Man United among clubs paying tribute to 'Joey T'

Premier League giants Manchester United are among the clubs who have paid tribute to Somerset-born footballer Joe Thompson, who has died following a brave battle with cancer.

- Dan Marsh & Paul Greaves [e-mail]

Thompson was born and raised in Bath before moving to Manchester and later embarking on a successful playing career at clubs in the North-West.

He was part of the United youth academy but became synonymous with Rochdale after making more than 200 appearances for the club across three separate spells.

During his playing career, Thompson showed tremendous courage to battle cancer twice before being diagnosed for a third time last April. The stage four lymphoma a type of blood cancer had spread to his lungs.