Ben Thatcher

Ben Thatcher
Personal information
Full name Benjamin David Thatcher[1]
Date of birth (1975-11-30) 30 November 1975[1]
Place of birth Swindon, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Playing position Left back
Youth career
000?–1992 Millwall
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1996 Millwall 90 (1)
1996–2000 Wimbledon 86 (0)
2000–2003 Tottenham Hotspur 36 (0)
2003–2004 Leicester City 29 (1)
2004–2007 Manchester City 47 (0)
2007–2008 Charlton Athletic 22 (0)
2008–2010 Ipswich Town 20 (0)
Total 330 (2)
National team‡
1995–1997 England U21 4 (0)
2004–2005 Wales 7 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:20, 28 February 2010 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:20,03 September 2009 (UTC)

Benjamin David Thatcher (born 30 November 1975 in Swindon, Wiltshire) is a former footballer. He played for a number of English clubs, and has featured in more than 300 English league games from his position as a left-sided defender, all of which were in the top two leagues in the country.

He represented England's under-21 national team on four occasions, but chose to represent the Wales national team in his senior years, for whom he earned seven caps.

Career

As a youth, Thatcher played Sunday League football for various amateur teams in London, before attending the Football Association (FA)'s School of Excellence at Lilleshall.[2]

Millwall

Upon graduation, he signed his first professional contract with Millwall, making his debut in the 1993–94 season at the age of 18.The following season, he established himself in the Millwall first team, and scored his first goal as a professional. He made more than 100 appearances for Millwall, and won their Player of the Year award for the 1995–96 season.[3]

Wimbledon

In the 1996 close season, he was transferred to Wimbledon F.C. for a fee of more than £1.8million - making him Wimbledon first million-pound signing and doubling the club's previous record fee which had been paid for Efan Ekoku three years earlier.[4]

In his first season at Wimbledon, Thatcher made only nine appearances, but played more regularly in subsequent seasons. He was banned for two matches in January 2000 for elbowing Nicky Summerbee of Sunderland to the head in the build-up to a goal;[5] the incident was missed by the referee but action was taken by the governing body following a video review.[6] After Wimbledon's relegation from the Premiership at the end of the 1999–2000 season, Thatcher moved to Tottenham Hotspur.

Tottenham Hotspur

Thatcher cost Tottenham Hotspur a fee of around £5 million in the Summer of 2000. A few months after the transfer, Spurs manager George Graham was sacked, and Thatcher featured less frequently under successor Glenn Hoddle, though he was a member of the Spurs team for the 2002 League Cup final.

Leicester City

He subsequently moved to Leicester City in a £300,000 transfer deal in the summer 2003,[7] immediately proceeding to attack Glenn Hoddle's style of management.[8] After a single season at Leicester, Thatcher once again found himself in the arms of a relegated club, and moved to Manchester City. He scored once in the league for Leicester, in a 4–4 draw with his former club Spurs.[9]

Manchester City

His move to Manchester City cost around £100,000. His Manchester City debut came on the opening day of the 2004–05 season against Fulham. He was initially the first choice left-back at Manchester City, but a combination of injuries and the emergence of Stephen Jordan limited him to 21 appearances in his first season for the club. In January 2005 Thatcher nearly joined Fulham for a fee of £500,000 after a series of burglaries unsettled his family, but the move fell through.[7][10] His second Manchester City season followed a similar pattern to the first, with most of his 19 starts coming in the first half of the season.

Thatcher gained notoriety on 23 August 2006, in a game between Manchester City and Portsmouth. Whilst challenging with Pedro Mendes for a loose ball Thatcher viciously and intentionally led with his elbow, knocking Mendes into the advertising hoardings rendering him unconscious. Mendes required oxygen at pitchside and suffered a seizure while being transferred to hospital, where he spent the night. Mendes was discharged from hospital the next day, but remained under medical supervision.[11] Thatcher was not sent off by referee Dermot Gallagher but given just a yellow card, but he was investigated by the FA as a result of the challenge. He was disciplined and his barrister, Rupert Bowers, read a written apology following the hearing.[12] Greater Manchester Police noted receipt of many "statements of complaint" and also chose to investigate the matter.[13] On 30 August, Manchester City announced that Thatcher would be banned for six matches, two of which would be suspended, and fined six weeks' wages for the challenge.[14] This punishment is separate from the sanctions made by the FA, who suspended Thatcher for eight matches, with a further fifteen game suspended ban for two years.[15] Mendes shook hands with Thatcher pre-match when they next faced one another in January 2007,[16][17] despite claiming beforehand that he would not do so.[18]

Thatcher also faced possible action from Lancashire Police over a clash with ex-Blackburn Rovers player Ralph Welch during a reserve game at Ewood Park in February 2006.[19]

Charlton Athletic

He signed for Charlton Athletic on 11 January 2007 for a reported fee of £500,000, which could rise to £750,000 depending on appearances.[20] He played his first match for Charlton Athletic on 23 January 2007 against Middlesbrough [21] The team were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the season

Ipswich Town

Thatcher joined Ipswich Town on 14 August 2008 on a one-year contract with an option to extend it for a further year.[22] His contract was terminated by Roy Keane on 26 February 2010,[23] due to his refusal to move closer to the club.

International career

During his time at Wimbledon, Thatcher played for the England under-21 team four times.[24] However, in 2004 he opted to play for Wales, for whom he qualifies due to his Welsh grandmother.[25] His debut international performance came against Hungary, in a 2–1 victory in March 2004, and by October 2004 he had earned seven caps for Wales.

In October 2004, John Toshack was appointed new Welsh national team coach, but Thatcher did not play any games under Toshack, due to suspensions and injuries. Thatcher did not play Wales' 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against England and Poland in early September 2005 on grounds of injury, while playing full-time three days later when Manchester City met cross-city rivals Manchester United. This angered Toshack, and Thatcher was categorically left out of the Welsh national team in September 2005.[26]

Statistics

As of 19 April 2009
Club Performance
Club Season League[27] FA Cup League Cup Europe Others[28] Total
AppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoals
Millwall F.C. 1993–94 8010000010100
1994–95 40140400000481
1995–96 42020200000460
Subtotal 901706000101041
Wimbledon F.C. 1996–97 900000000090
1997–98 26030300000320
1998–99 31020700000400
1999–2000 20000200000220
Subtotal 8605012000001030
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 2000–01 12000300000150
2001–02 12020300000170
2002–03 12010100000140
Subtotal 36030700000460
Leicester City F.C. 2003–04 29100000000291
Subtotal 29100000000291
Manchester City F.C. 2004–05 18010200000210
2005–06 18000100000190
2006–07 11000000000110
Subtotal 47010300000510
Charlton Athletic F.C. 2006–07 11000000000110
2007–08 11000000000110
Subtotal 22000000000220
Ipswich Town F.C. 2008–09 20010200000230
Subtotal 20010200000230
Career total 330 2 17 0 30 0 0 0 1 0 378 2

Honours

  • League Cup
    • 2001–02 runners-up, with Tottenham Hotspur

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2003). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004. Queen Anne Press. p. 414. ISBN 1-85291-651-6.
  2. ↑ "Profile:Ben Thatcher". Match programme, Manchester City v Birmingham City. Manchester City FC. 17 December 2005. p. 29.
  3. ↑ "Ben Thatcher". The Millwall History Files. Retrieved 3 October 2006.
  4. ↑ Football: £2.6m Bowyer signs for Leeds
  5. ↑ "Ben Thatcher of Wimbledon Nicky Summerbee of Sunderland". Allsport / Getty Images. 3 January 2000. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  6. ↑ "Thatcher banned for two matches". The Guardian. 12 January 2000. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Player Profile : Ben Thatcher". 4thegame. Fast Web Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 2005-04-04. Retrieved 1 September 2006.
  8. ↑ "Thatcher snipes at Hoddle". BBC Sport. BBC. 2003-07-22. Retrieved 1 October 2006.
  9. ↑ "Tottenham 4-4 Leicester". BBC. 22 February 2004. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  10. ↑ "Thatcher not joining". Fulham Official Website. 25 January 2005. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  11. ↑ James Ducker (2006-08-24). "Thatcher could face police investigation". Times Online. London: Times Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 24 August 2006.
  12. ↑ "Thatcher receives eight-match ban". CNN. 12 September 2006. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  13. ↑ "Police, FA investigate Thatcher 'tackle'". Setanta Sports. Setanta. 2006-08-24. Archived from the original on 8 September 2006. Retrieved 24 August 2006.
  14. ↑ "Man City hand Thatcher ban & fine". BBC Sport. BBC. 2006-08-30. Archived from the original on 2 September 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2006.
  15. ↑ "Thatcher banned for eight matches". BBC Sport. BBC. 2006-09-12. Retrieved 12 August 2006.
  16. ↑ "Charlton shock Portsmouth with late winner". Irish Examiner. 20 January 2007. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  17. ↑ "Soccer - FA Barclays Premiership - Portsmouth v Charlton Athletic - Fratton Park". EMPICS / Getty Images. 20 January 2007. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  18. ↑ "Thatcher? He doesn't exist, says Mendes". Evening Standard. 18 January 2007. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  19. ↑ "Thatcher faces second elbow probe". BBC Sport. BBC. 2006-09-07. Retrieved 2 October 2006.
  20. ↑ "Thatcher completes Charlton move". BBC Sport. BBC. 2007-01-11. Archived from the original on 13 January 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2007.
  21. ↑ "Tactical Formation". Football-Lineups.com. Archived from the original on 18 February 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2007.
  22. ↑ "Thatcher deal finally done". Green 'Un. 14 August 2008. Archived from the original on 16 March 2009. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  23. ↑ "Thatcher leaves Town". Ipswich Town F.C. 26 February 2010. Archived from the original on 1 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  24. ↑ "Ben Thatcher". ESPN Soccernet. ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on 18 March 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2006.
  25. ↑ "Margetson earns Wales call". BBC Sport. BBC. 2004-03-17. Retrieved 24 August 2006.
  26. ↑ "Toshack slates Thatcher's desire". BBC Sport. BBC. 2005-09-29. Retrieved 23 September 2006.
  27. ↑ Includes Football League (1993–94 – 1995–96 & 2007–08 – ) and Premier League matches (1996–97 – 2006–07)
  28. ↑ Includes Play-Off, Football League Trophy and FA Community Shield matches
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