Biography
Stocky and experienced midfielder Gwyn Thomas joined City on the March 1990 transfer deadline day for a £25,000 fee as manager Stan Ternent sought to revamp the midfield of his struggling Tigers side. Joining the Tigers the same day as Leigh Palin, the transfer swoop appeared to work – Thomas’s first three matches all ended in defeat but six of the next seven league matches were won and a mid table final position was secured. Thomas started the first three games of the 1990/91 season before being replaced by Steve Doyle, another industrious midfielder. Gwyn’s return in October for six starts coincided with a winless spell and Thomas’s time in the first team was over. He started two more games at the end of the calendar year, the second of which ended in a 1-5 demolition at the hands of Portsmouth. He left the club at the end of the season.
David Gwyn Thomas was born in Swansea and represented Wales Schoolboys while playing local league football for West End. He joined the Leeds United youth system in 1973 and made his Leeds senior debut in April 1975, coming on as substitute in a 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers. For the next six years he remained on the fringes of the Leeds first team, by the end of the 1980/81 season Thomas had made 19 appearances in seven seasons and scored two goals, both in 1977 – an April 2-0 win over Bristol City and an October 1-2 defeat against Liverpool. In 1981/82 Leeds paired the goalscoring talents of Frank Worthington and Arthur Graham but struggled all season, and attempts to arrest the decline meant that by the latter stages of the season Thomas was finally given a regular first team start. Leeds were relegated nonetheless and started 1982/83 on the Second Division, which gave Gwyn his chance – for a season and a half he was a first team regular. In March 1984 he joined Barnsley for a £40,000 fee having made 103 first team appearances and scored three goals.
Gwyn joined a Barnsley side managed by his former Leeds United team-mate Allan Clarke and at the age of 26 he found his feet. For five years he was a first team fixture as the Tykes continually hovered around mid-table in the Second Division, a run that came to an end when he broke a leg in 1989. By the time Thomas returned to fitness in 1990 Clarke was replaced by Mel Machin as Barnsley manager and Thomas was promptly sold to Hull City for £25,000. Between 1984 and 1990 Gwyn made 228 appearances for the Tykes and scored 19 goals.
Thomas spent the 1991/92 season at Carlisle United, making 44 appearances in all competitions. He retired from playing in the 1992 close season, returning to live in Leeds where he managed and fruit and vegetable warehouse.
During the mid 1970s Gwyn made three appearances for the Wales under-21 side and was selected once for the senior squad but never won a senior cap.
Details
Nationality: Wales
Date/Place of Birth: 26 September 1957, Swansea
Hull City First Game: 24 March 1990, Oldham Athletic A (Division Two), 32 years, 179 days old
Hull City Final Game: 20 April 1991, Wolverhampton Wanderers A (Division Two), 33 years, 206 days old
Clubs
Leeds United (1973-1984), Barnsley (1984-1990), Hull City (1990-1991), Carlisle United (1991-1992)
Hull City Record
Career: 23 apps, 0 goals
Gwyn Thomas| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989/90 | 11 (0) | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1990/91 | 10 (1) | 0 | - | - | 1 (0) | 0 | - | - | - | - |