Peter Thorne (English footballer)

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Peter Lee Thorne (born 21 June 1973) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He began his career with Blackburn Rovers but never played a league game for them, spending a loan spell at Wigan Athletic before moving to Swindon Town in 1995.

At Swindon, Thorne scored 27 league goals in 77 appearances. He then joined Stoke City in 1997, where he became a key player, netting 65 league goals in 158 games. Highlights included four goals in one match against Chesterfield in March 2000 and the winning goal in the 2000 Football League Trophy Final. He was Stoke’s top scorer in the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 seasons.

In September 2001, Thorne moved to Cardiff City for a club-record £1.7 million. He helped Cardiff win promotion in 2002–03 and scored 16 goals that season. Injuries limited his time in the following seasons.

Thorne joined Norwich City in 2005 but struggled to establish himself, scoring only once in two seasons. He signed for Bradford City in 2007, where he became top scorer over two seasons, including a hat-trick against Notts County in January 2008 and reaching his 150th league goal in March 2008. He captained Bradford in 2009–10 but was released in March 2010 and subsequently retired at the age of 36. Outside football, Thorne enjoys surfing.