David Thompson (footballer)

This page is about the football (soccer) player. For other David Thompsons, see David Thompson.

David Thompson (born September 12, 1977 in Birkenhead, England) is an English football player who currently plays for Blackburn Rovers F.C. as a midfielder.

He has also spent much of his career, which started in 1996, first at Liverpool F.C. and later Coventry City F.C..

His Liverpool debut came on August 19, 1996, as an 87th minute substitute in a 2-0 victory against Arsenal F.C., though he only played one more game before being loaned to Swindon Town F.C. for two and a half months in November 1997. His good form at Swindon led him to be selected more frequently for Liverpool, these performances paying off as he scored the winning goal against Crystal Palace F.C. later in the season. His 1997/98 and 1998/99 seasons steady, the 1999/2000 season would see him back into the team on a regular basis.

In the summer of 2000 he moved to Coventry City F.C., his first game a 3-1 defeat to Middlesbrough F.C. in which he was sent off in the 71st minute.

A former England under-21 player, his Coventry City team were relegated during the 2000/01 season, and he sought a move back to the Premiership. Failing to manage this, he had to wait until August 2002 when Blackburn Rovers F.C. signed him for 1.5 million pounds. His appearance in the team was an inspiration to the players around him, for, as well as top-quality initial appearances, he had more of a hunger to succeed.

His rise in division as well as form gave him international recognition, as Sven-Göran Eriksson named him in the England squads against Slovakia and Macedonia as a replacement for Trevor Sinclair.

More recently, Thompson has been prone to injury, in recent seasons a cartilege problem and further surgery in 2003/04 led him to suffer a breakdown in form.