Ben Thatcher facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Benjamin David Thatcher | ||
| Date of birth | 30 November 1975 | ||
| Place of birth | Swindon, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Left back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| ?–1992 | Millwall | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1992–1996 | Millwall | 90 | (1) |
| 1996–2000 | Wimbledon | 86 | (0) |
| 2000–2003 | Tottenham Hotspur | 36 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Leicester City | 29 | (1) |
| 2004–2007 | Manchester City | 47 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Charlton Athletic | 22 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Ipswich Town | 20 | (0) |
| Total | 330 | (2) | |
| National team | |||
| 1995–1997 | England U21 | 4 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Wales | 7 | (0) |
|
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Benjamin David Thatcher (born 30 November 1975) is a former professional footballer. He played as a left-back, which is a defensive position on the left side of the field.
Ben Thatcher played for many English football clubs. He appeared in over 300 games in England's top two football leagues. He played for famous teams like Wimbledon, Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City, and Manchester City in the Premier League. He also played for Millwall, Charlton Athletic, and Ipswich Town.
He played four times for England's under-21 team. Later, he chose to play for the senior Wales national team. He played seven games for Wales.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Ben Thatcher was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. When he was young, he played football for amateur teams in London. He also attended a special football school run by the Football Association (FA) at Lilleshall.
Playing for Millwall
After finishing school, Ben Thatcher signed his first professional contract with Millwall. He made his first team debut in the 1993–94 season when he was 18 years old.
The next season, he became a regular player for Millwall. He also scored his first professional goal. He played over 100 games for Millwall. In the 1995–96 season, he won the club's Player of the Year award.
Time at Wimbledon
In 1996, Ben Thatcher moved to Wimbledon F.C. for over £1.8 million. This was a record amount for Wimbledon at the time.
In his first season with Wimbledon, he played only nine games. But he played more often in the seasons that followed. After Wimbledon was moved down from the Premier League in 2000, Thatcher joined Tottenham Hotspur.
Playing for Tottenham Hotspur
Ben Thatcher joined Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2000. The transfer cost around £5 million.
A few months later, the Spurs manager was replaced. Thatcher played less often under the new manager. However, he was part of the Spurs team that reached the League Cup final in 2002.
Moving to Leicester City
In the summer of 2003, Thatcher moved to Leicester City. The transfer deal was for £300,000.
He played one season for Leicester. He scored one goal for them in a 4–4 draw against his old club, Tottenham. After Leicester was moved down from the Premier League, he moved to Manchester City.
Years at Manchester City
His move to Manchester City cost about £100,000. He played his first game for Manchester City in the 2004–05 season.
At first, he was the main left-back for Manchester City. But injuries meant he played in fewer games. He made 21 appearances in his first season. His second season followed a similar pattern.
In August 2006, during a game against Portsmouth, Thatcher was involved in an incident with Pedro Mendes. The referee gave Thatcher a yellow card. The FA (Football Association) later investigated the incident. Manchester City banned Thatcher for six matches and fined him six weeks' wages. The FA also suspended him for eight matches.
Joining Charlton Athletic
On 11 January 2007, Ben Thatcher signed with Charlton Athletic. The fee was reported to be £500,000.
He played his first game for Charlton on 23 January 2007. Charlton was moved down from the Premier League at the end of that season.
Time at Ipswich Town
Thatcher joined Ipswich Town on 14 August 2008. He signed a one-year contract. His contract was ended in February 2010.
International Career
While playing for Wimbledon, Ben Thatcher played four times for the England under-21 team.
In 2004, he decided to play for Wales. He could do this because his grandmother was Welsh. He made his debut for Wales in March 2004, in a 2–1 win against Hungary. By October 2004, he had played seven games for Wales.
In October 2004, a new coach was appointed for the Welsh national team. Thatcher did not play any games under this new coach. This was due to suspensions and injuries. In September 2005, Thatcher did not play in Wales' World Cup qualifying matches due to injury. However, he played a full game for Manchester City three days later. This made the Welsh coach unhappy, and Thatcher was no longer chosen for the Welsh national team.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| Millwall | 1993–94 | First Division | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 1994–95 | First Division | 40 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 48 | 1 | ||
| 1995–96 | First Division | 42 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 46 | 0 | ||
| Total | 90 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 104 | 1 | ||
| Wimbledon | 1996–97 | Premier League | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |
| 1997–98 | Premier League | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | ||
| 1998–99 | Premier League | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 40 | 0 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| Total | 86 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 103 | 0 | ||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2000–01 | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |
| 2001–02 | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| Total | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | ||
| Leicester City | 2003–04 | Premier League | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 29!!1 | ||
| Manchester City | 2004–05 | Premier League | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 21 | 0 | |
| 2005–06 | Premier League | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| Total | 47 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 0 | ||
| Charlton Athletic | 2006–07 | Premier League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |
| 2007–08 | Championship | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| Total | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| Ipswich Town | 2008–09 | Championship | 20!!0!!1!!0!!2!!0 | — | 23!!0 | |||||||
| 2009–10 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 330 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 378 | 2 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wales | 2004 | 7 | 0 |
| Total | 7 | 0 | |
Awards and Honours
Tottenham Hotspur
- Football League Cup runner-up: 2001–02 (This means his team came in second place in the League Cup competition.)
Individual Awards
- PFA Team of the Year: 1994–95 First Division (He was chosen as one of the best players in his league that year.)
- Millwall Player of the Year: 1995–96 (He was voted the best player at his club, Millwall, for that season.)
See also
In Spanish: Ben Thatcher para niños
