thomson_william
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| Name: William Thomson |
Nationality: Scotland |
| Position: inside-right |
Signing Information: Transferred from: Aston Villa, 10/1893, £ |
| Birthdate: 04-05-1868 |
Years at Club: 1893 |
| Age: (156) |
Debut: 21/10/1893 v Burnley (A) 1-4 (League Division One) |
| Birthplace: Cardross, Scotland |
Previous clubs: Dumbarton, Aston Villa |
| Height: |
Farewell to Manchester United: Transferred to ?, 11/1893, £ |
| Weight: |
Passed Away: PA |
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A player who does not get the credit he deserves is William Thomson. For, the fact that he was the first ever Scottish international player to appear for Newton Heath has been buried in the stampede of Tartan terriers at Bank Street in 1893-94. Especially more so since there was only one other capped man at the club at the time - Irishman Jack Peden.
Thomson began his career with Dumbarton's reserves in 1889 as a diminutive inside-right. In 1890-91, he made the breakthrough into the first team but was limited to just two appearances for a side that won the inaugural Scottish League championship. In the following season, however, William missed only two matches as the title was retained. His improvement earned him a Scottish cap on March 26th, 1892, against Wales... and he scored within the first minute!
Another cap against the Welshmen followed a year later, as well as a move south of the border to Aston Villa. The Villains, however, were so strong in 1893-94 (they would go on to win the title), that Thomson could not get a single game. Cue a move to the bottom team, Newton Heath, in October 1893 for "the smallest forward in the League"! He was promptly penciled in to play against West Brom, only to break down in training the day before the game. It was for his own good: the ensuing match turned into a battle and put the club in court.
His debut thus came a week later - a 1-4 drubbing at Burnley - and, when two subsequent outings also resulted in losses, Thomson's audition was deemed a failure. It was time to return to Dumbarton. By now, though, his old club were in a downward spiral. They finished bottom of Scotland's Division One in 1895 and 1896, then bottom of Division Two in 1897. That was when they had their last hurrah, reaching the Scottish Cup final against Rangers. Thomson scored, but his team lost 1-5.
Despite dropping into the non-league level, William's form improved, especially after switching to half-back. In fact, he even earned a recall to the national side, facing Wales and Ireland in March 1898. In the close season, he was picked up by Clyde, where he spent two years and made 25 appearances. But he still found time to return to Dumbarton in 1900-01, just before they disbanded at the season's end. Thomson continued to live on Dumbarton High Street for decades afterwards. Picture thanks to the hard appreciated work of Charbel Boujaoude. Biography kindly provided by Charbel Boujaoude. |
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Season
Goals |
Season
Apps |
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1893-1894 |
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3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
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3 |
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0 |
3 |
0 |
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0 |
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3 |
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