It is a quarter of a century since I stood outside the front doors of Celtic Park waiting and hoping that the rebels had won.
Not one of us that night could have imagined that 25 years later the club that we all love would now have such a preeminent position in Scottish football.
Here is my appreciation of those events from 2012.
I haven’t had any reason in the past seven years to alter my view of Fergus McCann or his achievements.
Of course, it was in 2012 that the real impact of the wee man’s legacy became apparent.
Rangers had been forced to spend ruinously to match the financial advantages that Fergus had put in place.
The larger stadium, filled with more season ticket holders than Ibrox could accommodate, gave Sir David Murray a problem that he couldn’t safely solve.
Using the MIH corporate credit card and then finally EBTs did for old Rangers.
McCann, much to the chagrin of many in the Celtic support, did not become obsessed with stopping Rangers doing nine in a row.
Instead, he put in place the foundations that would mean that his club would be on a stronger financial footing than the Ibrox outfit.
Fergus played the long game and won at it hands down.
Like many others, I took part in his share issue.
The new stadium was built and the rest, like Rangers, is history.
He isn’t a guy to court the limelight.
Fergus saw himself as a businessman who was making a shrewd investment in a failing enterprise.
McCann knew that Celtic was a great brand with a customer base just waiting to be re-engaged by a board that actually respected them.
He made a profit and left when he said he would.
All that is true.
However, Fergus McCann literally saved Celtic from extinction.
Moreover, there would have been no comforting “club and company” fictions in the media.
Someone was needed to step in at the 11th hour and prevent a catastrophic insolvency event at Celtic.
That person was Fergus McCann.
So 25 years on I tip my hat to the Bunnet.
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As per BBC Scotland tonight which Scottish team has not had a safety certificate issued for 19 years?
Is that not part of the licencing process?
Future generations of Celtic fans should NEVER be allowed to forget what he did for us. If ever a Celtic man deserved a permanent memorial of some description it’s wee Fergus. Without him, we would be simply a footnote in history. The biggest ever club in Scotland to die. If we hadn’t survived, Rangers would not have had to go down the EBT route. THEY would be the dominant force in Scottish football and not be depending on a third rate tribute act to keep their name alive.
God bless the bunnet.
God bless the bunnet
Every word there is true Phil,The Bunnit saved us saved Us,but,who?,if anyone will step up and save that lot?
They wait for their club to be rescued by a wealthy benefactor who might never turn up.If they are dependent on their fans stepping up,well,We have All seen them stand idly by before and watch their club slide into the abyss.So,what’s changed? Let’s hope We All get to find out real soon.
Appreciate the time away from your next book.HH⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🇮🇪🍀💚☮️
And the impact is still being felt at Ibrox.
With the latest Close Bros loan, no one is still calling it an overdraft, the repayment will put a large hole in the May ST revenues.
The sale of El Buffoon will be of the distressed nature.
With the Columbian one booking away from suspension in the Scottish Cup semi final, if his team prevail against the Dons in the replay, Stevie G will have his work cut to prevent his most important player getting through 90 minutes without seeing yellow or red as he has done on a regular basis this season.
Maybe, at some point Phil, you may find, time to hat tip Peter Lawell. He really does deserve a mention now and again for keeping a brilliant show on the road, and with that wonderful acumen for keeping all things solvent, alas running parrallel with unprecedented success.He doesn’t always get it right, however, the stability he has marshalled has been outstanding. I am sure Fergus will be proud.
I vividly remember the announcement on the steps of Celtic Park.I also remember all the shennanigns that preceded it-Cambuslang etc etc.For me Fergus is the most significant figure at Celtic in the last 60 yrs.Of course that places him above Mr Stein however imagine Celtic had went into liquidation(as they were destined to do before Fergus signed the cheques).Do any of us really believe there would be any “club/company” bollocks accepted by the media/SFA?We would have been pilloried for our financial mess,rightly so too,and I doubt there would’ve been any plans to parachute our newco,assuming there was one,into Division 1.Liquidation would have placed the entire existance of Celtic into peril.Lets not forget there are many in our game who would have delighted in our demise and be more than happy if we disappeared for good.It should be said there are many others involved in the takeover who played very important parts but Fergus signed the cheques without which we would have been in the grubber for good and he deserves every plaudit that comes his way.Chief among which should be,lets hope!,ten in a row.Hail Hail!
Totally agree with you Phil, the Bunnet came in and saved Celtic. He was upfront and he went to work rebuilding, externally and internally. He was upfront with the fans, some of them were not to keen when he left, it did take some a few years to realise that he done what was needed and left Celtic with a financial footing, superb stadium, we were light years ahead of the rest of Scottish football.
Hail Hail to the Bunnet
If ever a man deserved to be feted it is Fergus . I cringed with embarrassment as he was booed on Flag Day by the short-sighted . The same people who were crying out for him to ‘spend , spend , spend ‘ to match Murray’s Rangers. How do they feel now ? The same people who condemned him on leaving with a profit from his investment .Would they like a GASL in charge ?
Perhaps a statue is too much to hope for , but some permanent reminder of his impact on the club would be welcome ( Yes , I know that the stadium and the sound financial position at the moment are testament to his work ! ) – at least one of the stands should be renamed in his honour .
Thank You , Fergus !
And much to my chagrin, for several years I wholly disliked Wee Fergus…because I generally believed what I read in the SMSM about him, and also about Minty Murray;
Fergus; tight, miserable, lacking ambition, etc.
Murray; generous, risk taker, ambition off the radar wrt Rangers.
But, with the help of time – and social media – we all know the truth today.
Celtic prospered and Rangers died.
Wee Fergus metaphorically gave Murray a severe doing!
There is not enough recognition of the wee man (or his bunnet) at Celtic Park. Nobody has done more for the club in the last 100 years, in fact it was more than likely there would be no club, and he is deserving of a statue.
He deserves a statue along the Celtic way. A man that was true to his word