Roderick John Thomas (born 11 January 1947) is a Welsh former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who represented

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

at international level. During his career Thomas played for Gloucester City,

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

, Gloucester for a second spell and Newport County. Swindon Town manager

Bert Head Bertram James Head (6 June 1916 – February 2002) was an English professional football player and manager. Playing career Head was born in Midsomer Norton and began his career with his local team before joining Welton Rovers. He moved t ...

brought Thomas to the County Ground from

non-league Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

Gloucester City in July 1964 – paying £500 for his services. Still a youth player, it was almost two years before he made his debut, in a drab 0–0 draw with Scunthorpe, at the end of the 1965–66 season. The following season saw Thomas establish himself as the club's first choice right back, and he also achieved his first international honours, being selected for the Welsh under-23 squad. Widely recognised as one of the best defenders outside of the First Division, Thomas made his full international debut in a 0–0 draw with Northern Ireland in 1967 – he remains the club's most

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

international footballer. Despite interest from bigger clubs, Thomas went on to make nearly 300 appearances for Swindon, including the 1969

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

final. By the time he left in 1973, he had made the most international appearances ever by a Swindon player, having played in thirty matches for Wales. He moved on to

, when former Town manager

Dave Mackay David Craig Mackay (14 November 1934 – 2 March 2015) was a Scottish football player and manager. Mackay was best known for a highly successful playing career with Heart of Midlothian, the Double-winning Tottenham Hotspur side of 1961, a ...

offered £100,000 for Thomas' signature. At Derby he was part of the team that won the First Division in 1975. Thomas left Derby in 1977, joining

for £10,000, making his debut in a 2–0 win over

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Sto ...

. His four years at Cardiff were hampered by injuries and, in 1981, he returned to Gloucester City. He made another twenty appearances for his country, and had brief spells at Newport County,

Bath City Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...

and

Barry Town Barry Town United Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Tref Y Barri) is a semi-professional association football team based in Barry, Wales. They are known for representing Wales in Europe as winners of the Cymru Premier and Welsh Cup during ...

, before his retirement in 1982.

Career statistics

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Rod 1947 births Living people Footballers from Neath People educated at Chosen Hill School Welsh men's footballers Wales men's international footballers Wales men's under-23 international footballers Gloucester City A.F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Bath City F.C. players Barry Town United F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football fullbacks