Michael Lauriston Thomas (born 24 August 1967) 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 ...

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 ...

from 1986 to 2001. During his time at Arsenal, he scored a

last-minute goal The term "last-minute goal" is used in sport, primarily association football, to describe a goal scored very late in a game, usually one that affects the outcome of the game. The definition of a "last-minute goal" commonly used is one scored either ...

in injury time during the final match of the 1988–89 season, which allowed the club to claim the First Division title over

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. Two years later, Thomas joined Liverpool and scored the club's opening goal in a 2–0 win in the 1992 FA Cup Final. He also had spells at Benfica and

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

before retiring in 2001, after a career that saw him win medals in all of English football's top three domestic football trophies. He was capped twice by

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Michael now works as a pundit and media personality, writing a column fo
Just Arsenal
amongst other things.

Club career

Arsenal

He was born in Lambeth,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. After growing up as a Spurs fan Thomas signed for rivals Arsenal as a schoolboy in 1982, turning professional on 31 December 1984 at the age of 17, just months after leaving school. He was loaned out to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in early 1987, playing three times, before returning to Arsenal. His Gunners career started with a baptism of fire, as Thomas made his debut in the first leg of 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 ...

semi-final against

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

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was sit ...

on 8 February 1987. Arsenal lost 1–0, but went on to win the second leg 2–1 and the replay by the same score. Liverpool were then beaten 2–1 at Wembley, to give Arsenal their first League Cup triumph. Thomas soon became a regular in the Arsenal side, making his league debut on 14 February 1987 in a 1–1 draw with

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 ...

at Hillsborough. By the end of that campaign he had played 12 league games as Arsenal finished fourth and had a

winners medal, coming on as a late substitute as Arsenal defeated Liverpool at Wembley. He played 37 times, mainly at right-back, in the 1987–88 season, and scored nine goals - excellent for a player who mainly featured in defence. With the arrival of right-back

Lee Dixon Lee Michael Dixon (born 17 March 1964) is an English retired professional footballer and pundit who played as a right-back for Arsenal. Dixon was also capped 22 times for England. A childhood Manchester City fan, Dixon began his footballing ...

late in the season, Thomas was moved forward into midfield for the 1988–89 season. He appeared in that game alongside his Arsenal midfield colleague Brian Marwood, who had joined them from

eight months earlier. The highlight of Thomas's Arsenal career came in the 1988–89 title decider, on 26 May 1989. The First Division match between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield had been postponed due to the Hillsborough Disaster, and as a result was moved to the very end of the season, after the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

final. Liverpool had won the FA Cup, and thus had a chance of completing an historic

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

. Arsenal had been top of the First Division table for most of the season, but Liverpool had overtaken them a few matches before the end of the campaign. Coming into the match, Arsenal were on 73 points with 71 goals for and 36 against (a goal difference of +35), while Liverpool were 3 points ahead on 76 points with 65 goals for and 26 against (a difference of +39). That meant that Arsenal needed to win by at least two goals to take the title (with points and goal difference equal, the team who had scored the most goals would be awarded the title). Liverpool had not lost by two goals at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...

for nearly four years. After a goalless first half, Alan Smith scored soon after the restart, heading in a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

from

Nigel Winterburn Nigel Winterburn (born 11 December 1963) is an English former professional footballer, coach and current television personality for BT Sport. He played primarily as a left back from 1981 to 2003. He is best known for his role alongside the li ...

. But as full-time approached it looked as if Arsenal were not going to score the second goal they needed. However, in

injury time Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, in Arsenal's last attack, Thomas surged forward from midfield, running onto a Smith flick-on, evaded a challenge by

Steve Nicol ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

, and chipped the advancing goalkeeper

Bruce Grobbelaar Bruce David Grobbelaar (born 6 October 1957) is a Zimbabwean former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, most prominently for English team Liverpool between 1981 and 1994, and for the Zimbabwean national team. He is remembered fo ...

to score Arsenal's second and win the title, Arsenal's first in eighteen years. The match was later featured in detail in a 1997 film based on the Nick Hornby book ''

Fever Pitch ''Fever Pitch: A Fan's Life'' is a 1992 autobiographical essay by British author Nick Hornby. The book is the basis for two films: '' Fever Pitch'' (1997, UK) and '' Fever Pitch'' (2005, U.S.). The first edition was subtitled "A Fan's Life", bu ...

''. By this stage,

Paul Merson Paul Charles Merson (born 20 March 1968) is an English former professional footballer, manager, commentator and sports television pundit for Sky Sports. Originally a forward, Merson found success as an attacking midfielder and playmaker later ...

had emerged as a fine right-winger for the Gunners, in a position previously occupied by

David Rocastle David Carlyle Rocastle (2 May 1967 – 31 March 2001) was an English professional footballer who played as a midfielder in the roles of a playmaker and a winger. He spent the majority of his career at Arsenal where he was nicknamed "Rocky". Ro ...

, who was switched to central midfield. However, Thomas remained a regular player despite the fierce competition in midfield. Thomas enjoyed another two seasons at Arsenal, winning a second League title in 1990–91. In all, he played 206 matches, scoring 30 goals. However, he fell out with Arsenal manager

George Graham George Graham (born 30 November 1944), nicknamed "Stroller", is a Scottish former Association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. In his successful playing career, he made 455 appearances in England's Football ...

in the autumn of 1991. As a result, he was sold to the side he had helped defeat in 1989, Liverpool, with their manager

Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, and current TV pundit. A midfielder, Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player-manager of Ranger ...

paying the Gunners £1.5 million for Thomas's services on 16 December 1991. Thomas was named the 37th greatest player in the history of Arsenal in an online poll on the Arsenal website in June 2008.

Liverpool

Thomas made his Liverpool debut two days after signing, on 18 December 1991. In a repeat of his Arsenal debut, his first match for Liverpool was against Tottenham Hotspur (though this time at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater it had a capacity of 36,284 before demolition. ...

), coming on as a substitute for

Jan Mølby Jan Mølby (; born 4 July 1963) is a Danish former professional footballer and manager. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1982 to 1998. After starting his career with Kolding, he moved on to Ajax before spending twelve years playing in Engl ...

in the 56th minute of a 2–1 victory. Thomas scored his first goal for the Reds on 18 January 1992 in league victory over

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

Boundary Park Boundary Park is a football stadium in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Its name originates from the fact that it lies at the northwestern extremity of Oldham, with Royton and Chadderton lying immediately north and west respectively. Bound ...

. His first season at the club culminated with an

victory 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 ...

against Sunderland. After a goalless first 45, Thomas scored the opening goal of the final after 47 minutes with a spectacular shot from a Steve McManaman cross. A second goal from

Ian Rush Ian James Rush (born 20 October 1961) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward. At club level Rush played for Liverpool from 1980–1987 and 1988–1996. He is the club's all-time leading goalscorer, having scored a t ...

made the final score 2–0, earning Thomas his first medal for his new club. However, after that, injuries began to blight Thomas's time at Anfield. He became a squad player who was largely used as cover for the likes of

Jamie Redknapp Jamie Frank Redknapp (born 25 June 1973) is an English former professional footballer who was active from 1989 until 2005. He is a pundit at Sky Sports and an editorial sports columnist at the ''Daily Mail''. A technically skillful and creat ...

and

John Barnes John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE (born 7 November 1963) is a former professional football player and manager. He currently works as an author, commentator and pundit for ESPN and SuperSport. Initially a quick, skilful left winger, he moved to ce ...

. The 1994–95 season saw Thomas claim his only other winner's medal during his time at Anfield, when the Reds won the

final against Bolton Wanderers. Thomas was an unused substitute on the bench during that game, which saw McManaman scoring both the team's goals as Liverpool won 2–1. Thomas then helped Liverpool reach the 1996 FA Cup final, where he saw five minutes of action after coming on as an 85th-minute substitute for Rob Jones. He couldn't help the Reds prevent a 1–0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United. 1996–97 was a disappointing campaign for a Liverpool side who finished fourth in the Premier League after leading it during the winter, but Thomas re-emerged as a first team regular following the absence of

due to injury problems. However, when Redknapp was fully fit for the 1997–98 season, Thomas found himself on the sidelines again. An £800,000 bid from

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

was accepted in early December 1997, but the transfer never happened. On 2 February 1998, Thomas was allowed to go out on loan to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, and made his debut two days later on 4 February in a 3–0 league win over

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 ado ...

at the

Riverside Stadium The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since it opened in 1995. Its current capacity is 34,742, all seated, although there is provisional planning permission in place t ...

. He played 10 times for the Boro before he returned to Anfield. By this time manager

Roy Evans Roy Quentin Echlin Evans (born 4 October 1948) is an English former footballer who played as a defender for Liverpool. He eventually rose through the coaching ranks to become the team manager. While predominantly plyi ...

was fielding

Øyvind Leonhardsen Øyvind Leonhardsen (born 17 August 1970) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He retired after the 2007 season, ending a career with nine years in English football at clubs Wimbledon, Liverpool, Tottenham ...

and Danny Murphy ahead of Thomas, which led to him being surplus to requirements at Anfield. Thomas's impression on the Anfield faithful during his time at the club was confirmed when he was voted in at No. 83 in ''

100 Players Who Shook The Kop Liverpool Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside, who currently play in the Premier League. They have played at their current home ground, Anfield, since their foundation in 1892. Liv ...

'', a poll conducted by Liverpool FC's official website in 2006 with over 110,000 fans voting.

Benfica and Wimbledon

Portuguese side Benfica, then managed by former Liverpool boss

, took Thomas to the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, it ...

on 1 August 1998, but his stay in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

was an unsuccessful one as he found himself banished to the reserves after Souness was replaced by Jupp Heynckes. After two years with Benfica, he returned to England on 29 July 2000 to join

, but after a single season in which he played nine times he retired from playing on 31 May 2001.

International career

Thomas was first called up to the

squad under manager

Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...

. His debut came on 16 November 1988, at the age of 21, in the 1–1 friendly draw against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of th ...

. Thomas made his second and final England senior appearance just over a year later, on 13 December 1989 in a 2–1 friendly win over

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

Personal life

After retiring from football, Thomas set up his own security service. He also plays for the Liverpool legends team and currently resides in the city of

. In 2019, Thomas featured as a guest substitute player in season one of the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

show Harry's Heroes, which featured former football manager Harry Redknapp attempting get a squad of former England international footballers back fit and healthy for a game against Germany legends.

Honours

Arsenal * Football League First Division: 1988–89, 1990–91 * Football League Cup: 1986–87 * FA Charity Shield: 1991 Liverpool *

: 1991–92 * Football League Cup: 1994–95

Individual

Arsenal Player of the Season Award The Arsenal Player of the Season award is an official award given by Arsenal Football Club to the best performing player from the club over the course of the season. The award is given based on votes by Arsenal fans on the club's website, it wa ...

: 1987−88

References

General * Specific

External links

Profile at LFCHistory.net

Thisisanfield.com Forgotten Heroes
*
Michael Thomas index at Sporting-heroes.net

England profile

- Arseweb on Thomas' most famous day * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Michael 1967 births Living people Footballers from Lambeth Black British sportspeople English footballers Association football midfielders Arsenal F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Wimbledon F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players S.L. Benfica footballers S.L. Benfica B players Primeira Liga players Segunda Divisão players England youth international footballers England under-21 international footballers England B international footballers England international footballers English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Portugal FA Cup Final players