An Interview with Allan Thompson

 

An Interview with Allan Thompson

 

Allan Thompson is a Liverpool born former central defender. He joined the Owls in 1967 as an apprentice after captaining the Liverpool Boys team. Allan made his professional debut for Sheffield Wednesday in 1970 and continued to play for the club until 1976, making a total of 167(+6) appearances and scoring four goals. Allan now lives in Nottinghamshire, and it was through the wonders of modern technology that we had a ‘locked-down’ conversation via video link in late 2020. Allan had read ‘Our Lowest Ebb?’ so we began the conversation with a chat about the book and my reasons for writing it before moving on to discuss Allan’s career.

Tell me how you came to sign for Wednesday?

As you know, I’d been with Liverpool Boys. We were a very very good team, some great players. David Johnson played with us who went on to have some great success with Liverpool and Everton. I hoped that I’d sign for one of those two – I grew up as an Everton fan. It didn’t happen though. I didn’t know anything about Sheffield Wednesday, other than remembering the Cup Final in ’66. I was scouted by Bill Evans, he reminded me of the actor David Niven! Anyhow, soon after he’d seen me play – Wednesday manager Alan Brown knocked on the door of the house – asking if I wanted to sign. He was a big strong bloke, and I was flattered that he made the effort to come and see me. So, I signed as an apprentice.

The club was great when I joined. The dressing room had a good atmosphere, and there were some great players and characters – Johnny Quinn, Peter Eustace, Don Megson and many more. I played in the Northern Intermediate League with the youth team. We were coached by Ian MacFarlane and Lawrie McMenemy. They were brilliant, they let us have fun when needed but also had the authority and discipline to keep us in line. I’ll give you an example. One of the lads was a bit too cheeky to one of the ladies at the club. Said something out of turn. Lawrie heard about it, and he got us all outside. We had to run up and down the Kop for forty-five minutes, and you know how far up that is! Lawrie told us afterwards that he never wanted to hear of anything like happening again. It was a good grounding, and within 18 months I’d signed a professional contract.

What do you remember of reaching the first team?

Well, my professional debut was in the league cup against Chelsea in 1970. I’d actually made my first team debut the summer before though in the Anglo-Italian Cup. The club had taken the squad out to Italy, and I made my debut against Juventus. It was scary! The crowd were angry about some decisions the ref had made and we got pelted on the way off the pitch at the end. We stayed in a hotel near Sorrento. I was only a young lad, and I didn’t drink much normally. Anyhow, Graham Pugh and Sam Ellis ‘looked after’ me that night playing a drinking game called fizz-buzz and got me so drunk I had to be carried back up to my room. And that was my introduction to professional football!

What other memories do you have of your early years at the club?

I remember the game against Manchester United which we won 5-4! All the lads watched that together, Jack Whitham scored four goals in front of a huge crowd. Like I say, there were some great players when I started. I’ll tell you another one. We played Leeds in the FA Cup in 1969 I think and drew 1-1 at Hillsborough. Leeds were a good team, and it was going to be difficult beating them at Elland Road. Anyhow, we went 3-1 ahead and with a few minutes to go won a free kick down by their corner flag. Peter Eustace took it and blasted the ball right out of the ground! I’d never seen anything like it, the fans loved it and it helped kill off a bit more time before the final whistle. Eustace had just the right mixture of confidence and arrogance, I loved it.

How about playing against and meeting Pele?

That was 1972, and everyone was excited by it. Pele was the best player I have ever seen; his ability was out of this world. I mean George Best, Messi and Ronaldo are or were special and others have got something, but Pele at that time was something else. It was great being on the same pitch as him. Different class. It was as different to what we faced in the league as fish and chips is to A LA CARTE food! Mind you, Tommy Craig annoyed me that day. He got Pele’s shirt, and I’d got a similar plan to get there – but he beat me to it!

Talking of Tommy Craig, who did you enjoy playing alongside?

Well, me and Tommy were good pals at the time. We were a similar age, with a similar outlook. It did seem though as the team went down and down that we spent much of our time asking for a transfer or looking for a way out! I was really pleased for Tommy when he got his move to Newcastle. There were some good players at the club – John Sissons, Peter Rodrigues, Mick Prendergast, Willie Henderson, and others. It seemed to me though, that when they moved on the players that replaced them were never as good. Prendo was injured I know, and he stayed, but others moved on. I got very frustrated by it. I didn’t really buy the argument that the club were struggling for money either, as they paid several transfer fees in my time and paid much higher salaries too– just never quite for the best players.

How about the managers? How did you find the men in charge?

It was like a revolving door in my time! In those circumstances it was difficult for any manager to really make a success of it. Danny Williams was my first manager, and I was grateful for him giving me my debut and playing I think it was 30-34 games in my first season, I honestly cannot remember which players played regularly in my first year or two, BUT I do remember the feeling of seeing all of the players from early 60s to that present day leaving like it was a revolving door, and thinking what the heck is happening. That was the start of a never-ending spiral downwards.  Although I was puzzled at what was happening, I still concentrated on making myself better in all aspects of my game, I regularly used to go and do extra training on my own (and with a trainer when they could be bothered!!) so that I felt in my own mind that I’d done all I could to make myself a better player. I wanted to be successful, to play in big games, to play in a cup final etc. I was very blinkered then not knowing what was to develop in the years ahead. I do remember thinking in my first two or three years in the team how on earth could the club let go of Smith, Megson, Mobley, Young, Eustace, Pugh, Quinn, Ford, Fantham, Richie and Whitham and not be in a position to replace them? I knew there were not enough good - capable young players coming through, the Liverpool Boys team would have thrashed the Wednesday juniors and only three of that team got to join a professional club.

 

Derek Dooley was the next manager. Derek was a really nice man. To my mind though, he was out of his depth as a manager. He’d been Commercial Manager I think and knew the club well, but he had no support when he was appointed first team manager. Training was poor and I didn’t think much of the tactics either.  The dressing room then, needed a very strong no-nonsense man with good tactical knowledge and the ability to create a good team spirit. For me it went the opposite direction, he and his assistant Ron Staniforth were far too soft and it was, as far as I was concerned, a massive mistake in giving them the job for so long. They were good decent kind of guys, but the performances spoke for itself, and it just kept getting worse. It was a very unfortunate and sad ending for the man but he did eventually have a good career with Sheffield United as their commercial manager!!

While discussing this with you, I keep getting flash backs, I remember vividly the difference between the players/characters Sheffield United had at that time, were so different in personality and ability to what Wednesday had, I used to watch them regularly in mid week games when we weren't playing and players like Ted Helmsley, Billy Dearden, Geoff Salmons and Tony Currie ( he lives not too far away from where I am now) and the rest of the team  were so good, we used to meet up from time to time socially and they were so different to the people at Wednesday, it didn't surprise me they did so well and we didn't.

Steve Burtenshaw followed Derek. He had what was a very difficult job to do, the club was at all time low. I found him abrasive at times and so did most of the other players and he didn’t win over the dressing room. That said, he had more idea on tactics. I saw in your book him described as the 70s Mourinho – well he wasn’t that – but he did have some good ideas. He was really a coach not a manager though. He was a southerner which in those days made it difficult for him with the fans and some of the players. So, wrong man, wrong place really.

Len Ashurst, I found a nice guy, IF he had been given the job at the time DD was given it, I think the club would have done better, he was very straight speaking and him and Tony most of the time kept players in line. Him and Tony Toms worked well together as a pair. Again though, they were on a hiding to nothing with the state of the club at the time. Len gave me a pay rise, the first I think I’d had since the early 70s. He also made me captain.  He called me into the office one day soon after he’d taken over and asked me for my opinions on the team and where things were going. He told me that he was going to make me captain, I said that I wasn’t sure about that – but I’d do it if he wanted me to. For one reason or another it didn’t really go down too well in the dressing room either. Anyhow, it didn’t last long as after a few weeks I tore my hamstring and was out injured for a while. Bernard Shaw took it on after that, I think.

What do you remember about the trip onto Broomhead Moor?

Tony Toms was all about fitness, he was really knowledgeable about that. He didn’t have a clue about football though! The Moors thing was a gimmick really. I could see what he was getting at, but I’m not sure what difference it made really.

Maybe a happier memory, I saw the highlights of the 4-4 draw with Manchester United in 1974 on TV recently. What do you remember of that game?

That game was memorable for all sorts of reasons! We didn’t often score four for a start. We also didn’t often find ourselves leading in games! It wasn’t a regular thing to score from free kicks either and we did that three times in that game, I think. Yes, tell me about the goal that you assisted. That’s the free kick that I launched forward into their box. We’d been practicing that in training all week. We’d figured out that they didn’t really have a lot of height at the back and that if we got it into the box it might bounce around a bit. Anyhow, it did just that, my free kick wasn’t cleared, and it fell to Colin Harvey who scored a cracker. He was another great player you know, just struggled with injury at Hillsborough. Evertonians loved him in a midfield three with Alan Ball and Howard Kendall. I enjoyed playing with him, a shame that his knees did for him at the end.

Back to 1976, you were released by Sheffield Wednesday at the end of the season. What had changed between you being made captain and then?

That period in late 1975 and early 1976 was I think my hardest in football. We played a huge amount of games in a short period of time. The standards on the pitch had dropped and dropped. I’d been injured as well. It was a battle to stay in the division. I was frustrated with how far things had fallen since I joined the club, and it never seemed to be getting any better. It came to a head after a game at Mansfield. I’d played a few games in midfield if my memory serves me right, after I came back from injury. I might have played in midfield that day, I can’t quite remember. Anyhow, we got beat 3-0 and played terribly. I remember being mentally worn out after the game. Soon afterwards Len told me that he was letting me go at the end of the season. That was my last game for the club. A tough time.

Looking back my career could have gone differently. I’ll give you a couple of examples. When I left Sheffield Wednesday, I still fancied that I could play at a higher level. So, I wrote to all the managers in the top divisions, telling them I was available. Remember, no agents back then to work for you. Anyhow, I was at home one day that summer, wondering what I was going to do next with my career and the phone rang. My wife picked it up and came in and told me that it was Bobby Robson. He’d had some great success with Ipswich Town at that time in Division One. I thought it must be someone having a joke. So, I picked up the phone and asked who it really was. He told me that he’d received my letter, so I knew then that it really was Bobby. He went on to tell me that he’d tried three times to buy me from Sheffield Wednesday in the early 70s and that each time the club had turned him down. I was not made aware of any of that by Derek Dooley at the time. Unfortunately for me, by 1976 Bobby couldn’t offer me anything, but he wished me the best of luck looking for another club. It begs the question and I have obviously never found out, were there any other clubs showing an interest at that time if Mr Robson saw something about me? Who knows where it would have led to.

I’ll give you another example. It was about April time in the 1974/75 season I think, I was jogging towards training and Steve Burtenshaw came up behind me and gave me friendly tap on the shoulder. That wasn’t really like him, so I wondered what was up. He told me how well he thought I’d been doing, even though the team wasn't doing well again and that he just said keep on doing what you're doing. He then told me that he’d put in a call to the England camp, and that I was to expect a call up to the under-23s as they were at the time. I was really pleased by this of course. I carried onto training and, before it had really had chance to sink in, picked up an injury (torn cartilage) that ended up keeping me out for rest of the season and start of the following season. I didn’t hear any more from England after that.

So, it could have gone differently for me either at Sheffield Wednesday or elsewhere. I suppose, by 1976, my frustrations with all that had come to a head.

Where did you move on to after Hillsborough?

Stockport County. They were in Division Four, so I had no luck with my letters to the higher division clubs. I was still only 25 or 26 years old, and felt I had more to offer, so I took the chance to play. I enjoyed it and was told on so many occasions by so many different people that I was far too good for that level. I was player of the year and playing regularly. I played there for nearly two seasons, but it was the end of the first season, when the chairman Freddie Pie called me and asked me to take over as player/manager,  I was still only young, so asked for time to think about it. After speaking with my wife, I decided to give it a go. There were only three matches left that season, but the following year we started really well – winning something like eight of the first ten matches and achieving a very respectable top four position, the highest the club had been in over ten years. I soon found out that the club had no money, so I had to wheel and deal in the transfer market. I brought in Eddie Prudham for example who I knew from our time at Wednesday. The club was the chairman’s baby really – and he did find some money to bring in Mike Summerbee who had had great success with Manchester City and was an England international. We needed more players though, with a squad of only 14 or 15 first teamers we were going to struggle if injuries hit. They did, and the good start we had tailed off a bit. I decided at the end of the season that it was not for me, and Mike Summerbee was given the job.  It was during this period that I tore the other cartilage in my left knee.

Then you moved to America I believe?

Yes, to Portland Timbers. They were managed by Don Megson who I knew from my early years at Hillsborough. A brilliant guy, he seemed to have lost his way a bit in management and was looking for a fresh start. The standard over there was pretty good – low Division Two I would say. It was very different in a lot of ways though, the astro-turf killed me for a while until I could get used to it.

There were quite a lot of famous players over there, but it was dominated by the New York Cosmos, Carlos Alberto who was captain of what I think is the best international team ever Brazil. Then there was also Neeskens from Holland and Dennis Tuart from Manchester City and George Best was at Fort Lauderdale to name just a few. Our team was mix of all division players, Willie Anderson ex-Manchester United, Clive Charles and Clyde Best who were both ex-West Ham were team mates and they were all brilliant lads.  It didn’t really work out in terms of the results and as the American leagues had a roster/franchise system we were simply told at the end of the season that we wouldn’t be needed the following year. I felt most sorry for Don Megson, as I say a great guy, I was sorry it didn’t work out for him over there.

Did you come straight back to England after that?

Yes, and I was soon contacted by the chairman of Bradford City. He’d seen me play for Stockport and asked me what I was doing playing at that standard – and that I should be at least two divisions higher. I was 28 by this stage, and again wanted to play. I was happy therefore to play at Bradford in Division Four. It was mid-season also at this point, as the American season ran to a different timescale. George Mulhall was the manager at the time. At the end of that season he was sacked and Roy McFarland was my final manager. He was one of England’s finest ever centre halves in my opinion. A great player. At the same time, I was having real issues with my knee. Bradford’s doctor told me that if I carried on playing for much longer, I would end up crippled with it. So, after a season and a half at Bradford, and at the age of 30, I made the decision to retire from playing.

And moved into a career as a Financial Advisor?

Yes, I’ve been doing that now for thirty eight years! I went into it as I was frustrated by the lack of decent advice that I and others had during our playing career. I won’t name him now, but as an example, several of us at Sheffield Wednesday were persuaded by another player to sign up to what we thought was a good investment scheme. It turned out when I investigated it properly on retirement that it wasn't an investment savings plan and therefore effectively worthless.  This player sold investments like he played, rubbish.  I wanted to be able to give proper advice.

Do you think the game has changed much since your time?

There’s a lot more money in the game that’s for sure and that causes its own issues. I don’t blame the players for any of that, the money comes from the sponsors and from the TV companies. I tell you what though, the top players of the 60s,70s, 80s – they’d be able to hold their own in the Premier League and better than most of them. I’m not jealous of today’s players – other than for one thing – the pitches. We didn’t half have to play on some mud-baths! It was only if it was the start of the season or if you were lucky enough to be playing at Wembley that we got decent pitches. The top players back then, they could play on those pitches, they’d more than hold their own today I’m sure!

 

Thanks for your time Allan, a real pleasure talking to you.

No problem, happy to talk any time.