FERGUS MCCANN: CELTIC’S FORMER LEADER RETURNS AND SHOWS HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- Aug 6
- 3 min read
Like many of you, I’ve been delighted over the past 48 hours or so to see so many photos of Fergus McCann, the man who (with the help of several others) saved Celtic, looking in good spirits as he and his wife returned to Celtic Park.
What struck me more so though, was the photos of him with fans on the train after game, and at the Station, posing for photos, chatting with fans, and looking extremely lively for a man in his mid-80s.
This was a Celtic fan, albeit one who will be remembered for centuries to come, sharing a beautiful moment with other Celtic fans.
Fergus McCann: Celtic Fans Now Revere Him, But What of Our Current Board?
It would be easy to throw in the condescending cliché here of the billionaire who “hasn’t lost the common touch”, but “The Bunnet” deserves better than that. He’s certainly far more deserving of fan adulation than any of the current occupants of our boardroom, even if we didn’t always appreciate him fully.
I’m not going to be a revisionist and say that I was always a huge fan of Fergus McCann. Like many fans, I was angry in those times before we stopped “the 10”, before winning became a habit for Celtic once again.
Fergus often stood accused of the same penny-pinching and tight-fistedness that we currently label the likes of Michael Nicholson, Peter Lawwell and Dermot Desmond with.
The difference was, Fergus communicated. If you upset the wee man, whether you were a player, a member of staff or especially one of the press pack, he made sure you knew exactly why you’d p*ssed him off.
And, above it all, there was always a long-term plan. Fergus McCann set about building the new Celtic Park, he set about getting the foundations in place to ensure Celtic’s ongoing stability which, in time, allowed us to build the team on the park we needed to topple Rangers (Requiescat in Pace).
Celtic’s dominance today began with that groundwork. Celtic fans can see that now.
But, will there be a similar revelation among supporters 15 to 20 years from now about our current custodians and their actions.
In short, no, I don’t think so. And here’s why.
Like I said, while we didn’t always agree with him, you always knew what McCann’s rationale was. You might not like it, but you could understand it. He never considered himself above the average supporter, and certainly didn’t talk down to us.
The current board seem to do nothing but talk down to us, if indeed they ever talk at all.
Maybe there is some masterplan at play. Maybe in a couple of decades, when Celtic have won the Champions League for the 3rd time in a row, we’ll all sit back and laugh and say “Remember when we all thought Michael Nicholson was a numpty Peter Lawwell was a chancer, and Dermot Desmond was an aloof, self-important so and so?
“How wrong were we?”
Believe me, I’d be delighted if that’s where all of this ends up. But we all know that’s not going to happen.
Egos are the big issue here. I spoke on ACSOM on Tuesday’s Bulletin about my single, solitary encounter with Dermot Desmond. He struck me as an extremely arrogant, ignorant man, whose attitude is not becoming the leader of a club like Celtic.
But that’s just my own personal view. I don’t know the man, but neither do most Celtic fans, and that’s part of the problem. Is he planning to sell up? Is the club hoarding cash for some specific purpose that isn’t currently known?
He doesn’t need to tell us his life story, just some basic courtesy and communication would be a good start.
Fergus McCann understood that. That’s why, now, in hindsight, we appreciate all the good he did for our club.
I am very skeptical that we will ever be able to say the same about any of our board today, especially our current largest shareholder.
As Bill Shankly famously said: “Football without the Fans is Nothing”. Fergus McCann took that to heart, and made sure fans were informed and involved at every stage of his Celtic project. The current board would do well to listen to any advice he may have proffered last weekend.
However, listening to criticism, even when its constructive, doesn’t seem to be their strong suit.
