Gordon Strachan and Alan Thompson had a chat that essentially ruined Thompson’s Celtic career.
Thompson’s domestic and European performances with Celtic throughout the early 2000s have earned him a reputation as a Celtic hero.
The former Newcastle player, who spent £2.75 million moving from Aston Villa to Celtic in August 2000, was one of Martin O’Neill’s first acquisitions.
He won two Scottish Cups, a League Cup, and four league crowns during his six years with the club. In his first season, he also won a triple, Celtic’s first since the Jock Stein era.
In addition, Thompson finished second in the Scottish Cup in 2001 and the League Cup in 2003. He was a member of the O’Neill team that led Celtic to the 2003UEFA Cup Final, where we were ultimately defeated by Porto under Jose Mourinho.
It’s safe to conclude, therefore, that a lot of Celtic fans consider him to be a legend. But as his time at Celtic was coming to an end, Thompson revealed the chat he had with Gordon Strachan, the manager at the time, which finally brought an end to his tenure with the Hoops.
Strachan allows Thompson to go from Celtic
Thompson realized he was wasting his time at Celtic on a preseason tour of America.
Thompson, who had been used seldom by Strachan, made the decision to face the Hoops coach and terminate his Celtic career.
With two minutes remaining in a match against DC United, Gordon had sent Thompson on, and Thompson told the Daily Record, “I just thought, ‘What’s the point in being here?'”
“The next day, I returned home.” It was decided together.
“When I met with Gordon, he acknowledged that I wasn’t receiving the desired amount of playing time.
At that time, the writing was on the wall. The following January, I quit the club.
After that, in January 2007, Thompson moved out to join Leeds United on loan; the following summer, the transfer became permanent.
After being appointed captain, he scored with one of his signature free kicks in the team’s victory against Southend United on his debut. [Leeds United]
In 2008, he moved on loan to Hartlepool United after spending only one season at Leeds, where he played just eight games before hanging up his boots.
After making an impression for Celtic in Europe, Thompson had only one cap for England in 2004.
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