Geoff Thomas (footballer, born 1964)
Thomas in 2007
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Geoffrey Thomas | ||
| Date of birth | 5 August 1964 | ||
| Place of birth | Manchester, England | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1982 | Rochdale | 11 | (1) |
| 1984–1987 | Crewe Alexandra | 125 | (20) |
| 1987–1993 | Crystal Palace | 195 | (26) |
| 1993–1997 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | (8) |
| 1997–1999 | Nottingham Forest | 25 | (4) |
| 1999–2001 | Barnsley | 38 | (4) |
| 2001 | Notts County | 8 | (1) |
| 2001–2002 | Crewe Alexandra | 14 | (2) |
| Total | 462 | (66) | |
| National team | |||
| 1990–1992 | England B | 3 | (0) |
| 1991–1992 | England | 9 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Geoffrey Robert Thomas born Manchester, England (born 5 August 1964) is an English former 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.
Geoff Thomas was plucked from relative obscurity by Crewe Alexandra Football Club, and, under the guidance of manager Dario Gradi, was moulded into an England International. However, the real challenge of Thomas' life came when his career had ended, with a fight against leukaemia.
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. 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.
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