|
Register •
FAQ
• Login
|
|
It is currently Thu Oct 23, 2025 12:25 pm
|
|
Page 1 of 1
|
[ 1 post ] |
|
Author |
Message |
MarekPivarnik
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2023 6:40 pm Posts: 219
|
Name: Francis William Thompson Country: Northern Ireland Club: Bradford City A.F.C. 1910-1913, Clyde F.C. 1913-1924 Position: *WF Side: LF/LS Age: 26-30 years (02/10/1885)
Height: 170 cm Weight: 70 kg
Attack: 80 Defence: 34 Balance: 72 Stamina: 78 Top Speed: 85 Acceleration: 88 Response: 77 Agility: 83 Dribble Accuracy: 83 Dribble Speed: 81 Short Pass Accuracy: 82 Short Pass Speed: 78 Long Pass Accuracy: 80 Long Pass Speed: 73 Shot Accuracy: 76 Shot Power: 81 Shot Technique: 77 Free Kick Accuracy: 69 Curling: 68 Header: 65 Jump: 69 Technique: 84 Aggression: 84 Mentality: 77 Goalkeeper Skills: 50 Team Work: 78
Injury Tolerance: B Condition: 5 Weak Foot Accuracy: 5 Weak Foot Frequency: 5 Consistency: 6 Growth type: Standard/Lasting
CARDS: S02 - Passer S14 - Speed Merchant P07 - Mazing Run
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Dribbling - Passing - Side
Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Attack MindedInfo: While playing with Cliftonville, Thompson won the Irish League once and the Irish Cup twice. He then played briefly with Black Diamonds and Linfield before moving to England to play with Bradford City in December 1910. In his three years with the Bantams, he won the 1911 FA Cup Final and earned seven international caps for Ireland. (he collected twelve in total between 1910 and 1914). He then moved to Scotland with Clyde,eventually becoming their player-manager, and also spent time as manager of Ayr United, before returning to Ireland to become manager of Glentoran. - He played in the forward line at outside-left, and he was extremely effective in that position. He was a fast, determined attacker with a talent for running defenders ragged. Like any good winger his main job was to make goals for his side but he also managed to score a fair few goals of his own. Year after year, Frank was an amazingly consistent performer whose skill, verve and impudent trickery made him a hero to the supporters at Cliftonville's Solitude ground.
- FRANK THOMPSON
The sole Irishman in the side had joined City from Linfield. Thompson played 60 games between 1910-13, scoring 13 goals.
Thompson netted the winner against Burnley in the quarter-final before the record (reported) 39,146 crowd at Valley Parade and another in the semi-final against Blackburn Rovers at Bramall Lane. He won seven international caps at City. Quote: The fans loved him so much that some wrote rhymes about him, some of which have been preserved in the Cliftonville FC archive. An example from 1910 is quoted below:
"From the time the game commences, see him sleering through defences you'll not style him an apprentice or a novice He's no oaf however muddy, nor yet any kind of cuddy But a lad who's made a study of his office” Quote: The Cup Final was played at the famous Crystal Palace Exhibition Ground in Hyde Park in London on April 22nd 1911. During the Final Newcastle showed that they were not going to let go of the Cup without a fight, and they gave Bradford a right hard time of it from the first minute. City were well up for the battle, though, their midfield and defence was rock solid, and with Frank in such grand recent form their attack was always a threat to the Newcastle back line. However, the match was one in which neither team's forward line shone, and it finished 0-0 after extra-time.
That meant there had to be a Cup Final replay, which took place four days later on April 26th 1911 at Old Trafford in Manchester. The attendance for the replay was 66,646, which was the biggest ever crowd for a midweek match in England. Those spectators saw a match that was “an exhibition of hard, forthright tackling by both sides, in which the Bradford defence again performed heroically.” With Bradford under relentless pressure again from Newcastle, it seemed a long shot that Bradford would survive. But then, fifteen minutes into the game, Frank got forward down the right wing, went infield and found the space to play a perfect low pass into the box to put Bradford's centre-forward Spiers clear to score and make it 1-0. And they held on to the lead through to the final whistle. Bradford and Frank were FA Cup Champions!
|
Fri Sep 19, 2025 2:16 am |
|
 |
|
|
Page 1 of 1
|
[ 1 post ] |
|
Who is online |
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests |
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum
|
|