I wasn’t engaged in Celtic politics 20 years ago, never attended the Celts for Change meetings and I wasn’t there to hear ‘The rebels have won!’ in person, but it was clear the Celtic Movement had achieved a remarkable revolution.
The old board’s biggest failing was its lack of strategy. 20 years on Fergus McCann rightly receives the plaudits for putting his money where his mouth was but until that very week he was merely one cog in the machine. Celts for Change were the advance party, others, such as McCann and John Keane were the generals, playing a critical role in the revolution, while the circa 30,000 fans who came forward to buy season tickets and shares were the foot soldiers who did the heavy lifting.
It cost £620 to participate in the subsequent share issue. People borrowed money in order to do their bit – in order to help Celtic, while others clubbed together to raise the target amount. This was an era when credit was even less pervasive as it has been in recent years. Thousands ‘did without’ to make this happen, and no one knew this more than Fergus.
The Revolution came 20 years after Jock Stein’s world record nine-in-a-row, but the intervening period brought obscurity in Europe, only once did we progress beyond Christmas and that was after overcoming Dundalk and Partizan Tirana. Six league titles were won.
The 20 years since have produced nine titles, with another in the oven, while former directors of former clubs are talking about the prospect of Celtic winning 10-in-a-row. We’ve had Seville, and lots of genuinely great achievements in the Champions League. It has been a fantastic two decades.
The one thing Fergus drove most thoroughly was his vision of the club’s social mission. Bhoys against Bigotry and Celtic Charity were launched and put squarely in the middle of who we are as a club. The renamed Celtic Foundation has grown and now engages thousands of fans each year in outstanding feats of generosity. If we are not ‘just another club’ this is the reason. If you’re not involved, get involved.
Over the years I’ve heard talk about a monument to Fergus, which would be entirely inappropriate, the man is a low-profile pragmatist, but we’re overlooking the biggest monument in sport. When he took over as managing director, Celtic Park was a magnificent football arena but fit only for our memories. We needed a safe, all-seater stadium. He raised £14m at a share issue, built the biggest football stadium in Britain apart from the decrepit Wembley, and left five years later with the club around £2.5m in debt.
It was an economic miracle which still beggars belief. I cannot explain how on earth this was achieved.
So Fergus, take a bow, you were years ahead of your time; ruthlessly uncompromising, just when we needed the same, but to those who only wanted to do their bit, without a wish for credit or glory, treat yourself this Pancake Tuesday, you deserve it. Every goal since is down to you.
Congratulations to Peter Lawwell on his appointment to the executive board of the European Club Association (ECA), alongside Bayern’s Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Milan’s Umberto Gandini, Ajax’ van der Sar and Ivan Gazidis of Arsenal; a heavy-hitting team. The appointment reflects not only on Peter Lawwell but on the fans and everyone who makes the club what it is.
Celtic are the club who more than any other in Europe have been disenfranchised by the drift of football success away from meritocracy to TV markets. Denied access to the TV markets neighbours enjoy, their status will inevitably decline further compared to those in other territories.
Do the ECA care? They will now. If football is to continue its 150 year tradition as a meritocratic sport, structural change must come. Celtic have been promoting this message consistently for years, so the ECA know who they have invited into the room. Let’s get on with it.
Seville, The Celtic Movement, launches this month.
“The long walk home from the game was memorable for the incredible reaction we got from the locals. They applauded each of us as we walked past their homes in recognition of what took place in their city throughout the day. Things like this don’t happen but that day was different. Seville, like Lisbon, will always remember Celtic.”
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Four months out for Nir Biton? Bloody friendly internationals.
He was coming into a real run of good games and it’s a real pity that he will miss out for the rest of the season. Hopefully he will come back just as good for our next European adventure.
Ouch,that’s gotta hurt!
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/fake-condoms-lubricated-heavy-duty-hand-3211296
I mean,Swarfega?!
GORDON J
I agree that he was looking the part prior to his injury.
Worryingly,so too did Izzy and Kayal,for instance.
Get well soon,Nir. Bring your form back along with your fitness.
Ernie
Maligning a person or group for their membership or presumed membership of the Orange Order is smack bang in the centre of S74:
For the purposes of this section, an offence is aggravated by religious prejudice if—
(a) at the time of committing the offence or immediately before or after doing so, the offender evinces towards the victim (if any) of the offence malice and ill-will based on the victim’s membership (or presumed membership) of a religious group, or of a social or cultural group with a perceived religious affiliation; or
(b) the offence is motivated (wholly or partly) by malice and ill-will towards members of a religious group, or of a social or cultural group with a perceived religious affiliation, based on their membership of that group.
Note: There need not be a victim. It is the act of evincing ill-will that is the offence.
The Orange Order, being a self-described Protestant Fraternity, is a “social or cultural group with a perceived religious affiliation”.
Beyond the moot, and more particularly in the real world, failing to recognise and understand this is likely for some to end with them with a religiously aggravated conviction to their name.
Better to learn the easy way – reading it here – than the hard way.
Battered Bunnet. 9:56
A really sensible approach
Billy Bhoy 05,
I am Scottish. I would only ever want to play for Scotland (not that I was ever good enough ). But it is beyond dispute that the SFA (and the SNP) have pandered to the bigoted support of that liquidated team. As a consequence, I haven’t gone to a game for years, although I am still more interested in their result than I ever will be of Ireland.
Salmond , imo, will say and do anything to get the result he wants. I don’t think he has answered the economic questions asked of him. Personally, I think Scotland could not survive economically on its own.
We cannot take automatic acceptance into the EU (or the Euro, if that is made a condition). Other countries have their own reasons for keeping us out.
take= take for granted.
Ernie
We all know CM was a member and we all also know that he has not been a member for the last 4 or 5 years.
Btw what party is Gorgeous George the Cat-woman now in? It seems he wants to be President of Scotland.
I`m a Jock.
I`m a Tim.
I love this photograph.
And I don`t give a damn who he`s hugging.
Broooony……………………
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/latest/strachan-s-scots-continue-winning-ways-in-warsaw-1-3330411
Well done Scotland, good on ye Broonie………….
Delighted for WGS.
A win is a win and the team will take some heart and the feelgood factor can only be a good thing.
Billy Bhoy
First i’m sorry my post has got you ivolved with others
Second i’m Scottish and hopefully be proud again in this wee mixed up beautifull vountry of ours
Thirdly , over the last year , i have offered friends and familys kids the start of a job
6 out of ten asked ” what time do i need to get up at ” that was their first ?
3 said it wasnt what they wanted to do
The other one said they were happy enough on their phones and computer to their like minded freinds all day.
Also there is also far more serious issues wrong with Scotland , but i try to stick to tjings i sort of know about (in ma heed anyhoo)
As for Scottish players picking other countries to play for teir choice my freind , anyhow meed to go , catch up we ye laters :)) …ps
HT thank you for highlighting the fact there are some folk with same mentality as masel
Oooft cheers bud :))
Parkheadcumsalford
10:01 on
6 March, 2014
We will carry on using the pound, and nothing can stop that. Whether we have a currency union is another matter.
bankie
Great minds…………………
Billy Bhoy 05
09:06 on
6 March, 2014
Frank Ryan
You failed to answer my question. Are you Scottish?
==
No i am Irish however i have lived in Scotland for the best part of 20 years. My grandmother was a Scot. Does this qualify me to have an opinion on matters pertaining to Scotland or is it only WASP born within the geographical entity know as Scotland that are qualified to offer an opinion or have a say in Wee Alexs divorce plans?
Mac……..
aye…………………
HH.
Big thumbs and wee letters no a good combi when ye shake asuch as me (bloody phone)
Outahere …..
“Impeach Bawface.”
THE BATTERED BUNNET
When I go for a drink with my mates in Kilwinning,we would fill the local nick in five minutes due to some of our terms of endearment.
It’s difficult to argue with the wording of that particular Act,though. Its use down here would be mainly to protect minorities such as the Moslem or Jewish communities. And rightly so.
Substituting derogatory terms for either of the above instead of Orange shows why the Act is correct. And necessary.
The Battered Bunnet
09:56 on 6 March, 2014
That deals with aggravation.
There has to be an offence in the first place.
What’s the offence?
BotP? For using the word B at a football match? For singing at a football match?
Parkheadcumsalford
Thanks for your points you’ve raised on economics. The answers are out there but you need to look for them. If you seriously think we cannot do better than what happening just now then there is no hope. Look at the economic arguments and see that we pay more, much more than we receive back.
Regarding Europe there is a real possibility the UK will secede.
Billy Bhoy 05
07:26 on 6 March, 2014
‘I feel physically sick when a young Scottish player pulls on an Irish shirt.’
——————————————————————————————-
Can you explain that more fully? Is it only Irish shirts that would cause that feeling, or would it be the same if they choose some other country they were eligible for – perhaps Switzerland?
Are you sickened cause you want to see the best young talent turn out for Scotland? Or is it the blockages put in place by the SFA that causes some of the best young talent to turn out for other nations they are eligible for?
As it’s written it just looks flat out racist.
frank ryan’s whiskey
10:09 on 6 March, 2014
Billy Bhoy 0509:06 on6 March, 2014
Frank RyanYou failed to answer my question. Are you Scottish?==No i am Irish however i have lived in Scotland for the best part of 20 years. My grandmother was a Scot. Does this qualify me to have an opinion on matters pertaining to Scotland or is it only WASP born within the geographical entity know as Scotland that are qualified to offer an opinion or have a say in Wee Alexs divorce plans?
————————————————
I would say you have every right to have an opinion, and you spell whiskey the correct way for Whiskey outwith, the best wee country in the world……!
Ayrshire is Green and White
FRANK RYANS WHISKEY
There’s a brilliant cartoon halfway down this page.
http://www.frankryans.com
Frank Ryan
You stay in Scotland and are entitled to a vote. But I would have thought you would have known this isn’t about Salmond but about the Yes vote. I would also have thought that you would know that the raison d’être of SNP is independence, and once this achieved SNP will fragment into various Parties. I’ve said it here before and I will repeat, I will be voting for a Scottish Labour Party.
If you think about it would be better for wee Alex to chuck at the very top.
Please talk to Dennis Canavan about any doubts you have Frank, that’s a genuine suggestion and I hope you take it as such
Parkheadcumsalford
“We cannot take automatic acceptance into the EU (or the Euro, if that is made a condition). Other countries have their own reasons for keeping us out.”
If that is a genuine concern for you – and why shouldn’t it be – I would suggest holding fire until the upcoming Euro Election for an indication of the direction of travel for the UK as a member of the EU.
As I said Ernie, your argument only has validity in a moot setting, and I don’t have time today for a moot debate.
Principle: Protected Human Characteristics, being gender, sexuality, religion, race (ethnicity, nationality etc.) and so on. Membership (or presumed membership) of a group affiliated with a religion falls foursquare within the definition at law.
Best
Mrs GM feels physically sick when I take my football strip off.
Captain of Celtic.Captain of Scotland.Every manager speaks of him in glowing terms.Never left out of any team when fit.
Yet still we have numpties in the support who dont rate him.So much for their opinion.
The Battered Bunnet
10:24 on 6 March, 2014
Are you aware of any case involving that song which has resulted in a conviction?
Ernie,
how many times must it be said,”We are not voting for SNP,or Salmond,or whoever else people dont like”.We are voting to be free.Free to chose who we think should be in power,in our own country.
A fabulous pic of wee Mackenzie Furniss at the controls of an aircraft in the DR. This was her on the way to Germany and she is doing no bad at all. All the best to her
TURKEYBHOY
Assuming you are resident in Turkey-and myself being in England-neither of us should be concerned about our votes not counting.
We don’t have one!
We’ll just have to console ourselves with the thought that we would cancel each other out anyway.
I’m confused. Do we vote for independence then ask another party to run the country – a party that didn’t want independence in the first place? How does that work?
Changed days indeed, first time I’ve seen a Scotland goalie in an all green kit on, if fact I think it’s the first time I’ve seen a Scotland goalie with ANYTHING GREEN ON, I could be wrong mind yi?
BILLY BHOY 05
Thanks,bud. I couldn’t find it on their main site,but it was worth the effort.
Cancer girl Mackenzie Furniss takes the pilot seat as she flies to Germany for life-saving treatment
Mar 06, 2014 08:18 By Dailyrecord.co.uk 0 Comments
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THE Scottish 10-year-old faces six months of gruelling therapy in Stuttgart to stop her body rejecting a stem-cell transplant from her dad.
Mackenzie in the cockpit on the way to Germany
A BRAVE schoolgirl got to take the controls of a jet during a flight to Germany for life-saving treatment.
Cancer patient Mackenzie Furniss was given the rare chance to sit in the pilot’s seat of the 600mph Cessna Citation when she flew to Stuttgart for six months of therapy.
The 10-year-old, who has aggressive childhood cancer neuroblastoma, made history last year by becoming the first person to receive a new form of stem cell treatment in the UK.
Mackenzie, from Sauchie, Clackmannanshire, flew with her dad, Jason, 39, on Sunday. He also made medical history last year by becoming the first Scottish parent to donate stem cells to their own child.
Mackenzie received the stem cell transplant at Yorkhill Hospital, Glasgow, in November after the Scottish Government agreed to fund the treatment.
The Record told how she recorded a video of herself singing the Pink hit So What I’m Still a Rock Star during
chemotherapy.
Mackenzie with dad Jason on the flight
The transplant, devised by Professor Peter Lang, a doctor in Stuttgart, had never been tried in Scotland before. But Mackenzie has to travel to Germany for treatment to stop the transplant being rejected.
Jason said yesterday they’ll be in Germany for 10 days before coming home – a routine they’ll have to repeat five times.
He added: “She’ll get eight hours of treatment a day. As soon as the stuff goes into your blood, it’s very, very painful – that’s why she’s being given morphine. She’ll miss being at home but she knows this is important.
“If she does relapse, that’s it really. We try not to think too much on the negative. Hope is all we have.
“Mackenzie’s still smiling.”
On Facebook, Mackenzie’s mum Kimberley said: “Mackenzie arrived safely in Germany and is settling into hospital. It looks like she had a fun journey.”
Pals wished Mackenzie good luck. Linda Docherty said: “Keep smiling sweetheart. Hope it all goes well”
Turkeybhoy
10:30 on 6 March, 2014
Free from what?
Capitalism?
The EU?
Sterling?
Monetary Union?
The Monarchy?
They English Basturts?
Funny how they have managed to tag a Celtic chant onto the story now. There was no mention of it originally.
A TAXI driver who told passengers speaking the Irish language in his car to leave the vehicle has had his licence suspended.
Alan McKinnon has been taken off the roads for a month and instructed to take a customer courtesy course after Glasgow City Council accepted he had breached several conditions of his licence.
As reported in the Evening Times in January, Mr McKinnon, from Bridgeton, was accused of offloading four passengers at the side of the road at 1am just before Christmas after they objected to his demand that they stop speaking in Irish, and a row about singing a chant involving Celtic.
A complaint by the nephew of two of the passengers, brothers Anthony and Joseph Blair from Donegal, was then lodged.
At yesterday’s licensing committee hearing, chairman Councillor Chris Kelly asked if Mr McKinnon had a difficulty dealing with passengers.
His agent said his client had no such difficulty and that after 19 years of service, the incident was an “aberration”.
Joseph Blair said: “I would not want the driver to lose his licence or job, as we all make mistakes, but he should learn from them.”
Billy Bhoy 05
I wish Aiden McGeady and James McCarthy were both available to play for Scotland.
However, I would respectfully suggest that your admission that you feel physically sick when they play for Ireland takes away from the credibility of the rest of the case you put forward….Or alternatively indicates that you are perhaps actually ill generally, in which case apologies.