Thompson first joined Barnsley in 1917 as a 16-year-old amateur, he was on a trial and he managed to play in the afternoon match after the inside left was unable to; he scored a hat trick.
He also featured prominently in Swansea's 1925–26 FA Cup run in which they reached the semi-final, where they were beaten 3–0 by the eventual winners, Bolton Wanderers.
He made his debut in a 2–0 defeat by Portsmouth on 28 March 1928 and at first shared the inside left position with Harold Peel, playing 17 times in 1928–29, scoring five goals as the side's penalty expert.
With his injury restricting him, despite many operations, he only made nine more appearances in four seasons for Arsenal, and spent most of his time there regularly coaching the reserve team.
[3] After Thompson retired, he briefly reinstated as an amateur at Islington Corinthians then later coached Tottenham Hotspur's reserve team and had a spell as a scout with Arsenal.