252: Michael Thomas, Liverpool, Merlin’s Premier League 97 Official Sticker Collection

Certain pieces of footballing commentary have become so entrenched in the minds of the game’s fans that it doesn’t matter if you didn’t actually hear them live and direct. Kenneth Wolstenholme’s delivery of “some people are on the pitch…they think it’s all over…it is now” instantly conjures up the image of Geoff Hurst smashing the ball in to complete England’s victory over West Germany in the 1966 World Cup Final. It would be just over 22 years after this event that I was born but nonetheless Wolstenholme’s voice is as clear as day in my head. Then again that might be because the footage gets replayed anytime the England men’s national team are threatening to get out of the group stage of an international tournament let alone on the verge of winning one.

The climax of the 1988/89 First Division season came roughly two months before my first birthday but, yet again, a piece of commentary is lodged firmly in my head from this time. Arsenal travelled to Anfield needing to win by two clear goals to prevent their hosts Liverpool from winning the title. The game had been postponed until late May due to the horrific deaths of 97 Liverpool fans during the FA Cup Semi-Final at Hillsborough a month earlier and the home side had hit a rich vein of form in the wake of the tragedy. Arsenal, meanwhile, had dropped points against Derby County and Wimbledon. The visitors took the lead early in the second half thanks to league top scorer Alan Smith but found themselves increasingly frustrated by Liverpool’s time wasting tactics as the game came towards its conclusion. In injury time Lee Dixon’s long ball was nodded down by Smith into the path of Michael Thomas. In the words of ITV’s Brian Moore “Thomas, it’s up for grabs now!”

Around twelve million television viewers, as well as the 42,000 supporters at Anfield, witnessed arguably the most dramatic end to a top-flight season in history and a moment which would transcend the sport itself. Thomas’ goal provided the centre piece for Nick Hornby’s ‘Fever Pitch’ and the 1997 film of the same name whilst Moore’s iconic line would be voted in The Observer’s top ten footballing commentaries of all time and provide the name for both Arsenal’s commemorative video of the game and celebrity fan Alan Davies’ podcast. The gracious nature in which Liverpool’s fans applauded their vanquishers was also seen as a turning point for the game which had endured a torrid decade of violence on the terraces and UEFA’s ban on English clubs from competing in club competitions. Arsenal had also proven that the dominant Liverpool side of the 1980s could be beaten.

With all of this in mind it’s slightly odd to be looking at an image of Michael Thomas decked out in Liverpool’s home kit ahead of the 1996/97 season. Thomas had come through the youth ranks at Highbury and became a key part of an Arsenal side which won the League Cup and Charity Shield alongside two league titles between 1987 and 1991. The defensively minded George Graham, however, began to favour David Hillier in the centre of Arsenal’s midfield which led Thomas to question his manager’s decisions. An explosive interview with The Daily Mirror more or less ended his Gunners’ career and, after over 200 appearances for his boyhood club, he moved to the very team he had denied the First Division title just two years earlier for £1.5m. By the end of his first season he had picked up an FA Cup winner’s medal thanks to his spectacular goal and an assist for Ian Rush in a 2-0 victory over Sunderland at Wembley.

Due to a combination of injury and the promising form of the equally injury prone Jamie Redknapp Thomas found himself settling into a squad player role. Meanwhile Liverpool’s 1992/93 campaign was one of mediocrity, Torben Piechnik and Ronny Rosenthal hitting the crossbar. The resignation of Graeme Souness in January 1994 brought Roy Evans to the helm but Thomas struggled to forge a place in the first team although he did pick up a League Cup winner’s medal in 1995 as an unused substitute in Liverpool’s victory over Bolton Wanderers. His versatility, often deputising at full back, gave him a greater role in the 1995/96 campaign where he made 37 appearances and helped the club to third in the Premier League and an FA Cup final. Despite their snazzy cream suits, and Thomas’ substitute appearance, they fell to rivals Manchester United and a solitary Eric Cantona goal. Despite a sustained run in the first team in 1996/97 he was once again displaced by Redknapp’s umpteenth return from injury and, after a transfer to Coventry City fell through, he went out on loan to Division One Middlesbrough.

If Thomas’ move to Liverpool seemed unlikely he was soon to double down on it with a switch to Benfica in August 1998. This was a particularly unique time at the Estadio da Luz with Thomas’ former boss Graeme Souness at the helm and the man who once brought Ali Dia to Southampton looked to pack his squad with British talent. Thomas made a total of 25 appearances in a team featuring the likes of Gary Charles, Brian Deane, Scott Minto, Mark Pembridge, Dean Saunders and Steve Harkness but, in danger of slipping to an embarrassing fourth position behind local rivals Sporting, Souness was relieved of his duties with four games remaining in the season. His permanent successor Jupp Heynckes was less enamoured with those with experience of cold, wet nights in Stoke and all but Thomas were moved on ahead of the 1999/2000 season. Thomas remained but failed to make a first team appearance and suffered the indignity of losing his squad number to Samuel Okunowo who had arrived on loan from Barcelona but would go on to play for Waltham Forest after a nomadic career. Thomas moved back to England with Wimbledon but made just nine appearances in the First Division before calling time on his career.  

Michael Thomas was voted as the 37th greatest Arsenal player of all time in 2008 ahead of legendary goalkeeper Bob Wilson and former boss George Graham and he will be forever associated with a balmy May night at Anfield where he secured the Gunners’ their first league title in eighteen years. That he made nearly as many appearances for the side he denied said championship, picking up an FA Cup with a great goal in the mean time, and more than held his own on foreign soil is almost forgotten. Thomas was even voted in at 83rd in Liverpool’s 2008 (clearly THE year for fan votes) poll of 100 Players Who Shook The Kop ahead of Nick Barmby and Nicolas Anelka. Perhaps if the late John Motson had provided a commentary moment to rival Brian Moore’s three years earlier then Thomas would be remembered more for his Wembley moment than his Arsenal exploits. It’s up for grabs now.