| Bill Thompson | |
| Fullname: | William Gordon Thompson[1] |
| Birth Date: | 10 August 1921 |
| Birth Place: | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Death Place: | Portsmouth, England |
| Position: | Wing half |
| Youthyears1: | – |
| Years1: | – |
| Years2: | 1948–1952 |
| Clubs2: | Portsmouth |
| Caps2: | 20 |
| Goals2: | 2 |
| Years3: | 1952–1954 |
| Caps3: | 45 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | – |
| Clubs4: | Guildford City |
| Manageryears1: | 1956–1957 |
| Managerclubs1: | Guildford City |
| Manageryears2: | 1957–1958 |
| Managerclubs2: | Exeter City |
| Manageryears3: | 1958–1962 |
| Managerclubs3: | Worcester City |
| Manageryears4: | 1963–1966 |
| Managerclubs4: | Sparta Rotterdam |
| Manageryears5: | 1970–1971 |
| Managerclubs5: | HFC Haarlem |
William Gordon Thompson (10 August 1921 – 26 December 1986)[2] was a Scottish footballer who played in the Football League as a wing half for Portsmouth and Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic.[3] [4] He went on to manage clubs in England and the Netherlands.
Born in Glasgow,[2] Thompson played for Scottish junior club Carnoustie Panmure before joining Portsmouth.[3] He was a member of Portsmouth's championship-winning team of 1949 and 1950.[2] His only goals for the club came on the last day of the 1949–50 season, playing as an emergency centre-forward. Needing to beat Aston Villa to ensure they stayed ahead of Wolverhampton Wanderers on goal average, Thompson scored twice in a 5–1 win.[5] He went on to play in the League for Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic and in non-league football for Guildford City.[4]
Thompson took over as manager of Guildford City towards the end of the 1955–56 Southern League season, in which they won the title.[6] In May 1957, he was the pick of more than thirty applicants for the post of manager at Third Division South club Exeter City,[7] but lasted only until January 1958, when the club announced his departure by mutual agreement, though Thompson himself said he had been sacked.[8] A few days later, he was appointed manager of Southern League Worcester City, leading them to victory against Liverpool in the 1958–59 FA Cup and remaining in post until 1962.[9] [10]
He went on to coach abroad, including in the Netherlands with Sparta Rotterdam from 1963 to 1966[11] [12] and HFC Haarlem from 1970 to 1971.[13] [14]
Portsmouth
Guildford City
Sparta Rotterdam