Today marks a hugely important anniversary in the history of our football club, and one that was hugely significant on the period of dominance Celtic have had in recent years.
The 4th of March 1994 was the day Fergus McCann grabbed the headlines, as Celtic was saved from going out of business. And alongside the likes of Brian Dempsey and David Low – as well as the determination of a great number within the Celtic support – Celtic FC was saved from the indignity of going out of business.
Fergus McCann of course deservedly receives the plaudits for a successful takeover that rid the club of generations of Kelly and White family rule. However, the Celtic support certainly played a significant role in ensuring Low, Dempsey and McCann were successful.
They may not have had the money or financial expertise these men brought to the table, but they certainly had the passion for the club those looking for a revolution needed for their ultimate success.
That day ended almost 100 years of control of Celtic by two families who were by now completely out of touch, as football was revolutionised by big money transfers and all seater stadia.
Indeed, it could be argued the real catalyst for change came from the investment on the other side of the city and in particular Celtic’s unwillingness to invest in the team after Celtic lifted the Centenary Double in 1988. It appeared the families were unwilling to, or lacked the nous to, position the club where they could compete with Rangers or tap into a fast commercialising of the football landscape.
The lack of investment was not exclusively an issue surrounding the playing squad, Celtic’s infrastructure and in particular the stadium was also in need of modernisation. Yet still the families initially couldn’t see that as an issue either. And much like the failure to build on Jock Stein’s legacy of the 60’s and 70’s, it was looking like Billy McNeill’s success also wouldn’t be capitalised upon. The custodians were proving they were very much yesterday’s men.
After Celtic brought in Michael Kelly the former Lord Provost, to join the board it looked like Celtic may head to Robroyston with Brian Dempsey – also on the Board – at the forefront of a possible new stadium development. Yet relations between Kelly and Dempsey appeared to break down amid suspicion as to Dempsey’s motives. Alongside Chris White, Michael Kelly moved to remove Dempsey from the Celtic board -after only five months in the role – the Robroyston plan fell apart, however, the Civil War arguably began then.
Celtic were treading water at best, drowning at worst. And the latter was a real concern, as the team on the park went from one apathetic season to another and the fans reached breaking point. It was then the support chose to take on the Celtic Board with a view to ending the Kelly and White dynasty.
This, looking back, must have been a difficult decision to reach. After all the Kelly and White influence at Celtic goes back to Celtic’s first ever team, and it shouldn’t be overlooked that many from those families lifted Celtic to be a force in world football, however when you have such genuine concerns about the future you can’t let the past hold you back.
The first supporters group formed with a view to challenge the custodians came in the shape of Save Our Celts, and then the Independent Celtic Supporters Association, but the 1993 emergence of Celts for Change where things really started to develop and a real possibility of revolution began to materialise, with direct action taken and demonstrations outside the ground, as well as picketing the offices of Celtic’s financial backers, the Bank of Scotland.
The Celtic Takeover, 4. Mar 1994
"If I had reported what happened at board meetings no one would have believed me. They would have said Basil Fawlty wrote that."
Former Celtic Chief Exec Terry Cassidy on his time at Celtic (1994)Overview: https://t.co/ICyPUhNoC3 pic.twitter.com/TcygzQsP2o
— JoeBloggsCity (@joebloggscity) March 4, 2023
On March 1st 1994 Celtic’s home game with Kilmarnock was boycotted, and although the board claimed the attendance was over 10,000, Celts for Change had counted in every supporter and returned a figure of just 8,300. That 10,000-crowd figure was significant, as below that number meant the club was is in the red operationally on that match, an unsustainable position for a club already in financial peril.
If there were some in the support – and there were a sizeable number – who remained loyal to the families, that boycott and attendance proved they were now in the minority. The Celts for Change campaign was working.
The Celtic board of course briefed that Celts for Change was simply a front for a disgruntled former board member in Brian Dempsey, and although he and David Low were pushing for change, it certainly appeared the Celts for Change was independent, albeit they held the same interest in removing the board.
Yet still, the by now divided, if not fractured, Celtic board held on to power by the fingernails. With the appointing of Terry Cassidy and David Smith (the first director of the club to be non-Catholic) the board hoped to advertise their version of change alongside a belief such appointments may look to the protestors as a modernising of the club. Cassidy in particular ended up being as unpopular with the Celtic support as he was to those within the Celtic boardroom and the moves quickly backfired.
The Celtic board however, had a plan as a Celtic Village, with a new stadium in Cambuslang, was put forward as the board’s latest plan to appease the support and modernise the club.
4th March 94 a day that a little unknown man in a bunnet walked up to the doors of Celtic park & Done What NO ONE else would do he saved our club in it’s final minutes of existence & done what he said he would do Built us PARADISE for that I’m forever grateful ONELOVE ONECLUB💚⚽️ pic.twitter.com/MUVXGegYcH
— ⚽️Mandy⚽️ (@hoopsghirl88) March 4, 2023
Yet alternative potential buyers were also beginning to emerge. And Fergus McCann, a Croy born Celtic supporter, and a businessman who had emigrated to Canada, where he made his fortune selling Golf holidays in Canada and the US, was the one who received Brian Dempsey’s backing, and also that of the support who also seemed to back his plan to rebuild Celtic Park – something the board at the time had stated was impossible – and sell shares in the club to the Celtic support.
McCann was also well known to the Celtic board, having offered in 1988 to provide Celtic with a low interest loan and build a new two tier stand with a view to introducing hospitality packages. The board in their wisdom had declined his offer. A decision they were to regret.
With a final throw of the dice and with pressure coming at them from all angles, the Celtic board announced a press conference for what they claimed would be one of the most momentous moments in Celtic history. Instead, it was a rehashing of the Cambuslang stadium idea, with the added layer of a Swiss bank now being willing to stump up the cash.
It didn’t take long, less than 24 hours, for the board’s claims to be picked apart and for the funding to be proven to be wishful thinking. And on 3 March 1994, the Bank of Scotland advised, unless a payment of £1m was made within the next 24 hours, the process of winding up Celtic would begin.
With this information in the public domain the Celtic board had ran out of options. On the 3rd of March 1994, Brain Dempsey proclaimed “The battle is over, the rebels have won.” And on 4 March 1994 Fergus McCann announced he completed his takeover of Celtic.
McCann’s legacy remains today in the shape of a 60,000 all-seater stadium that many thought was an over-reach of his ambition. The financial advantage that gives Celtic over the rest of Scottish football shouldn’t be underestimated, particularly when over 53,000 season tickets holders continue to back the club each and every season. Indeed, with a waiting list reportedly in excess of 12,000 you could argue Fergus McCann possibly underestimated demand!
It could also be argued the original Rangers (before they were liquidated in 2012) went out of business trying to keep up with Celtic’s advantage of being able to rely on a dedicated support who fill the stadium on a regular basis.
Fergus McCann was the man with the plan, but it was the supporters who created the environment for his takeover to be a success, much like those who have gone after continue to buy season tickets in the sort of numbers that means every other club remains in the financial shadow of Scotland’s largest supported club.
Quite a different landscape then to the point in history where Fergus McCann and the Celtic support saved their club from the very real threat of extinction. And today it is worth remembering just what a turning point in the history of Celtic that proved to be.
Niall J
“And on the 3rd. March 1994, the Bank of Scotland advised, unless a payment of £1 million pounds was made within the next 24 hours the process of winding up Celtic would begin”.
John Keane? pledged that £1 million pounds – Thanks to Johns speedy contribution trading continued and the wages paid, Administration was averted. THANK YOU JOHN KEANE.
In October 2021 there was over 26,000 Celtic supporting shareholders who put their money into Celtic and who cherish their small holding investment in Celtic. They could be a powerful voice.
John Keane’s contribution totally underestimated & not fully recognised by Celtic faithful. His interjection saved Celtic from David Murray’s pal Williamson at the Bank from foreclosure on Celtic .
Had his cash not arrived at the prescribed time we could have been down the Swanny like Sevco!!!