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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Football is competitive game when title loses it’s competitive nature it loses it’s entertainment value
If you only want to see Celtic entertain you lobby for a a cut price season ticket package for Lennoxtown
Praga Can’t.
petec
I loved the eighties when utd and Aberdeen were not just giving us a game but actually doing the business. I remember the Centenary season when Macca scored the winner up there, it was something to celebrate. Not like putting 9 by them. Ive said it for years that I hate us, ()and that other mob) snapping up the best players in Scotland and in most instances not even playing them. Anyone who can remember the early/mid 80s would surely welcome that kind of competition back ? (and there wasnt much competition from them then either)
Living_in_the_Love_of_the_Commons_People
18:34 on 9 June, 2014
petec
18:25 on 9 June, 2014
Nice one. Personally, as someone who has a knowledge of firearms myself, the most interesting thing about this article for me, was that the polis are getting silencers fitted to many of their issued sidearms.
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I think everyone should have a gun locked in their OWN home. I mean EVERYONE.
hamiltontim is praying for oscar
16:18 on 9 June, 2014
thomthethim for Oscar OK
16:11 on
9 June, 2014
Maybe the club should grow some cahoneys and start disputing some of these fines, which frankly have been ridiulous in their severity and nature.
******
Maybe the ones who cause the fines should grow a brain and explain why they persist in damaging the club.
Stop defending the indefensible.
HT
Ask to see the pic I posted earlier … The punishment befits the crime
Reminds me a wee bit of the old school days when we got the tash but this is a paddle on another body part ;)
When you take your customer base for granted and believe the green pound will continue to swell the coffers, whatever you do, one day you wake up and realise that the cash cow is no more and you have to work hard to earn your cash.
Perhaps, the £1m question is, have those in power woke up in time? Time for them to start earning their pay, me thinks!
HH
CRC
Ps I renewed before Fergus and MWD did :-)
Petec
Thanks fur the reply.
Heck..it is O.K. fur Us tae Be at odds..in This Yin..
No Sweat..
Nice tae Chat,palomin.. as Usual
Kojo
Still,Laughin’
Gotta Go,joe..
seeYa
I think everyone should have a gun locked in their OWN home. I mean EVERYONE.
Nutter.
BocchiniBhoy
18:46 on 9 June, 2014
I think everyone should have a gun locked in their OWN home. I mean EVERYONE.
Nutter.
########
explain, please.
HT
Section 144.
Shall we talk about psychotropic Drugs?
pharmakeia is not good Son
petec
I think he thinks youre a nutter
i think
HH
I dont think it needs much explanation. Anyone who advocates the wholesale useage of firearms is a nutcase.
TBJ
Her pal’s in just now so probably best not ask now :-)
Thomthethim
On the contrary, it’s because I think it’s worth defending that I made my initial point.
You see things differently and that’s fine but in my opinion if Celtic had challenged some of the charges brought by EUFA for banners/songs they would have been thrown out.
TGCW
Is that North Stand or Jock Stein? Upper or lower?
BocchiniBhoy
18:54 on 9 June, 2014
I dont think it needs much explanation. Anyone who advocates the wholesale useage of firearms is a nutcase.
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As Auldheid says, We will see.
Nice distortion btw.
Best Fergus moment was the Q P pie “debate”
Brilliant
We can get away from the Yes/No debate and start one up about gun laws ?
Mon The Hoops
Our hardcore has to be circa 30k which is more than the late 70s/80s. Personally I couldn’t imagine not going to watch Celtic and I’m not sure quite how anyone could influence the strategy of the PLC short of buying control.
Best of luck to our new manager. It might have been time for a change and Ronny any chance of bringing you number 67 from back home? Youtube this fellah btw.
Thanks for everything NFL and you’ll always be one of us. HH.
Petec
“I think everyone should have a gun locked in their OWN home. I mean EVERYONE.”
Petec, think you’re a great guy, but me and Oscar Pistorius’ burd disagree with your above post.
Distortion
You are proposing all households should have a firearm as I understand it.
If so you are a dangerous crackpot. There is no we will see about it.
Video up on a NewsNow link showing Deila bidding farewell to the fans. He got a great send-off, a standing ovation. If he gets the same from the Celtic support one day he’ll be doing very well.
The Comfortable Collective
19:00 on 9 June, 2014
Petec
“I think everyone should have a gun locked in their OWN home. I mean EVERYONE.”
Petec, think you’re a great guy, but me and Oscar Pistorius’ burd disagree with your above post.
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Ta, I really appreciate the comment, it is society that is going wonky.
I’d hate to ever kill anything, I was very upset when I ran over a chicken, I tried to make sure it survived but My excellent driving skills, well they were not enough. The Renton Road lived up to its name that day in my mind.
Aidan continuously ribs me about running over a chicken, I hope he never, ever feels like I did that day, at that moment. Chicken is my staple diet as well.
bocchinibhoy
19:02 on 9 June, 2014
What’s that story about wrestling with farm animals in mud ?
Take my advice.
Don’t get into the mud.
Eddieinkirkmichael
just in from work in case you posted earlier?
scrolling through but don’t see you…..
Sunday Times has taken down the text of the interview with Andy Murray that was there early this morning
In the VIP section (it might actually have been the Royal Box) at Centre Court, Andy Murray was cheered-on by David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and, sitting one row behind, by Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland. As Murray clinched the match and the championship, the BBC cut to a shot of Cameron in the crowd. There is every chance the BBC Sport producer who controlled the camera feeds had no idea who the man behind Cameron was, the man with a beaming smile and a Scotland flag.
Surely it is perfectly understandable for the First Minister of Scotland to celebrate such a fantastic sporting achievement by a Scot, and if anyone has the right to wave a Scottish flag on such an occasion, then surely no-one could object to it being done by the elected First Minister of the country?
Well, actually, the ‘Tame Jock Cringe’ exhibited by some members of British unionist political parties apparently knows no bounds. Rather than celebrate Andy Murray’s sensational win, some Scots representing British parties focussed on Alex Salmond and took exception to Scotland’s First Minister waving Scotland’s flag as a Scotsman secured victory on an international sporting stage.
Willie Bain (apparently he is a Labour MP) was reported saying, “In my experience, real tennis fans support their favourite players for who they are and how they play – let’s keep the stunts out of it.” So, Scotland’s First Minister proudly waving the flag of Scotland is a ‘stunt’. Only in the very small mind of a cringing Tame Jock could a Scottish flag flying to signify a Scottish sporting victory be construed as something negative.
But Mr Bain’s comments were not the worst in the self-loathing stakes. Alistair Carmichael (apparently he is a Lib Dem MP) actually went as far as complaining to the organisers of the Wimbledon tournament, asking, “next year, can you please search him [Alex Salmond] more carefully”.
Perhaps Mr Carmichael or his British unionist party would care to expand on why the flag of Scotland should be confiscated from the First Minister of Scotland as he goes about his legitimate business of advancing Scotland’s interests or even just supporting a very talented Scottish sportsman?
On September 18 next year we have the opportunity to re-take Scotland’s political independence. Not only will independence allow us to govern our own country in the interests of the people of Scotland, it will see us re-take our place on the world stage as a normal, independent nation. No longer would we feel the need to define ourselves in terms of our larger neighbour to the south. No longer would England be in a position to dominate and run Scotland. Perhaps, then, when Scots can stand proud as the people of an independent country, we can also be confident enough in ourselves to support England in the World Cup (if Scotland hasn’t qualified) – and perhaps people like Willie Bain and Alistair Carmichael might find some self-belief and pride in their country, assuming they accept Scotland is a country and not just a region of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
02 Betlin
Walking Papers followed by Aerosmith…
We got a striker yet or still trying to kid everyone on?
BackinthesaddleCSC
You won’t need to wait on another Seville for the non believers to return. A new team called Sevco will have them flooding back.
Did we miss out on “striker” Miller?
Billy Bhoy
I am in no way a Scottish Nationalist, but well said my friend !!!!!
Weeminger
I am appealing my yellow card as I am not long back in and I have responded to some of the comments my post on Andy Murray generated.
A further point to make. I have a photograph on my text of a statement that Downing Street asked Obama to back union taken from Sky news but I cannot put it on
Thomthethim
defending the indefensible is what the Govan lot did. Redhand/nazi salutes in Israel.
And won
Our lot wont defend the defensible.
They are like the classroom sycophant sucking up to the teacher and dropping everyone else in it
The above post is not a starting point of another teacher debate.
I thank you
Haw,BillyBhoy…
Scottish Artists ‘Too Scared to Oppose Independence’
by Nick Hallett
8 Jun 2014
Scottish musicians, poets, writers and actors are too afraid to declare that they are voting ‘no’ in the forthcoming independence referendum due to the amount of abuse they face from fanatical nationalists.
Composer James MacMillan made the claim on Twitter last week when he told his followers: “Major Scottish artist to me this morning: ‘I am afraid to speak. I don’t want to get my head kicked in’.” MacMillan declined to name any names, but did say that the artist was “one of many who’ve said more or less the same thing”.
The composer, who until recently was conductor with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, told the Times that artists who voice opposition to Scottish independence could see their whole careers transformed.
“If you are seen as a controversial figure it could have an impact on who decides to follow you, come to a concert, see your work, buy your music, and so on,” he said.
He also said that it was much easier to for artists to declare themselves in favour of independence than against: “The fact is, on one side, there is an ease about speaking out. On the other, people choose to keep quiet. That might be cowardice on their part, but one wonders why the fear is there. When I am out of Scotland I can speak more openly about these things because there is not the same toxicity.”
When an online magazine surveyed 40 Scottish rock musicians about their views on independence, half responded “don’t know” with just seven saying “no”. The violinist Nicola Benedetti earlier this week also declined to say how she would vote, saying she was “terrified either way”.
Tom Morton, a presenter on BBC Radio Scotland, was subjected to relentless online abuse after writing a newspaper article in favour of the Union. He told the Times: “There seems to me a knee-jerk, politically naive response from strident voices within the arts community but a number of people on that scene have told me they fear going public on their ‘no’ stance because of the potential repercussions.
“A number of the Nationalist campaigners have sworn never to listen to the Morton Through Midnight Show again, which is a shame. The show contains absolutely no political comment from me and is one of the few national outlets for Scottish artists, old and new, politically aligned or not.”
In another example of nationalist intimidation, writer Gavin Bowd last year published a book called Fascist Scotland, criticising famous Scottish nationalists including poet Hugh MacDiarmid, who favoured a Nazi victory in the Second World War.
When an extract of the book appeared in a Sunday newspaper, nationalist campaigners daubed the paper’s headquarters with graffiti and a petition calling for a boycott reached 4,000 signatures. Bowd was also forced to seek police protection after he received a barrage of abuse and threats over the internet.
James MacMillan it not without criticism himself, however. Last year he generated controversy by comparing Scottish nationalists to “Mussolini’s cheerleaders”
\☺. \☺. \☺. \☺. \☺. \☺. \☺.
*ttp://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-London/2014/06/08/Scottish-Artists-Afraid-to-Support-Union
Billy Bhoy
19:16 on
Can you email me mate eddieinkirkmichael@hotmail.com
weeminger
13:23 on
9 June, 2014
!!Bada Bing!!
12:59 on
9 June, 2014
It takes at least a minute to do a debit card transaction. Let’s say there’s 100 seats free in each of the 3 sections served by my turnstiles that 5 hours to get all the seats sold.
I agree a way needs to be found but that’s not it. I’d have all the available tickets printed off in the morning and a ‘take what you’re given’ flat fee of £10-15.
===================
In the Celtic App include Match Day Ticket Purchase to find a seat and purchase on your mobile at the ground..
Once at CP and when there is some seating in The Celtic Way area, sit down and purchase a ticket using Celtic’s Wi Fi whilst having a coffee .
Get your Ticket downloaded as one of those Mobile Bar Codes as proof of purchase (see http://mobile-barcode.tmcnet.com/ ).
Finish yer coffee wander to the gate with a scanner installed which by this time has your purchased code in its memory bank. Scan using your phone and yer in.
You might even be happy to pay Celtic £3 a month just for that App or £10 a month in a Membership Scheme App that includes that functionality and others in it which would help offsets the capital to set up such a system..
The big disincentive to Celtic introducing facilities to make game by game purchase easier is that they want as much ticket money as possible in up front so that no matter whether folk fancy going on any given day or if results and performance put folk off, the club is not hostage to those fickle fortunes of football.
To start going the road of providing supporters with easier ways to pay to support Celtic a total rethink is required by both club and support. Its not bums on seats that matter, its income. Times have changed since Fergus was a boy and Celtic need to change with them.
I’m away to write something up on that.