The Swindon-born defender was known as a tough-tackling player and pulled on the all blue of City between 2003-04. He represented England University XI before getting his big chance with Millwall in 1992. He made than 100 appearances for them and won their Player of the Year award in 1995-96. He went on to play for Wimbledon before joining Tottenham Hostpur following the Dons' relegation.
Thatcher moved to Leicester in the summer of 2003 for a fee of just £300,000 - £4.7m less than Spurs had paid for him three years earlier. But his first season at City resulted in the club suffering relegation to the Championship. He made 29 league appearances for City, scoring one league goal in a thrilling 4-4 draw against former club Spurs.
Thatcher's time at the Walkers Stadium ended in a move to Manchester City following City's relegation. He went on to play for Charlton Athletic and Ipswich Town and represented England U21s and Wales at full international level.