Neil Thompson

For the English cricketer, see Neil Thompson (cricketer).

Not to be confused with Neil Thomson or Neal Thompson.

Neil Thompson (born 2 October 1963) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played for Scarborough, Ipswich Town and Barnsley amongst others. He is currently the first-team coach of Sheffield Wednesday.

Neil Thompson

Personal information
Full name	Neil Thompson[1]
Date of birth	(1963-10-02) 2 October 1963 (age 61)[1]
Place of birth	Beverley, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Sheffield Wednesday (First-team coach)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1980–1981	Nottingham Forest	0	(0)
1981–1983	Hull City	31	(0)
1983–1989	Scarborough	242	(34)
1989–1996	Ipswich Town	206	(19)
1996–1998	Barnsley	27	(5)
1997–1998	→ Oldham Athletic (loan)	8	(0)
1998	→ York City (loan)	12	(2)
1998–2000	York City	30	(6)
2000–2001	Scarborough	27	(3)
2001–2004	Boston United	7	(0)
Total		590	(69)
Managerial career
1999–2000	York City
2000–2001	Scarborough
2002–2004	Boston United
2020–2021	Sheffield Wednesday (caretaker)
2023	Sheffield Wednesday (caretaker)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Thompson was born in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire.^[1] Whilst at Barnsley he played in the 1997–98 Premier League with the South Yorkshire club, appearing in three matches as a starter.^[2]

Coaching career

Thompson subsequently became a football coach and had spells at York City, Scarborough and Boston United as player-manager. He also worked for Leeds United Reserves team.^[3] Following the termination of Tony Pulis as Sheffield Wednesday manager, he would take on the role of caretaker manager on 28 December 2020^[4] which would last for thirteen games until 1 March 2021, when Darren Moore was appointed permanent manager.^[5] On 13 January 2022, Thompson would take on the roll of manager for Wednesday's U23 side, following Lee Bullen taking the managers job at Ayr United.^[6] He would be made caretaker manager of Sheffield Wednesday again following the dismissal of Xisco Muñoz on 4 October 2023.^[7] He would be in charge of just one game, a 0-0 draw against former manager Darren Moore's new club, Huddersfield Town before stepping down once Danny Röhl was appointed the new manager of the club.^[8]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 7 October 2023

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record					Ref
			P	W	D	L	Win %
York City	16 March 1999	9 February 2000	45	11	11	23	024.4	[9]
Scarborough	1 October 2000	21 September 2001	45	10	20	15	022.2	[9]
Boston United	8 July 2002	13 February 2004	83	26	21	36	031.3	[9]
Sheffield Wednesday (caretaker)	28 December 2020	1 March 2021	13	6	0	7	046.2	[9]
Sheffield Wednesday (caretaker)	4 October 2023	13 October 2023	1	0	1	0	000.0	[9]
Total			187	53	53	81	028.3

Honours

Scarborough

• Football Conference: 1986–87^[1]

Ipswich Town

• Football League Second Division: 1991–92^[1]

Individual

• Scarborough Player of the Year: 1985–86
• PFA Team of the Year: 1988–89 Fourth Division^[10]