CELTIC My dad and grandad were the only Celtic fans inside Ibrox the day I made my debut but that’s not what these games should be about.. it’s diluted as a spectacle and it won’t help Gers win
SIMON DONNELLY will never forget the eerie silence inside Ibrox when the Rangers net rippled on his Old Firm debut.
His dad and grandpa were there in April 1994 to see John Collins’s freekick stunner give Celtic the lead but even they didn’t dare make a noise.
Not after Rangers chairman David Murray had taken the unprecedented step of banning Hoops supporters, claiming they’d caused too much damage to the stadium.
Which is why former Parkhead star Donnelly remains unconvinced with the decision by both Rangers and Celtic to drastically reduce each other’s ticket allocation for derbies.
The Light Blues confirmed they’re set to slash Celtic’s Ibrox quota from almost 8000 to 800 to make way for season-ticket holders in Steven Gerrard’s first season in charge.
And the Hoops responded in kind by insisting they will do the same for fixtures at Parkhead as they look to follow up a double Treble.
But Donnelly insists the fact there were no Celtic fans inside Ibrox when they made the trip on April 30, 1994 only served as extra motivation for him and his team-mates.
They almost left with three points courtesy of Collins’s set-piece before Alexei Mikhailichenko made it a 1-1 draw 11 minutes from time.
Donnelly, who earned the free-kick for Celtic’s goal after being fouled by Richard Gough, said: “I am not sure what these measures regarding the tickets will actually achieve.
“Reducing the number of Celtic and Rangers fans that watch the derby match will dilute it as a spectacle.
“Derby matches are for the supporters. It is about the passion, the excitement, the bragging rights – you name it.
“It is the biggest match on the Scottish football calendar and the one both sets of fans look out for every season.
“Having 800 Celtic fans at Ibrox and a similar number at Celtic Park is not ideal for both sets of supporters, is it?
“I remember running out at Ibrox towards the Broomloan Stand where 7500 Celtic fans would normally be.
“It was strange there were no Celtic supporters inside Ibrox to greet us.
“The Broomloan Stand is usually a sea of green and white but it was blue and white as far as the eye could see that day. I didn’t find it intimidating or hostile.
“There was even a comedy moment when the Celtic players looked up and saw a plane flying overhead with a banner proudly proclaiming ‘Hail Hail! The Celts Are Here.’ That gave us all a laugh.
“I don’t remember much about Lou Macari’s team-talk although I do remember a lot being made of the fact we were not just playing the 11 Rangers players, we were also playing more than 45,000 spectators and how we felt it was the definition of walking into the lion’s den.
“That was all the Celtic players needed motivation-wise. It really spurred us on.
“I just wish Celtic had held on for the win because I reckon it would have been one of the sweetest and best victories over Rangers ever had we been able to see the game out.
“I had to endure a lot in the 1990s when Rangers were the dominant force in Scottish football.
“We are now at a moment in time when Brendan Rodgers’s team are the best in the country by a considerable distance.
“Rangers somehow have to find a way of stopping Celtic on the park just as we did in 1998 to stop 10 in a row. I’m just not sure Rangers reducing the number of Celtic supporters going to Ibrox is the answer.”
Collins had made no secret of his plan to score in Govan that Saturday albeit others linked to Celtic weren’t making as much of a noise.
That’s because Donnelly revealed Ibrox wasn’t completely made up of Rangers fans the day of his first Old Firm derby – his dad and grandad made it in.
He said: “That was my first experience of playing against Rangers so I had nothing to compare it to. It is the most surreal and bizarre game I’ve ever been involved in as a player.
“When John scored there was just an eerie silence inside Ibrox.
“Four corners of the ground were rendered completely and utterly mute when John hit that beauty of a free-kick into the top corner.
“All I could hear was the Celtic players and our bench whooping, hollering and screaming. We all just ran to John and piled on top of him.
“Incidentally that was the first
goal scored with the Adidas Predator football boots.
“John had taken delivery of the boots just two days before and he was rubbing them in the dressing room and telling everybody he was going to score.
“If you look at the TV footage John runs away in celebration and points to the boots – Adidas used it in their adverts for ages after that.
“My dad and grandfather were also there. They both got tickets because they didn’t want to miss my first game against Rangers. The two of them sat on their hands and never said a word.
“I am not sure if it was an enjoyable experience for them as I have never really spoken to them about it.
“I played up front on my own and thought I did quite well.
“It was Rangers captain Richard Gough who fouled me for the free-kick that led to John’s opening goal.
“I remember Goughie not being too chuffed about the referee’s decision either.”