Thompson: Zac

2011-2015 (Leeds Player Details) (Player Details)

Midfield

Born: Billinge, Nr Wigan, Lancashire: 05-01-1993

Debut: Middlesbrough (h) (Substitute): 13-08-2011

Height & Weight: Unknown

Thompson started his football career with the Everton Academy as a schoolboy, and was included in the Reserve team squad on six occasions, making his debut as a eighty-ninth minute substitute for Seamus Coleman in the home game with Manchester United on 6th October 2009. He made his first start for the Everton Reserves in midfield on 4th March 2010 at Turf Moor in a 3-2 win over Burnley Reserves. He then twice sat on the bench unused at home to Hull City on 12th April 2010 and at Blackburn Rovers on 29th April 2010. He was in the starting eleven and played a full game in a 1-4 defeat by Wigan Athletic Reserves at home on 22nd March 2010, when he again played in midfield. He was also unused in a 0-0 home draw with Manchester City on 30th March 2010. However, after he was not taken on as a professional and he had trials with Leeds United in December 2010. Originally a Right-Back he was also used as a Midfielder. He went on to play for Leeds at the Under-Eighteen and Reserve level in friendlies and was taken on as a professional after those trials on 11th January 2011 on a six month contract. He made his Leeds debut for the Reserve team at Scunthorpe United that night. He played nineteen games for the Leeds Reserves and Under-Eighteen teams by the end of the 2010-11 season and on 20th April 2011 he was given an extended contract for a further year. He was brought into the Leeds Senior Squad for the pre-season games prior to the 2011-12 season. He came on as a sixty-third minute substitute at Falkirk for Robert Snodgrass on 14th July 2011 and two days later, seven minutes into the second half he came on for Michael Brown in midfield and made a notable contribution. He was an unused substitute at Hillsborough but otherwise played no further part in the first team preparations. He was, however, on the bench on 9th August 2011, when Leeds met Bradford City at Elland Road in the Carling Cup, with a team weakened by International calls, but remained unused. He was again in the squad for the home League game with Middlesbrough four days later and he made his Leeds debut in the sixty-fifth minute as a replacement for Robert Snodgrass as Leeds had to rearrange their team after the sending off of midfielder Jonathan Howson. Three days later he was again a substitute, this time for Ross McCormack, in the final two minutes of the home game with Hull City. He made his starting debut for Leeds on 23rd August 2011 in the Carling Cup at Doncaster Rovers when he was introduced into midfield as Robert Snodgrass, Adam Clayton and Max Gradel had been rested and he played a full game. Four days later he was on the bench for the game at Portman Road against Ipswich Town, but he remained unused. After that he played no part in the first team squad until the New Year, when, after a succession of poor results, Manager Simon Grayson made several changes which brought Thompson into midfield for the game at home to Burnley on 2nd January 2012. Leeds won 2-1 and both Thompson and the team had good games, but after an injury to Patrick Kisnorbo early in the game Thompson had moved to right-back in the consequent reshuffle. So he was at right-back for the next game at the Emirates, one week later as Leeds faced Arsenal in the F.A. Cup and he kept that spot for the next three League fixtures, at Crystal Palace on 14th January, and at home to Ipswich Town a week later and Birmingham City on 31st January 2012. The 1-4 loss in the latter game saw the sacking of Simon Grayson and the caretakership of Neil Redfearn. He did not figure in Redfearn's plans and it wasn't until the appointment of Neil Warnock that he figured in the first team again. He was brought back to the bench but was not used in the games at Portsmouth on 25th February 2012, at Middlesbrough on 11th March 2012, at home to West Ham United on 17th March and Nottingham Forest three days later, at Watford on 24th March and at home to Watford on 31st March 2012. Due to suspensions and injury Thompson was brought back into the starting eleven, in midfield, for the visit to Reading on 6th April 2012 and was sent off after just twelve minutes and as a consequence he could not play again until 21st April when he played a full game at Cardiff City in midfield. He retained his position for the final game of the season against Leicester City a week later, but he was substituted by Danny Webber in the fifty-seventh minute. On 2nd May 2012 Leeds Manager Neil Warnock said that Thompson had been offered a new contract with Leeds and on 4th May 2012, he said that he would be trying to loan Thompson out in the 2012–13 season to gain more first team experience. After featuring in the pre-season games in the summer of 2012, he seemed a good chance to press for inclusion in the first-team squad in the right-back or right midfield positions. However Sam Byram put in a series of outstanding performances and Thompson found himself overtaken by the talented young player. He did manage six minutes as a substitute for Rodolph Austin in midfield in the League Cup game with Oxford United on 28th August 2012, but that was as close as he came to the first team. The club showed its faith in his ability and signed him on a ew three year contract on 2nd October 2012. To gain first-team experience he was loaned to Bury, together with Dominic Poleon on 15th October for month. He made his Gigg Lane debut the following day in a 1-1 draw with Carlisle United and the pair soon established themselves as regulars. He scored his first goal in the 36th minute of the game. Unfortunately, he ran into disciplinary problems and was given a straight red card, after twenty-seven minutes of his second game against Yeovil Town at Huish Park. It was his second red card in only nine games of his professional football career and he missed three games due to suspension. On 19th November his loan was extended until 3rd January 2013 and subsequently to the end of the season. Thompson impressed sufficiently to win the Bury "Young Player Award" for the season. He returned to Leeds after the game with Yeovil Town at Gigg Lane on 27th April 2013 having scored one League goal in twenty-nine starts and one goal, at Southend United in one start and one game from the bench in the F.A. Cup and one start in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. He was picked for Leeds' final game of the season at Watford on 4th May 2013 but due to an irregularity he was replaced by Michael Brown before the kick-off. He featured in the 2013-14 pre-season but usually as second choice to Lee Peltier in the right back position and Sam Byram was not available due to injury. In the season proper, he did figure in the first team squad only rarely, making one start in the 2-1 home win over Chesterfield in the first round of the League Cup on 7th August 2013 and sitting on the bench as an unused substitute at Charlton Athletic on 9th November 2013 and in the final two games of the season at Birmingham City on 26th April 2014 and Derby County at home on 6th May 2014. But mostly featured with the Under-Twenty-Ones in the Professional Development League where he scored three times in twelve starts. There was even less participation in the first team in 2014-15 when he was called up only once to the squad and sat unused on the bench on 4th January at Sunderland in the F.A. Cup. As the season drew to a close he had scored twice in sixteen starts in the Professional Development League. He was released by Leeds at the wnd of his contract in May 2015.