Steve Thompson (footballer, born 1989)

Born in Peterlee, County Durham, Thompson began his career at Middlesbrough in the academy and youth team and he signed for the club at the start of the 2007–08 season but did not play a game for the first-team. Released at the end of the season,[3] he had a successful trial with Port Vale and signed with the club in May 2008,[4] citing manager Lee Sinnott's style of play as a reason for joining the club.[5]

He spent four months working off a hamstring injury,[6] before making his debut as a 74th minute substitute on 6 December 2008 against Grimsby Town.[6] His first league start came two weeks later in a 1–0 defeat to Chesterfield at Vale Park, he was taken off in the 53rd minute, despite the protestations of the home crowd.[7] His first goal came against Rochdale on 28 December, as he hit a 90th-minute winner for a Vale side reduced to 10-men.[8] Described by Ian Brightwell as "probably the best finisher we have at the club",[9] he was dropped from the first team in February 2009.[10] He worked hard at the end of the season to put himself back in contention and made eight further appearances under Dean Glover before the season's end.

During a 2009–10 pre-season friendly with Nantwich Town, Thompson was dismissed for violent conduct, shoulder-barging an opposition player in an off-the-ball incident.[11] Manager Micky Adams promised to punish Thompson in some way for his lack of discipline.[11] Two days later Adams placed him on the transfer list, along with five other youngsters.[12][13] Early the next month local Conference North side Stafford Rangers enquired about Thompson's availability, after fellow Vale youngster Ross Davidson performed well in his loan spell.[14] A one-month loan deal was quickly agreed.[15] His contract with Port Vale was cancelled by mutual consent in October 2009, Thompson aimed to find first team football elsewhere.[16]

The day after his release from Port Vale, Thompson signed with Telford United of the Conference North.[17] He spent one season with Telford, but had issues with the long distances he was travelling to the club from his home.[18] Thompson subsequently joined Northern Premier League Division One North side Durham City, and was described by the club's website as "a quick thinking classic playmaker who has pace, good feet and excellent passing ability which mean he is equally at home both scoring and making goals for others."[19] Durham finished 17th in 2010–11, but resigned from the league at the end of 2011–12 to join the Northern League.

He signed with Northern League side Darlington in September 2012.[20] He scored his first goal in his fourth appearance for the club in a 4–1 victory over Penrith, he struck the ball from 20-yards out on a mud-filled pitch.[21] Darlington won promotion as champions in 2012–13. The "Quakers" reached the play-offs in the Northern Premier League Division One North in 2013–14, where they were knocked out by Ramsbottom United; Thompson scored 27 goals during the campaign.[21] He scored his 50th goal in his 100th appearance for Darlington against Mossley.[21] In 2015, Darlington beat Bamber Bridge 2–0 in the Division One North play-off final to secure promotion into the Premier Division.[22] A second successive promotion was achieved as Darlington won the Premier Division title with a game to spare of the 2015–16 season.[21] Darlington finished fifth in the National League North in 2016–17, but were denied a place in the play-offs due to Blackwell Meadows's lack of seating.[23] He scored 11 goals in 38 league games during the 2017–18 season as "Darlo" finished in 12th-place.[21] He was named as the club's Player of the Year for 2018.[24] Having been assigned to play right-back for much of the campaign, he still went on to score ten goals in 43 appearances in the 2018–19 season, with Darlington posting a 16th-place finish.[21]

On 26 December 2019, Thompson's 72nd-minute penalty gave his side a 2–1 win at home to Spennymoor Town and completed his century of goals for Darlington, equalling Alan Walsh's club record that had stood for 35 years.[25] His tally included four hat-tricks: against Leamington, Sunderland Ryhope Community Association, Burscough and Wakefield.[21] He scored six goals in 36 appearances in the 2019–20 season, which was permanently suspended on 26 March due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, with Darlington in eleventh place.[26] After eight years with the club, he chose not to accept Darlington's offer of a new contract and left at the end of the 2019–20 season.[27]

Thompson signed for another National League North club, Spennymoor Town, on 20 May 2020.[28]