Inside the Divide

An insightful and wonderfully written account . . . Richard Wilson, more than anyone in recent years, has told us why Celtic and Rangers matter and why their adherents have little of which to be ashamed and much of which to be proud. I salute him * * Observer * *
A measured and thought-provoking treatise on the legendary rivalry between Scotland's two most popular football clubs * * Scotland on Sunday * *
It is an intensity that has frequently scarred Old Firm collisions with the violent and the reprehensible. But the Rangers-Celtic rivalry is so deep in the bones of so many Scots that - amid a football culture transformed beyond recognition by the wholesale importation of foreign players - it effortlessly remains a focus of mass emotion. -- Hugh McIlvanney
There were times when we might as well have played the first 20 minutes without a ball. The match would commence and the fans would hardly notice. -- Sir Alex Ferguson, former Rangers player
I'd heard a lot about the Old Firm game over the years and of the rivalry that exists between the Celtic and Rangers supporters, but it's only when you live in the city and see it up close that the true extent of the bigotry and hatred hits home. The fans were frothing at the mouth and at each other's throats right through the warm-up. When we marched out to kick off, it REALLY got intense. -- Tony Cascarino, former Celtic player