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Wanderers Ways. Neil Thompson 1961-2021

40 Years Ago,tomorrow


miamiwhite

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Well, forty years as it was a Saturday, but forty years ago on the 28th.

 

Only time I saw Peter Thompson score for us.

He scored v Hull City in a 1-0 win, free kick into the embankment end.

 

Did anyone else see his only other goal for us ?

 

Favourite Wanderer of all time.

 

Thommo was simply.......fucking magic.

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I'll second that Miami. Came into St Paul's CofE in '78 to give a few of us street kids his autograph after we'd been given him the old T.O.T.O.M...stuff in the Embossograph car park. BTW why is there a shed in the front of that Pakistani restaurant in Astley Bridge?

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I'll never forget that testimonial of his, 5-5 v the Combined Thieves, pissing down Friday night and watched by more than we'll get nowadays.

 

P - you're Bob on mate, the man was pure quality and oozed class.

 

£18,000 ........surely best bargain of all time.

 

Bergson admittedly was a bargain snip, but Tommo gave more entertainment in those days than a sneaky look at my dad's latest copy of Razzle.

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You could feel the excitement in the air everytime he got the ball and teased it down the left. Hundrerds of Parka clad lads, heads level with the grass line trying to get a look whilst an owd fella pissed down your leg. Give me a two - John Ritson. Give me a 11 - Peter Thompson. Superb.

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Missed it by a couple of weeks. First ever Wanderers game was March 13th that season against Plymouth at home. 0-0 but I do remember Hugh Curran I think having a goal disallowed. God knows where 40 years has gone. Never been dull though!

Plymouth game was my second ever, the first was the previous home Saturday game against Hull, 28th February 1976.

 

So tomorrow is 40 years a Wanderer for me.

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Saw his first  game for us, a midweek match played during the day owing to the 3 day week, power cuts and all that. I think it was the 72/3 season and we had just been promoted from the old Div 3. I took half a day off to watch the game. The guy was in a class  of his own.  A tactic we employed was when we were under pressure from the opposition was to pass the ball to him and he held on to it for as long as was required, no one could get the ball off him it may as well have been glued to his feet. When we attacked he literally ripped the defence apart. Sublime dribbling skills absolute magic.

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Saw his first  game for us, a midweek match played during the day owing to the 3 day week, power cuts and all that. I think it was the 72/3 season and we had just been promoted from the old Div 3. I took half a day off to watch the game. The guy was in a class  of his own.  A tactic we employed was when we were under pressure from the opposition was to pass the ball to him and he held on to it for as long as was required, no one could get the ball off him it may as well have been glued to his feet. When we attacked he literally ripped the defence apart. Sublime dribbling skills absolute magic.

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I attended the Sunderland game .I was at college on day release & we all bunked off to watch the game .PT was pure class

He helped Peter Reid become a great player

too .Working the NE once had a pint in one of the local pubs, the landlord asked me where I was from I told him & he just said

'Peter Thompson ' turned out the landlord had played for Middlesbrough & had the misfortune to have played at right back marking the great man.He told me that although was the reserve right back he never got near to Thompson & Bolton won the game 2-1 .Boro only lost four games that whole season & easily won the league.He also told me that he knew the regular right back John Craggs would cry off injured for the Bolton game as he hated playing against Peter Thompson.

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Saw his first  game for us, a midweek match played during the day owing to the 3 day week, power cuts and all that. I think it was the 72/3 season and we had just been promoted from the old Div 3. I took half a day off to watch the game. The guy was in a class  of his own.  A tactic we employed was when we were under pressure from the opposition was to pass the ball to him and he held on to it for as long as was required, no one could get the ball off him it may as well have been glued to his feet. When we attacked he literally ripped the defence apart. Sublime dribbling skills absolute magic.

Remember us beating Sunderland 1-0 during the 3 day week and Peter Thompson was MOTM by a country mile

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His goal away at West Brom was a night match, not even sure that it might have been a Friday night which in those days was very unusual,  very few of us there, it was towards the end of the game, I got a clout off a local as I was the only one who jumped up, it was a big open terrace which is now the end where the away fans sit

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i thought we lost it 6-5

 

both clemence and mcdonagh scored

 

Wasn't it 12-a-side for all the second half with both keepers being substituted but coming back on in outfield shirts? It was 5-5 I'm sure.

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I started in 74 and have some good memories of Thommo weaving his magic.

It was like he had the defender in a trance and as soon as they moved for the ball he made a yard and put a pinpoint cross onto Whatmore or Byrom's head.

And it was never an aimless cross, it was always good height and bang in the right area to be attacked.

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