PETER THOMPSON
KEVIN HALLS REFLECTS ON THE CAREER OF THE FORMER LIVERPOOL AND ENGLAND STAR…
Liverpool legend
YOUNGSTERS all over the world have their favourite footballers and when I was a youth one of mine was Liverpool winger Peter Thompson.
Sadly, he passed away at the age of 76 over the festive period.
Born in 1942 in Carlisle, Thompson started his career at Preston North End, where from 1960 till 1963 he made 121 league appearances, scoring 20 goals.
His performances at Deepdale didn’t go unnoticed and Bill Shankly, the legendary Liverpool manager, wanted him at Anfield. He got him for £37,000, which was a lot of cash back then. In today’s market, that would be around £50m.
So you could see how good he was and Shankly is on the record as saying that Thompson rates alongside such great players as Tom Finney, George Best and Stanley Matthews. I’m not sure about that but he was an exceptional winger.
Standing 6ft 1in, he was tall for a winger. He was right footed, yet played on the left flank.
He was fast with the ball at his feet, flying down the wing and leaving defenders trailing in his wake.
At Liverpool, his crosses for Roger Hunt and Ian St John led to a hatful of goals.
He spent ten glorious years at Anfield, making 426 league appearanc- es and banging in 54 goals. He was idolised by the Kop for his consistent performances and goal-creating play.
His first season at Liverpool, 196364, saw him play in all 42 matches, and they ended their 17-year wait to lift the First Division title. And in the following campaign they finally won the FA Cup for the first time in their history.
Thompson was so fit and could run all day, he possessed speed and close ball control. With Ian Callaghan on the other flank, no wonder full-backs were left rattled come the end of games.
I was fortunate enough to watch him play once at Highfield Road against my club Coventry City.
Before then, I had seen him on the telly and pictures of him in my football
books and magazines, but I was excited to see him close-up in a match.
He didn’t disappoint. On a snowy winter afternoon, and icy pitch, he turned our full-back inside out and flighted a perfect cross for Hunt to net with a bullet header.
Over at the local fields the next day, I pretended to be Thompson when I was dribbling with the ball. Try as hard as I could, I couldn’t match his pace or ability to run fast with the ball – it looked like it was glued to his boots!
His honours at Liverpool were: First Division champions - 1963-64, 1965-66; runners-up - 1968-69; FA Cup winners - 1965; runners-up – 1971; European Cup Winners’ Cup runners-up – 1966.
He played for England 16 times but this was in the Alf Ramsey era – and he wasn’t a big fan of wingers. In both 1966 and 1970, he was chosen in Ramsey’s provisional squad of 28, but didn’t make the final 22.
Another manager may well have had Thompson in the England team and used his speed and trickery to full effect.
Even though his caps didn’t reflect his talent, he was a top-class footballer.
He ended his career at Bolton Wanderers. In five years, he turned out 117 times in the league, scoring a couple of goals. He helped the Trotters win the Second Division championship in 1977-78.
His total league appearances were 560; Goals – 63. He retired in 1978.
I’ve seen some great wingers over the years – George Best, Charlie Cooke, Ian Storey-Moore, Tommy Hutchison, Ian Callaghan.
But my favourite of them all has to be Peter Thompson, the right footed left winger. He was, without doubt, one of those players who could have played in any era.
Thanks, Peter, for the memories.