Ben Thornley
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Benjamin Lindsay Thornley | ||
| Date of birth | 21 April 1975 | ||
| Place of birth | Bury, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
| Playing position | Winger | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993–1998 | Manchester United | 9 | (0) |
| 1995 | → (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 1996–1998 | → Huddersfield Town (loan) | 12 | (2) |
| 1998–2001 | Huddersfield Town | 99 | (5) |
| 2001–2002 | Aberdeen | 30 | (3) |
| 2002–2003 | Blackpool | 12 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Bury | 5 | (0) |
| 2004 | Halifax Town | 3 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Bacup Borough | ||
| 2006–2007 | Salford City | ||
| 2007–2008 | Wilmslow Albion | ||
| 2008–2010 | Witton Albion | ||
| Total | 180 | (11) | |
| National team | |||
| 1996 | England U21 | 3 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Benjamin Lindsay Thornley (born 21 April 1975 in Bury) is an English former footballer who last played for Witton Albion in the Northern Premier League, where he played as a winger.
He is most widely known for his career as a youth and reserve team player at Manchester United, where he played in the left wing position from 1991 to 1998 (becoming a professional in 1992 after helping United win the FA Youth Cup) but was occasionally used as a striker.
Thornley made his debut for United on 26 February 1994 as a substitute in the Premier League match against West Ham United which ended in a 2–2 draw at Boleyn Ground.
A tricky, right-footed left winger who was highly regarded by Alex Ferguson and at one point was expected to break into the first-team at Old Trafford. Although he did make nine league appearances for United, serious injury and competition for places prevented him from making the expected impact at first-team level. The most notable injury came in April 1994, when he suffered knee ligament damage in a reserve game against Blackburn Rovers due to a reckless tackle by opposing defender Nicky Marker; the injury kept him out of action for over a year. This came just before the FA Cup semi-final against Oldham Athletic, for which Alex Ferguson was reportedly considering selecting Thornley (at least for a place on the bench) in case Ryan Giggs was not fully fit.
In 1997, Thornley sued Marker and Blackburn Rovers over the tackle, claiming a loss of earnings that resulted from him being kept out of the Manchester United first team because of the injury.
In 1996, he won three caps for England at U-21 level.
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