Kevin Anthony Thornton (born 9 July 1986, in
Drogheda) is a retired Irish
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 ...
who played as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
. He started his career at Coventry City, and has played for the likes of Brighton and Hove Albion and Coventry Sphinx
Playing career
Coventry City
A promising
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
and product of the Sky Blues' Academy, Thornton was given a squad number for the first time in the
2005–06 season, following a productive pre-season in which he was included on the trips to
Ibiza and his native Ireland. He made his debut on 20 September 2005, in a
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
1–0 defeat at
Selhurst Park, replacing
Isaac Osbourne on 83 minutes. He made sixteen
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
appearances later in the season, putting in a string of impressive displays in March and April. A fans' favourite due to his exciting style of play, Thornton scored his first goal for the club on 26 August 2006 against
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
, but an ankle injury marred what seemed destined to be a
successful season, limiting him to just 13 appearances. The Irishman penned a new two-year extension to his contract in May 2007, keeping him at the club until summer 2010. In
2007–08 he was limited to twenty appearances and continued to be used mainly as a
substitute. He had a good run at the end of the season under new manager
Chris Coleman.
Brighton & Hove Albion (Loan)
In September 2008, Thornton signed a six-week loan deal at
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
team
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
. Following a six-week extension on the loan, he had played fifteen games for ''the Seagulls'' before returning to the
Ricoh Arena
The Coventry Building Society Arena (often shortened to the CBS Arena or just simply Coventry Arena, and formerly known as the Ricoh Arena) is a complex in Coventry, England. It includes a 32,609-seater stadium which is currently home to footb ...
.
Coventry Sphinx
After leaving Coventry City on 2 July 2009, Thornton joined
Coventry Sphinx
Coventry Sphinx Football Club is a football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. They are currently members of the and play at Sphinx Drive.
History
The club was established in 1946 as a works team for Armstrong Siddeley under th ...
of the
Midland Football Alliance
The Midland Football Alliance was an English association football league for semi-professional teams. It covered Leicestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire and also southern parts of Derbyshire and Not ...
and made two appearances and scored once in a short spell.
Boyne Rovers
On 1 September 2009, Thornton re-signed with his former school boy club Boyne Rovers FC. Boyne Rovers senior side operate in the fifth Tier of Irish amateur soccer. Convinced by legendary Rovers manager Declan Kierans that his time there would be a stepping stone to bigger things Thornton played 12 times for Rovers and scored the winning goal in a 4–3 win over bitter local rivals Drogheda Town.
Nuneaton Town
On 2 December 2009 he joined
Nuneaton Town
Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football.
In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton to ...
on a non-contract deal, playing football part-time whilst also touring the West Midlands with his indie three-piece band.
Northampton Town
On 8 January 2010 he joined
Football League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
outfit
Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
on a short term contract during his time at Northampton Town, he made 24 Starts and 21 appearances.
Return to Nuneaton Town
As of 27 September he has signed a one-year contract with his former club
Nuneaton Town
Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football.
In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton to ...
. In his second spell at the club Thornton made just two appearances due to injury. He left Nuneaton Town shortly after.
Wrexham
Thornton had trials with a number of Football League and Non League clubs and on 3 July 2012, he joined Welsh club
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
on trial with view to a permanent deal for the new season. After six months on trial Thornton signed for Wrexham on non-contract terms. Thornton made his debut in a 5–0 win in an
FA Trophy match against
Sutton United
Sutton United Football Club is a professional football club in Sutton, South London, England, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They play home games at Gander Green Lane in Sutton about 11 miles so ...
which Thornton scored the fifth goal in. He then made his league debut in a 1–0 victory over
Barrow FC, a game in which Thornton came off the bench to score the winner. He then made his first league start for the club on 2 March, against
Alfreton Town FC, he continued his fine run of goals by opening the scoring, and was later greeted with a standing ovation when he was substituted. Kevin scored his fourth goal for Wrexham in his fourth league game for the club, against
Ebbsfleet United
Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the club competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football.
The club was formed in 1946 fr ...
, which was his fourth in four. The Irishman's most important goal came 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 original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
in March 2013, It was in the
FA Trophy Final and Wrexham were a goal down to
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...
, and skipper
Dean Keates was fouled in the Grimsby box, this resulted in a penalty for Wrexham in the 82nd minute, Thornton stepped up to take it and equalised, this took the game to extra-time and penalties, Thornton was substituted before the shoot-out which Wrexham won to lift the trophy. On 11 March 2014, Thornton joined
Conference National side
Tamworth on loan until the end of the season.
Tamworth
Following his release by
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
, Thornton rejoined
Tamworth on the 9 June 2014. Released by Tamworth at the end of the 2014–15 season, Thornton briefly joined Barwell F.C. before following the former Tamworth manager Dale Belford to
Rugby Town for whom he scored a penalty on debut in a 3–1 win at
Carlton Town.
Coventry United
Following a short spell at
Rugby Town in 2015–16, Thornton joined Coventry United of the
Midlands League Premier for the season 2016–17.
Boyne Harps FC
Following his release from Coventry United, Thornton again returned home to Ireland after a short spell teaching yoga in Cape Verdi. He trained with current NEFL Champions Boyne Harps through the winter months and done enough to convince manager Wayne Wright to sign him on a short term 12-month contract. After 2 months awaiting clearance from the FA, Thornton made his long-awaited debut for Harps in a sold-out game against local rivals Millmount Celtic. Thornton scored 1 and assisted 2 as he made an immediate impact with the club endearing himself to the home fans in the process. Thornton went on to make 11 appearances for Harps scoring 3 goals, assisting 7 and receiving one red card in an ill-tempered clash with title challengers Duleek. After a frank discussion with manager Wayne Wright about his struggles with alcoholism, Thornton went into self exile in the remote seaside village of Clogherhead where he chose to live off the land and face his demons head-on.
Harps and Thornton parted ways in June with Thornton returning to the UK to further his career.
Racing Club Warwick
On 13 June 2019, Thornton joined
Racing Club Warwick.
Return to Coventry United
In April 2020, Thornton re-joined
Coventry United.
Career statistics
Career honours
;Wrexham
*
FA Trophy 2012–13
Personal life
Thornton is the younger brother of former
Sunderland and
Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...
player
Sean Thornton
Sean Thornton (born 18 May 1983) is a former professional footballer.
He made 11 appearances in the Premier League for Sunderland in the 2002–03 season and has made over 200 appearances in the Football League, mostly for Sunderland, Doncast ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Kevin
1986 births
Living people
Association footballers from Drogheda
Men's association football midfielders
Republic of Ireland men's association footballers
Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Coventry City F.C. players
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players
Coventry Sphinx F.C. players
Nuneaton Borough F.C. players
Northampton Town F.C. players
Wrexham A.F.C. players
Tamworth F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Belvedere F.C. players
Hinckley A.F.C. players
Barwell F.C. players
Rugby Town F.C. players
Racing Club Warwick F.C. players
Leinster Senior League (association football) players
Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers