Continue reading Tom Grant’s Celtic Park Photographs, Building Fergus McCann’s Dream Stadium….
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Tom Grant’s Celtic Park Photographs, Building Fergus McCann’s Dream Stadium
FERGUS McCANN gained control of Celtic Football Club on 4 March 1994. “The war is over, the rebels have won” – 4 March, 1994, Fergus McCann paid the banks and took over Celtic, overthrowing a century of the Whyte’s and Kelly’s running the club and so created the modern day Celtic.
Without Fergus it could have ended up so differently for Celtic. God bless Fergus.
David Low, now Chair of the Celtic Trust, was there advising Fergus back in 1994. When he was interviewed on The Celtic Star he talked about all of the events that even 26 years on still seem like yesterday. Snippets like…
• Weisfeld nipped in at the end, before McCann took over. Weisfeld’s step-son, Michael McDonald, is still on the board.
• That Celtic had 5,000 Rangers shares in 1994 and they were quickly sold, this echoing Craig Whyte who found and sold shares in Arsenal when he took over at Ibrox before that club died, going into liquidation in 2012.
It was Fergus who delivered.
• That it was definitely Michael Kelly and Chris White who held out for a wedge, and that Tom Grant, Kevin Kelly and Jack McGinn didn’t; and they still go to Celtic Park unlike the others.
• That the Masterton / Murray relationship had nothing to do with the hardball tactics from the bank towards Celtic.
• Low gave ‘Celts for Change’ their place, he describes them as a “street movement” who wouldn’t have forced change without the ‘money men’.
Celtic have thrived and Rangers have died since Fergus took over 26 years ago today.
He built the 60,000 seater Stadium that he promised – and The Celtic Star is currently showing you the remarkable photographs courtesy of Tom Grant – who worked for Fergus in re-building Paradise…
Maybe Fergus deserves more than this recognition at Celtic Park?
McCann was assisted by Tom Grant who went on to work alongside Fergus in keeping his promise to build a 60,000 all-seater stadium at Celtic Park.
We have been showcasing a collection of photographs given the The Celtic Star by Tom Grant, who wanted the Celtic Support to see them. Grant worked as the project manager on the demolition of the old Celtic Park’s Jungle, Celtic End and Rangers End and was there just about every day as work took place in building the magnificent stadium we know and love today.
All that was down to the vision and the determination of one man – Fergus McCann.
We are taking you through the work that was done from 1994 in the months after the successful take-over. Fergus wasn’t messing about and work was started amazing quickly as soon as the season was over to demolish the old stadium.
Building Fergus McCann’s Dream Stadium…
Moving onto today’s photographs from the building work taking place at Celtic Park in early 1995, starting on the next page…
I consider myself privileged that i lived during the era of the jungle, was no better place in the ground especially to be especially victories over them.
what a transformation all that needs done now is to do the main front stand in future looks a bit out of place now need the full stadium same height i know front part of it is listed but im sure it can be worked around make stadium bigger we got a massive following so be no problem filling the seats