Thompson’s regret at leaving Reds
FORMER Highfield Road ace David Thompson has admitted that he still regrets leaving Liverpool to join the Coventry City and claims Gordon Strachan’s squad left him feeling like he had to perform miracles in Sky Blue.
The 41-year-old, who spent two seasons with City, left Liverpool in 2000 having made just 48 league appearances for the Merseyside giants.
But has told the Athletic that upon his arrival at Coventry’s Ryton-onDunsmore training base he struggled to adjust to the drop in quality between the two sides.
During his time with the Sky Blues, Thompson turned out 66 times, scoring 15 goals as the club were relegated from the Premier League.
“I regret leaving Liverpool,” he said. “It’s the best club in the world with the best people and the most qualified people.
“The football was at the highest level. I felt like I was on a similar wavelength with the players around me. At Coventry, it wasn’t the same.”
Coventry’s 2000 squad boasted a number of players still popular among Sky Blues fans including Mustapha Hadji, Youssef Chippo, Mo Konjic and Marcus Hall – but that side finished 19th in the Premier League and struggled to pick up a run of results throughout the season.
“We had players who were triers but they weren’t at the same standard [as at Liverpool]. We’d have the ball 30 per cent of the time whereas at Liverpool, it’d be 70,” Thompson continued.
“This created a problem for me because I felt as though I had to work miracles when I did get it.”
“Whenever I wasn’t at Liverpool, I felt like I was on loan anyway,” he added. “[At] Coventry and Blackburn, I was constantly thinking, ‘I’ve just got to get back there one way or another.’” ......... AFC Bournemouth v Arsenal ..... ............... Aston Villa v Norwich ............ ............. Chelsea v Southampton .......... .......... Crystal Palace v West Ham ....... ................... Everton v Burnley ............... ......... Leicester v Liverpool (8.00) ...... .......... Man Utd v Newcastle (5.30) ...... ................. Sheff Utd v Watford .............. ........ Tottenham v Brighton (12.30) .....
............... Barnsley v West Brom ........... ............ Blackburn v Birmingham ......... ................ Brentford v Swansea ............. .................... Cardiff v Millwall ................. ............... Charlton v Bristol City ........... ................. Hull v Nottm Forest .............. ............... Leeds v Preston (5.15) ........... ..................... Luton v Fulham ................. ....... Middlesbrough v Huddersfield .... ................ Reading v QPR (7.30) ............ .................. Stoke v Sheff Wed ............... ...................... Wigan v Derby ..................
...... Blackpool v Accrington Stanley... ..... Bristol Rovers v AFC Wimbledon .. ........... Burton Albion v Tranmere ........ ................ Ipswich v Gillingham ............. ............ Oxford Utd v Lincoln City ......... ........... Peterborough v Doncaster ....... ............. Portsmouth v Wycombe .......... ......... Rochdale v Fleetwood Town ...... ............ Shrewsbury v Rotherham ........ ................ Southend v MK Dons ............ ................ Sunderland v Bolton .............
.................. Carlisle v Bradford ............... ............. Cheltenham v Plymouth ......... ........ Crawley Town v Northampton .... ............ Exeter v Newport County ........ .... Leyton Orient v Colchester (1.00) . .............. Macclesfield v Grimsby ........... ................ Mansfield v Port Vale ............ ............... Morecambe v Oldham ............ ................ Salford City v Crewe ............. ................ Scunthorpe v Walsall ............ ........... Stevenage v Forest Green ........ ........... Swindon v Cambridge Utd ........
.............. Aberdeen v Livingston ........... ............ Hamilton v St Johnstone ......... ........... Hearts v Hibernian (12.30) ....... ............... Rangers v Kilmarnock ........... ........... Ross County v Motherwell ........ ................... St Mirren v Celtic ................