Andrew Richard Thompson (born 9 November 1967 in

Featherstone, Staffordshire Featherstone is a village in the district of South Staffordshire in Staffordshire England. It is near to the border with Wolverhampton. History Originally a farming community consisting of a few scattered farms, it is mentioned in the Domesda ...

) is an English 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 lea ...

, most associated with

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. He was inducted into the Wolverhampton Wanderers Hall of Fame in 2017.

Career

Thompson began his career as a midfielder with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

, where he made his debut 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. T ...

in November 1985. He scored in the penalty shoot-out, although Albion lost to Chelsea, who went on to win the competition. Thompson moved to rivals

with

Steve Bull Stephen George Bull (born 28 March 1965) is an English former professional footballer who is best remembered for his 13-year spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers. He played there from 1986 until his retirement from playing in 1999, and holds the c ...

in November 1986 for a combined fee of £60,000 and made the transition to full-back. 'Thommo' became a fans favourite at Molineux, known for his speed and penalty taking. He was an integral part of the team that won back-to-back promotions to the (old) Second Division in the late 1980s (also lifting the

Associate Members' Cup The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier League ...

). He remained a vital player in the team as they twice failed in the play-offs, as they tried to break into the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

during the 1990s. He eventually left the club in 1997 to join

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

, after making a total of 451 appearances for the Midlanders. He played three seasons in the second flight at

Prenton Park Prenton Park is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Prenton, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers F.C., Tranmere Rovers Football Club since opening in 1912, and formerly the home ground ...

, helping the club to the League Cup final in 2000 (although he was an unused substitute 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 the London Borou ...

) before being released in May 2000, and subsequently joining

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

on a free transfer. His time in Wales was injury-ravaged, as he tore his stomach muscles in only his second game, and damaged his ankle ligaments in his comeback game. These setbacks and the arrival of

Alan Cork Alan Graham Cork (born 4 March 1959) is an English former professional footballer. He played as a striker for several clubs, most notably Wimbledon (where he spent 14 years, played in all four divisions of the Football League and gained an FA Cu ...

as manager, saw Thompson being loaned out to League Two

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

in January 2002. He made the move permanent in the close season, but his only full season with the club saw them lose their league state for the first time, during another injury plagued season for the defender. After being released, he moved to non-league

Hednesford Town Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2004. History The club was established in 1880 as a merger of t ...

but managed only one appearance before injury forced him to retire in 2003. Since retiring from playing, he has completed a sports science degree at

Wolverhampton University The University of Wolverhampton is a public university in Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, England, located on four campuses across the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire. Originally founded in 1827 as the Wolverham ...

and gained a UEFA B coaching licence. He now works as a PE Teacher at Chellaston Academy in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

and is often co-commentator for Wolves matches on the official

website and app alongside Mikey Burrows.

Statistics

Honours

Tranmere Rovers *

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

runner-up: 1999–2000

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Andy 1967 births Living people People from South Staffordshire District English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Sports scientists Alumni of the University of Wolverhampton Footballers from Staffordshire English Football League players