Yesterday the Celtic fans got another chance to applaud and acknowledge the little unassuming man who saved their club in 1994.
I was there the night that he let Brian Dempsey step forward deliver the sound bite about the rebels winning.
McCann wasn’t a guy for the limelight.
He just wanted to get on with it.
Fergus was a man with a plan.
Moreover, he kept to it despite the fact that there were angry voices on the old terraces demanding that he abandon his strategy for short-term expediency.
Perhaps there were some among the home crowd at Celtic Park yesterday who had booed McCann when he unfurled the league flag in 1998.
These days few can argue that the Bunnet has been entirely vindicated in his vision of a club that would be based on sound financial principles.
This isn’t the first time I have written about the debt that the Celtic support owes to Fergus McCann.
You can read more here and here.
David Low was in the room during those tumultuous days and he said that the life-saving money was handed over with 15 minutes remaining until the Noon deadline.
AS well as being a self-made businessman of considerable net worth McCann was also a Celtic supporter.
The smart move would have been to trigger an insolvency event and burn the creditors in a liquidation.
However, the Bunnet knew that would be the end of the club that had triumphed in Stadio Nacional all those years ago.
Instead, all of the creditors were paid every penny.
Then the long slow slog to financial health started.
The ousted ancien regime mocked the very idea of the 60,000 capacity stadium.
Fergus simply ignored them and built it in partnership with the Celtic fans who bought into his share issue.
For the avoidance of doubt, I still have my share certificate.
McCann was at the helm when Celtic, just, stopped the bank funded run to 10 IAR by Rangers.
Now Parkhead had a 10,000 seat capacity advantage over the stadium that John Brown played for.
Those extra seats were sold to season ticket holders.
Suddenly Celtic had a financial advantage on match day revenues.
The owner of Rangers countered by coming up with a cunning plan of paying players via tax-free loans.
Yeah, brilliant…
In the last year-end accounts, Celtic had more cash in the bank that Sevco had in turn over.
Celtic, the club that did not suffer an insolvency event in 1994 and paid all of their bills in full, now financially dominate Planet Fitba.
Moreover, it would appear to something of a …gasp…sporting advantage.
That is the Bunnet’s legacy.
Now, consider this…
You are a rational director of Rangers International Football Club.
Yes, dear reader, most of them are.
Are you in the role yet?
Ok, good.
Now, you’ve been on the board since the Off Licence Putsch of March 2015.
You bought into the King vision.
If you had any doubts as whether or not to trust him and Ibrox legend put your mind at rest.
You believed that the South African based Bear loved the club as much as you do.
As well as that, you accepted his version of events that the 41 criminal convictions in South Africa had been a “favourable settlement”.
Of course, no one in your dignified circle would dwell on the events of 2012 when the club was…ahem… “demoted” to the 4th tier of Scottish football.
You believe that Rangers have a rightful place in Scottish football and that is at the top in perpetuity.
Now, you’ve got a background in business and you’ve worked hard to get where you are.
For sure, you can read a set of accounts.
Consequently, you know that the current business plan is simply unsustainable.
You had hoped, believed even, that your chairman would unearth his millions and fund the club that you both love.
You yearn for the 1990s when Sir David Murray made it all better.
You believe that the current chairman will fund your team back to glory.
However, there was always some issue at the 11th hour and others, including you, had to step up.
Of course, you believed that this arrangement would be only temporary until the chairman got his money out.
The thing is, you never did get paid back.
Ah well…
At a meeting at the end of last season, a plan of action (POA) was agreed.
The Director of Football was tasked with moving on three of the highest-earning players for a combined minimum fee of £12.5m.
Now, despite a highly compliant media running with planted stories, there were no viable bids for these players.
Then, as the window was closing, a player that was previously deemed to be unaffordable was bought for £7m!
Neither you nor your colleagues were consulted about this major decision.
Unlike in previous years, you have the full unabridged, unvarnished set of year-end accounts.
You know what is looming in terms of a bill for an ill-judged retail deal and what is owed in a heavily secured loan to very tough lenders.
The numbers just don’t add up.
Now, you have a decision to make yourself.
Do you continue to believe in your chairman or do you join the rebellion that is being hatched in the Blue Room?
Indeed, in your private moments, you conclude that there just isn’t a guy on your side like Fergus McCann.
Now, that it isn’t a good feeling…
Is it?
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There can be no doubt that Fergus held a deep affection for the club but he made his fair share of mistakes along the way.
However, as abrasive a character as he was he is due a debt of gratitude for saving the club for generations to come 💚🤍🧡
Are Sevco a franchise?
For years they had ducked and they had dived
As the rules of the game were seldom applied
They then chose to deceive and then they lied
Back hand payments of which they denied
A cunning plan was has hatched and derived
Side letters for players the Taxman deprived
A CVA was rejected oh the tears that they cried
Not to worry brother a secret Agreement quite contrived
The SFA and 4 others had conceived and connived
A fabrication, a myth that they had somehow survived
The era of Transfiguration it had now arrived
Meanwhile in Paradise we all danced and we jived
As Celtic moved on for excellence we strived
Invincible untouchable THE dominant force has arrived
I have some treasured possessions in my life…My wife…my children…my grandchildren….and two signed letters from Mr. McCann.
I never always saw eye to eye with his methods and wrote to him to tell him so.
To his credit he replied twice…and its fair to say he did not accept my observations and comments.
I was in my seat that flag day when he was booed by a section of the support…and whilst I didn’t boo him…I never applauded either.
I feel I was partially vindicated when the late great Tommy Burns gave an insight into the ” difficulties” he had with Mr. McCann…and they mirrored my opinions.
Notwithstanding all that…There is no doubt he saved our Club…and brought it back from the brink of destruction…and for that he should be honoured….and a statue or some form of recognition should be considered.
Oh and it should be remembered…When he took up the reins….he said publicly…that he would give it 5 years and would then hopefully walk away with some money to show for it.
He was quite open and honest about that….and I grudge him not one penny.
I wish him nothing but a good life.
And for the avoidance of doubt….I manged to disagree with Peter Kelly on more than one occasion.
Celtic first….Celtic always.
Well said Terencenova. I too had major difficulties with the bunnet, particularly in the years 95-98. I was still unsure as to whether or not I should send in a post of my own…however as you have said it all, there is no need.
In point of fact, we should maybe look upon the era of the bunnet in the boardroom as a bit of a golden era. He certainly stood up for the Celts where it counted.
Can you imagine the years following 2012 for the Celts if the bunnet was still there. He would most certainly have spoken out against the cheating, lying shenanigans of the Huns and would have destroyed the SFA in court, once again.
Instead of that, look what we got:
1. A major shareholder who is an absentee landlord.
2. A CEO who had not one word of criticism re The Huns/SFA duopoly of the time, and who against the SFA’s own rules, attempted to force the Tribute Act into the top division, against the wishes of member clubs. The silence of Lawell and other fat cats at this time, is neither forgiven nor forgotten…shame on them all. Hail Hail
Hello Mister Magua…Thanks for your comment.
I did try to stress that notwithstanding my “disquiet” about some of his “policies”….he does deserve to hold a high place in the Celtic Story.
I also want to stress that the Club ALWAYS comes first me…and I take no prisoners if I feel that they are selling the Club short in any way.
Hence my letters to quite a few “incumbents” over the years…with my current recipient being a certain Peter Lawwell.
I agree totally with your comments on him.
Bring on the Jags…
Hail hail.
Fabulous assessment of the bunnet, yet again. He is actually in my top 3 favourite Celts off all time. What can absolutely be admired about him, is more than “coming to the rescue” and being a “visionary”. He had business ethics and morality, much less feted, qualities nowadays as, it’s got lost somewhere between InstaFamous and Online Business profiles. He had assembled through no social media presence more than a modest bank balance.
There are grey shadows between sharp business practices and those akin to vultures, where the end result is no more than their own satisfaction. His declaration that we “Celtic” will rise to the top again and it will do so, by not shirking it’s financial, social (boys against bigotry), sporting, and charitable, responsibilities
He merely saw himself as a custodian, -yes- I take the point he made money – but it could have all gone so differently. There was no guarantee, only risk. – he for sure, merited his return. The quality of the individual, for me was summed up, when he departed Celtic Park, 15 mins before the end of the last game at St Johnstone. to stopped the Illegitimate, Old Rangers attempt of 10IAR. He wasn’t hanging about for pats on the back, and over the top celebrations of joy and relief. It was merely job done.
He surveyed the stadium, still missing a few seats but the cauldron, the Celtic Colosseum was merely, 2 months from completion. The vision and belief, internally was enough. In the annuals of our incredible club, Fergus McCann, sits alongside, Brother Walfrid, Willie Maley, Jock Stein, The Lions,The Quality Street Gang, Danny McGrain, Paul McStay, Tommy Burns, Henrik Larsson, Martin O’Neill, Neil Francis Lennon, and within them and it is saying something, his character is truly unique and inspirational.
Thank God For Fergus.
The writing is on the wall for the tribute act, and unless MA, or a Fergus type takes them over, we have only to guard against our own complacency, as that will be only thing that beats us. Fergus, would never allow us to enter that mindset. The South African based criminal, will absolutely, allow any environment, however toxic, to be incubated because it’s all about him, I guess it’s no surprise he appointed a manager with the same size ego and love for the limelight
Fergus didn’t do egos either, he just did Business Ethics.
What a Result !
Very well said. As good a testimony as Phil’s.
That is very kind Charger, Thank you; However it is no match for our and Dún na nGall’s own Edward Snowden, in fact the MSM are no match for him either!
Funny how, they are happy to compare, YouTube hits, Playstation Rankings, Player Transfer pursuits, Player Fees, Teams of Week, Marches and so on…….but completely absent in the comparison of the boardroom and again in the dugout. All that free PR. and still nothing to show for it.
Ah well my money is on the Orwellian truth seekers!
Amen
I appreciate that the club with no name has had no sustainable business plan for the entirety of its existence and is moribund. What in the world would it take to put it out of its misery?
I’ll have jelly and ice-cream times 2 please, Mr Macgiollabhain. Hail Hail.
Why is there no statue to Fergus McCann?
He should be a Hero to Celtic.
Why indeed, no one deserves it more.
Jinky was my hero and a drinking buddy in the Noggin pub in Uddingston, Fergus is every bit a Celtic Legend and he said that ifig if we liquidated they would have wiped our history including may 1967,HH
Completely agree! As important as Brother Walfrid and “Sir” Jock Stein.
He is.
Yes indeed, any slow thinking Blue Room members must know by now that King has sold them a pup – or to quote the original “Wall Street” movie: a dog with fleas!
Maybe it’s too far gone?
No point in resigning now, as they would look weak – and outside the tent, they’ll probably get the blame!
So, hang on until there is some financial stability…sometime in the future…?
And the kicker is that King is ensconced far, far away and probably wouldn’t bother about never visiting Ibrox again. He has been PNG in the City for a long time already. So, it’s only a financial loss to King if it all goes Pete Tong at Ibrox,
But, if you are a Blue Room member who is Glasgow / Scotland / UK based, it could get rather embarrassing or even humiliating.
And your TRFC supporting friends and colleagues won’t be best pleased with your involvement with King either.
King just won’t give a monkey’s about any, new Ibrox club if he gets his fingers burned – again.
And you have to question the professional judgement of the remaining Blue Room members… 🙂
Anyone find out what £750,00 service they were soliciting for….or was it just £750,000 they were soliciting for?!!
If it wasn’t for wee Fergus Celtic would be playing in the Liquidation League these days along with Third Lanark, Gretna, Clydebank and Rangers. However, the fans of 3 of these clubs don’t claim that it was just the holding company that went down the pan.
A technical point… the most recent Clydebank sfl team were never liquidated. They were purchased out of administration from a choice of two bids. One from their own fans and one from an Airdrie-based group who moved them to Airdrie to replace the liquidated Airdrieonians. They went straight into League 1 where the Clydebank team had been. A closer comparison is Clydebank and Wimbledon/MK Dons.
It was David Murray who sparked the liquidation event at the old Airdrieonians…
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2000/feb/02/newsstory.sport2
I will never forget what the bonnet did to save our great club and more importantly the sound footing he left it for the future.to think back when all them oldco fans where giving it big licks about him taking his money and running, well I think he earned every penny he took when he headed off to retirement.
A genuine fan, a genuine businessman something the orcgers can only dream of.hh
I wonder if Fergus would have done things differently if he’d known back then that you COULD liquidate to shed debt and still be the same club with the same history!
Then again..
Maybe the rules were different then?!?
Not according to Business Law,Companies House and Charles Greene’s QC they aren’t 😉
THE McCANN STATIUM. The vedry least we can do.
Phil, Phil, Phil!!…
I’m quite certain that Sevco 5088 Ltd are only suffering from a “short-term financial hiccup” (stop laughing at the back!!), and that Mr King will reinstate their fiscal good-standing in no time at all. Now, if only he could sell off his wine business, and reinvest the capital in jelly and ice cream, he’d have a thriving business in the east end of Glasgow.
Steven, I’m afraid you have referenced the wrong Sevco.
5088 is Craig Whyte’s Sevco.
Charles of Normandy created “Sevco Scotland Limited” which morphed into “The Rangers Football Club”.
It is THAT Sevco which is currently masquerading as the original Rangers.
They have more disguises than the Scarlet Pimpernel, it’s difficult to keep up. They have more cunning plans than Bsldrick!
Phil, how many branches of Sevco are out there? I’m getting a wee bit confused by it all. Is it more than 50…less than 100? Please advise pronto. HH
It’s exactly 54‼️
Sure,but they’re GOING for 55…
They are ‘Ra Peepil’s Liberation Front of Edmiston Drive’ or is it ‘Ra Ibrox Peepil’s Front of THE Orange?’ I just can’t work them out … and neither can the SPFL(Peepul’s Suited Front of the Garden!)
What about the Judean Peoples’ Front?