Thomas: Jerome William (Jerome)

2012-2013 (Leeds Player Details) (Player Details)

Midfield

Born: Wembley, London: 23-03-1983

Debut: Crystal Palace (h): 24-11-2012

5’10” 12st 13lb (2012)

Thomas played for Luton Town as a schoolboy, before joining Arsenal. Despite winning the FA Youth Cup twice, in 2000 and 2001, and scoring once in four appearances for the England Under-Nineteens in 2001-02 and once in two games for the England Under-Twenty-Ones in 2002-03, he found it difficult to break into the first team due to the consistency of Robert Pires and Fredrik Ljungberg. He signed professional forms with the Gunners on 1st August 2001 but was soon loaned out to Queens Park Rangers in the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons. In the first spell, from 27th March 2002 to 21st April 2002 he scored once, a seventy-sixth minute strike at Swindon Town on 6th April 2002 which won the game for Rangers, in four League starts, while in the second, from 20th August 2002 to 30th October 2002, he scored twice in five starts and one game from the bench in the League. He performed well at Queens Park Rangers, scoring a couple of long distance goals, in his second spell he scored in the sixty-ninth minute for Rangers opening goal in a 2-2 draw with Plymouth Argyle at Loftus Road on 31st August 2002 and he scored the opening goal of the game in a 1-1 draw at Cheltenham on 19th October 2002. However, upon his return to Highbury his fortunes were little better, making just three appearances in the 2003–04 season. Those appearances were all in the League Cup. He got a start in the 1-1 draw with Rotherham United on 28th August 2003 and played seventy-three minutes before being substituted. He came on as a substitute for David Bentley in the eighty-first minute at West Bromwich Albion on 16th December 2003 and as a sixty-fourth minute substitute in the 1-0 loss to Middlesbrough at the Emirates Stadium on 20th January 2004. After the Gunners signed Jose Antonio Reyes on 28 January 2004, Thomas turned down a new one-year contract with Arsenal and joined Charlton Athletic on 2nd February 2004 for £100,000, on the same day Scott Parker left Charlton for £10 million. He became a regular at The Valley under Alan Curbishley and Alan Pardew and scored seven League goals in seventy-four starts and twenty-nine gamws from the bench. He also started four games and played five as a substitute in the F.A. Cup, six starts and one game off the bench in the League Cup, before going on loan to Portsmouth on 15th August 2008. He played just once, as a seventy-third minute substitute at Chelsea on 17th August, before signing permanently for Portsmouth four days later. Charlton were to be paid a "small fee" should he play a certain number of matches during the 2008–09 season. Unfortunately, in late August he suffered a stress fracture of the spine and was sidelined for about a month. He made his comeback in the reserve team on 6th October 2008. He did not, however, return to the Portsmouth first team however until the final game of the season as a seventy-second minute substitute in a 1–0 defeat at Wigan Athletic on 24th May 2009. On 1st July 2009 he was released by Portsmouth, having made only three first team appearances as a late substitute. During the summer of 2009 he had trials with two Premier League teams, Hull City and Wolverhampton Wanderers. He scored for Hull in a 6–0 victory over North Ferriby United, but was not offered a contract by either club. Now a free agent he signed for Championship team West Bromwich Albion on 13 August 2009. He made his league debut for West Brom five days later, as a substitute in a 3–2 win at Peterborough United, and scored his first goal for them, in his seventh appearance, in their 5–0 away win at Middlesbrough on 19th September 2009. Three days later, Thomas was sent off in a League Cup tie against his former club Arsenal. In his first game back from the resulting three-match suspension, on 17th October 2009, Thomas was named as man of the match after scoring two goals in West Brom's 3–1 win over Reading. Thomas went on to have an effective first term with the Baggies, scoring seven goals in twenty nine League appearances, however, his season was cut short due to a recurrence of a back injury which he had suffered in the previous season. West Bromwich Albion were runners-up to Newcastle United in the Championship and won promotion to the EPL at the end of the 2009-10 season. In a bid to regain fitness for the following Thomas has returned to pre-season training ahead of the rest of the first team squad. This paid off and he was a regular in the Baggies first team scoring three goals in thirty-three appearances in the League. On 25th September 2010 he returned to the Emirates Stadium and scored Albion's third goal in a surprise 3–2 win over the Gunners. In 2011-12 he scored twice in twenty-nine League appearances and he again played a big part as the Baggies once more secured another season in the EPL under Roy Hodgson. He found first team chances hard to come by in the 2012-13 season under new head coach Steve Clarke. Injuries did not help his cause and he went on loan to Leeds United on 22nd November 2012, until the end of the year. He became Leeds' second signing after their takeover by GFH Capital the previous day. Thomas made his debut for Leeds against Crystal Palace on 24th November 2012 and he was handed the number nine shirt. He received the "Man of the Match" award for that game and also received praise for his performance against Leicester City, as he helped Leeds to two wins in his first two games. He scored his first goal for the club on 15th December 2012, when he opened the scoring in a 2-0 home win against Ipswich Town. After the takeover of Leeds by GFH Capital on 21st December 2012, New Leeds director Salem Patel revealed Leeds were in negotiations with West Bromwich Albion to sign Thomas on a permanent deal. He returned to West Brom when his loan spell at Leeds had expired on 2nd January 2013. He scored once in six League starts and also started one League Cup tie while at Leeds. Thomas' agent revealed several clubs including Leeds United were wanting to sign Thomas permanently. After his return he played an important part in the game against Aston Villa, which Albion were losing 2-0 but managed to pull the score back to 2-2. Thomas was released by West Bromwich Albion on 22 May 2013. While at the Hawthorns Thomas scored eleven League goals in eighty-four starts and fifteen games from the bench. He also scored once in the F.A. Cup from three starts and two games as a substitute and one goal in two starts in the League Cup. He joined Crystal Palace on a free transfer on 1st July 2013.