Tony Thomas (footballer)

{{short description|English footballer}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}

{{Use British English|date=April 2016}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Tony Thomas

| fullname = Anthony Thomas{{Hugman|19436|accessdate=30 April 2017}}

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|7|12|df=y}}

| birth_place = Liverpool, England

| height =

| position = Defender

| youthyears1 = 1985–1986

| youthclubs1 = Tranmere Rovers

| years1 = 1986–1997 | clubs1 = Tranmere Rovers | caps1 = 257 | goals1 = 12

| years2 = 1997–1998 | clubs2 = Everton | caps2 = 8 | goals2 = 0

| years3 = 1998–2001 | clubs3 = Motherwell | caps3 = 16 | goals3 = 0

| totalcaps = 281

| totalgoals = 12

}}

Anthony Thomas (born 12 July 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender in the Football League for Tranmere Rovers, where he spent the majority of his career, in the Premier League for Everton and in the Scottish Premier League for Motherwell.{{cite web |url=https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=7874 |title=Tony Thomas |work=Soccerbase |publisher=Centurycomm |access-date=4 December 2009}}

Career

Thomas was born in Liverpool. He began his career as a junior with Tranmere Rovers reserves, and quickly advanced through the ranks. He made his debut as a 17-year-old in the 1987–88 season{{cite web |url=http://www.sporting-heroes.net/Football/Everton-FC/Tony-Thomas-10937/1997-98-1998-99_A18563/ |title=Tony Thomas Everton FC |work=Football Heroes |publisher=Sporting Heroes Collections |accessdate=4 December 2009}} and made more than 300 appearances in the next ten years. At Tranmere he was part of the side that won the 1989-90 Football League Trophy.{{cite news

|url=http://trscireland.info/vbristolrovers1990.html

|title=BRISTOL ROVERS 1 V TRANMERE ROVERS 2

|publisher=trscireland.info

|accessdate=11 June 2019}} After completing a £400,000 move to Everton before the 1997–98 season, injury disrupted his progress and he failed to hold down a first-team place.

He was sold to Motherwell at the beginning of the next season for £150,000, and scored his first and only goal for the club in a 3-1 Scottish Cup win over Hearts in January 1999.{{cite news

|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-hearts-broken-as-motherwell-storm-through-1076252.html

|title=Football: Hearts broken as Motherwell storm through

|publisher=Independent

|date=25 January 1999 |accessdate=11 June 2019}} He retired from professional football due to injury in 2001.{{cite web |url=http://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/players/player.php?id=147 |title=Tony Thomas |publisher=Motherwell F.C |accessdate=4 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330170322/http://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/players/player.php?id=147 }}

References

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