Anthony Thorpe (born 10 April 1974) 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 le ...

and former manager of Melton Town As a player he was a striker. He notably played for

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

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 ...

. He also played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

and

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 ...

. In the Non-League game he has previously appeared for

Stevenage Borough Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier o ...

, Tamworth, Barton Rovers,

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

, Brackley Town, Stamford and

Halesowen Town Halesowen Town Football Club is a football club based in Halesowen, West Midlands, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Grove Recreation Ground. History The club was believed to have been established around 1873, but rec ...

, where he also had a brief spell as player/manager.

Career

Thorpe began his career at

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

, but he was transferred to

in August 1992. During his time at Luton he switched from attacking-midfielder to striker, with outstanding success. He scored 28 league goals in the 1996–97 season, and soon a move to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

was completed. His time at

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against M ...

was short and he joined

in the summer of 1998. He took time to adapt as Ashton Gate, and he was then sent out on loan to

and back to Luton twice. He eventually found form in Bristol, before he re-joined Luton on a Bosman free transfer in 2002. After 13 goals in his first season back, Thorpe left the financially crippled club for

for a cut-price £50,000 fee, after Thorpe threatened to invoke a rule where he could move to QPR for free. Many Luton fans were outraged at Thorpe and have never forgiven the talented forward. He scored 10 goals in his first season at QPR, helping them win promotion to the newly formed

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

, but the next season was loaned to relegation strugglers

. He was then released by QPR, and joined

, along with another ex-QPR striker, Jamie Cureton. His time at Swindon was unsuccessful, and he was allowed to join fellow

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 ...

side

. After their promotion to the Championship, Thorpe was released and he move to

in July 2006. However, he struggled to settle there, and he was sent to

on loan in September 2006, and he signed for the Mariners in January 2007. Thorpe was released from Grimsby Town at the end of the 2006–07 season and went on to join

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...

team Tamworth, while signing on for Sunday league side Hockley Rangers in Leicester's Alliance League. On 1 November 2007, Thorpe left Tamworth by mutual consent, after an eye condition prevented him from playing. The eye was injured when he scratched the eye on a tile while working, and his vision deteriorated with little sign of improvement. However, he went on to sign for Barton Rovers later in the month. He signed for

on 1 September 2008 but was released after just one game following the dismissal of the club's manager. On 4 September 2008 he signed for Brackley Town. It was announced in late November 2008, that due to new job commitments, Brackley Town and Tony Thorpe came to a mutual agreement for him to move on, as he was unable to find the time commitment needed. He signed for Stamford in December 2008. He remained with Stamford until May 2009, where he then became a free agent until signing for

in December 2009. He was appointed player/manager of Halesowen in November 2010, but resigned in January 2011. He then resumed his playing career at

Hinckley Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England. It is administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in the administrative county of Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughbor ...

in the

East Midlands Counties League The East Midlands Counties Football League was an English football league that operated from 2008 to 2021, covering the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands. The league had one division, which stood a ...

Honours

Queens Park Rangers *

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

runner-up: 2003–04 Colchester United *

runner-up: 2005–06 Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...

: 1996–97 Second Division

References

External links

*
Halesowen Town FC Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorpe, Tony Living people 1974 births Footballers from Leicester English men's footballers English Football League players Luton Town F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Reading F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Tamworth F.C. players Barton Rovers F.C. players Woking F.C. players Brackley Town F.C. players Stamford A.F.C. players Halesowen Town F.C. players Hinckley F.C. players Halesowen Town F.C. managers Men's association football forwards English football managers