Peter Thompson

[waide]

Seeking the views of my fellow bluemen.What is the chances of us hanging onto him if this form continues?i know there is no bigger club in Ireland ,but he's bound to be getting noticed again across the water.

[mrtndvn]

how longs his contract last?

[Lionel Ritchie]

Well I'm a Limerick Blueman. Not quite what you're after but...

Weren't one of the south coast clubs after him a while back? Plymouth or Bournemouth (they'll not be signing anyone for a while now) or Yeovil maybe? I know it sticks in the craw of many -the idea of good players crossing the water to play in the third flight or for an unfashionable Championship side but a player who gets there comes onto the radar of bigger clubs again.

I think he'll get his chance soon enough. Probably not what you wanted to hear Waide.

[Flexy]

I think hes a good player, not only scoring goals but setting them up as well. Some of his recent goals have been down to shocking defending though, would this happen in uk

[Steve Bruce]

I think hes a good player, not only scoring goals but setting them up as well. Some of his recent goals have been down to shocking defending though, would this happen in uk

He's a lesser standard of Van Nistlerooy. Knows where to be at the right time.

I think he would hack it quite comfortably in the Championship. Premier League though is a completely different proposition all together.

BUT if he was in a proper professional team with the best coaches, you don't know how much potential could be released and how good he actually is.

I would love to see him move to see how far he can go. He is always welcome back if things dont go to plan.

[Flexy]

I think he has the potential to go far, Kevin Doyle has done it at Reading and I do think hes a better player than Jason Byrne who went to Cardiff. But you cant ask for more than what hes doing at the moment. Only doubt at the moment stevie is that the 2 matches he hasnt scored in recently were both against the big two, Glentoran and Cliftonville.

[Steve Bruce]

You can only score if you get the chances.

I would be worried about not scoring against them two if it was a regular thing. But Thompson does score against the Glens and Cliftonville. Just these 2 matches he didn’t.

Even on his breakthrough season for Linfield he scored against Shelbourne who at the time was undoubtably the most talented side on this island, he kicked on from that scored 48 goals the following season + 1 under 21 international goal. He then scored 35+ goals the season after and currently he is sitting on 28 goals from 29 games.

So he scores bag full of goals regardless of the opposition.

I don’t mean it to sound like a rant, just filling you in that he does score against the better teams as well as the smaller teams.

[Flexy]

Stevie how much would he be on a week at Linfield. Whos the highest earner at Linfield at the moment. How much would you let Thompson leave for realistically?

[Steve Bruce]

I don’t know how much he is on.

It is believed to between 500 and 800 (I’d presume closer to 800 than 500)

I’d say if Linfield got an offer of 150k + add-ons eg 20% of next sale etc Linfield would accept that. I do not think they would accept lower unless their was significant bonus’s for when Thompson achieves certain things eg 30 appearances, internationals appearances, goals etc.

I'm talking £ by the way not €.

[Lionel Ritchie]

I thought he was still a postman!

[Steve Bruce]

No he is full-time and has been for the last 2 seasons

[waide]

Well I'm a Limerick Blueman. Not quite what you're after but...

Weren't one of the south coast clubs after him a while back? Plymouth or Bournemouth (they'll not be signing anyone for a while now) or Yeovil maybe? I know it sticks in the craw of many -the idea of good players crossing the water to play in the third flight or for an unfashionable Championship side but a player who gets there comes onto the radar of bigger clubs again.

I think he'll get his chance soon enough. Probably not what you wanted to hear Waide.

L R i know it is being selfish, but i would hate to see him go.if an A I L does take off within the next few seasons it is players of his quality that we need to be hanging onto.

[SolitudeRed]

You can only score if you get the chances.

I would be worried about not scoring against them two if it was a regular thing. But Thompson does score against the Glens and Cliftonville. Just these 2 matches he didn’t.

Even on his breakthrough season for Linfield he scored against Shelbourne who at the time was undoubtably the most talented side on this island, he kicked on from that scored 48 goals the following season + 1 under 21 international goal. He then scored 35+ goals the season after and currently he is sitting on 28 goals from 29 games.

So he scores bag full of goals regardless of the opposition.

I don’t mean it to sound like a rant, just filling you in that he does score against the better teams as well as the smaller teams.

Yes hes a very good player indeed, but I'm pretty sure he hasn't scored against us for a couple of years now

[Steve Bruce]

Yes hes a very good player indeed, but I'm pretty sure he hasn't scored against us for a couple of years now

I'm fairly certain that Cliftonville has played us off the park the majority of the time in the last 2 years.

But we know that wont last forever and Thompson will be the most likely to put you to the sword

[dcfcsteve]

Seeking the views of my fellow bluemen.What is the chances of us hanging onto him if this form continues?i know there is no bigger club in Ireland ,but he's bound to be getting noticed again across the water.

Reagardless of your aspirations of grandeur - if a big EL club came in and offered him much better money, European progress etc, would he not be tempted to move within the island ?

He has his financial future to think about after all. And the EL has been a better shop-window for clubs in England/Scotland than the IL has been of late.

[Graemerz]

Reagardless of your aspirations of grandeur - if a big EL club came in and offered him much better money, European progress etc, would he not be tempted to move within the island ?

He has his financial future to think about after all. And the EL has been a better shop-window for clubs in England/Scotland than the IL has been of late.

Who's to say he wouldn't get this at Linfield? At Linfield we all truly believe we are the biggest and best team in the island. Of course we don't hold anyone back if they want to leave however Peter is a true blue blood and I don't think he would have any intentions to leave us unless its to play in the mainland.

[Steve Bruce]

A big EL club isn’t bigger than Linfield. Sure they might offer more money(we live within our means) but the prestigue, crowds and silverware is unrivalled on this island.

Also European progress, Linfield has shown signs of progress in recent seasons and every season we are getting better and better and closer and closer. We just need a bit of luck with the draw. A bit like the LOI.

Also I do not think Thompson would move to the LOI because once in a blue moon 1 team gets past 2 rounds in Europe. It is hardly going to put him in awe of that.

Their also has still been plenty of IL players moving across the water in the last 10 years and as recent as this week one has signed for Blackburn from Dungannon. So there are the same opportunities. You could even argue now that the IL is on Sky that their could be a greater chance of moving across the water than ever before.

If you are good enough you will progress simple as.

[Graemerz]

Their also has still been plenty of IL players moving across the water in the last 10 years and as recent as this week one has signed for Blackburn from Dungannon.

Ballymena.

[Steve Bruce]

Ballymena.

Thanks

[finnpark]

i know there is no bigger club in Ireland

Bohemians are appartly now worth €50M+ and St Pats have also got a substantial investment beleived to in the region of €50M .

The standard in the IL seems to be lower than the Eircom First Divison for 75% of the teams so I thinks perhaps he is over rated. I mean how many goals has he scored in Europe or even in the Setanta Cup?