Scottish Premier League News June 2012: Alan Thompson Sacked By Celtic
Lisa Dillon
Celtic
There was a shock at Parkhead this month when news broke that Celtic had sacked assistant coach Alan Thompson.
The former players is believed to have been dismissed by manager Neil Lennon over the telephone after he refused to meet with the Celtic manager at a venue in Newcastle.
Thompson was quick to instruct his lawyers to act on his behalf after the news was broken to him.
Celtic confirmed the Englishman's departure from the club on their website in a statement which claimed Thompson failed to attend a pre-arranged meeting with Lennon.
"We can confirm that a meeting was set up between Alan Thompson and Neil Lennon in Newcastle," it read.
"However, Alan refused to meet with Neil, hence the reason for the discussion being conducted by telephone.
"The matter is now in the hands of lawyers and, therefore, we are unable to go into any further details."
While speculation abounds about the reasons for Thompson's dismissal, and whether or not it was at the behest of Lennon, it appears the relationship between the two men is over.
Former Celtic striker Andy Walker is surprised by Thompson's departure, three weeks after the SPL season ended with a title win for the Parkhead club.
He said: "To be sacked over the phone is not ideal, but clearly something has boiled to the surface.
"I think it comes as a shock to most people. I don't know if this is a board decision or a decision taken by Neil Lennon.
"I am just very surprised. I was under the impression that Alan and Neil Lennon got on very well, they seemed very close.
"For the last number of weeks towards the end of the season when Neil Lennon was facing a number of SFA charges, Alan Thompson was the very public face of Celtic.
"He took on board all of the media duties, he was very accommodating and he is a very popular guy with the players and supporters, who held him in a high regard.
"So it is just very surprising that after three weeks after the season has finished that Celtic have chosen to take this course of action."
Thompson was brought back to the club in June 2010, when he was appointed as first team coach by Lennon alongside assistant manager Johan Mjallby, the three of whom were in the Celtic side which reached the Uefa Cup final in 2003.
Lennon's former Leicester team-mate Garry Parker was also recruited as a first-team coach which means Thompson's departure would not unduly deplete the backroom staff if he is not replaced.
Thompson, who played for the Glasgow club between 2000 and 2007, winning four Scottish Premier League titles and three Scottish Cups, could seek legal redress.
His lawyer, Margaret Gribbon, of Glasgow-based Bridge Litigation, said in a statement yesterday: "I can confirm that I have been instructed to act on behalf of Alan Thompson following his dismissal by Celtic FC.
"Alan was informed of the decision to terminate his employment with immediate effect in a telephone conversation with the club manager Neil Lennon."
Meanwhile, Norwich were forced to publicly insist that they had not made an approach for Lennon following Paul Lambert's resignation.
The Northern Irishman was tipped as a replacement for Lambert, his former Celtic team-mate, who has taken over at Aston Villa.
Celtic were quick to issue a "hands off warning" and Norwich chief executive David McNally said: "It is interesting because I have seen reported today that we have contacted Celtic about Neil Lennon.. "We haven't and I would like to put that on record.
"Celtic Football Club and Norwich City get on marvellously well, we had a great day here last week celebrating Adam Drury's testimonial, the two sets of supporters get on brilliantly.
"I can confirm that no approach has been made for Neil. If we were interested in talking to them about Neil, he's a great manager, we would go straight to them quietly and privately, we wouldn't announce it through the media and Dermot Desmond [Celtic's majority shareholder] would be the first to know."
Lennon's stock is currently high after guiding Celtic to their first title triumph in four years, but he has already stated that he will only leave Parkhead for a "massive" job.
He will lead Celtic to Philadelphia this summer where the Hoops will play Spanish giants Real Madrid in glamour pre-season friendly.
Rangers
The extraordinary saga surrounding Rangers took another twist this month when the SFA decided against appealing a controversial Court of Session ruling that their 12-month transfer embargo imposed upon Rangers by them was unlawful.
The issue of what punishment should now be meted out for the actions of Craig Whyte's regime will be returned to an SFA appeals tribunal, as the court decreed.
That raises the very real possibility, feared by many after the Court of Session ruling, that Rangers will be hammered with an even greater sanction.
Some observers believe the tribunal could be backed into a corner where only a suspension or termination of SFA membership is deemed appropriate from the reduced list of punishments available. Hampden insiders insist the only way to prevent that happening is for the Ibrox club to accept the original transfer ban.
Yet sources close to Rangers fear that might not even be possible given that the transfer embargo has already been ruled unlawful in a civil court.
The dispute is still mired in questions of process, despite prospective Ibrox owner Charles Green seeking summit talks with SFA chief executive Stewart Regan.
Green and his investors accept that Rangers should be punished but say they don't want to see a sanction that impacts on other Scottish clubs, such as the financial fall-out of the Ibrox club being kicked out of the game.
FIFA take a dim view of clubs taking their governing bodies to court and while the SFA now have to come up with a different punishment, they have been instructed by FIFA that the penalty must be seen to be just as harsh.
On the park, there is a mass exodus expected with players who took massive 75% wage cuts in March to keep the club afloat expected to move on for a fraction of their market value.
One of them, Lee McCulloch, however has insisted that he will be back at Rangers next season and wants his team-mates to follow suit.
The 34-year-old has helped the Ibrox outfit lift eight trophies since his £2.25m switch from Wigan in July 2007.
With the club still in administration, there are doubts whether Ally McCoist will be able to keep his squad together, but McCulloch says he is going nowhere.
"I'll be back next year, I don't want to go anywhere else," he said. "I want to stay and play. I'm just praying everyday that everything gets sorted.
"It's a bit of a nightmare, we just want everything sorted out and to be able to come back in for pre-season with everything ready to go.
"The big worry is the players that can move for silly amounts of money. That's maybe a big problem, time will tell.
"We just want the group to stay together. We've won doubles every year, apart from last year when all the mess started happening.
"We've proved we're winners and we just want everybody to stick together."
Scotland
Scotland manager Craig Levein is optimistic that young striker Jordan Rhodes can be instrumental during the forthcoming World Cup qualification campaign.
The national boss would have no fears asking the Huddersfield hitman to lead the line against Serbia and Macedonia when the road to Brazil 2014 kicks off with a Hampden double-header in September.
Rhodes netted 48 goals for club and country last season, the Under-21 star is set to become a fixture in Scotland's senior squad. And as a host of bigclubs chase the 22-year-old striker's signature, Levein is sure Rhodes can translate his incredible scoring exploits on to the big stage.
He said: "On a football pitch the goals are generally in the same place so he has a special knack of finding them.
"No matter what level you play at the goals aren't any bigger or smaller. He's one who I have very much in my mind for the next campaign. I wouldn't have any fears about pitching him in.
"We need to remember he still has an awful lot to learn. But you don't ignore someone with his qualities. He has a natural ability to score goals.
"He's only going to get better as he's just a young kid so it's encouraging for me, for him and for Scotland."
Manchester United, Celtic, West Ham and Everton have all been credited with an interest in the Yorkshire-born striker and Levein added: "I don't know what's going to happen this summer - whether he gets a move from Huddersfield or whether he'll still be there next season.
"But he's certainly done himself no harm with his goals this season for his club as well as Scotland's Under-21 side."
Rhodes was left behind when Scotland were dismantled 5-1 in the USA but Levein insists domestic demands and Under-21 duty took priority.
He said: "He would have been in America with us recently but Billy Stark's Under-21 side had a very important match in Bulgaria. It was important he was allowed to stay fresh and be allowed to play for the Under-21s, especially after having played for Huddersfield in the League One play-off final.
"The last thing I wanted to do was scupper his and the Under-21s' chances of qualifying for their European Championship finals."
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