Fergus McCann ,good wee read

<TABLE class=wp-border-rows cellPadding=3 width="100%" align=bottom><TBODY><TR><TD class=wp-borderTop-none width="100%">Found this lurking on the net ,a good read from fergus

What was your overall thought on fergus ?
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Quotes - By McCann

"Celtic fans should look forward to my departure as we already have in place a top management team to take the Club forward. I have not dedicated five years of my life to hand the Club over to the wrong people. The Club is on an upward curve. Our target is to have a dominant position in Scottish football followed by being a recognised force on the European scene once again. The quality of people, a first class stadium, substantial finances and a faithful supporter base is the foundation on which future success will be built".
5/12/1997

"Today is my last AGM as Celtic Chairman as I will be leaving the Club as planned before the end of the season. The time has passed very quickly since 4th March 1994, when the Club had reached an all time low with no on-field success, a dilapidated stadium, substantial debt and no money available for new players.
"Over the four years we have made massive progress: winning the League Championship (97/98); building the largest club stadium in the UK (60,000 seats); having the largest support (52,000 season book holders) of any club in Britain. This has been achieved by everyone who cares about Celtic working together towards a shared vision of football success and pride in a club which is part of our culture, open to all and a responsible member of the community working to help others where it can.
"We are now working hard to ensure that the progress that has been made can be sustained into the future. We have begun the search for a new Chairman and a new Chief Executive and we will ensure that we identify the right people to lead Celtic forward into the new millennium once again as a major force in Europe.
"As I have indicated some time ago, I intend to divest my shareholding when I leave the Club. In doing so, my overriding principle is that I shall do what I believe is best for the future of Celtic. I have also indicated my intention that my shareholding will be made available to be held broadly amongst the supporters and existing shareholders of the Club. I believe that this should produce the best structure of ownership for the Club and the Company."
14/09/1998

In response to the current market speculation concerning a proposed takeover bid for Celtic plc, a consortium including Kenny Dalglish and Jim Kerr that is considering a number of options regarding Celtic plc, today announced that the consortium has requested a meeting with the majority shareholder of Celtic plc, which may or may not lead to an offer for his shares and/or an offer for the entire issued share capital of the Company. As of today, no meeting has taken place. The valuation being placed upon Celtic plc by the consortium is substantially below the current market price of Celtic plc
10/11/1998

"I am pleased to announce the details of the sale of 14,400,000 of my shares in Celtic that enables existing shareholders and season book holders to increase substantially their ownership of their Club.
"I am satisfied with the progress the Club has made over the last five years.
I now look forward to once again being a full-time supporter and hopefully watching the team and Club progress to realise its true potential, which I believe is considerable."
20/09/1999

Quotes - On McCann

'McCann built a stadium. Oh, what a great great thing. Ceaucescu built pretty amazing stadiums, so did Mussolini. I'm in it for the team. It's like building La Scala and having a run of the mill pub-singer perform.'
Jim Kerr, May 1999 (shows that not all were respectful of McCann's efforts)

While other clubs appeared to be able to identify a player they wanted to buy and then just go ahead and buy him, with Celtic it seemed that the process would take roughly the same time as the gestation of an elephant. It seemed that youngish players who are linked with Celtic had become veterans, completed their careers and moved into pub management before Magoo [Fergus McCann] was satisfied enough with the small print to authorise the expenditure.
Alastair McSporran, The Absolute Game Fanzine - 1997

"Some people I know say he's a very nice man once you get to know him. Everyone is entitled to their opinion I suppose!!! "
Mark Viduka on Fergus McCann 1999

'I probably did 15 or 20 years as a manager in those three years.'
Tommy Burns on his three years as Celtic manager under Fergus McCann



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i think in my 20 years as a hoops fan fergus has been the most hated person involved with the club but he certainly left the club in a better shape than when he arrived

 

Left the club in a FAR better state than it was in when he arrived, and - as importantly -

"I have not dedicated five years of my life to hand the Club over to the wrong people."

That was true - he left Desmond as the biggest single shareholder, and left the club in good stead. Loathed for being more concerned about off the pitch than on the pitch, but overall, he did the job he said he would do.

Still made a healthy * profit too, however! The (relative) pittance he gave back to the club for training development was a nice gesture, but no more.

 

without fergus, we wouldnt have a celtic to support i dont see whypeople dont like him.

 

Trusted nobody, done it his way, put us back on the football map.

 

I was disgusted with the way some fans treated Fergus. That comment from Jim Kerr still makes my blood boil. He did a lot more than build a stadium. He SAVED us. Celtic wouldn't exist today if he hadn't stepped in. And the "fans" who booed him should be ashamed.

 

Well what can you say about the man!!!! he saved our club so he is a legend in imo, anno he caused a stir with the way he ran the club but ffs he pumped money in built paradise and should be aplauded by the support, i grew up watching di cannio, van hooiydonk, thom etc i would never have seen these players if it wasnt for fergus, neither would yous!!!!!

If it wasnt for him we would be supporting no *!!!!!!

 

if i you think bout bout if he went about it any other way than he did we would prob have ended up like the scum huns. least now he can be reconised as a hero of celtic than the man with deep pockets but short hands.we needed a man like that to sort us out.

 

good read

 

I would like the North Stand to be re-named The Fergus McCann stand. Thats how highly I rate that man1 Theres not been a more influential figure in the clubs history in the past 30 years.

 

He was a businessman first and a fan secondly and he set his stall out by saying it was a 5 year plan and that he would walk away with a profit ,he didnt take any rubbish of anyone and he came across as a hard man to please ,but i think he proved to every celtic fan that he wanted the best for celtic .

He built the biggest club stadium in britain for 60,000 people when celtic were averaging 25,000 ,that could have been called madness but he done his homework .there was no ifs and buts with him ,it was yes and no .im sure he didnt make any false promises either ,nothing jumps out at me regarding this ,he got shot of lou macari and made tommy burns the manager and the team tommy had was brilliant .

Some of the players he brought to celtic where brilliant ,cadette ,pierre,di-canio to name a few and even though they never won the league ,i personally still say that was the best team i seen at parkhead since the 88 team ,tommy had them playing outstanding football ,but fergus wanted silverware and it soured between them .

Fergus left the club in a great position ,with a future in front of them ,he got slated in some ways because his profit was 40 million when he sold up ,but he did say from day one ,he would leave after 5 years with a profit ,the bonnet done his job and im so glad he was a celtic man .

 

I have to confess I was one of the fans who gave him a hard time, which I now regret. Some of my criticism I stand by, that he could have done more to build a modern training facility but he saved the club and was treated shabbily when he left.

But hindsight is a wonderful thing and at that time a lot of Celtic fans were unhappy at the perceived treatment of the manager who had just won us our first title in 10 years. Then we appointed a relative unknown as our Head Coach before watching the Huns win a treble including clinching the title at CP.

Emotions were running high at the time, but if I were to meet the man today I would apologise wholeheartedly.

I think a quote from the 'History' dvd summed up his contribution beautifully...

'Fergus McCann is the father of modern Celtic'

 

Fans turned on him when di-canio and pierre asked for more money and he rejected them ,but they made it public ,spilling it all to the papers and at the time the fans stuck by the players im sure ,but fergus was right to stick by his guns as they were money grabbers ,fair play to him he was no mug

 

Yep, I think he's been proved right on just about everything he warned was going to happen to football finances.

He must be the only businessman who ever made money from investing in a football club.

 

Excellent post mate, completely agree with every word

 

Exactly but the thing that's most impressive about about the wee man was his commitment to his own 5 yr plan and the ruthless way he executed it. He believed in himself and his business acumen and that he could turn everything around with Celtic. It wasn't simply the impressive stadium and amount of season tickets being sold, it was also the complete overhaul of the administrative management of the club.

I think we all owe him a massive debt of gratitude for putting his own cash up and I for one don't begrudge him a "thin dime" of the profit he made.

Oh and you have to admire the way he dealt with people like Pierre after his famous "homeless" outburst. The wee man wasn't going to be pushed around by anyone, least of all a big headed prima donna

 

Very good read that as for Fergus well what can you say saved our skin he really turned it around for us and i am so thankfull that he did could have been all so different right now a life without celtic wouldn't bare thinking about.

 

The saviour!

Yeah he made a few errors but we'd probably be sitting on benches in the jungle now and watching the huns going for 19 in a row if he hadn't stepped in!

Not a word against him from me.

 

all hail the bunnet