Classic Arsenal Players - Part 16 - Michael Thomas
IT'S UP FOR GRABS NOW
JUST A MENTION of that immortal phrase from Brian Moore and immediately one name springs to mind. Never can a player be so synonymous with one goal in quiet the same way as Michael Thomas.
With just seconds left at Anfield and Arsenal needing one more goal to take the title from Liverpool, Thomas, aged just 20, is barring down on Bruce Grobelaar's goal.
Having missed a similar chance a few minutes earlier, when his over-eagerness to shoot early costing him the opportunity to score, Thomas was now determined to take his time.
With Liverpool defenders closing in and Grobelaar refusing to commit himself, it appeared as though the chance to win the league for Arsenal was quickly evaporating.
But never one to be rushed, Thomas remained the calmest man in Anfield, and with 45,000 fans in the stadium and millions more watching on television either stunned into silence or yelling 'Sssshhhhooootttttt', he gently lifted the ball over the advancing goalkeeper and into the net.
Thomas, charging through the midfield, had written himself into football folklore but perhaps it was a moment he would never quite be able to shake off.
Michael Lauriston Thomas was born on 24 August 1967 in Lambeth, South-East London. Despite growing up as a fan of Tottenham Hotspur, Thomas joined rivals Arsenal as schoolboy in 1982 and turned professional on 31 December 1984, aged 17.
Thomas, who began his career as a right back before becoming a box-to-box midfielder, spent a brief period on loan at Portsmouth in early 1987, playing three times, before returning to Arsenal to make his first team debut in the Littlewoods Cup semi final first leg against Tottenham on 8 February 1987.
It was a real baptism of fire for the teenager and although Arsenal lost the game 1-0 they would reach the final after a replay.
Thomas made his league debut in a 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday six days later and ended his first season with 18 appearances, including a late cameo in the Littlewoods Cup final victory over Liverpool at Wembley.
The departure of Viv Anderson to Manchester United over the summer of 1987 saw Thomas start the 1987/88 season as Arsenal's first choice right back.
Due to his laid back nature and calm finishing ability he also took on the penalty taking responsibilities, scoring his first goal for the club from the spot against Wimbledon on 19 September 1987.
By early 1988 manager George Graham had been looking at the possibility of playing Thomas in midfield due to his physical strength, stamina and rampaging style.
So when Steve Williams was suspended for the first leg of the Littlewoods Cup semi final away at Everton on 7 February 1988, he moved Thomas into midfield, ironically exactly a year on from his debut for the club at right back.
Thomas impressed in the 1-0 win and kept his midfield place for the rest of season, scoring in the second leg win over Everton and starting the final of the Littlewoods Cup against Luton Town at Wembley, although Arsenal lost 3-2.
The following 1988/89 season would be the most memorable of Thomas' career. Now a regular in midfield, first alongside Paul Davis and then Kevin Richardson, Thomas' knack of arriving late in the penalty area brought him seven goals, the most famous of which arrived in the final minute of the final match at Anfield as Arsenal ended their 18 year wait for a league title.
That season also saw Thomas called up by England manager Bobby Robson and he made his international debut in a 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia on 16 November 1988.
However he was never able to hold down a regular place in the England squad and his only other cap came a year later in a 2-1 friendly win over Yugoslavia.
Thomas remained a regular in the Arsenal side in the disappointing 1989/90 season as the club finished 4th, scoring eight goals in 44 appearances.
The following 1990/91 season saw Arsenal crowned champions for the second time in three seasons losing just one match along the way, a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea on 2 February 1991 when Thomas was forced to play at centre back due to an injury to Steve Bould.
Although Thomas, still just 23, was again a regular in the side, making 41 appearances and scoring three goals, he lost his place to David Hillier towards the end of the season and struggled to win it back.
Early in the 1991/92 season Thomas fell out with Graham and that was only ever going to lead to one outcome. Frozen out of the squad, Thomas, the hero of Anfield less than three years earlier, was heading back there when Liverpool manager, Graeme Souness signed him for £1.5 million on 16 December 1991.
Thomas' last game for Arsenal came on 2 November 1991, a 1-0 home defeat to West Ham United. In total he had played 208 times for Arsenal scoring 30 goals, although he will always be remembered for just one of them.
Thomas made his Liverpool debut back in North London at Spurs on 18 December 1991, and he scored his first goal for the club exactly a month later in a victory at Oldham Athletic.
Initially Thomas enjoyed fine form at Anfield. He scored a great goal in the FA Cup quarter final against Aston Villa in front of the Kop, and in virtually a mirror image of his first season with Arsenal, Thomas ended his debut campaign with Liverpool at Wembley.
Against Sunderland in the FA Cup final on 9 May 1992, Thomas scored opening goal and set up the second for Ian Rush in a 2-0 victory to complete his full set of domestic medals.
But just as Thomas was settling into a key role in the Liverpool midfield, he suffered a terrible Achilles injury at Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup in January 1993.
The injury sidelined Thomas for over a year and he would make just seven appearances in the 1993/94 season.
With Souness now departed and Roy Evans in charge, the 1994/95 season saw Thomas struggle to get back in the side.
Although the club returned to Wembley in the final of the League Cup in 1995, Thomas was an unused substitute as Liverpool beat Bolton Wanderers 2-0 with a brace from Steve McManaman.
Over the summer of 1995 there was talk of Thomas returning to Arsenal, now under the management of Bruce Rioch, but the clubs were unable to reach an agreement so Thomas stayed at Anfield.
The following 1995/96 season proved to be Thomas' best campaign at Liverpool. Partnering John Barnes in midfield, Thomas helped the club reach another FA Cup final and there was even talk of an England recall.
Thomas was a regular again at the start of the following 1996/97 season but he failed to recapture his earlier form and Liverpool accepted a bid of £800,000 from Coventry City in December 1997.
However when the transfer failed to go through Thomas was instead sent on loan to Middlesbrough in February 1998.
Thomas made 10 appearances for the North-East club before returning to Anfield, but he clearly had no future at Liverpool and left during the summer of 1998, reuniting with Souness who was now in charge of Portuguese club, Benfica.
In total Thomas had played 166 times for Liverpool scoring 12 goals.
Although Thomas initially enjoyed life in Portugal, buying a house by the sea with his family, he was unable to hold down a regular place in the Benfica side following the sacking of Souness and barely played at all in his second season in Lisbon, after which he returned to his roots in South London to sign for Wimbledon in 2000.
Unable to regain full fitness Thomas called time on his playing career in the summer of 2001 having played just nine times for The Dons.
After retiring Thomas moved back to Merseyside where he still turns out for the Liverpool Legends team.
He now runs a security and chauffeur firm in the Wirral area where he looks after 'high-level individuals', meaning he works with Presidents and the like. Hopefully he is not as laid back doing that as he was a player.
As much as I will always love Mickey for THAT goal, he tended to be a frustrating player at times.
Capable of great moments I always felt he was a little too laid back for his own good and that he perhaps lacked the drive of some of the other young players he grew up with, such as Tony Adams and Rocky Rocastle.
Maybe the burden of scoring the most famous goal in football history proved a little too much to bear. Apart from the goal for Liverpool in the 1992 FA Cup final he would never quite scale similar heights again and seemed to sadly drift out of the game.
Coming up next time I will be looking back at the tragic life of a player who will also be remembered for one very special goal; Paul Vaesson. Watch out for that one coming soon.
JUST A MENTION of that immortal phrase from Brian Moore and immediately one name springs to mind. Never can a player be so synonymous with one goal in quiet the same way as Michael Thomas.
Having missed a similar chance a few minutes earlier, when his over-eagerness to shoot early costing him the opportunity to score, Thomas was now determined to take his time.
With Liverpool defenders closing in and Grobelaar refusing to commit himself, it appeared as though the chance to win the league for Arsenal was quickly evaporating.
But never one to be rushed, Thomas remained the calmest man in Anfield, and with 45,000 fans in the stadium and millions more watching on television either stunned into silence or yelling 'Sssshhhhooootttttt', he gently lifted the ball over the advancing goalkeeper and into the net.
Thomas, charging through the midfield, had written himself into football folklore but perhaps it was a moment he would never quite be able to shake off.
Michael Lauriston Thomas was born on 24 August 1967 in Lambeth, South-East London. Despite growing up as a fan of Tottenham Hotspur, Thomas joined rivals Arsenal as schoolboy in 1982 and turned professional on 31 December 1984, aged 17.
Thomas, who began his career as a right back before becoming a box-to-box midfielder, spent a brief period on loan at Portsmouth in early 1987, playing three times, before returning to Arsenal to make his first team debut in the Littlewoods Cup semi final first leg against Tottenham on 8 February 1987.
Thomas made his league debut in a 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday six days later and ended his first season with 18 appearances, including a late cameo in the Littlewoods Cup final victory over Liverpool at Wembley.
The departure of Viv Anderson to Manchester United over the summer of 1987 saw Thomas start the 1987/88 season as Arsenal's first choice right back.
Due to his laid back nature and calm finishing ability he also took on the penalty taking responsibilities, scoring his first goal for the club from the spot against Wimbledon on 19 September 1987.
By early 1988 manager George Graham had been looking at the possibility of playing Thomas in midfield due to his physical strength, stamina and rampaging style.
So when Steve Williams was suspended for the first leg of the Littlewoods Cup semi final away at Everton on 7 February 1988, he moved Thomas into midfield, ironically exactly a year on from his debut for the club at right back.
Thomas impressed in the 1-0 win and kept his midfield place for the rest of season, scoring in the second leg win over Everton and starting the final of the Littlewoods Cup against Luton Town at Wembley, although Arsenal lost 3-2.
The following 1988/89 season would be the most memorable of Thomas' career. Now a regular in midfield, first alongside Paul Davis and then Kevin Richardson, Thomas' knack of arriving late in the penalty area brought him seven goals, the most famous of which arrived in the final minute of the final match at Anfield as Arsenal ended their 18 year wait for a league title.
However he was never able to hold down a regular place in the England squad and his only other cap came a year later in a 2-1 friendly win over Yugoslavia.
Thomas remained a regular in the Arsenal side in the disappointing 1989/90 season as the club finished 4th, scoring eight goals in 44 appearances.
The following 1990/91 season saw Arsenal crowned champions for the second time in three seasons losing just one match along the way, a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea on 2 February 1991 when Thomas was forced to play at centre back due to an injury to Steve Bould.
Although Thomas, still just 23, was again a regular in the side, making 41 appearances and scoring three goals, he lost his place to David Hillier towards the end of the season and struggled to win it back.
Early in the 1991/92 season Thomas fell out with Graham and that was only ever going to lead to one outcome. Frozen out of the squad, Thomas, the hero of Anfield less than three years earlier, was heading back there when Liverpool manager, Graeme Souness signed him for £1.5 million on 16 December 1991.
Thomas' last game for Arsenal came on 2 November 1991, a 1-0 home defeat to West Ham United. In total he had played 208 times for Arsenal scoring 30 goals, although he will always be remembered for just one of them.
Thomas made his Liverpool debut back in North London at Spurs on 18 December 1991, and he scored his first goal for the club exactly a month later in a victory at Oldham Athletic.
Initially Thomas enjoyed fine form at Anfield. He scored a great goal in the FA Cup quarter final against Aston Villa in front of the Kop, and in virtually a mirror image of his first season with Arsenal, Thomas ended his debut campaign with Liverpool at Wembley.
Against Sunderland in the FA Cup final on 9 May 1992, Thomas scored opening goal and set up the second for Ian Rush in a 2-0 victory to complete his full set of domestic medals.
The injury sidelined Thomas for over a year and he would make just seven appearances in the 1993/94 season.
With Souness now departed and Roy Evans in charge, the 1994/95 season saw Thomas struggle to get back in the side.
Although the club returned to Wembley in the final of the League Cup in 1995, Thomas was an unused substitute as Liverpool beat Bolton Wanderers 2-0 with a brace from Steve McManaman.
Over the summer of 1995 there was talk of Thomas returning to Arsenal, now under the management of Bruce Rioch, but the clubs were unable to reach an agreement so Thomas stayed at Anfield.
The following 1995/96 season proved to be Thomas' best campaign at Liverpool. Partnering John Barnes in midfield, Thomas helped the club reach another FA Cup final and there was even talk of an England recall.
- But Thomas was surprisingly on the bench at Wembley although he did at least get on this time as a late replacement for Rob Jones. Manchester United won 1-0.
Thomas was a regular again at the start of the following 1996/97 season but he failed to recapture his earlier form and Liverpool accepted a bid of £800,000 from Coventry City in December 1997.
However when the transfer failed to go through Thomas was instead sent on loan to Middlesbrough in February 1998.
Thomas made 10 appearances for the North-East club before returning to Anfield, but he clearly had no future at Liverpool and left during the summer of 1998, reuniting with Souness who was now in charge of Portuguese club, Benfica.
In total Thomas had played 166 times for Liverpool scoring 12 goals.
Although Thomas initially enjoyed life in Portugal, buying a house by the sea with his family, he was unable to hold down a regular place in the Benfica side following the sacking of Souness and barely played at all in his second season in Lisbon, after which he returned to his roots in South London to sign for Wimbledon in 2000.
After retiring Thomas moved back to Merseyside where he still turns out for the Liverpool Legends team.
He now runs a security and chauffeur firm in the Wirral area where he looks after 'high-level individuals', meaning he works with Presidents and the like. Hopefully he is not as laid back doing that as he was a player.
As much as I will always love Mickey for THAT goal, he tended to be a frustrating player at times.
Capable of great moments I always felt he was a little too laid back for his own good and that he perhaps lacked the drive of some of the other young players he grew up with, such as Tony Adams and Rocky Rocastle.
Maybe the burden of scoring the most famous goal in football history proved a little too much to bear. Apart from the goal for Liverpool in the 1992 FA Cup final he would never quite scale similar heights again and seemed to sadly drift out of the game.
Coming up next time I will be looking back at the tragic life of a player who will also be remembered for one very special goal; Paul Vaesson. Watch out for that one coming soon.
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