Josh Thompson

Joshua William Thompson (born 25 February 1991) is an English former footballer who played as a defender.

He began his career at Atherton Collieries before joining Stockport County and later moved to Celtic.

He had loan spells at Rochdale, Peterborough United and Chesterfield, and then joined Portsmouth.

He had a loan spell with Colchester United before signing permanently for Southport.

He made a further eight appearances for the club during the 2008–09 season, as his performances attracted attention from other clubs, including Manchester United and West Bromwich Albion, having had trials for both clubs.

He was also sparking interest from Scottish Premier League giants Celtic while Championship club Peterborough United confirmed they had made a second offer for Thompson.

He made his first-team debut for County on 17 January 2009 as a late substitute, coming on as a late substitute for Dominic Blizzard in the 89th minute of a 3–1 win over Southend United.

Thompson signed for Celtic on 8 August 2009 for a £250,000 fee, teaming up with Celtic Tony Mowbray who had taken Thompson on trial while he was manager of West Brom.

Thompson signed alongside fellow former Stockport youth team players Curtis Jones and Michael Ordish.

He made his debut coming on as a substitute for Stephen McManus at Celtic Park in a 1–1 draw with Falkirk on 16 January 2010.

He made his first Celtic start in a 4–1 away victory against St Johnstone on 20 March 2010 and scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 victory over St Johnstone on 20 March 2010.

Following the match and his first professional goal, Thompson said he wasn't expecting to score for the club so soon after joining.

He followed his debut goal up with two in a 2–1 victory for Celtic against Motherwell on 13 April 2010.

Despite limited first-team opportunities at Celtic, Thompson was named as the club's Young Player of the Year in his first season.

Upon receiving the award, Thompson said that since joining Celtic, he had changed his attitude both on and off the pitch.

He made 21 appearances in all competitions for Celtic during the 2009–10 season, and played his final game of the campaign in a 2–1 away victory over Hearts on 9 May 2010.

This was to be his final game for the club.

In August 2010, Thompson left Celtic to join English League One side Rochdale on a season-long loan deal having fallen out of favour with new Celtic manager Neil Lennon.

He made his debut on 26 August as a substitute for Marcus Holness in a 3–2 defeat to Birmingham City.

He scored his only goal for the club in their 3–2 win against Walsall on 11 September.

He found his first-team opportunities restricted with the Dale, and returned to Scotland at the end of his loan having recorded 12 League One and two cup appearances.

Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson captured Thompson on loan from Celtic for the duration of the 2011–12 season having made offers for the player prior to him joining Celtic in 2009.

However, Thompson was allowed to leave London Road after he failed to break into the team.

Chesterfield stepped in to take Thompson on loan until the end of the season in January 2012 following his disappointing stint with Peterborough United.

He made his debut on 18 January in Chesterfield's 2–1 Football League Trophy triumph against Oldham Athletic.

He scored for the club in only his second game, a goal which proved to be the winner as he headed past Colchester United goalkeeper Ben Williams in a 2–1 win on 21 January.

While playing for the club, Thompson played at Wembley Stadium in the 2012 Football League Trophy Final as Chesterfield came up against Swindon Town.

The Spireites won the Trophy in their first visit to the national stadium with a 2–0 victory on 25 March 2012.

Despite this success, Thompson also experienced relegation with the club as they fell short of League One safety by eight points.

He made 23 appearances across all competitions for the club.

Thompson signed for recently relegated League One club Portsmouth on 31 August 2012 on a short-term contract.

He made his debut for the club in a 4–3 penalty shootout victory against Bournemouth on 4 September 2012 after a 2–2 in normal time.

Thompson then made his second appearance and league debut for Pompey on 9 September in a 3–0 win at Crawley Town.

However, after making just three first-team appearances, he suffered an ankle injury in training that kept him out of action for six weeks.

Following manager Michael Appleton's departure and Guy Whittingham's arrival at Fratton Park, Thompson was allowed to leave on loan for fellow League One club Colchester United on a one-month loan in November 2012.

He left Southport at the end of the 2016/17 season following their relegation from the National League.

He signed for National League side Macclesfield Town in July 2017 and left in January 2018 without making an appearance.

He has represented England at under-19 level.

Born in Bolton, Greater Manchester, Thompson is a product of the Stockport County youth system where he arrived from Atherton Collieries.

He made his debut for the U's in a 2–0 win against Bury on 17 November, coming on as a 90th-minute substitute.