Garry Thompson (born 7 October 1959 in Birmingham) has twice been manager of Bristol Rovers, having first joined the club as a coach under then-manager Ian Holloway. When Holloway was sacked in January 2001, Thompson took over as caretaker manager for twenty-four games, until the appointment of Gerry Francis at the end of the 2000-01 season, when he returned to his former coaching role.
Following Francis's resignation for personal reasons in December 2001, Thompson was again appointed as manager, this time on a permanent basis. His tenure was brief however, and he was sacked in April 2002. His spell as caretaker manager was actually longer than his spell as permanent manager at twenty-four games versus twenty-three, and the two spells yielded remarkably similar results (won 7, drawn 5, lost 12 in his first spell, won 7, drawn 5, lost 11 in his second).
Following his dismissal from Rovers, Thompson took up a coaching position at Brentford, and was their caretaker manager for a single game in 2004 after the sacking of Wally Downes. In February 2006 Garry became assistant manager of Hucknall Town under his former assistant at Rovers, Kevin Wilson, but left the club in December that year after they ran into financial difficulties.
Playing career[]
Garry played as a striker during his playing career, and started out with Coventry City, turning pro in 1977. He remained at Highfield Road for six years, playing 134 league games and scoring 38 goals in that spell. He remained in the West Midlands, when in 1983 he was transferred to West Bromwich Albion, where he spent two years and scored 39 goals in 91 league games.
He went on to play for Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa, Watford, Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers and Cardiff City, before ending his career with Northampton Town, finally retiring from playing in 1997 at the age of 37.
Managerial record at Rovers[]
Season | Comp | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD[1] | Pts[1] | Pos[1][2] | Round reached[3] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000-01 | Division Two | 23 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 25 | 30 | -5 | 26 | – | |
League Trophy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Area quarter-final | ||||
2001-02 | Division Three | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 22 | 27 | -5 | 23 | – | |
FA Cup | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | Fourth round | ||||
League Trophy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | Area semi-final | ||||
Total | League | 43 | 13 | 10 | 20 | 47 | 57 | -10 | 49 | – | |
Cups | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | – | – | – | ||
All | 47 | 14 | 10 | 23 | 50 | 63 | – | – | – |