Kevin Thomson

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Kevin Thomson
Personal information
Full name Kevin Thomson
Date of birth October 14, 1984 (1984-10-14) (age 23)
Place of birth    Edinburgh, Scotland
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Central Midfielder
Club information
Current club Rangers
Number 8
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2003–2007
2007–		 Hibernian
Rangers		 079 (2)
035 (1)   

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of May 31, 2008.
* Appearances (Goals)

Kevin Thomson (born October 14, 1984 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a Scottish footballer who plays for Scottish Premier League side Rangers. Thomson grew up in Peebles, in the Scottish Borders. He is related to former Rangers striker Steve MacLean.[clarify]

Contents

[edit] Club career

[edit] Early career

Thomson's first club was Peebles Thistle, who play in the Eastern Region Youth League. He then moved on to play for Edinburgh side Hutchison Vale.

[edit] Hibernian

Thomson was part of a very promising group of young players who were developed by Hibs during the 2000s, including Steven Whittaker, Derek Riordan, Scott Brown and Garry O'Connor. Thomson established himself as a regular in the Hibs first team during the 2003-04 season and played in that season's Scottish League Cup final defeat by Livingston.

Thomson suffered a serious cruciate ligament injury during a game against Partick Thistle at the end of the 2003-04 season. This injury meant that he was out of football for almost a year, and he consequently made only four league appearances in the 2004-05 season.

In the 2005-06 season Thomson made an impressive comeback from his injury, establishing himself as one of Hibernian's most important players. He signed a long term contract (until 2010) in March 2006. Thomson was then appointed as club captain by Tony Mowbray when the previous captain Gary Caldwell left the club to join Celtic.

Despite signing a long term contract with Hibs, it was still speculated that Thomson would soon leave Hibs. On August 31, 2006 (transfer deadline day), Premiership club Bolton made an offer that was rejected by Hibernian.[1]

Speculation about Thomson's future increased after he (and Scott Brown) appointed Willie McKay as his agent. McKay demanded that Hibs offer Brown and Thomson wages commensurate with the transfer fees Hibs were demanding for the players[2]. Hibs would have needed to significantly break their pay scale in order to offer such wages[3]. Hibs refused to meet with McKay to discuss improved contracts, which resulted in Brown submitting a written transfer request[4].

On 20 December 2006, Charlton made a joint offer for Brown and Thomson, which was rejected by Hibernian.[5] This sparked a further round of speculation, as Brown and Thomson demanded to know why they had not been informed of the offer before it was rejected.

Thomson was stripped of the captaincy on 2 January 2007 and was replaced by Rob Jones.[6] Thomson was told by manager John Collins to concentrate on his game because he believed that Thomson's performance levels had dropped since the transfer speculation began.

[edit] Rangers

On 30 January 2007, Thomson signed for Walter Smith's Rangers, for a fee of £2 million[7][8]. Smith had been critical of Thomson's behaviour, calling on him to show more "responsibility", less than two months earlier[9], although this was a month before he was re-appointed as Rangers manager.

Thomson made his Rangers debut on 11 February in a 3-1 victory over Kilmarnock, although he was substituted at half-time after suffering a hamstring injury[10].

Thomson has since established himself as a regular in the Rangers first team. He scored his first goal for Rangers against Celtic in an Old Firm match on March 29, 2008[11] and has played in an important part in their run to the 2008 UEFA Cup Final.

[edit] Honours

With Rangers

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Celtic win race for Hibs' Brown", BBC Sport website, 15 May 2007. 
  2. ^ Hibs pair demand talks on future BBC Sport, December 1, 2006
  3. ^ Hibs pair were misled, says agent BBC Sport, December 3, 2006
  4. ^ "Hibs pair demand talks on future", BBC Sport website, 1 December 2006. 
  5. ^ "Charlton fail to land Hibs stars", BBC Sport website, 20 December 2006. 
  6. ^ "Thomson stunned to lose armband", BBC Sport website, 4 January 2007. 
  7. ^ Offer for Kevin Thomson Hibernian FC Official site, 30 January, 2007
  8. ^ Rangers pay Hibs £2m for Thomson BBC Sport website, 30 January 2007
  9. ^ Smith backs Hibs in contract row BBC Sport, December 3, 2006
  10. ^ "Kilmarnock 1-3 Rangers", BBC Sport website, 11 February 2007. 
  11. ^ Rangers 1-0 Celtic BBC Sport website, 29 March 2008

[edit] External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Gary Caldwell		 Hibernian F.C. captain
2006		 Succeeded by
Rob Jones
v • d • e
Rangers F.C. – current squad

1 McGregor • 3 Weir • 4 Buffel • 5 Papac • 6 Ferguson • 7 Hemdani • 8 Thomson • 9 Boyd • 10 Novo • 11 Adam • 15 Gow • 16 G. Smith • 17 Burke • 18 Naismith • 19 Darcheville • 20 Beasley • 21 Broadfoot • 22 Webster • 23 Dailly • 24 Cuéllar • 25 Alexander • 26 S. Smith • 27 McCulloch • 28 Whittaker • 29 Cousin • Manager: W. Smith


Persondata
NAME Thomson, Kevin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Footballer
DATE OF BIRTH October 14, 1984
PLACE OF BIRTH Peebles, Scotland
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH