On many fronts I’m delighted Fergus McCann feels confident enough to get back involved with Celtic, some 15 years after departing the scene. It wasn’t always this way. We reached our first European final in 33 years largely as a result of the groundwork he put in place, but he didn’t feel comfortable making the trip to Seville.
He was first tempted back at the unveiling of the Br. Walfrid statue, using the occasion to put the club’s charitable heritage to the fore. He has since been back to speak at Celtic Charity, now called Celtic FC Foundation, events.
His intervention today, saying “It is important for people to stand up and show their support by buying season tickets. That is my simple message” echoes a letter he sent to season ticket holders in 1995. Celtic had endured a difficult season at Hampden, if memory serves, we finished below Hibernian in the league, sentiment was low and as season 94-95 drew to a close I remember thinking the rebuilding project was in jeopardy.
Only 31,025 souls turned up to watch an end of season victory against Rangers with many unsold tickets in the Celtic areas of Hampden. Fergus was also unpopular among a sizable portion of the support, with prominent Celtic supporters only too happy to undermine his reputation.
The season ticket renewal packs arrived with a letter from Fergus which invoked memories of his trip to Kilmarnock in 1963 to see Celtic ship six goals during Jimmy Johnstone’s debut. Fergus knew what the years ahead would hold for Celtic but he needed faith from you and me or the project would have been in real jeopardy.
To everyone’s pleasant surprise Celtic fans rallied in great numbers as the new stadium opened. So much so I was scrambling around trying to get a season ticket as the ‘sold out’ sign went up before I got myself sorted. It took another couple of years before we recorded one of the most momentous league wins in our history but the strategy was sound. It was always going to get there while others played casino football.
This week, Fergus wrote, “The league is important going forward. Filling the seats makes a huge difference to the club’s chances of getting the players it wants, paying the salaries and getting into Europe.
“The rebuilt Celtic Park has 60,000 seats for a purpose. It was built on my belief that 60,000 at every home game would give the club a key advantage. And it has.
“Season ticket cash is essential for Celtic to buy players while TV income is a small fraction of that of the bottom club in the English Premier League. But not all-important. Personal attendance at every game – through and through – is a key part of our culture. It shows how important Celtic is in our lives.
“We both know that you don’t stop being a committed supporter of Celtic because the league doesn’t include Rangers, or because you feel you could pick the few big games you want to attend. For years I went to ‘unimportant games’. In fact, I was at every Celtic game, home and away, in the year before I emigrated to Canada.”
Ticket sales is one of those things which bends more with sentiment than we often consider, but we are at a new beginning this summer, one which many feel hopeful for. I reckon there is a good chance we’ll see an up-click as the Ronny Deila Days start.
Tune in on Friday. After the CQN Lions night at the Greenock Celtic Supporters’ Club on Friday, we will have Bertie Auld on the blog this Friday, 13th. More details later in the week.
And just in case you’ve been living on the moon this past week, watch BBC Alba at 21:00 tonight for the Jock Stein film.
Visit the CQN Bookstore to get Tommy Gemmell to sign your personal copy of his tome, All the Best.
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hamiltontim is praying for oscar
20:47 on 9 June, 2014
TSD
You ever thought of taking up gymnastics?
https://twitter.com/smcfarlane85/status/476082702412943360
::::::
I tried to get that but couldn’t get it to work
quonno
20:56 on 9 June, 2014
The biggest flaw in the Referendum is that voting does not extend to the whole of the UK.
Cynic that I am, I would love to see the English Right Wing media getting its collective knickers in a twist selling Better Together to an audience that it has previously fed a diet of Whingeing, Benefit Junkie Jocks to.
Excellente!
This could be good.
Quonno
Hahaha, brilliant! :)))
Tusker
What makes you think I won’t move back home?
You are correct about where I reside at the moment but things can change and very soon, they just might do so.
Watch this space.
Quonno-thanks for earlier reply, hope technology (see Auldheids post about an hour ago),can be used to facilitate pay as you go fans.HH
Here’s a dilemma for the Yesssers.
If England win the 2014 WC, it will probably boost the Yes Vote in the same way that our 78 WC adventure lost the devolution referendum a few percentage points.
So, will the Yessers be cheering England on to victory? It’s all for the good of the cause, now :-)
thomthethim for oscar ok
20:49 on 9 June, 2014
In light of recent posts about the teaching profession and the manner that one particular troll has used it as a means of insulting me, I have to say I’m disappointed in your link to my profession, it’s irrelevant.
Yes the rules are in place but the only way that they’ll be changed is by challenging them.
Within a week of Celtic being charged for supporters displaying a ‘political banner’, EUFA rolled out banners at every CL game in remembrance of Nelson Mandela.
The GB could easily have replaced the iconic image of Wallace with one of Mandela and the message would have been the same. How ridiculous and petty would the governing body looked then?
Your claim that they wouldn’t have to pay the consequences is wrong. These are season ticket holders who pay their money. They’ve created slogans/tifos etc which Celtic have used to make, I’d imagine, huge sums of money from.
You do know that no sanctions were imposed on the GB or those in section 111 as a result of the banner at the AC Milan game, despite the EUFA charge?
Well not officially anyway because the board feared a backlash from supporters if they were to banish the GB for displaying a banner involving Bobby Sands.
No, the club spuriously used the events at Fir Park a week later to reek their revenge.
Thanks to Googlebhoy………………..
………………………………………………………………
Gaeltacht CSC.
Big Jock’s mate was a total dick
Self determination
Is the only way
Or forever be on slavery
Of your masters
Pissed off
I don’t have a vote
:[
To summarise today’s response to Paul67’s thoughtful lead;
On that Apocalyptic day to come when every Scottish chicken has its own silenced machine-gun, we’ll all be volunteer English vegetarians looking out our work-boots.
I don’t live in Scotland
would love too
Billy Boy
20:19 on 9 June, 2014
‘I’m not a Nationalist’
####
Billy Boy
20:48 on 26 April, 2014
‘I live in Scotland which is a fantastic country and will improve a thousandful when we get rid of Unionists like yourself’
setting free the bears supports Res. 12 & Oscar Knox
Like in most good things in life, we cannot let the end justify the means.
ConsequentialismCSC
Whilst England don’t do irony, they do arrogance ( lived there for 18 years), after winning the World Cup, as per SFTB predictions :-), they decide that even though Scotland voted no to Independence, they decide to become Independent themselves.
Don’t think it couldn’t happen :-)
HH
CRC
I say again
Self determination
Is the only way
Or forever be in slavery
Of your masters
SFTB
This yes voter prefers Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica to England. :))
Think the English pundits will help the yes vote. A 700 year anniversary too!
Had too correct my previous
Post sorry
Ernie Lynch – if those quotes are copied and pasted, they don’t appear to be by Billy Bhoy 05.
I’m interupting the programme to tell anybody who can to tune in to BBC Alba. This must be a Celtic supporter producing this. I’m in tears in parts. Great programme on Mr Stein.
‘It’s a grand old team to play for,’
by Bertie and brought a tear to the eye
ernie lynch
21:20 on 9 June, 2014
Billy Boy
20:19 on 9 June, 2014
‘I’m not a Nationalist’
####
Billy Boy
20:48 on 26 April, 2014
‘I live in Scotland which is a fantastic country and will improve a thousandful when we get rid of Unionists like yourself’
So, there’s nobody cheering for England but me and the rest of the huns :-)
CRC
Hope you are good.
Personally the Homecoming is about as valid as a tin of shortbread. A contrived thing to ring money out of the unwary folk with Scottish tartan aspirations.
The Commonwealth games in Glasgow is a faux celebration of the highpoint of unionism ie the empire. A strange independent Scotland cellie imho.
Bannockburn was the first step towards a pre unionist Scotland as the nobles with most to lose made deals with London.
Have you ever seen the mince they parade in NY in Scotland day. Tartan – pipes – Sean Connery & Salmond. That is the Scotland that Edinburgh wants to shout about & all it does is perpetuate the Harry Lauder image. It ensures tha Scotland is still not taken seriously in the wider world courtesy of our own govt.
HH
Stillundecided csc
First results have just been declared in the Scottish Referendum…..
Croydon votes NO
!!Bada Bing!!
21:08 on
9 June, 2014
Quonno-thanks for earlier reply, hope technology (see Auldheids post about an hour ago),can be used to facilitate pay as you go fans.HH
A bit lost with this one.
SFTB
The huns and the zombies (dead sons and daughters of the huns) support the union, so cannot cheer England in case that breaks the union. :-)
Irony CSC
Do we think that Celtic have brought out a Tartan 3rd strip to subtly influence the referendum Vote?
Corcaigh votail nil…………
setting free the bears supports res. 12 & oscar knox
21:37 on 9 June, 2014
First results have just been declared in the Scottish Referendum…..
Croydon votes NO
:::;;
Brilliant!
Rwe
Good my friend and hope the same for you.
You are probably right on your comments, but it is how it delivered and received through the PR, rather than the actual content.
You didn’t mention the 1966 world cup:-)
HH
CRC
With Fergus coming over to unfurl the flag in August, does Paul know if their is a plan to rename the North Stand The Fergus McCann Stand.
It would be a fitting tribute to the man who stood tall, had a vision that few could see, stumped up his own cash, whipped up interest in our club, built us a magnificent stadium when the media told him he would never fill it, took on the SFA and got rid of Jim Farry.
I find it hard to believe, had Fergus still been around the place, that the licensing of a certain club would have been raised, and resolved, far sooner than it has.
If there is no such plan in place to honour ‘the bunnet’ perhaps the campaign should start here.
I’d like to see England do well at the World Cup. Why not?
Whers big Billy???
justshatered
21:43 on 9 June, 2014
With Fergus coming over to unfurl the flag in August, does Paul know if their is a plan to rename the North Stand The Fergus McCann Stand.
It would be a fitting tribute to the man who stood tall, had a vision that few could see, stumped up his own cash, whipped up interest in our club, built us a magnificent stadium when the media told him he would never fill it, took on the SFA and got rid of Jim Farry.
I find it hard to believe, had Fergus still been around the place, that the licensing of a certain club would have been raised, and resolved, far sooner than it has.
If there is no such plan in place to honour ‘the bunnet’ perhaps the campaign should start here.
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Agree 100%
Billy Boy
19:21 on 9 June, 2014
‘Sunday Times has taken down the text of the interview with Andy Murray that was there early this morning’
#####
Is this the story?
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/style/living/article1417826.ece
Or is this it?
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/scotland/article1420257.ece