Joseph Thompson (5 March 1989 – 17 April 2025) was an English professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Rochdale, Tranmere Rovers, Carlisle United, Southport and Bury.
Early life Thompson was born on 5 March 1989 in Bath, Somerset; he had two siblings, a brother and a sister. He had a "turbulent" childhood, "witnessing his father abusing his mother physically and verbally, his younger brother being struck by a hit-and-run driver ... and his mother suffering a breakdown when he was eight." Raised in his birth city, he moved to Manchester to live with his aunt when his mother was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Thompson said that his father was "absent" and had "gone down the wrong path and became addicted to hard drugs. I think he has spent 12 of the last 20 years behind bars and missed out seeing me and my brother achieve some great things in life."
Attending St Vincent's Primary School, St Cuthbert's High School and Hopwood Hall School, Thompson excelled in athletics and was a good 800-metre runner, but "wanted to be a part of something on a long term". This led Thompson to begin playing football for a local team "as a way of integrating". In 1998, he joined Manchester United's youth team and played alongside James Chester, Danny Drinkwater and Tom Cleverley. At school, Thompson said "that football slowly turned him from an outsider into one of the gang" and that he had an air of arrogance and confidence in any situation, as he was good at something. His teachers warned him that he still needed to concentrate on his studies in case he "might not make it", but that did not stop him from "practising his signature on scraps of paper at the back of the classroom". He said life was "great" for him until at age 16, he learnt that Manchester United released him because he was small. Thompson said his release was difficult to take and he did not tell any of his friends for at least two weeks: "I'd always been a winner – the best at football, athletics and basketball – but now I was a loser."
Career Rochdale Determined to become a footballer, Thompson went on trials at Blackburn Rovers and Liverpool but failed to win a contract. One day, his teacher told him to "go down to Rochdale". Initially reluctant as "he thought he was better than that", Thompson ended up relenting and joined the club, as he realised it did not matter what team he played for in the past, as long as, everyone were all in the same boat". Soon, Thompson was told by Rochdale's management that "he soon be playing for the first team." Aged seventeen, Thompson made his debut for the club, coming on as an 83rd-minute substitute, in a 2–0 loss against Carlisle United on 2 May 2006 during the 2005–06 season, in what turned out to be his only appearance of the season.
Thompson made his first appearance of the 2006–07 season, coming on as an 86th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 loss against Swindon Town on 12 August 2006. He then made his first start for the club against Milton Keynes Dons on 23 December 2006 and started the whole game, in a 2–1 loss. In a follow–up match against Wrexham, Thompson set up Rochdale's second goal of the game and helped the club draw 2–2. Following this, he was given more playing time for the rest of the 2006–07 season. At the end of the 2006–07 season, Thompson went on to make thirteen appearances in all competitions. For his performance, he was awarded the League Two Apprentice award. After this achievement, manager Keith Hill hoped Thompson would continue to make progress.
Ahead of the 2007–08 season, Thompson signed his first professional contract with Rochdale on 5 July 2007. After missing the opening game of the season against Peterborough United due to injury, he made his first appearance of the season, coming on as a 62nd-minute substitute, in a 2–1 loss against Chester City. However, Thompson was plagued with an injury that kept him out for two months. He returned from injury on 26 December 2007, coming on as a late substitute in a 2–0 win against Wrexham. Five days later on 1 January 2008, Thompson scored his first goal for the club, in a 3–1 win over Darlington. However, he continued to be plagued with injuries on three occasions, as the 2007–08 season progressed. Rochdale went on to reach the play–off final against Stockport County, only to lose 3–2. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Thompson went on to make thirteen appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
At the start of the 2008–09 season, Thompson missed the first seven league matches of the season, due to an injury. He made his return from injury, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute, in a 3–1 win against Accrington Stanley on 28 September 2008. Since returning from injury, this proved to be Thompson's breakthrough season under the management of Keith Hill, as he received more playing time. Thompson scored his first goal of the season on 25 October 2008 in a 3–1 win over Aldershot Town. He then scored a hat-trick in a 4–2 victory against Aldershot Town on 31 January 2009, scoring against them three times this season. This was followed by scoring in the next game on 3 February 2009 in a 2–0 win over Chester City. After the match, Thompson's performance, along with attacking tactics were praised by manager Hill. Having helped Rochdale qualify for the League Two play–offs, he played in both legs against Gillingham, as the club lost 2–1 on aggregate. Despite being sidelined on three more occasions later in the 2008–09 season, Thompson made thirty–five appearances and scoring five times in all competitions. Following this, he was rewarded with a new one-year contract after being offered a new contract by Rochdale.
In the opening game of the 2009–10 season, Thompson started the season well when he scored a goal and won a man of the match award against Port Vale. Since then, Thompson was involved in a number of first team matches, playing in the midfield position. A few weeks later, on 29 August 2009, he scored his second goal of the season in a 3–0 win over Bury. Six days later on 5 September 2009, Thompson scored his third goal of the season, in a 3–3 draw against Morecambe. His next goal came on 7 November 2009 when he scored a vital late brace against Luton Town in the first round of the FA Cup to take the fixture to a replay. However, in the FA Cup replay against Luton Town, Rochdale lost 2–0, eliminating the club from the competition. After missing one match, due to injury, Thompson scored on his return from injury, in a 3–1 win over Lincoln City. After being sidelined for weeks due to a knee injury, he made his return from injury, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute, in a 1–1 draw against Lincoln City on 6 March 2010. This was followed up by scoring his seventh goal of the season, in a 1–0 win against Shrewsbury Town. Two weeks later on 27 March 2010, Thompson scored his eighth goal of the season, in a 4–1 win against Grimsby Town. Rochdale were later promoted to League One after beating Northampton Town 1–0 on 17 April 2010. At the end of the 2009–10 season, he made thirty–nine appearances and scoring eight times in all competitions. Following this, Thompson's performances resulted in him being rewarded with a new-two year deal with the club. The Manchester Evening News described the player as the "most improved member of the squad displaying great maturity in his performances, offering defensive cover and an outlet going forward. A fringe player in recent seasons, the youngster has proved his credentials with a string of impressive displays".
At the start of the 2010–11 season, Thompson started the season well when he set up the only goal of the game, in a 1–0 win against Barnsley in the first round of the League Cup. However, Thompson continued to be involved in the first team, as he soon found himself rotating in and out of the starting line–up, as well as, facing his own injury concern. In early–February, Thompson suffered a thigh injury while training and missed nine matches as a result. But he made his return to the first team from injury against Hartlepool United on 25 March 2011, coming on as an 85th-minute substitute, in a 2–0 loss. Following this, Thompson scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–0 win against Southampton on 11 April 2011. He then scored his second goal of the season, in a 3–2 win against Carlisle United on 23 April 2011. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Thompson went on to make thirty–four appearances and scoring three times in all competitions. For his performance, he was named Dale Dragons Young Player of the Season.
At the start of the 2011–12 season, Thompson found his playing time, mostly coming from the substitute bench. After being sidelined for a month due to his fitness concern, he made his return to the first team against Aldershot Town in the third round of the League Cup on 20 September 2011, coming on as a 71st-minute substitute, in a 2–1 loss. However, his return was short–lived when Thompson suffered a thigh injury and was out for almost three months. It was not until on 31 December 2011 when he made his return from injury, starting a match and played 69 minutes before being substituted, in a 0–0 draw against Walsall. Following this, Thompson found his playing time, coming from the substitute bench for the rest of the 2011–12 season. It was not until on 14 April 2012 when he scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–2 win against Exeter City. However, Thompson was unable to help Rochdale avoid relegation after the club lost 2–1 to Chesterfield. At the end of the 2011–12 season, he went on to make twenty–one appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
Shortly after the end of the 2011–12 season, Thompson was offered a new contract by Rochdale. Having yet to reach his decision after two months, he featured in the pre-season friendly match against Blackburn Rovers and scored the only goal of the game. However, Thompson then announced his intention to play abroad, but because he was under 24, he could not leave the club on a free transfer, and was soon linked with a move to Tranmere Rovers.
Tranmere Rovers On 3 August 2012, Thompson signed a two-year deal with League One side Tranmere Rovers after signing for an undisclosed fee from Rochdale. Upon joining the club, he was given a number seven shirt. Thompson explained his move joining Tranmere Rovers, citing the impact of the maturity he made.
Thompson made his debut for the club in the first round of the League Cup, starting and playing 120 minutes in a 2–1 win over Chesterfield on 14 August. Four days later, he made his league debut for Tranmere, starting the whole game, in a 3–1 win over Leyton Orient. In a follow–up match against Carlisle United, he set the opening goal of the game for Andy Robinson, who scored a hat–trick, in a 3–0 win. However, Thompson found himself out of the starting line–up, due to his own injury concerns and his playing time coming from the substitute bench. Despite this, he scored his first goal for the club on 6 October, in a 1–0 win over Notts County. Thompson scored his second goal of the season, in the first round of the FA Cup, in a 3–0 win over Braintree Town on 13 November. After being recalled by Tranmere, he appeared two more matches towards the end of the 2012–13 season. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Thompson went on to make thirty-four appearances and scoring twice in all competitions.
Upon recovering from his injury, Thompson re-joined Rochdale on loan until the end of the season. He made his second debut for the club, coming on as a 65th-minute substitute, in a 3–0 loss against Morecambe on 2 March 2013. Thompson was in the first team regular at Rochdale until he was recalled by his parent club on 4 April. By the time Thompson was recalled by the club, he made seven appearances for the club.