Michael Reginald Thomas (born 7 July 1954) is a Welsh former

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 winger. At club level, he played for

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 ...

, Manchester United, Everton,

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 ...

, Stoke City,

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 ...

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

and

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

. As a Welsh international, he made 51 appearances and scored four goals. Thomas began his career with local side Wrexham where he spent eight seasons and earned a move to Manchester United in 1978. After three seasons at Old Trafford, Thomas had short spells at Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion before joining Stoke City in August 1982. After one and a half seasons at the

Victoria Ground The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in the Football League. History ...

, he moved on to Chelsea, with whom he helped gain promotion in 1983–84. He then played for West Bromwich Albion and Derby County and also spent two years in the United States playing indoor football for Wichita Wings. He moved back to England in 1988 to play for Shrewsbury Town and Leeds United before making returns to Stoke City and Wrexham.

Playing career

Thomas was born in Mochdre, Conwy, Wales, and was among a group of notable footballers to come out of North West Wales during the 1970s and 1980s. Local factory Quinton Hazell bought him a pair of boots when he was at school in the mid 1960s, and at the age of 13 Thomas was a success as left wing on the factory's Conwy League men's team. By 15, he and friend

Joey Jones Joseph Patrick Jones (born 4 March 1955) is a Welsh former international football full-back who most notably played for Liverpool, with whom he won two European Cups. Club career Wrexham Jones was born in Llandudno, and joined Wrexham in 19 ...

were taken on by

. Though the first two years were spent cleaning boots, the changing rooms and the whole stadium, Thomas made his first-team debut in the 1971–72 season, when still only 17. Under manager John Neal he helped Wrexham establish their giant-killing reputation by reaching the quarter finals of 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 ...

in 1974 and the quarter finals of the European

Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

in 1976, when they lost to the eventual winners, Anderlecht of Belgium. After helping Wrexham storm to the Third Division title in 1977–78, Thomas crossed the border to England and joined Manchester United. He played 110 games and scored 15 goals for the Red Devils, collecting an

runners-up medal in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

. He then moved to Everton in August 1981 but lasted just three months at Everton, his contract terminated by manager

Howard Kendall Howard Kendall (22 May 1946 – 17 October 2015) was an English footballer and manager. Kendall joined Preston North End as an apprentice and stayed with the club when he turned professional. He was a runner-up in the 1964 FA Cup with Preston, ...

in the autumn of 1981 after he refused to play in the reserves. He moved to

where he saw out the 1981–82 season but his wife struggled to settle in Brighton and so he moved on again this time to Stoke City for a fee of £200,000. He instantly became a favourite at the

and top-scored in 1982–83 with 12 goals coming from left wing and he won the

player of the year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

award. In the summer of 1983 manager Richie Barker decided to alter his style of play to the

long ball In association football, a long ball is an attempt to move the ball a long distance down the field via one long aerial kick from either a goalkeeper or a defender directly to an attacking player, with the ball generally bypassing the midfield. R ...

game. This decision did not go down well with the players and most of them signalled their intent to leave and Thomas left in January 1984, after scoring three goals in 21 matches in 1983–84. He joined promotion-chasing

in January 1984, signed by the manager who had given him his debut at Wrexham, John Neal. Thomas made an immediate impact, scoring twice on his debut and helping the club become Second Division champions in 1983–84. He was sold to

in 1985 for £100,000 where he played 28 times scoring once and also had a short loan spell at

. In 1986 Thomas moved to the United States where he lent his skills to the Wichita Wings in the Major Indoor Soccer League. After two season in the United States he returned to England with

and

before making a return to Stoke City in March 1990. He could do little to prevent Alan Ball's Stoke suffering relegation in 1989–90 but at the age of 36 he played in 44 matches in

1990–91 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

and won the player of the year award again as Stoke failed to mount a promotion challenge. He was released at the end of the season by

Lou Macari Luigi Macari (born 7 June 1949) is a Scottish former footballer and manager. He began his playing career at Celtic where he was one of the Quality Street Gang, the outstanding reserve team that emerged in the late 1960s that also included Ken ...

and returned to Wrexham in 1991, where in the memorable FA Cup defeat of Arsenal in January 1992, 37-year-old Thomas scored the equalising goal from 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 ...

. He joined Welsh League side

Porthmadog Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau Ff ...

in 1994 under the management of former Wales international teammate Ian Edwards. When Edwards was sacked Thomas took over as a player-manager however in his three months in charge the side only picked up one point and Thomas decided to leave.

International career

Thomas gained 51 caps for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, and counts scoring a goal for Wales in their win over

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 ...

as one of the most memorable moments of his career.

Personal life

During his football career, Thomas became involved in a counterfeit currency scam, whereby he laundered the money through Wrexham's trainees.

North Wales Police North Wales Police ( cy, Heddlu Gogledd Cymru) is the territorial police force responsible for policing North Wales. Its headquarters are in Colwyn Bay. , the force has 1,510 police officers, 170 special constables, 182 police community suppor ...

arrested him in 1993, and after a trial he was sentenced to 18 months in jail. In August 1992, Thomas was attacked by two men in a country lane at

Dyserth Dyserth ( cy, Diserth) is a village, community and electoral ward in Denbighshire, Wales. Its population at the 2011 United Kingdom census was 2,269 and was estimated by the Office for National Statistics as 2,271 in 2019. It lies within the ...

, Clwyd. He was sitting in his Volkswagen with a 29-year-old woman, when his window was smashed and he was assaulted with a hammer and a screwdriver. Thomas was admitted to hospital with 15 stab wounds to his left buttock. In February 2019, Thomas made public that he had stomach cancer.

After football

Thomas never played at senior level after his imprisonment, although he did continue playing for a while at non-league level with

and Amlwch Town in Wales, until he finally retired from playing in 1995 at the age of 41. Thomas currently provides analysis on all Manchester United matches on "Total Football" on

Key 103 ''For the Network, see Hits Radio. For the National DAB station, see Hits Radio UK.'' Hits Radio Manchester is an Independent local radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Greater Mancheste ...

and

Piccadilly Magic 1152 Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West is an Independent Local Radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester and North West Eng ...

. He also works as an after-dinner speaker.

Career statistics

Club

Source: :A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the

Full Members Cup The Full Members' Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992. Th ...

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...

International

Source:

Honours

Wrexham *

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mos ...

winners: 1974–75, 1977–78 *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...

champions: 1977–78 * Football League Fourth Division promotion:

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

Manchester United *

runner-up:

Chelsea *

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 t ...

champions: 1983–84 Individual * Stoke City Player of the Year:

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

References

External links

Mickey's Stats @ Leeds-fans.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Mickey 1954 births Living people People from Colwyn Bay Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Everton F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Wales international footballers Wales under-23 international footballers Welsh footballers West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players English Football League players Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales Welsh prisoners and detainees Association football wingers British counterfeiters People convicted of money laundering FA Cup Final players Sportspeople convicted of crimes Porthmadog F.C. players