BILLY Thomson gave everything he had to Rangers as a player and coach, which makes his sacking in 2007 all the more painful.
After being brought in as cover for Andy Goram in 1994, Thomson played a handful of games for his boyhood heroes before returning to Ibrox as goalkeeping coach in 2000.
He was a key component of the success achieved under Alex McLeish and was well-respected by players and staff alike. His departure from the club he loves is one that he still rankles to this day.
“We had a Champions League game on the Tuesday and we went into training on the Wednesday to cool down,” he recalls.
“We went up and had breakfast, myself and Walter and a couple of the other staff and then I went downstairs. Wee Fergie (Barry Ferguson) was a prankster so he had a cut-out from a newspaper and it was saying that I was leaving and Jim Stewart was coming in. This is on his forehead and he says, ‘You’re getting the bullet’ and I just started laughing. Walter came down the stairs and said, ‘Billy can you come into my office?’
“I went in and sat down and he says, ‘Right, you can go.’ I looked at him and I said, ‘I can go?’ The first thing that flashed through my mind was that he and Fergie cooked this up as a joke but he said, ‘No, you can go.’ I said, ‘Are you serious?’, and he said ‘Yeah, that’s just football’ I said, ‘Can you give me a reason?’ and his reason was lack of commitment to Rangers Football Club. I just looked at him and laughed and went, ‘You’re joking?’
“He said, ‘No, that’s just football, deal with it.’ I thought to myself, ‘Wow!’, so I just stood up, walked across to him, shook his hand and said, ‘Thanks for everything’ and I walked out. It was about five minutes before I was due to go to train. I shook Fergie’s hand and Greegsy’s hand and they went, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘You were right, I’ve just got the bullet.’
“I’ll not tell you what they said but it was ‘off’ at the end of it. At that point, Greegsy said, ‘I can’t handle this, I’ll give you a phone later.’ I took my gear off and Coisty and Kenny McDowall came in and said, ‘What are you doing?’
“I said, ‘I’ve just been sacked,’ and at that point, Coisty shook my hand and wished me all the best. I got showered and went around everybody, wee Jimmy Bell and Dave Lavery the masseur, the people up the stairs in the lounge area and the kitchen. I jumped in the car, I sat there for about ten minutes and I just couldn’t believe it.
“At that point, I phoned Martin Bain and I said, ‘I don’t know if you realise or if you know but I’ve just been sacked’. He said, ‘Oh, I didn’t think he would do it as quick.’ So he knew about it. I came home, told the news to my wife and she was astounded. It hurt because I could never be accused of lack of commitment at any club I’ve been at."
A dyed-in-the-wool bluenose, Thomson’s dream of playing for Rangers came true at the ripe old age of 36 but he could’ve been turning out for the Light Blues a long time before.
“They came in a couple of times when I played with St Mirren,” he recalls.
“I think it was John Greig who was the manager but it was knocked back. It was later on when I heard about this because back then it was the clubs who were in power so they decided I was staying and that was it.
“Obviously, when you find out about it you want to be part of one of the biggest clubs in the world but at that point, I was happy at St Mirren. We were doing well and we were in Europe two or three years in a row.”
Thomson would go on and become a key member of Jim McLean’s all-conquering Dundee United side before joining Motherwell where he would battle for the number one spot with ex-Rangers keeper Ally Maxwell.
It’s while at Fir Park that the call came - and it was one he couldn’t refuse.
“It was Alex McLeish who was the manager at Motherwell at the time and I think it was Bomber (John Brown) that phoned to say there was an interest.
“Alex wanted me to sign a contract but obviously I heard about the Rangers thing and my contract was coming to an end anyway. It was just one of those things where I just never signed the contract at Motherwell and Rangers eventually came in.
“It was always something I hoped would happen. It happened at 36 and I thought, ‘Wow!’ but I knew obviously Andy (Goram) had a few injury problems.
“I was going there and I was thinking to myself, ‘If I get a chance then I’m going to grab it.’ I had known Andy before that, I played against him a few times when he was at Hibs so in the back of my mind I’m thinking, ‘Ok, I’ve been brought in as cover but if I get an opportunity then I’m going to try and grab it with both hands.’”
Thomson would be one of four keepers used during his first season with Maxwell and Colin Scott also being called upon due to persistent injuries sustained by Goram. He would rack up six appearances in all, including a forgettable Old Firm encounter when he was sent off in a 3-0 defeat, albeit the league was already wrapped up.
When he was fit, Thomson admits 'The Goalie' was something special.
“He was an exceptional goalkeeper. It was unfortunate that he had the injuries that he had because I think that hampered him a good bit. He would play on a Saturday and sometimes he wouldn’t train again until a Thursday. He would just go in the gym or on the bike.
“Obviously when you play for a team like Rangers, it’s full of good players and you can afford to do that but he was a terrific goalkeeper.”
Thomson's playing career at Ibrox is probably best remembered for replacing the injured Goram at half time during their Champions League encounter with Juventus in 1995. At the time, Thomson was the oldest player to represent the club in Europe but he could do little to prevent Marcelo Lippi's star-studded side from romping to a 4-0 win.
And Fabrizio Ravanelli's goal that night is one he's never been able to live down thanks to kitman Jimmy Bell.
“Ravanelli was one-on-one and he fainted to hit the ball so I took the bait and went down then he moved the ball away and then I followed him and then he fainted again and the whole time I was going down and down and I remember just saying to myself, ‘Will you just shoot, Christ sake?’ At the end of it, I’m actually on the deck and at that point, he’s taken it around me and stuck it in the back of the net.
“To this day Jimmy Bell gives me so much stick about that. He kept mentioning it, ‘Remember the Ravanelli goal when you went down in stages?’ Even when I went to another club and we met up he used to give me stick!”
Thomson would depart Ibrox as a player in the summer of 1996 but after a four-year spell at Dundee as player and coach, he received the call to return. Having worked with John 'Cowboy McCormack at Dens Park, Thomson says working with Dick Advocaat was altogether different.
“We got on great, he was really, really good. He had his rules and one of them was I wouldn’t take the warm-up on a Saturday, the goalkeepers would do that. I would go to the game in the Rangers suit and just watch the game and then I would go in and see him on the Monday.
“If I had any points to make about the game or if he had any points then we would just talk about it. I found it weird because I was always used to doing the warm-up and being in the dugout. He also only wanted me to work with the first team goalies. I thought this was a bit strange.
“Allan McGregor was young at the time and we also had Graeme Smith and I knew they really had to work with the likes of Stefan Klos and people like that to progress. I let it go a wee bit but it didn’t sit right with me.
“Eventually I said to Dick, ‘Look, we’ve got two good goalkeepers here, can I bring them over to the first team?’ He said, ‘Ok let me think about it.’
“The next day he shouted down, ‘Right ok we’ll do that’, and it all just changed. McGregor and Buzz were absolutely terrific working with Klos. Eventually I got to do the warm-up because I think it was actually Stefan that said to Dick that we needed a goalkeeping coach to warm up.”
Coaching the man affectionately known as 'Der Goalie' was a joy says Thomson with the pair maintaining a close friendship that's lasted long after their Ibrox days.
“Stefan was an exceptional goalkeeper,” he said.
“He was so quick with his reactions and he played very low on one-on-ones, if anyone played it low by his feet he would use his legs. The number of times he would save balls like that was absolutely incredible. He was really quick across the goal but it was his determination that was absolutely incredible.
“Once I got to know him he would ask questions, ‘Why are we doing this? Why are we doing that?’ and I was kidding him on, I would say, ‘Because I told you to do it!’
“He just sort of looked at me and I started laughing. I’d say, ‘Look, the reason we’re doing this is because of this.’ He just wanted everything right.
“When it came two o’clock you didn’t speak to him, you just let him prepare and let him do what he wants to do. When the time was right, he’d just look across at me and just nod his head so this was our cue to go out and do the warm-up.
“He always carried two balls out with him under his arm and walked out. There was one time, in particular, Stefan went out, Steven Thompson was behind him. I was behind Thommo and we’re walking down the corridor. Next thing, Thommo thought he’d be funny and punched one of the balls out of Stefan’s arms.
“I've never seen anybody move so quick in all my life, he just turned and he had him by the throat up against the wall. I’m looking at this and I’m going, ‘Stef!’ and he was just staring at him and says, ‘Don’t do that!’
"Thommo’s looking at him and he’s going, ‘Alright German, sorry’ and that was it, he picked the ball up and went back out.
“He did the warm-up and played the game and immediately after the game he went over to big Thommo and he apologised but it was frightening.
"He had this persona that he was dour but he also had a great sense of humour.”
Rangers have been blessed with outstanding goalkeepers over the years and as Klos said goodbye to Govan, Allan McGregor was waiting in the wings to claim the number one jersey. However, the transition wasn't seamless with Thomson admitting McGregor considered quitting Rangers for good.
“There was one point where he’d been on loan at Dunfermline and came back a wee bit disillusioned and I just said to him, ‘Look, it’ll come don’t worry about it, you’ll soon be established as the Rangers number one - so just don’t worry about it.’
“I think it was around the time when Alex McLeish was the manager and he brought in Ronald Waterreus. The only thing wrong with Stefan was his kicking but Ronnie’s distribution was incredible. Ronnie and Stefan were the same age at the time, 36, but the difference in their movement was day and night.
“Ronnie was a fantastic goalkeeper but he was nowhere near the standard of Stefan at that time. Greegsy then actually played a few games but then Paul Le Guen came and brought in Lionel Letizi.
“He was much the same as Ronnie, he wasn’t as mobile and Greegsy had been playing and doing well. Then Lionel came in and played but then all of a sudden he got injured and Greegsy came back in and he was outstanding.
“Paul came in the office one morning and said, ‘Thommo, I’m bringing back Lionel’, and I just looked and I said, ‘You’re bringing back Lionel? Allan McGregor has been your best player for seven, eight, nine, ten games’ but he said, ‘No, I’m going to do it.’
“I said to him, ‘Look, the crowd are uneasy, we’re not going through a particularly good spell at the moment and if anything else happens it just enhances it,’ and he just said, ‘No, the reason for doing it is Lionel got injured and that’s why he was out the team, it wasn’t because of bad form so my philosophy is, if you get injured and you’re back fit, you’re straight back into the team.’ I thought, ‘Wow! Ok, obviously you’re the gaffer.’ So he brought Lionel in.
“I had to speak to Greegsy and reassure him but by that point, he’d played a number of games and he knew he could establish himself no problem.
“So Lionel came in and I think we were playing Inverness at Ibrox, It was something like the 90th minute and this boy hit one from about 25 yards and I’ll be honest, I could’ve saved it at that age. I went under him and the crowd went berserk.
“Paul actually came over to me at full time and said, ‘I need to apologise, I should’ve played Allan’, and that was it, Allan went in and did exceptionally well.”
Prior to Le Guen’s arrival, Thomson would be part of two of the most dramatic final days in Scottish football history as Alex McLeish’s side won the title in 2003 and 2005.
As Mikel Arteta rammed home his injury-time penalty against Dunfermline the league title was finally theirs but Thomson admits the season could've taken an entirely different path had they failed to beat Maritimo in the UEFA Cup earlier in the campaign.
“I remember Maritimo beat us 1-0 over there and after the game the big man’s says, ‘I’m a dead man walking here.’ I just said, ‘Ah, you’ll be fine don’t worry about it.’
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“Eventually we got through which was great and the season ended brilliantly. I remember Alex turning at one point after the Dunfermline game, looking at the dugout and I think there was a delay of two or three minutes so we didn’t actually know if we’d won it then it came through and he just looked at the dugout and said, ‘Is it true? Have we won it?’ After that everything just went crazy, it was bonkers but with the tension and everything else, it was absolutely incredible.”
The title won on the final day in 2003 was trumped two years later when McLeish's men claimed their 51st title in the most dramatic of fashion. Nacho Novo's goal coupled with Scott McDonald's late double for Motherwell against Celtic saw the league trophy return to Ibrox. Thomson says it was a day like no other.
“The one at Easter Road, by the end, was like a training session, it was just weird. We didn’t have a clue what was going on because there were mixed messages and some folk got it wrong.
“We were like, ‘Shut up and don’t say anything if you can’t get it right’. Then all of a sudden when McDonald scored the goal at the end and it filtered through we just went ballistic, everybody just ran onto the park. It was absolutely bonkers but a great feeling.”
Following his dismissal in 2007, Thomson would spend the next 14 years at Kilmarnock. The spell was brought to an end this summer as a result of the Ayrshire club's relegation to the Championship.
His departure highlights - once again - the brutal and cutthroat business of football.
“People don’t realise sometimes just what goes on behind closed doors," he grimaced.
"All the staff came in the next morning after we got relegated. Tommy Wright shouted me in and said, ‘This is a hard one for me because I respect you but we’re going down a different route.’
"What route they’re going to go down I don’t know but that was it after 14 years. I just shook his and James Fowler’s hand and wished them all the best.”
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