alleged that Souness believed Thompson was interested in his job as manager while Souness recovered from bypass surgery in the spring of 1992. In late 1993, Thompson was widely linked with the manager vacancy at Nagoya Grampus Eight where he would get the opportunity to work with former England player Gary Lineker who was then playing for that club. He earned a living through speaking and punditry until Gérard Houllier became Liverpool manager in 1998 and, needing a bona fide Liverpool man by his side following the departure of Roy Evans, asked Thompson to return to his old role, which Thompson accepted. This second stint was eventful – a spat between Thompson and striker Robbie Fowler led to the sale of the popular centre forward to Leeds United; and Thompson spent several months in sole charge of the team (with some success) when Houllier underwent emergency heart surgery in October 2001. During his time as assistant manager of Liverpool the Reds returned to winning ways as they completed a unique 'treble' of UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup in 2001. When Houllier was relieved of his duties in 2004, Thompson also left the club. In September 2010, Gérard Houllier was appointed manager of Aston Villa and this led to Houllier offering him the role of assistant manager at the Midlands club. However, Thompson rejected the offer as he felt he could not commit himself to the role due to the long journey to work, the inevitably large number of scouting missions and his unwillingness to uproot his family or live away from them. He then gave the job to Gary McAllister who played under Houllier and Thompson at Liverpool. Career statistics Club International Honours As a player Liverpool Football League First Division (7): 1972–73, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83 FA Cup: 1973–74 Football League Cup: 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83 FA Charity Shield (6): 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982 European Cup: 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81 UEFA Cup: 1972–73, 1975–76 European Super Cup: 1977 As a manager Individual Premier League Manager of the Month: November 2001, March 2002 References External links Official Liverpool FC profile 100 Players Who Shook The Kop No. 29 Phil Thompson – liverpoolfc.com LFChistory.net profile Football heroes Phil Thompson, England part 1 at Sporting-heroes.net Football heroes Phil Thompson, England part 2 at Sporting-heroes.net Football heroes Phil Thompson, England part 3 at Sporting-heroes.net Football heroes Phil Thompson, Liverpool