Bill Thompson (Scottish footballer)

William Gordon Thompson (10 August 1921 – 26 December 1986)[3] was a Scottish footballer who played in the Football League as a wing half for Portsmouth and Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic.[4][5] He went on to manage clubs in England and the Netherlands.

For other people with the same name, see Bill Thompson (disambiguation).

Bill Thompson
Thompson arguing with Dutch referee Brouwer (1966)
Personal information
Full name William Gordon Thompson[1]
Date of birth (1921-08-10)10 August 1921
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death 26 December 1986(1986-12-26) (aged 65)[2]
Place of death Portsmouth, England
Position(s) Wing half
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
– Carnoustie Panmure
1948–1952 Portsmouth 20 (2)
1952–1954 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 45 (0)
– Guildford City
Managerial career
1956–1957 Guildford City
1957–1958 Exeter City
1958–1962 Worcester City
1963–1966 Sparta Rotterdam
1970–1971 HFC Haarlem
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Life and career
Thompson (black shorts) manager with Sparta Rotterdam (1965)

Born in Glasgow,[3] Thompson played for Scottish junior club Carnoustie Panmure before joining Portsmouth.[4] He was a member of Portsmouth's championship-winning team of 1949 and 1950.[3] His only goals for the club came on the last day of the 1949–50 season, playing as an emergency centre-forward. Needing to beat Aston Villa to ensure they stayed ahead of Wolverhampton Wanderers on goal average, Thompson scored twice in a 5–1 win.[6] He went on to play in the League for Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic and in non-league football for Guildford City.[5]

Thompson took over as manager of Guildford City towards the end of the 1955–56 Southern League season, in which they won the title.[7] In May 1957, he was the pick of more than thirty applicants for the post of manager at Third Division South club Exeter City,[8] but lasted only until January 1958, when the club announced his departure by mutual agreement, though Thompson himself said he had been sacked.[9] A few days later, he was appointed manager of Southern League Worcester City, leading them to victory against Liverpool in the 1958–59 FA Cup and remaining in post until 1962.[10][11]

He went on to coach abroad, including in the Netherlands with Sparta Rotterdam from 1963 to 1966[12][13] and HFC Haarlem from 1970 to 1971.[14][15]

Honours

Portsmouth

Guildford City

Sparta Rotterdam

References
  1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (1998). The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946–1998. Queen Anne Press. p. 540. ISBN 978-1-85291-585-8.
  2. "Bill Thompson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  3. "Pompey FC Players - Bill Thompson". Pompeyrama. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  4. "Portsmouth : 1946/47–2008/09". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  5. "Bournemouth : 1946/47–2008/09". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  6. "Pompey vs Aston Villa, 1950". The News. Portsmouth. 30 March 2006. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  7. "Guildford City club history". Guildford City F.C. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  8. "Leaving Guildford". Daily Mirror. London. 11 May 1957. p. 13.
  9. Langton, Harry (14 January 1958). "Soccer on the inside. Thompson answers". Daily Express. London. p. 12. Bill Thompson knew he was SACKED by Exeter three days before the official announcement on Friday that he was leaving 'by mutual agreement.'
  10. "Worcester City F.C. Managers". Worcester City F.C. Archived from the original on 4 June 2009.
  11. Carley, Steve (29 September 2006). "City vice-chairman recalls giant-killing". Worcester News. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  12. "Schot Bill Thompson manager bij Sparta" [Scot Bill Thompson manager of Sparta]. Leeuwarder Courant (in Dutch). 6 June 1963. p. 13.
  13. "Sparta speurt naar een opvolger voor trainer Thompson" [Sparta are looking for a successor to Thompson]. Leeuwarder Courant (in Dutch). 4 June 1966. p. 6.
  14. Kuijpers, Bert (15 April 2012). "Introverte Thompson ging zwijgend ten onder" [Thompson the introvert went under quietly]. Berts SoccerSpot (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  15. "Eredivisie". Leeuwarder Courant (in Dutch). 11 August 1970. p. 18.
  16. "1957-1958 Bill Thompson". The Grecian Archive. Retrieved 27 July 2023.


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