Alan Thompson is no stranger to a clash between Celtic and Rangers. The Englishman who signed from Aston Villa back in 2000 for Martin O’Neill played in his fair share of matches between Scotland’s big two and managed to get himself in the thick of it on more than a few occasions.
28/03/04 SPL – RANGERS V CELTIC, Photo Jeff Holmes
If it wasn’t scoring crackers, the left-sided midfielder was squaring up to his opponents left, right and centre, where on the odd instance he saw red – both metaphorically and physically – from the referee!
A stalwart of that great Celtic side, Thompson was never one to shy away from his duties and responsibilities to both his teammates’ and manager. Those infamous stand-offs with the Rangers players and the late Fernando Ricksen always spring to mind when thinking about that era at Celtic Park. Neighbours off the pitch, Thompson and Ricksen enjoyed more than their fair share of controversy on it whenever the two met in the most hostile of arenas.
Alan Thompson of Celtic celebrates after scoring the first goal during the UEFA Cup Fourth Round, First Leg match between Celtic and Barcelona at Celtic Park on March 11, 2004. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Now though, Thompson is a spectator just like the rest of us. No longer the Old Firm as it was known then, due to the demise and subsequent liquidation of Rangers 1872, the Glasgow Derby as it’s now correctly known still carries that same feeling of contempt and disdain each set of supporters has for one another and that atmosphere has been considerably diminished in recent times, as the 2012 formed theRangers just couldn’t take a Free Broomloan stand full of Celtic supporters gloating as we beat them time and time again.
No, this time it will be just a stadium full of the Ibrox fanbase and Celtic will have to be brave in every sense, according to our former great. Speaking to PLZ Soccer, the man who scored those thunderbolts against Rangers said: “Well you’ve got to be brave. And I don’t mean brave as in putting your foot in, or putting your head in. You’ve got to stick your chest out and you’ve got to accept the ball, and you’ve got to not be intimidated by what’s around you.”
Alan Thompson – Rangers v Celtic 28 March 2004 Photo Allstar/RichardxSelle
He added: “It’s eleven v eleven on the pitch. Irrespective of what’s going on around the ground, how many fans they’ve got, how many fans Celtic have got, you’ve just got to be able to cope with the occasion. I think the team that copes with the occasion and copes with getting the ball down and calm and collective possession and things like that, will probably go on and win the game.”
For old times sake…
Paul Gillespie
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