March 1994 is a period that no Celtic fan who lived through it will forget.
After months and probably a couple of years of campaigning the club was finally shorn of the Kelly and White dynasty that had run and almost ruined the club for 100 years.
Generations of fans had gone lived with the notion that the dynasties were untouchable and that was just the way that things were.
In truth however if it hadn’t been for Jock Stein’s arrival in 1965 Celtic may have been as relevant as Queens Park, Dumbarton or Renton to Scottish football in the later part of the 21st century.
24 years ago today saw the end of our ‘Celts for Change’ campaign to remove the board who ran us into debt, had no intention of paying the bills or saving the Club. Brendan Sweeney, Davie Cunningham, John Thompson & Colin Duncan all fought the fight??? pic.twitter.com/cLumX3da37
— matt mcglone (@MattMcGlone9) March 4, 2018
Stein had shaken the club, driven success but 25 years after Lisbon the club was on it’s uppers, as far from success as it had been in the first half of the sixties.
After a long often bruising battle that has been well documented elsewhere the supporters had hope in the unlikely figure of Fergus McCann.
With a bunnet, a squint, a dodgy tash and mid Atlantic accent hope arrived at Celtic Park.
Fergus McCann saved Celtic Football Club 24 years ago today, since then Celtic..
? Built 60k seater Stadium
? Won 13 League Titles
? Won 8 Scottish Cups
? Won 8 League Cups
? Won 2 Domestic Trebles (only 4 in their history)
? 2016-17 Invincible
? Reached a European Final— Inside The SPFL (@AgentScotland) March 4, 2018
“The war is over, the rebels have won” – March 4th, 1994.
Fergus McCann paid the banks and took over Celtic, overthrowing a century of the Whyte’s and Kelly’s running the club and so created the modern day Celtic.
It could’ve ended up so differently.
God bless Fergus. pic.twitter.com/932LqCjsX1— Bhean (@_Bheanian_) March 4, 2018
Fergus McCann – business man, not Celtic man, he done well, eternally grateful for his contribution, can we drop the sainthood/statue shite.
— GlasgowRoad (@GlasgowRoad) March 4, 2018
24 years ago a man with a plan came in, paid the bills & kept the lights on at Celtic football club.
“Celtic supporters want to be proud of their Club. That’s all they want. It is what they deserve.”
Fergus McCann pic.twitter.com/jl4gowho5w
— I am the DJ (@IamtheDJ40) March 4, 2018
Happy Fergus McCann Day and his best ever quote
???? pic.twitter.com/pZAiJROe1a— Celtic Collectibles (@CollectCelticFC) March 4, 2018
24 years ago today Fergus McCann saved Celtic from bankruptcy.
He paid the bills and gave us our modern day Celtic. YNWA HH #legend #bunnet pic.twitter.com/dI5hNm6AbE— Michael Ferris (@Mickbelfastbhoy) March 4, 2018
God bless Fergus McCann for saving that company that owned and operated a football club all those years ago.
— ????Big Kev K ???? (@officialkappa99) March 4, 2018
“It would’ve cost less, and left the previous owners with nothing, to go into liquidation but it would also be humiliating for Celtic. So we paid all the bills.”
Fergus McCann#CelticFC
— Peter Walsh (@peterwalsh27) March 4, 2018
There was no magic wand, no short cut or tax dodges to success but success did come- after Lou Macari and Tommy Burns it fell to Wim Jansen to deliver the title up against the ‘brilliance’ of Dave Murray.
Jock Brown came and went, as did Three Amigos, Jo Venglos was in charge when McCann departed, handing the reigns over to Allan MacDonald who turned out to be as disastrous as the management team he appointed- Dalglish and Barnes.
The last 24 years have been as eventful as any period in Celtic’s history, McCann could never have guessed at how Scottish football would look but with the biggest stadium in the country and a strong boardroom the infrastructure for success was set.
Supporters will forever argue and debate the merits of McCann and other key figures but next to Stein no one has changed the course of Celtic’s modern history anything like the bunnet from Croy.
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