It was 23 years ago today the bold Fergus McCann rocked up London road and took control of Celtic. A move that would change the trajectory of Celtic and Scottish football as a whole.

While a large proportion of the press still like to deny Rangers were liquidated the Daily Record had no problem sending a hearse to Celtic Park before any sort of insolvency event took place in preparation and celebration of what they thought was impending demise of Glasgow Celtic. Oh, how they jumped the gun.

Fast forward twenty three years since the video clip below, Fergus promised a new direction putting Celtic back to the very top and as we watch Brendan Rodgers’ side romp to a domestic double and potential treble we must give thanks to the man with the bunnet for what he did.

The efforts of Celts for change and the Celtic family as a whole was also pivotal in the survival of our club. Organising mass rallies, being pro-active in their attempts to oust the board who had ran Celtic into the ground.

Little did we know during the dark period of the 90s that our major rivals were being bank rolled on the never never and were lording it over the rest of Scottish football with money they simply did not have. When Fergus came in the famous quote by the then Rangers chairman David Murray, for every fiver Celtic spend, we’ll spend a tenner. For all the bravado surrounding that club it would be Fergus and his boards vision that would first level the club out. Putting out a share issue, nervously McCann wondered if the Celtic fans would back his vision but as the wee man has since spoke about – After defeat in the cup the previous week, Celtic launched their share issue to raise capital. His fears proved to be unfounded when he looked outside of Celtic Park on a cold wet night and Celtic fans were still queuing to invest in their club – the share issue was OVER SUBSCRIBED.

With money raised he went about building a new stadium, fitting of a club of Celtic’s stature along with putting a plan in place that would sometimes prove unpopular but necessary for the long time survival of the club. As Celtic fans seen Rangers approach nine in a row, matching Celtic’s accomplishments and ready to take the record with their tenth their loyalty was tested but what a pay off they got.

On May 5th 1998, on the last day of the season a packed Celtic Park bore witness to a once in a lifetime outpouring of passion, emotion, relief and utter ecstasy as goals from Henrik Larsson and Harold Brattback secured the title for Celtic to stop the ten. As Harold’s shot nestled in the back of the net the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and the roar from the crowd as the helicopter holding the trophy is still very vivid in my mind. What a day, that was the culmination of McCann’s takeover and vision for the club. Stopping the ten was something that will go down in Celtic folklore and it wouldn’t have been possible without the bunnet.

Fergus gave birth to the modern day Celtic that you and me know today and as we look to attain a new standard of excellence under Rodgers as well as nod to the past we must doff our cap to the wee man in the bunnet. He had the courage and the single mindedness to carry out his plans, even when he was being compared in the paper to Saddam Hussein and had the pressure of an expectant fan base.

Hail Hail Fergus.

The Game is over, the Rebels have won!

9 COMMENTS

  1. Fair play to him .. when wim Janssen left he got berrated but he done what he said he would do .. said he would build a stadium to be proud of and build a team to win the league .. it was great to see him back and getting the recognition he deserved a few years ago .. good luck to him and the Celtic fans thank you

    • Brian Dempsey’s role was not as equally important as that of Fergus McCann. Fergus devised the plan, ran the club and invested his money. Dempsey did none of these things.

  2. Yes Brian Dempsey wanted to move from Celtic Park to s site he owned in the Provanmill area of Glasgow also when he was asked to pay one million pounds to the bank his answer was Fergus will be here in the morning enough said.

  3. HH To Mr Fergus McCann.Walter Lancelot Smith Stating RainJurz being 33 Points behind Celtic is Unacceptable.Get it Right Cretin.Whats Unacceptable is the Way Oldco Cheated Not just the Mighty Tic They cheated each and Every Club in Scotland and Europe.Totally Unacceptable.Nw its back to there Old Ways by relying on there 12th man(Ref)to Get them a win.Unacceptable just how Corrupt the Masonic Refs Truly Are.Anyone states anything thats not Bhun Agenda is a Hater.Glasgow is Green and White.Born a Tim A Proud Tim.Anyone whose not seen The Asterisk Years.Well Worth a Watch.its on YouTube.

  4. Nobody’s done more than the ordinary fan !fergus has been more than well rewarded,but he left us with the biggest cheats in sporting history and they are still cheating now!celtic fans have been cheated for years and there is no sign of it stopping as all the home draws in cups and ridicules cheating decisions by referees and linesman .fergus come back and take on the imperfect register crooks !

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