Jim Thomson (footballer, born 1971)

Jim Thomson
Personal information
Full nameJames Thomson
Date of birth15 May 1971
Place of birthStirling, Scotland
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Playing positionDefender
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1991–1996Clyde151(11)
1996–1997Stenhousemuir13(0)
1997–1999Queen of the South50(2)
1999–2001Arbroath46(2)
2001–2010Queen of the South242(7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 August 2010.
† Appearances (Goals).

James "Jim" Thomson (born 15 May 1971 in Stirling) is a former Scottish footballer. Nicknamed 'JT', Thomson was a central defender.

Thomson is currently the commercial manager at Queen of the South, having taken over from Mark McMinn on 1 June 2011. [1]

Career

Clyde

Thomson began his senior football career at Clyde in 1991. Thomson made 151 league appearances and scored 11 goals. Clyde were Scottish Football League Division Two Champions in 1992–93 when Thomson was at the club.

Stenhousemuir

He then had a short spell with Stenhousemuir in 1996 making thirteen league appearances.

Queen of the South

Thomson first joined Dumfries club Queen of the South as the club were rebuilding in 1997 in the post Harkness era. New chairman Norman Blount was getting the wheels moving on the club's revival.[2] In 1997 the club reached the Scottish Challenge Cup Final for the first time. Second Division Queens lost 1–0 to First Division Falkirk despite a rousing Queens display at Motherwell's Fir Park; a performance that included the man of the match award going to Queens veteran central midfield playmaker Tommy Bryce and an early career appearance for Jamie McAllister.[3] A late chance for a Derek Townsley equaliser went agonisingly over for Queens.[4]

In a later interview on the club website reflecting on his time at Queens, McAllister listed Thomson among the best players that he played beside at the club.[3]

Arbroath

Thomson next went to Arbroath making 46 league appearances and scored 2 goals. He then followed in the footsteps of another distinguished player, Jimmy Binning, by leaving Arbroath to join Queen of the South.

Return to Queen of the South

Quarter final match ticket
Semi final result on the scoreboard at Hampden Park

He has been player of the season three times over a ten-year period for the Dumfries side.[5] In late August and early September 2006 Thomson had a 'clean up' operation on his knee but has come back successfully, including scoring a spectacular overhead kick.

Thomson made his 300th Queens appearance on 20 October 2007 in a First Division match against St Johnstone and is among only 18 players to have made more than 300 appearances for Queen of the South.[2]

Jim Thomson captained Queens during the 2007–08 Scottish Cup 4 – 3 semi-final victory against Aberdeen. Thomson is the first man to captain Queens in a Scottish Cup semi-final victory. As well as captaining Queen in the final Thomson also scored Queens' equaliser to bring the game against Rangers to 2 – 2. Despite Queens' battling second half display Rangers eventually ran out 3 – 2 winners.[2]

Thus at Queen of the South:-

When Tommy Bryce[4] was interviewed for the Queen of the South website, he named Thomson as being among the best players who he played beside at Queens. Thomson was also commended for his efforts when Andrew Coltart was interviewed for the club website.[7]

Thomson was given a testimonial by Queens on 18 July 2010. The result was a 1–0 win for Rangers.[8]

Thomson was retained as a player for the 2009–10 season after making 358 first team appearances. He is 11th in the club's all time appearances list and he also coached the under 19s team for the 2010–11 season.[9]

In two spells at Queens he played in 292 league matches and scored 9 goals.

Stuart Rome, manager of Gretna 2008 is now responsible for coaching the under 19s team for the 2011–12 season in Carlisle.

References

External links