He finished as a player around the time I started following football, but for all intents and purposes he seems to have been a good player and captain.
He was there in the background during the late 1980s, but he got badly treated by Graeme Souness and he left Liverpool under a cloud in 1991, I think.
Obviously he was brought back by Moores as a surprise choice for Gerrard Houllier's assistant, and most Liverpool supporters under the age of 25 will best know him as the foghorn leghorn on the sideline, funnelling his hands together around his mouth so as to make his booming voice travel further!
He must take a lot of the credit for the early success of the Houllier days, and he did an excellent job as caretaker manager.
In the end things got sour as he had a number of fallings out with players such as Robbie Fowler, and he was shown the door with Houllier as Rafa (understandably) wanted to do things his way.
My feeling about Thompson is that, love him or hate him (and you'll be surprised how many fall into the later category) you cannot deny, that first and foremost, he is a red and he cares as much about the club as any fan.
The reason I bring this up was because I was watching footage again of Istanbul. Thommo was commentating for Skysports and they released clips of him going absolutely mental when we stages our comeback and also during the penalties. It was fantastic.....the guy forget he actually had a job to do (i.e. commentate on the match) but instead let his feelings and love for the club completely take control of himself.
Like Roy Evans, I always felt a small bit sorry for Thommo, as he was caught up in the farce of Houllier's last days, but I hope fans will be kind enough to remember the good times as well, and underneath the sometimes gruff exterior, he's just as much a star struck fan as anyone of us.
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