| The term 'unfulfilled potential' has been applied to many a
footballer over the years, but rarely has it been more apt than in the
case of Danny Thomas. At 21, he was already a full England international
when he moved from Coventry City to Tottenham Hotspur for £250, 000, in
June 1983. The speedy fullback's intelligent positioning, accurate
distribution and clean tackling promised much more than the two caps
he'd earned during that summer's tour to Australia. In a career
prematurely curtailed by injury, these would prove to be his only
appearances for his country.
Able to play on either flank, Thomas quickly established himself as a
first team regular and overcame a series of niggling injuries to play a
significant part in the 1983-84 season. Indeed, Danny produced one of
his finest performances in a Spurs shirt as they overcame Anderlecht in
the second leg of the 1984 UEFA Cup final. With the teams locked at 1-1
after extra time and 2-2 on aggregate, Danny stepped up to take a
potentially decisive penalty in the shootout, but saw his effort saved.
Even though the miss counted for nothing - thanks to Tony Parks'
goalkeeping heroics - a charged White Hart Lane already reverberated to
the sound of 'one Danny Thomas, there's only one Danny Thomas'. It had
taken only a season for him to prove his quality, commitment and
courage.
Despite this impressive start to his career, Thomas was still a young
man and he found himself in and out of the side during the 1984-85
season, competing against the likes of Gary Mabbutt, Chris Hughton and
Steve Perryman for a fullback slot. Thomas knuckled down and won his
place back for much of the following campaign, making 27 appearances and
scoring his only goal for the club in a 1-1 draw away to Oxford United
on 21 August 1985.
In March 1987, with his peak years approaching, disaster struck. A
reckless tackle by Kevin Maguire of Queens Park Rangers left Thomas with
a serious knee injury from which he would never fully recover. Within a
year, he was forced to retire at the age of 26.
Danny had shone brightly enough in five disrupted seasons to earn the
fans' enduring affection and a testimonial helped to fund his training
in physiotherapy. Having completed a Masters degree, Danny went on to
become a practising physiotherapist, devoted to treating the kinds of
injuries that prevented his own undoubted talent from flourishing even
further. (Alex Voskou)
He completed his degree in Physiotherapy after his career came to an end at the age of twenty six. With the assistance of the Professional Footballers' Association he also completed a Masters degree. After a short period as Physio with West Bromwich Albion he ran his own Physiotherapy practice in Coventry.
Tottenham:
1983-1984 Played 27 Scored 0 goals (Division 1)
1984-1985 Played 16 Scored 0 goals (Division 1)
1985-1986 Played 27 Scored 1 goal (Division 1)
1986-1987 Played 17 Scored 0 goals (Division 1)
1987-1988 Played 0 Scored 0 goals (Division 1)
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