Jim Thomson (footballer, born 1971)
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | James Thomson | ||
Date of birth | 15 May 1971 | ||
Place of birth | Stirling, Scotland | ||
Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||
Playing position | Defender | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
1991–1996 | Clyde | 151 | (11) |
1996–1997 | Stenhousemuir | 13 | (0) |
1997–1999 | Queen of the South | 50 | (2) |
1999–2001 | Arbroath | 46 | (2) |
2001–2010 | Queen of the South | 242 | (7) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 August 2010. |
James "Jim" Thomson (born 15 May 1971 in Stirling) is a former Scottish footballer. Nicknamed 'JT', Thomson was a central defender.
Thomson is currently the commercial manager at Queen of the South, having taken over from Mark McMinn on 1 June 2011. [1]
Career
Clyde
Thomson began his senior football career at Clyde in 1991. Thomson made 151 league appearances and scored 11 goals. Clyde were Scottish Football League Division Two Champions in 1992–93 when Thomson was at the club.
Stenhousemuir
He then had a short spell with Stenhousemuir in 1996 making thirteen league appearances.
Queen of the South
Thomson first joined Dumfries club Queen of the South as the club were rebuilding in 1997 in the post Harkness era. New chairman Norman Blount was getting the wheels moving on the club's revival.[2] In 1997 the club reached the Scottish Challenge Cup Final for the first time. Second Division Queens lost 1–0 to First Division Falkirk despite a rousing Queens display at Motherwell's Fir Park; a performance that included the man of the match award going to Queens veteran central midfield playmaker Tommy Bryce and an early career appearance for Jamie McAllister.[3] A late chance for a Derek Townsley equaliser went agonisingly over for Queens.[4]
In a later interview on the club website reflecting on his time at Queens, McAllister listed Thomson among the best players that he played beside at the club.[3]
Arbroath
Thomson next went to Arbroath making 46 league appearances and scored 2 goals. He then followed in the footsteps of another distinguished player, Jimmy Binning, by leaving Arbroath to join Queen of the South.
Return to Queen of the South
He has been player of the season three times over a ten-year period for the Dumfries side.[5] In late August and early September 2006 Thomson had a 'clean up' operation on his knee but has come back successfully, including scoring a spectacular overhead kick.
Thomson made his 300th Queens appearance on 20 October 2007 in a First Division match against St Johnstone and is one of only 19 players to have made more than 300 appearances for Queen of the South.[2]
Jim Thomson captained Queens during the 2007–08 Scottish Cup 4 – 3 semi-final victory against Aberdeen. Thomson is the first man to captain Queens in a Scottish Cup semi-final victory. As well as captaining Queen in the final Thomson also scored Queens' equaliser to bring the game against Rangers to 2 – 2. Despite Queens' battling second half display Rangers eventually ran out 3 – 2 winners.[2]
Thus at Queen of the South:-
- Despite Queen of the South Scottish Cup Quarter Final appearances running into double figures, Jim Thomson is one of only two men to captain a Queen of the South team to victory at that level in the Scottish Cup[2]
- Jim Thomson is the only man to captain Queen of the South to a Scottish Cup Semi Final victory[2]
- Jim Thomson is the only man to captain Queen of the South in a Scottish Cup Final[2]
- Jim Thomson, along with Steve Tosh are the only two men to score for Queen of the South in a Scottish Cup Final[2]
- Jim Thomson is one of only two men to captain Queen of the South to the Scottish Second Division (or Scottish "B" Division as it was called when Queens won it in 1951) Championship[2]
- Jim Thomson is the only man to date to captain Queen of the South to victory in the Scottish Challenge Cup final. The Queens side that day also included Robbie Neilson and Andy Goram.[2]
- Along with Andy Aitken they are the only Queens players to earn four senior Scottish football medals while playing for the club – (winners of the 2001–02 Second Division and 2002–03 Scottish Challenge Cup; runners up in the 1997–98 Scottish Challenge Cup and 2007–08 Scottish Cup).[2]
- Jim Thomson is the only man to captain Queens in a UEFA competition when Queens played in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup second qualification round games against FC Nordsjaelland.[2][6]
- Jim Thomson was the first (v Aberdeen in the 2008 Scottish Cup semi final) man to captain Queens in a game live on national television. He also captained Queens in their next live televised games against Rangers (Scottish Cup final) and FC Nordsjaelland (UEFA Cup qualifier).[2]
When Tommy Bryce[4] was interviewed for the Queen of the South website, he named Thomson as being among the best players who he played beside at Queens. Thomson was also commended for his efforts when Andrew Coltart was interviewed for the club website.[7]
Thomson was given a testimonial by Queens on 18 July 2010. The result was a 1–0 win for Rangers.[8]
Thomson was retained as a player for the 2009–10 season after making 358 first team appearances. Thomson is 11th in the club's all time appearances list and also coached the under 19s team for the 2010–11 season.[9]
In two spells at Queens, Thomson played in 292 league matches and scored 9 league goals.
References
- ↑ http://www.qosfc.com/staff
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Club History" on the official Queen of the South website
- 1 2 Jamie McAllister interview on www.qosfc.com
- 1 2 Tommy Bryce profile on "Queens Legends" on the official Queen of the South FC website
- ↑ 2005–06 Player of the Year Awards, Queens official website, 3 May 2006.
- ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/7560658.stm
- ↑ Andrew Coltart interview on www.qosfc.com
- ↑ "Queen of the South 0 – Glasgow Rangers 1", Graham Crofts, www.qosfc.com
- ↑ 'Jim Thomson's new role' www.qosfc.com