Christopher Thompson (24 January 1960 – 5 June 2012) was an English footballer who played as a midfielder or a forward.
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Career
Thompson was born in Walsall, West Midlands, on 24 January 1960. He started his career at Bolton Wanderers, signing professional terms with the club in 1977 after impressing in the club's youth teams. He debuted for the club on 25 October 1977 in a League Cup match against Peterborough United. His first league appearance for the club came during the 1979–80 season, appearing as a substitute in a 3–1 defeat against Coventry City. He made 81 appearances in all competitions for Bolton, scoring 20 goals, before being transferred to Blackburn Rovers in 1983.
During his three-year spell at Blackburn, Thompson made 100 appearances and scored 26 goals before moving to Wigan Athletic in 1986. In his fourth league game for Wigan, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 win against his hometown club Walsall. He scored nine goals during the 1986–87 season, helping the club reach the inaugural Football League play-offs. Despite Thompson scoring the opening goal in the first leg of the play-off semi-final against Swindon Town, the club lost the game 3–2 and would ultimately be knocked out by the same scoreline on aggregate. Thompson also played an important role in the club's 1986–87 FA Cup run, scoring in the Second and Third Round against Darlington and Gillingham. He also scored the opening goal in the Fifth Round match against Hull City, which Wigan went on to win 3–0, reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.
In 1988, Thompson joined Sam Ellis' Blackpool. In his first season at Bloomfield Road, he made 36 League appearances and scored eight goals. The following season, 1989–90, under Jimmy Mullen, who had taken over with five games remaining of the previous term, Thompson made three appearances before being sold to Cardiff City.