As team-mates in Martin O’Neill’s Celtic side they presented a formidable obstacle that never accepted defeat.
A decade on John Hartson and Chris Sutton are discovering the joys and grief of social media with the Englishman a relative novice to twitter.
Over the last fortnight Sutton has stood his ground over Craig Thomson and attracted plenty of praise and abuse for his stand.
Telling the truth on social media can be a challenging business with old hand Hartson happy to dish out some advise to his old team-mate.
Big Sutty taking some pressure off me!! @chris_sutton73 keep hitting that Block button mate. ????????????????
— John Hartson (@JohnHartson10) August 27, 2016
With their playing days over and coaching failing to carry the same thrills and excitement both men are carving out successful careers in the media.
Hartson has been a regular in front of a microphone for some time with his honesty in great demand.
Celtic, Arsenal and West Ham are the clubs closest to his heart but that hasn’t stopped the Welshman from pointing out the failings of his former clubs.
Sutton took a similar position last season with his criticism of Ronny Deila upsetting a number of Celtic fans who expect former players to back the club.
Criticising Delia and his old club put Sutton out on a limb but as last season imploded and Deila moved on the criticism was validated.
Both pundits will be involved in BT Sports coverage of Celtic’s Champions League campaign which kicks off in two weeks time away to Barcelona.
At the weekend Hartson claimed that Celtic could win all three home matches but feared that nine points may not be enough to progress- as O’Neill’s side discovered in 2001.
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