Thomas: Michael Reginald (Mickey)

1989-1990 (Player Details)

Midfield

Born: Mochdre, New Colwyn Bay: 07-07-1954

Debut v Newcastle United (a): 19-08-1989

5’6” 10st 7lb (1982)

Local factory Quinton Hazell bought him a pair of boots and, at the age of thirteen, Thomas was a success as the left winger in the factory's Conwy League men's team. After starring for Clwyddand Conwy and North Wales Schools, at fifteen, he and friend Joey Jones were taken on by Wrexham as amateurs and Thomas began his long Football League career, turning professional in April 1972. Though the first two years were spent cleaning boots, the changing rooms and the whole stadium, by seventeen Thomas was chosen to play in the first team. Under manager John Neal he helped Wrexham establish their giant-killing reputation by reaching the Quarter-Finals of the FA Cup in 1974 and the Quarter-Finals of the European Cup-Winners’ Cup in 1976, when they lost to the eventual champions, Anderlecht. His bustling style earned rave reviews and he was soon in demand in a series of big-money moves in a career that saw him win fifty-one full Welsh caps, as well as one Welsh Under Twenty-three and two Welsh Under-Twenty-one caps. After helping Wrexham storm to the Third Division Championship, Thomas crossed the border to England and joined Manchester United in November 1978 for £300,000. At the Racecourse Ground in the League he made two hundred and seventeen starts and another thirteen from the bench and scored thirty-three goals. At Old Trafford he made ninety League appearances and scored eleven goals before moving on to Everton, the team he supported as a boy, for £450,000 in August 1981. He did not stay long at Goodison Park, making just ten appearances in the League without scoring and moving to Brighton and Hove Albion in November 1981 for £400,000. Once again he did not stay long and only started eighteen League games, with two more from the bench, again without scoring. Stoke City was his next club and he did stay for more than a season, joining them in August 1982 for £200,000 and stayed until January 1984 and played fifty-seven League games and scored fourteen goals before moving to Chelsea for £75,000. At promotion-chasing Chelsea he was signed by the manager who had given him his debut at Wrexham, John Neal. Thomas made an immediate impact, scoring twice on his debut and helped the club become Second Division Champions in1983-84. In his twenty month stay he started forty-three League games and was a substitute once and scored nine goals. He was sold to West Bromwich Albion in September 1985 for £100,000 and made just twenty League appearances without scoring. He was loaned to Derby County in March 1986 and made nine League appearances for them without scoring and then went on loan to Wichita in the American Indoor Soccer League. After his return he was sold to Shrewsbury Town in August 1988 and scored once in forty League appearances before Leeds became his tenth Football League club when he joined the Elland Road club for £10,000, a fee fixed by tribunal, in June 1989. However injury and illness restricted his first team appearances to a minimum and he joined Stoke City on loan just before the 1990 March transfer deadline, making eight League appearances for them. With only three League appearances with Leeds to his name, Thomas joined Stoke on a permanent basis in August 1990 on a free transfer and scored seven times in thirty-eight League games, of which six were as a substitute before returning to his first club Wrexham in August 1991. His fearsome free-kick helped Wrexham to a sensational FA Cup victory over Arsenal in January 1992 but later that year he made the headlines for all the wrong reasons when he was the victim of a stabbing in a domestic dispute. Then in the following year he was jailed for his part in a counterfeit money racket. He played thirty-four League games and scored two goals for Wrexham before his enforced lay-off. On his return to civilian life in July 1993 he linked up with Conway United but did not stay long and became Manager of Portmadoc and played for a while at Non-League level with Portmadoc and Amlwch Town in Wales.