Tommy Caton

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Tommy Caton
Personal information
Full name Thomas Stephen Caton[1]
Date of birth (1962-10-06)6 October 1962[1]
Place of birth Kirkby, England
Date of death 30 April 1993(1993-04-30) (aged 30)[1]
Place of death Bampton,[1] Oxfordshire, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[2]
Position(s) Central defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1983 Manchester City 165 (8)
1983–1987 Arsenal 81 (2)
1987–1988 Oxford United 53 (3)
1988–1991 Charlton Athletic 57 (5)
Total 356 (18)
International career
1981–1984 England U21 14 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Thomas Stephen Caton (6 October 1962 – 30 April 1993) was an English

Charlton Athletic. Caton captained both Manchester City and Oxford United and was named as City's Player of the Year
in 1982.

He made 14 appearances for the England under-21 team.[3]

Career

Manchester City

Born in

Tottenham Hotspur when still only 18 years old. When Tommy Hutchison put City in the lead it looked as though Caton was on his way to collect a winner's medal, but Tottenham levelled as a result of Hutchison's own goal, a replay was forced and City lost it 3–2.[4]

He reached 100

Football League history to achieve this feat. He was also named City's Player of the Year for 1981–82. Caton scored eight goals during his spell at Maine Road, the first one coming in a 1–1 draw at Nottingham Forest on 13 March 1982, and he scored twice against Arsenal on 4 December 1982.[4] He scored his last goal for City in a 3–1 win against Shrewsbury Town at Gay Meadow on 5 November 1983.[citation needed
]

A season after he came close to collecting an FA Cup winner's medal, Caton was looking like a good bet for a

UEFA Cup place. The lacklustre form continued into the 1982–83 season, at the end of which City were beaten 1–0 at home on the final day of the season by Luton Town, meaning that City were relegated and Luton stayed up. Caton was unwilling to remain at City now they were a Second Division club, and handed in a transfer request, but began the 1983–84 season still playing for the Citizens and he remained there until December 1983 when he made the move to Arsenal for £500,000.[4][6]

Arsenal

Caton made his Arsenal debut against

George Graham. By February 1987, Caton had scored three goals in 95 appearances for Arsenal, but had not played first-team football in almost a year.[6][7]

Oxford United

In February 1987, Caton was sold to

Manor Ground.[6] He also missed out on a chance of silverware when Oxford were knocked out in the semifinals of the 1987–88 League Cup.[8]

Charlton Athletic

He remained at Oxford until 18 November 1988, when he was sold to Charlton Athletic for £100,000[6] in order to play in the First Division again. Caton stayed with Charlton after their relegation in 1990, but was injured the following January and never played first team football again.[citation needed] He finally announced his retirement in March 1993 having failed to make a full recovery. He had played 57 league games for Charlton, scoring five goals.[4]

Personal life

Caton was born in

heart attack at home in Oxfordshire.[9]

Honours

Club

Manchester City

Individual

  • Manchester City Player of the Year: 1982 [4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Tommy Caton". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  2. .
  3. ^ Courtney, Barrie (10 January 2004). "England – U-21 International Results 1976–1985 – Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Redshaw, David. "Tommy Caton – Manchester City FC – Biography of his football career at Man City". Sporting Heroes. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Blues Academy Part I". manchestercity.vitalfootball.co.uk. 7 March 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Tommy Caton". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Tommy Caton 1962–1993". The History of Arsenal. AISA Arsenal History Society. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  8. ^ Jones, Stuart (29 February 1988). "Luton grasp the chance of a Wembley stage". The Times. p. 32.
  9. ^ a b "Caton dies aged 30". The Independent. London. 1 May 1993. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  10. ^ "Andy Caton". Swindon-Town-FC.co.uk. Richard Banyard. Retrieved 2 March 2017.

External links