Ex-Cobbler Garry Thompson has had an autobiography written by Bill Howell. ‘Don’t believe a word’

‘Don’t Believe A Word’ – The Garry Thompson Autobiography

A Brummie by birth but raised in Coventry, Garry Thompson burst onto the footballing scene at a time when Britain’s pioneering black footballers had to fight against some appalling racial abuse from the terraces.

At a time when Cyrille Regis and Laurie Cunningham were seen as true trailblazers down the road in West Bromwich, Thommo was turning just as many heads with goals aplenty for the Sky Blues.

But it wasn’t just his scoring exploits that caught the eye. Thompson’s swashbuckling, all-action style combined tenacity, power and aggression, with an ability to hang in the air and an eye-catching trademark look of socks rolled firmly down around his ankles.

‘Bruno’, as many tagged him, enjoyed three goal-laded years at Albion before a record-breaking move to high-flying Sheffield Wednesday and then to boyhood club Aston Villa which saw him become an iconic figure in his own right after he spearheaded a promotion campaign under Graham Taylor.

There followed a brief stint at Watford, before he returned to the top flight with Crystal Palace and to QPR in the newly formed Premier League, helping strike partners Ian Wright and then Les Ferdinand become the legends that they undoubtedly became in the game.

Thompson’s later career saw transfers to Cardiff City and to Northampton Town before a swansong into management at Bristol Rovers and Brentford.

But this tale is far more than just a simple football almanac. Thompson’s life tells the story of a larger-than-life character who wholeheartedly rejoiced in the on-field exploits of his team-mates and clubs but whose joy turned to heart-breaking despair with the loss of a brother, a wife and a number of team-mates just when life seemed so darned good.

Thompson epitomised everything that was right about the game in the late 1970s, the 1980s and the 1990s.

Now a well-loved pundit on the BBC, his life is likely to leave a legacy long after his infectious smile has gone.