Andy Thomson (Scottish footballer)

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Andy Thomson
Personal information
Full name Andrew Thomson[1]
Date of birth (1971-04-01) 1 April 1971 (age 53)
Place of birth Motherwell, Scotland
Position(s)
Striker
Youth career
1988–1989 Jerviston Boys Club
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1994 Queen of the South 175 (93)
1994–1998 Southend United 122 (28)
1998–1999 Oxford United 38 (7)
1999–2001 Gillingham 52 (14)
2001–2003 Queens Park Rangers 67 (28)
2003–2004 Partick Thistle 21 (5)
2004–2006 Falkirk 28 (9)
2006–2007 Queen of the South 27 (5)
2007–2008 Stenhousemuir 18 (5)
Total 548 (194)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Andrew Thomson (born 1 April 1971) is a Scottish former professional footballer. Thomson played in 548 league matches, scoring 194 league goals in a career that saw him play for Queen of the South, Partick Thistle, Falkirk and Stenhousemuir in Scotland and Southend United, Oxford United, Gillingham and Queens Park Rangers in England.[2]

Playing career

Queen of the South (first spell)

Thomson was born in

1990–91 Scottish League Cup run to the quarter finals, where Queens eliminated higher division opponents Dundee and Dunfermline Athletic, before being defeated by a late goal versus Celtic at Parkhead.[3]

Thomson scored 109 goals in all competitions during his first spell in

1991–92 season. Thomson was also Scottish football's top scorer for the 1993–94 season.[3]

Aberdeen offered "Queens" £150,000 for Thomson but the club rejected the "Dons"' bid. Southend United then offered £250,000 and a deal was agreed between the two clubs that led to Thomson leaving for Essex on 4 July 1994 to join Peter Taylor's Shrimpers [4] at Roots Hall.[5] As well as being a record transfer fee paid at that particular time by the "Shrimpers", this still remains the highest fee received by Queens.[3]

Andy Thomson returned to Scotland to play for a Queen of the South Select on 23 April 1995. The opposition in the 2–2 draw was Rangers in a match to mark Queens' 75th anniversary and the opening of the new East Stand. Other guests for Queens included Ted McMinn, Davie Irons and Rowan Alexander.[3][6]

Southend United and Oxford United

Thomson played for Southend United from season

1998–99 season playing for Oxford United, where he scored 7 goals in 38 league appearances.[3]

Gillingham

Thomson signed for Gillingham on 5 August 1999 for £25,000 just before the season started. Peter Taylor had now signed Thomson for the second time in his managerial career and later described the transfer deal as the best £25,000 he had ever spent.[3][7]

On 28 May 2000, Thomson scored the winning goal for Gillingham in the

Wigan Athletic ensured the Kent club's first ever promotion to the second tier of English football.[9] The club's website described the goals as, "The most iconic moment in the long history of Gillingham Football Club encapsulated in a few moments of extra time football".[3][7] Thomson became the second former "Queens" player to win a Wembley play-off final after Ted McMinn.[3]

Thomson also scored four goals in Gillingham's

Bradford City and Sheffield Wednesday. The "Gills" were knocked out of the FA Cup in the quarter finals, the first time they had ever reached so far, at Stamford Bridge, when they lost 5–0 to Chelsea.[3]

Thomson scored 14 goals in 52 league appearances for the "Gills" in his two seasons at Priestfield, which were 1999–2000 and 2000–01.

Queens Park Rangers

Thomson then signed for

2002–03. Thomson then returned to Scotland on 10 July 2003.[3][10]

Thomson scored 28 goals in 67 league appearances for "QPR" in his two seasons at Loftus Road, which were

2002–03
.

Return to Scotland

Thomson played for

2005–06
, where he scored 9 goals in 28 league appearances.

Thomson returned to the Doonhamers at the start of the

2006–07 season. Thomson said on his return to Queens, "Things have changed quite a bit while I've been away – a new stand, a completely new set-up and a more modern type of training system". Thomson added, "Norman Blount was an excellent chairman."[3]

During his second spell at Palmerston Park, Thomson scored 5 goals in 27 league appearances and overall, Thomson scored 114 goals in his two spells in Dumfries and is currently the fifth highest all-time goalscorer for the Doonhamers. Thomson was surpassed by Derek Lyle during the 2017–18 season as Lyle finished his Queens career with 117 goals, who was then surpassed by Stephen Dobbie at the start 2018–19 season when he scored a brace versus Edinburgh City on 21 July 2018 in the Scottish League Cup.

Thomson then joined

2007–08 season, where he scored 5 goals in 18 league appearances until he was troubled by injuries and was forced to announce his retirement to the media on 18 March 2008.[11]

Coaching career

Thomson started his coaching career as head coach of the

Edusport Academy as head coach, a football academy for young French players studying in Scotland, who currently play in the Lowland League. Thomson then joined the University of Stirling's men's football team, as assistant manager to the club's manager Shelley Kerr. In August 2017, Thomson was appointed assistant coach of the SWNT
, joining up again with Shelley Kerr.

Thomson is also a UEFA A-Licence holder and is currently[when?] studying for an MSc in Performance Coaching at the University of Stirling. Also, since August 2017, Thomson has been coaching at the Scottish Football Association's Performance School at Braidhurst High School in Motherwell.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Andy Thomson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  2. ^ Andy Thomson at Soccerbase
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "QosFC: Legends – Andy Thomson". qosfc.com. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  4. ^ LTD, Digital Sports Group. "Southend United News – Shrimpers24 – Southend United". www.southendunited-mad.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Contact Us – Southend United". www.southendunited.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  6. ^ "The Queens" by Iain McCartney on Creedon Publications, 2004
  7. ^ a b "Gillingham | Club | Past Players | Past Players | Andy Thomson". Gillinghamfootballclub.com. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  8. ^ [1][dead link]
  9. ^ "Play-Off Finals". The Football League. Archived from the original on 5 April 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  10. ^ "Andy Thomson - Queens Park Rangers FC - Football-Heroes.net". Sporting-heroes.net. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  11. ^ "Dumbarton v Stenhousemuir – Scotsman.com Sport". Sport.scotsman.com. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  12. ^ "New Scotland Women's National Team assistant coach appointed". Scottish Football Association. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.

External links

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