Ian P. Thompson (born 8 June 1958) is an English former professional

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 lea ...

who played as a forward in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

. He started his career with Welling United in the

Athenian League The Athenian League was an England, English amateur association football, football league for clubs in and around London. The league was originally to be called the Corinthian League,Athenian Football League minutes 1912-1921 (National Football ...

, before representing Southern League clubs

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

, Poole Town and

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

. In his first full season with the latter, Thompson finished as leading scorer with 19 goals, following that with 24 goals in his second year, before being sold to

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...

for £18,000 (a Salisbury record fee at that time). He scored for AFC Bournemouth in their 2-0 giantkilling win over

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

in January 1984. He also played as Bournemouth won the inaugural Associate Members' Cup by beating Hull City in the final. After injury led to him retiring from full-time football, he returned to Salisbury before becoming a schoolteacher in Wales, continuing his football career with Newport County,

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

, Haverfordwest County and Inter Cardiff.

References

1958 births Living people Footballers from Dartford English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Poole Town F.C. players Salisbury City F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Newport County A.F.C. players Merthyr Tydfil F.C. players Haverfordwest County A.F.C. players English Football League players Inter Cardiff F.C. players {{England-footy-forward-1950s-stub