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Ibrox fans hope for a Fergus McCann. But what he did at Celtic is impossible there.

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Image for Ibrox fans hope for a Fergus McCann. But what he did at Celtic is impossible there.

One of the common threads you see on Ibrox fan media at the moment is their open longing for a revolution to sweep through their club. They dream of someone arriving to answer all their problems and set them on a good strategic path. What they don’t seem to realise is that what they’re truly wishing for is their own Fergus McCann. And that amuses me for a number of reasons.

There’s an outstanding book that every Celtic fan should read, written by my good friend Stephen O’Donnell. It’s called Fergus McCann Versus David Murray, and it was published in 2020, long after the events of 2012 made it clear which of those two men won that particular war. McCann did everything right; Murray did everything wrong. McCann was a visionary and a genius. Murray was a blowhard.

For decades, Ibrox fans probably believed Murray had seen Fergus off. They likely thought Murray was destined to be the one history remembered as coming out on top. But it didn’t work out that way. Fergus is now feted and hailed as a Celtic hero, while Murray is an Ibrox pariah, hated by those who once would have bowed to kiss his feet. The liquidation of Rangers sealed his fate.

One day, there will be a statue of Fergus outside Celtic Park. I know he’s a humble man who doesn’t want any big deal made about it, but he is the father of modern Celtic. Meanwhile, Ibrox fans are waiting for a man like that, without even recognising that’s what they’re doing. They remain largely ignorant of what Fergus actually did.

There will never be a Fergus McCann at Ibrox. The chance for that came and went in 2012 when they allowed Rangers’ assets to be snapped up by Charles Green. I have to laugh at all these people who now talk about protecting the club. Where were they when everything that could be packaged and sold was being hawked around like a tea set at a bring-and-buy sale?

Fergus knew exactly what he was doing and what he wanted to achieve. He also understood that, to succeed, he’d need the fans’ help. I bought my first season ticket for the North Stand. My family bought shares. We all believed in what Fergus wanted to do. Most importantly, Fergus made it clear that Celtic would be built by us. Yes, he would provide the expertise and some initial funding, but the club would ultimately belong to the fans. And I love that. I still love it. I only wish the part about the club being owned by us had also come to pass.

Fergus saw Celtic’s untapped potential.

He knew the club was being run by people who didn’t understand what they had on their hands. They didn’t know how to modernise it, how to upgrade it, or how to make it function as a sustainable business first and a successful football club second. At the time, Celtic was an undeveloped club. We didn’t have a modern stadium, a business plan, or a long-term vision. Fergus changed all that.

He realised that our dilapidated ground and outdated leadership could be modernised and made to work far better. Building a new stadium was just part of the plan. Fergus saw enormous growth potential in Celtic. He identified untapped markets, unexplored opportunities, and ways to expand the fan base. He knew the only problem Celtic had was the lack of a plan. And once he started putting that plan into place, we only got bigger, better, and stronger. Fergus bet a lot of his own money on that, and I’ve never grudged him a single penny of the profits he took out.

There are two reasons why there won’t be a Fergus at Ibrox.

The first is that Fergus was resolute in his vision. He wasn’t interested in popularity contests or appeasing dissenting voices. He was determined to do things his way because he believed in his plan.

A small section of our support even booed him when he unfurled the league flag—a moment of shame for those involved. But Fergus wasn’t there to win over everyone; he was there to secure the long-term betterment of the club. No one at Ibrox today has that kind of courage, and I doubt anyone would step forward to run that club with such resolve. After all, who would want to invest so much time and effort, only to become the target of hatred from their notoriously hostile support?

Secondly, Ibrox isn’t an underdeveloped business. There’s no potential for growth. The club is operating at maximum capacity, yet it makes losses every year. There’s no way to implement a new business plan that would add tens of millions to the balance sheet, which is what they’d need just to post a modest profit.

So, they’re hoping for something that cannot happen. When a club has no growth potential, it doesn’t matter who runs the show. The next Ibrox board—if there is one—will either inherit a gutted-out club or be forced to undertake that gutting themselves. Tens of millions need to be slashed from the cost base just to break even. That’s the reality of their situation.

The truth their fans need to grasp is this: no one is coming to save them. No one is going to buy the shares of the existing directors and embark on a transformative, strategic pivot. The conditions that allowed Fergus McCann to succeed at Celtic don’t exist at Ibrox. The opportunity for change came in 2012, but they squandered it. Thirteen years later, it’s gone. And it’s not coming back.

Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images

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5 comments

  • Clachnacuddin and the Hoops says:

    But, But, But, But – Hold Hold…

    A guy / lassie that usually writes repetitive drivel and pish pot jerker on CQN says that Elon Musk is gonna chuck millions upon millions of ‘loose change’ at Sevco (Not ‘Rangers’ as he / she and most others there call Sevco)…

    So all in the world is pure grand then and they all live happily ever after –

    Because that repetitive guy / lassie says it is !!!

  • MarkB says:

    One of the saddest moments ever for me … we are unveiling the flag after stopping their ten in a row. And people are booing Fergus. Absolutely disgraceful. Should have been one of the best days sadly spoilt for me by these idiots. I won’t even get into why they booed him that is even more alarming!!!!!

    • BigDodds150 says:

      We got lucky with Fergus, right guy at right time,he came when football clubs started being on stock exchange, his share issue was at that time the most succesful in the world,later floats of other clubs were terrible, I don’t begrudge the man a penny of the £40m+ he walked away with,he earned it, told us 5 year project and he was as good as his word and achieved everything he set out to do, the booing was disgraceful, should never had happened,fans were watching Murray spend 30m a season and wanted the same at Celtic,thankfully we didn’t as we all know what happened at Ibrox

  • Gerry says:

    Fergus McCann…a modern day legend, and I look forward to his statue being unveiled at our stadium, in due course !!
    Shame on anyone that booed him !
    HH

    • Clachnacuddin and the Hoops says:

      I certainly didn’t boo him – But I did get into trouble from good old ‘E’ Division for a verbal volley at his trusted lutenant and wingman Jock Brown…

      Ah the (Becoming) distant memories !!!

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