at Hartlepool United in February 1978, ...

's cup final goal for

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

versus

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

. The 3–2 win versus

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

ensured the

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

club's first ever promotion to the second tier of English football. 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". Thomson became the second former "Queens" player to win a Wembley play-off final after

. Thomson also scored four goals in Gillingham's

1999–2000 FA Cup The 1999–2000 FA Cup (known as The FA Cup sponsored by AXA for sponsorship reasons) was the 119th staging of the FA Cup. Both the semifinals and final of the competition were played at Wembley Stadium for the last time before reconstruction wor ...

run, versus

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

and

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

. 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 Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

, when they lost 5–0 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 ...

. 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 for

on 22 March 2001 and stayed at

Loftus Road Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers. In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...

until the end of season 2002–03. Thomson then returned to Scotland on 10 July 2003. 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

in the 2003–04 season, where he scored 5 goals in 21 league appearances and then

for two seasons, which were 2004–05 and 2005–06, where he scored 9 goals in 28 league appearances. 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." During his second spell at

, Thomson scored 5 goals in 27 league appearances and overall, Thomson scored 114 goals in his two spells in

and is currently the fifth highest all-time goalscorer for the Doonhamers. Thomson was surpassed by

Derek Lyle Derek Lyle (born 13 February 1981) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a striker for Open Goal Broomhill and is also the club's assistant manager. Lyle has previously played for Partick Thistle, Queen of the South ''(two spells)'', Dundee ...

during the 2017–18 season as Lyle finished his Queens career with 117 goals, who was then surpassed by

Stephen Dobbie Stephen Dobbie (born 5 December 1982) is a Scottish former professional footballer. He is Senior Professional Development Phase coach at his former club Blackpool. Dobbie is Queen of the South's second-highest goalscorer of all time (166 goa ...

at the start 2018–19 season when he scored a brace versus Edinburgh City on 21 July 2018 in the

. Thomson then joined

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.

Coaching career

Thomson started his coaching career as head coach of the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

'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 The Scottish Lowland Football League (SLFL, commonly known as the Lowland League) is a senior association football, football league based in central and southern Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system, actin ...

. Thomson then joined the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built w ...

's men's football team, as assistant manager to the club's manager

Shelley Kerr Michelle Kerr (born 15 October 1969) is a Scottish football manager and former player who is currently the English Football Association's technical lead for women's national teams. As a player Kerr was a powerful centre back, who captained ...

. In August 2017, Thomson was appointed assistant coach of the SWNT, joining up again with Shelley Kerr. Thomson is also a UEFA A-Licence holder and is currently studying for an MSc in Performance Coaching at the University of Stirling. Also, since August 2017, Thomson has been coaching at the

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...

's Performance School at

Braidhurst High School Braidhurst High School is a non-denominational secondary school in the suburb of Motherwell known as Forgewood, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. History Braidhurst High School was established in 1962, making it one of the more modern secondary scho ...

References

External links

Andy Thomson full career profile on Queen's Legends on the official Queen of the South website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Andy Living people 1971 births Footballers from Motherwell Association football forwards Scottish footballers Queen of the South F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Falkirk F.C. players Stenhousemuir F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Football League players English Football League players