Robert Anthony Thomson (5 December 1943 – 19 August 2009) was an English 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 lea ...

. He made 478 appearances in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

and won eight

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Something of a legend at his first club –

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 is considered to be one of the finest full-backs ever to have played for the team. Departing Wolves in 1969, he then moved on to

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

and then

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

. He was promoted out of the

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 ...

with all three clubs. His later career involved moving between numerous clubs at home and abroad. He spent time as

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

Connecticut Bicentennials The Connecticut Bicentennials were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1977. Originally founded as the Hartford Bicentennials, the team relocated to New Haven, Connecticut after the 1 ...

and

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

Stafford Rangers Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Division One West. The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts. Stafford Rangers' rivals include ...

Early and personal life

Robert Anthony Thomson was born on 5 December 1943 in

Smethwick Smethwick () is an industrial town in the Sandwell district, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire and then Worcestershire before bei ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

. He married to Janice Llewellyn in 1966 and had three children. After retiring from playing, he ran a sports shop in

Sedgley Sedgley is a town in the north of the Dudley district, in the county of the West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, Sedgley is on the A459 road between Wolverhampton and Dudley, and was formerly the seat of an ancient ...

in the West Midlands. He was known to take part in Wolves All Stars charity games from his retirement up until his last years, as well as help

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

youngsters in Oldbury. He died of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

Russells Hall Hospital Russells Hall Hospital is an NHS general hospital located in Dudley, West Midlands, England, managed by the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust. The hospital is south-west of the town centre on the A4101 road, which connects to the Kingswinford ...

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

at the age of 65. He had recovered from the first occurrence of the illness, only to succumb after suffering a relapse.

Club career

Thomson was born in

, which was then in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. He joined local side

in 1959 upon leaving Lyndon High School in

Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...

. He signed professional forms in July 1961, before making his senior debut on 27 January 1962 in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

tie against Black Country rivals

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 ...

. Between his debut in 1962 and 1967, he missed just 11 first-team games. Unfortunately for Thomson, he was too late for the glory years and instead came through under the tail-end of

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Stan Cullis Stanley Cullis (25 October 1916 – 28 February 2001) was an English professional footballer and manager, primarily for Wolverhampton Wanderers. During his term as manager between 1948 and 1964, Wolves became one of the strongest teams in the En ...

' 16-year reign. Their best finish during Thomson's time was fifth in the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

in 1962–63. The club fell to the

in 1964–65. They won

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

at the second time of asking – in 1966–67, as runners-up. In the summer of 1967, he was part of the Wolves side that played in the United States, guesting as the

Los Angeles Wolves The Los Angeles Wolves were an American professional Association football, soccer team that played for two seasons. In 1967 they played in the United Soccer Association, finishing as champions, and in 1968 North American Soccer League season, ...

. Under that guise, they won the

United Soccer Association The United Soccer Association (USA) was a professional association football, soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League ( ...

league championship. In March 1969, Thomson moved on to

for £40,000, teaming up with his former boss Stan Cullis, though Cullis retired early the next year. He played 44 games of the 1969–70 campaign in a settled back four made up of Thomson, Dave Robinson,

Garry Pendrey Garry James Sidney Pendrey (born 9 February 1949) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender, making 345 appearances in the Football League, including more than 300 for Birmingham City. After playing he went into coac ...

, and Ray Martin. However, he fell out of favour under a new boss

Freddie Goodwin Freddie Goodwin (28 June 1933 – 19 February 2016) was an English professional football player and manager. He also played county cricket for Lancashire. Career A wing half, Goodwin was signed as a trainee from Cheshire Schoolboys by Manchest ...

and featured just 15 times in 1970–71. In 1971–72, Birmingham gained promotion to the top tier, as runners-up behind

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

. He did not play any first-team games however, and instead spent part of 1971 on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

at nearby Third Division club

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

. In 1972, he moved on to

, another Second Division side with ambitions of top-flight football. Thomson's teams had a knack for finishing second in the second tier, as the "Hatters" achieved this in 1973–74, as they watched

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

sprint away with the title. Luton were unfortunate to go back down in 1974–75, finishing a mere point from the safety of

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

in 19th. In 1976, his career was drawing to a close, and his best days behind him, Thomson went back to the States, spending a short period with

Hartford Bicentennials The Connecticut Bicentennials were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1977. Originally founded as the Hartford Bicentennials, the team relocated to New Haven, Connecticut after the 1 ...

. He returned to the

, and the West Midlands, with Third Division

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

in October 1976. He made an 'impressive' debut in a 3–2 defeat to

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in the area of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and it has been the home ground of Port Vale Football Club since its opening in 1950. It has a current capacity of 15,695, and was renovated durin ...

on 16 October 1976 and earned himself both a regular first-team spot and the captaincy. He played 24 games for

Roy Sproson Roy Sproson (23 September 1930 – 24 January 1997) was an English footballer and football manager for Port Vale. A one-club man, he holds the all-time appearance record for Vale, making 837 starts (and 5 substitute appearances) for Val ...

's team in 1976–77, before he returned to the re-branded

in March 1977. He stayed with the Connecticut Bicentennials for two years before returning to England with

non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English Association football, football club based in Worcester, England, Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Southern Football League Premier Division Central, the seventh tier of English football. ...

. He later became player-manager of

. Another spell in the US with

Memphis Rogues The Memphis Rogues were a professional soccer team in the former North American Soccer League (1968–1984), North American Soccer League. They operated in the 1978 in sports, 1978, 1979 in sports, 1979, and 1980 in sports, 1980 seasons and p ...

in the NASL followed before he joined Brewood, Solihull Borough and then Tipton Town.

International career

Thomson won eight full

with the senior team between 1963 and 1964. He was selected by

Alf Ramsey Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. As a player, he represented England national football team, the England national ...

and made his full international debut on 20 November 1963 in an 8–3 Home International victory over

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. His final international appearance came in December 1964. He also played 15 games for the England under-23 team, which was a record.

Style of play

Thomson was an exceptionally fast full-back and was also extremely adept at back-pedalling.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Wolverhampton Wanderers *

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 tier ...

second-place promotion: 1966–67 Luton Town *Football League Second Division second-place promotion: 1973–74 England *

British Home Championship The British Home Championship (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Championship) was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams: England, Scotlan ...

: 1963–64 (shared), 1964–65

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Bobby Footballers from Smethwick English men's footballers England men's international footballers England men's under-23 international footballers Men's association football fullbacks English Football League players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Worcester City F.C. players Willenhall Town F.C. players Solihull Borough F.C. players United Soccer Association players Los Angeles Wolves players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Connecticut Bicentennials players Memphis Rogues players Stafford Rangers F.C. players Tipton Town F.C. players English Football League representative players English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English expatriate men's footballers English football coaches Men's association football player-managers English football managers Stafford Rangers F.C. managers Deaths from prostate cancer in England 1943 births 2009 deaths 20th-century English sportsmen