Geoff Thomas
Encyclopedia
Geoff Thomas born Manchester
, England (5 August 1964) is a former English
footballer, who won nine caps for the full England team and captained Crystal Palace
to the FA Cup
final in 1990. He is the Founder of the Geoff Thomas Foundation, a charity that raises funds to fight cancer, a disease from which Thomas has suffered.
, was moulded into an England
International. However, the real challenge of Thomas' life came when his career had ended, with a fight against leukemia.
After playing non-league football in his teenage years, Thomas gambled on a career in professional football in 1982 by taking a pay cut from his job as an electrician, to sign full time with Rochdale
in 1982. He was by no means a regular at Spotland
, however, and in the two seasons he spent at Rochdale he made only 12 appearances, scoring just once. That said, Thomas was still something of an unknown quantity when Dario signed him on a free transfer in March 1984, but he was quickly to become a favourite at Gresty Road.
After three substitute appearances, Geoff made his full debut on 28 April 1984 in a 3-0 home win over Tranmere Rovers, and marked the occasion with his first goal for the club. A tough-tackling player, who could operate in central midfield or out on the right, Thomas proved to be the backbone of Dario Gradi's teams during his early tenure at the club, with Crewe finishing mid-table in the old Fourth Division.
He was to spend just two and a half seasons at Gresty Road, playing 137 times for the club, during which time his midfield displays attracted attention from a host of clubs. He finally decided to move to Crystal Palace
in June 1987, when Steve Coppell
paid £50,000 for his services, and his career continued to flourish.
Thomas made an immediate impact at Selhurst Park
, collecting the Supporters’ Player-of-the-Season award in his first season, and helping his side to promotion to the top flight in his second year at the club.
His third year at Palace was even better, as Geoff enjoyed top-flight football for the first team, and captained the Eagles in the 1990 FA Cup Final
at Wembley
, where they drew 3-3 with Manchester United, before losing in a replay.
Perhaps the crowning glory of his career was the 1990-91 season
, when he was a crucial member of the Palace squad who finished in third place in the top flight. It was the club's best ever finishing position, and Thomas was rewarded again with the Supporters` Player-of-the-Year trophy.
In May 1991, he was handed his first England cap when he was picked by Graham Taylor in a European Championship Qualfying game against Turkey in Izmir.
He also represented his country against USSR, Argentina
, Australia
, New Zealand
, and Malaysia that year, and went on to win nine caps, his last coming against France
at Wembley in 1992.
His Palace career eventually ended in June 1993, six years and 249 appearances after first arriving from Crewe, when Palace were relegated from the Premier League, and he was signed for £800,000 by Wolverhampton Wanderers by Graham Turner
.
Sadly, injury was about to blight Geoff's career, and frustrating times where to follow. He made just two appearances in his first season at Molineux, and made a total of just 54 appearances in the four seasons he spent in the Black Country, before his release on a free transfer in 1997.
Injuries also hampered his spells at Nottingham Forest (27 appearances in two seasons), and Barnsley
(where he was mostly used as a substitute), and he struggled to get a run of games in the side. He also had a brief stint with Notts County at the end of the 2000-01 season
, scoring once against Wrexham, before returning to Crewe Alexandra where he made his final seventeen appearances as a professional footballer. His return to Crewe was hampered by injuries and he could not stop them losing their Championship status at the end of the season.
in 2005, after he raised over £150,000 for the Leukaemia Research
charity by cycling 2,200 miles in 21 days, completing the route of all 21 stages of the 2005 Tour de France
a few days ahead of the race itself.
On 6 April 2006, the players from the 1990 final all took part in a re-run of the match, in aid of Leukemia Research, at Selhurst Park
. Manchester United won the game 3-1, including goals from Neil Webb
(2), Ian Wright
, and Mark Robins
.
On 16 March 2007, a "Geoff Thomas Foundation Charity XI" took on a team of celebrities in the first ever match at the new Wembley Stadium
, with Mark Bright
and Simon Jordan
scoring the goals in a 2-0 win; and, three days later, a Palace team similar to the one of the previous year took on a Liverpool
team of the time, a re-run of the epic semi-final game that saw Palace win 4-3 in extra-time. The re-run again took place at Selhurst Park
, and this time finished 1-1 with Phil Babb
opening the scoring, and Bright scoring for the second time in three days to level things up.
At present, Thomas is in the process of establishing "The Geoff Thomas Foundation", a charity that will raise funds for the treatment of cancer.
In 2005, he was voted in Palace's Centenary XI, and was then given a Special Achievement Award for his services to the club as captain in 2008.
In 2007, Geoff Thomas announced his intention to ride the Tour de France route again.
In 2008 Thomas published a biography Riding Through The Storm and has toured a number of book stores meeting fans and talking about his campaign (covered on Crewe blog)
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England (5 August 1964) is a former English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
footballer, who won nine caps for the full England team and captained Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
to the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
final in 1990. He is the Founder of the Geoff Thomas Foundation, a charity that raises funds to fight cancer, a disease from which Thomas has suffered.
Career
Geoff Thomas was plucked from relative obscurity by Crewe Alexandra Football Club, and, under the guidance of manager Dario GradiDario Gradi
Dario Gradi MBE is an Italian-born English football manager and former player, who was serving as manager of the Crewe Alexandra F.C. Academy. He is a former manager of Crewe Alexandra, with whom he has been associated for almost thirty years.Gradi is notable for his 24-year first spell as manager...
, was moulded into an England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
International. However, the real challenge of Thomas' life came when his career had ended, with a fight against leukemia.
After playing non-league football in his teenage years, Thomas gambled on a career in professional football in 1982 by taking a pay cut from his job as an electrician, to sign full time with Rochdale
Rochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
in 1982. He was by no means a regular at Spotland
Spotland
Spotland is a district of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Spodden, and is the home of Spotland Stadium.Historically a part of Lancashire, Spotland was formerly its own township within the ancient parish of Rochdale....
, however, and in the two seasons he spent at Rochdale he made only 12 appearances, scoring just once. That said, Thomas was still something of an unknown quantity when Dario signed him on a free transfer in March 1984, but he was quickly to become a favourite at Gresty Road.
After three substitute appearances, Geoff made his full debut on 28 April 1984 in a 3-0 home win over Tranmere Rovers, and marked the occasion with his first goal for the club. A tough-tackling player, who could operate in central midfield or out on the right, Thomas proved to be the backbone of Dario Gradi's teams during his early tenure at the club, with Crewe finishing mid-table in the old Fourth Division.
He was to spend just two and a half seasons at Gresty Road, playing 137 times for the club, during which time his midfield displays attracted attention from a host of clubs. He finally decided to move to Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
in June 1987, when Steve Coppell
Steve Coppell
Stephen James "Steve" Coppell is an English former footballer and manager, currently without a club.As a player, he was a highly regarded right winger known for his speed and work rate. He won domestic honours with Manchester United and represented England at the World Cup...
paid £50,000 for his services, and his career continued to flourish.
Thomas made an immediate impact at Selhurst Park
Selhurst Park
Selhurst Park is an English football stadium located in the London suburb of South Norwood in the Borough of Croydon. It is the current home ground of Crystal Palace Football Club. Its present capacity is 26,309.-History:...
, collecting the Supporters’ Player-of-the-Season award in his first season, and helping his side to promotion to the top flight in his second year at the club.
His third year at Palace was even better, as Geoff enjoyed top-flight football for the first team, and captained the Eagles in the 1990 FA Cup Final
1990 FA Cup Final
The 1990 FA Cup Final was a football match contested by Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium, London, England. The match finished 3–3 after extra time. Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes scored for United; Gary O'Reilly and Ian Wright for Palace...
at Wembley
Wembley
Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...
, where they drew 3-3 with Manchester United, before losing in a replay.
Perhaps the crowning glory of his career was the 1990-91 season
1990-91 in English football
The 1990–91 season was the 111th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Arsenal won the league. Runners-up spot was achieved by Liverpool, who had led the table for much of the first half of the season but had been shell-shocked in February by the sudden resignation of manager...
, when he was a crucial member of the Palace squad who finished in third place in the top flight. It was the club's best ever finishing position, and Thomas was rewarded again with the Supporters` Player-of-the-Year trophy.
In May 1991, he was handed his first England cap when he was picked by Graham Taylor in a European Championship Qualfying game against Turkey in Izmir.
He also represented his country against USSR, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and Malaysia that year, and went on to win nine caps, his last coming against France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at Wembley in 1992.
His Palace career eventually ended in June 1993, six years and 249 appearances after first arriving from Crewe, when Palace were relegated from the Premier League, and he was signed for £800,000 by Wolverhampton Wanderers by Graham Turner
Graham Turner
Graham John Turner is an English former footballer who became a manager. He is currently manager of League Two club Shrewsbury Town. His son Mark was also a professional footballer....
.
Sadly, injury was about to blight Geoff's career, and frustrating times where to follow. He made just two appearances in his first season at Molineux, and made a total of just 54 appearances in the four seasons he spent in the Black Country, before his release on a free transfer in 1997.
Injuries also hampered his spells at Nottingham Forest (27 appearances in two seasons), and Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
(where he was mostly used as a substitute), and he struggled to get a run of games in the side. He also had a brief stint with Notts County at the end of the 2000-01 season
2000-01 in English football
The 2000–01 season was the 121st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Manchester United secured their 3rd Premiership title in succession and their 7th title in just nine seasons...
, scoring once against Wrexham, before returning to Crewe Alexandra where he made his final seventeen appearances as a professional footballer. His return to Crewe was hampered by injuries and he could not stop them losing their Championship status at the end of the season.
Diagnosis of Leukemia
In June 2003, after a year in retirement, Thomas revealed he had been diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia, from which he later recovered. He won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason AwardBBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The award is given "for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity", and the winner is selected by BBC Sport...
in 2005, after he raised over £150,000 for the Leukaemia Research
Leukaemia Research
Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research is a British charitable organisation, established in 1960by the Eastwood family from Middlesbrough who started raising money, following the death of their 6-year-old daughter Susan....
charity by cycling 2,200 miles in 21 days, completing the route of all 21 stages of the 2005 Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
a few days ahead of the race itself.
On 6 April 2006, the players from the 1990 final all took part in a re-run of the match, in aid of Leukemia Research, at Selhurst Park
Selhurst Park
Selhurst Park is an English football stadium located in the London suburb of South Norwood in the Borough of Croydon. It is the current home ground of Crystal Palace Football Club. Its present capacity is 26,309.-History:...
. Manchester United won the game 3-1, including goals from Neil Webb
Neil Webb
Neil John Webb is an English former footballer and television pundit. He played as a midfielder and defender between 1980 and 1997 notably for Portsmouth, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United...
(2), Ian Wright
Ian Wright
Ian Edward Wright, MBE is a retired English footballer turned television and radio personality.Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal, spending six years with the former and seven years with the latter. With Arsenal he has lifted the Premier League title and both major...
, and Mark Robins
Mark Robins
Mark Gordon Robins is an English football manager, appointed manager of Barnsley in 2009.As a player, he was most notable for his exploits with Manchester United, Norwich City and Leicester City...
.
On 16 March 2007, a "Geoff Thomas Foundation Charity XI" took on a team of celebrities in the first ever match at the new Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
, with Mark Bright
Mark Bright
Mark Abraham Bright is a former English footballer who is now a sports pundit and BBC London's sport presenter, as well as a coach at Crystal Palace....
and Simon Jordan
Simon Jordan
Simon Jordan is an English businessman who made his fortune in the mobile phone industry. In 2000 he purchased Crystal Palace Football Club and remained chairman of the club until they entered administration in early 2010....
scoring the goals in a 2-0 win; and, three days later, a Palace team similar to the one of the previous year took on a Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
team of the time, a re-run of the epic semi-final game that saw Palace win 4-3 in extra-time. The re-run again took place at Selhurst Park
Selhurst Park
Selhurst Park is an English football stadium located in the London suburb of South Norwood in the Borough of Croydon. It is the current home ground of Crystal Palace Football Club. Its present capacity is 26,309.-History:...
, and this time finished 1-1 with Phil Babb
Phil Babb
Philip 'Phil' Andrew Babb is an English-born Irish former footballer who played as a central defender.Active in England and Portugal, he made over 300 professional career appearances, namely spending six Premier League seasons with Liverpool...
opening the scoring, and Bright scoring for the second time in three days to level things up.
At present, Thomas is in the process of establishing "The Geoff Thomas Foundation", a charity that will raise funds for the treatment of cancer.
In 2005, he was voted in Palace's Centenary XI, and was then given a Special Achievement Award for his services to the club as captain in 2008.
In 2007, Geoff Thomas announced his intention to ride the Tour de France route again.
In 2008 Thomas published a biography Riding Through The Storm and has toured a number of book stores meeting fans and talking about his campaign (covered on Crewe blog)
- My Fight Back to Fitness on the Tour de France:
External links
- The Geoff Thomas Foundation (Official site)
- England profile
- Watch Geoff's 2007 Tour de France Video Diary at CYCLEFILM.COM