Celtic Takeover | Celtic Board | Celtic’s Foundation | About Celtic
Details
Name: David Low
Ref: ‘Rebel’, Part of the the Rebel Investors group during Celtic Takeover (1994)
Notes: The Celtic Trust supporters’ group president (2020)
Biog
| “We were always a loose coalition…The only thing we had in common was our love of Celtic.” David Low |
This interesting character has a notable place in Celtic history, but his name will mostly be found in the footnotes.
His work was all off-field but he was a key figure during the hectic days of the Celtic Takeover in the early 1990s. His position in reflection can be described as a Machiavellian Spin Doctor for the Rebel Investors in their efforts to overcome the old Biscuit Tin board. With all the machinations during the period, it was a much needed role, and a more realistic assessment of his part would be to describe his role as having been a financial facilitator.
A self-confessed Celtic obsessive, he found himself at a pivotal junction for the club, and off field played as important a role for the survival & evolution of the club as that of some of our committee men in the early years. Without his input, the Celtic Takeover may not have succeeded, and many men like Fergus McCann owe some debt to his work. Too many are a bit blasé about the whole Celtic Takeover in retrospect, but if you were there around the time you will know just what a nightmare it truly all was.
Coming to the fore with a financial background, he was nominally a consultant for the Rebel group and helped piece together the parts required to win the countless battles that ensued during the Celtic Takeover. He brought parties together, travelled heavily to buy up shares and negotiated with various parties to help bring them to work in concert. Not an easy role, but an exciting one.
You could say he was the fixer for the frontmen, but note David Low was not adverse to appearing in the media where need be to help keep the campaign in the forefront. Unlike his fellow Rebels on the corporate side, he was youthful which easily made him stand out.
Rightly criticised for once crudely labelling the whole events as a war, nevertheless there were so many tete-a-tetes during the debacle that it was still a collection of corporate battles, and it was fierce.
As Fergus McCann was to succinctly ask him:
“OK, Mr Low. Who are you, why are you here and what do you want?”
Notable events included:
- Liaising with various shareholders internationally to get their support or buy their share holding from them,
- Supporting the directors against being voted off the board, only for the Rebel backers to be stabbed in the back (e.g. by Tom Grant),
- Working with Fergus McCann to support and build his case,
- Working with other investors to get them on board and work together (not an easy task with rich old investors and their egos),
- Handling the old board members, and trying to get them to turn,
- Work with supporters groups where possible,
- Helping to review the plans on the club’s finances,
- And so on….
He managed to generate a working relationship with many of the major parties enabling him to be the go between to tie things together. A notable working partnership with Matt McGlone was fruitful and assisted the Celts for Change group to have a greater insight into those they were battling with for the takeover. Without this, there would have been greater apathy as the supporters needed to know who they were protesting for and what were their aims.
The problem was the obstinacy of the Old Biscuit Tin board, as else this could have been all settled less dramatically and more professionally. Therefore it required men like David Low to step in and apply their methods, which here was very much to the benefit of Celtic. Probably he didn’t himself realise how much of his life was to be spent on the whole Celtic Takeover, yet it probably is one of the most fulfilling projects he will ever have worked on.
After the Celtic Takeover, he did not move onto a role at Celtic (at board level) and moved on in his own career outwith of Celtic, likely for the best. Fergus McCann was in charge now and he had his own way to doing everything.
He helped pen a book on the Celtic Takeover, which some have found quite too partisan and even narcissistic (not helped by a cheesy picture of David Low), but it’s still a fine read. An updated version is probably the better version (doesn’t have that picture at least). He’s done various podcast interviews in his older age on the Celtic Takeover, and comes over well.
He played an important part in the whole Celtic Takeover in what is an unheralded role, but very much required.
For all that, David Low will deserve respect for his efforts by a very thankful Celtic Support.
In January 2020, he was announced as the new President of the independent Celtic supporters’ group ‘The Celtic Trust’, but stepped down a year later.
Links
Books
Podcasts
- The Celtic Exchange (2024): David Low
Articles
The Saving of Celtic, Part One: David Low
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/13148296.The_Saving_of_Celtic__Part_One__David_Low/
John Keane, Fergus McCann, Willie Haughey and Michael McDonald stand outside Celtic Park in September 1994. Picture: Martin Shields
1 Mar 2014 / Hugh MacDonald, Chief Sports Writer
David Low had more than a ringside seat for the battle for Celtic in 1994.
He was Fergus McCann’s corner man when his strategy of usurping the incumbent board through receiving the proxy votes on shares was the principal weapon in bringing the fight for the very existence of Celtic to a dramatic conclusion. On the 20th anniversary of the McCann-led takeover, Low, a financial analyst still based in Glasgow, can look back on the events of 1994 with the wisdom of experience but his retellling of the key moments reveals how close Celtic came to going out of business and how McCann was bold, even reckless, as the crisis mounted. This is the inside story of how a club came back from the brink in the words of someone who was there at all the crucial moments.
The First Meeting with Fergus McCann
There was a meeting of a few Celtic fans who were worried about what was happening at Celtic.
This was in 1992. David Murray was borrowing more money, Rangers were having more success, Celtic did not have a proper stadium with the Taylor report kicking in and the board clearly did not have access to any money.
I met a few like-minded wealthy Celtic fans who shared the concerns I had. One of them suggested I meet this strange fellow called Fergus McCann who seemed determined to help Celtic.
I went over to see him in his apartment in Montreal in the winter of 1992. He invited me in and made me a cup of coffee. I remember this meeting clearly because the cup of coffee was brimming to the full and I had to concentrate on it not spilling on his table.
He said: “Ok, Mr Low. Who are you, why are you here and what do you want?”
I loved that directness. It wasn’t said in a cold way but in a business-like, no ******** manner. This saves time. Most of the business world is populated by timewasters. He wasn’t one.
I liked him and what he stood for almost from that second. In the whole time I have known him – and I talked to him this week – he has not changed one iota. You always know where you are with Fergus whether you agree with him or not.
His determination was obvious. He explained he had been trying to help Celtic since 1988. The board didn’t want to know.
The Plan
I unveiled my plan as an investment analyst, having dissected the share register and the articles of association. It was to acquire shares quietly from disenfranchised, dislocated and disrespected shareholders. My proposal was to gain their support. We wanted to pick up enough shares or support to call a general meeting and replace the board in conjunction with a capital injection from Fergus and other wealthy fans.
Fergus asked lots of questions. I told him that the three families who owned Celtic did not get on and he should not look upon them as a group. About 40% of shares were held outside the board. When I visited shareholders you found they were unhappy. There was an issue over the registering of shares.
The board had a right of veto but I had a cunning plan. I told Fergus that if we got them to sign a stock transfer form we could have an irrevocable proxy for their votes.
The share register does not change but we control those shares and when we get control we will then register them .
He said: “This is a very good plan, Mr Low, and I wish you all the luck in the world but I cannot support you on that.”
I said: “Why not?”
He replied: “All the money I have, Mr Low, is going in the club. I am not going to reward these guys for the state they have put the club in. If you succeed, I will be first in the queue for money for the club.”
That was good enough for me. He was committing funds to the club. I left that meeting a very happy bunny. I felt I had an ally.
I was proved right. He always delivered on the button.
The Gathering of the Shares
We were always a loose coalition. Me, Fergus, Brian Dempsey, John Keane, Eddie Keane, Jack Flanagan, Michael McDonald. The only thing we had in common was our love of Celtic.
I went about acquiring shares and it was easier than I thought.
Shareholders kept saying “we are with you”, from Canada to the north of Ireland. Within three months I had 40% of Celtic in this office and the board did not have not a Scooby.
But we needed 51%. We spoke to a shareholder who feigned support but promptly called the Whites or the Kellys. The cat was out the bag. But they did not know the extent of our endeavours. That was when we started hitting turbulence.
We were at war. We ended up fighting for two years.
The Fight
Celtic are getting worse, Rangers are getting stronger and it is getting nearer nine titles. We called an egm in November 1993. Celtic needed money and we came up with a plan for a cash injection of £17.9m. The board rejected that. Everybody was depressed as the club was clearly heading for the buffers. The team was terrible and the fans are agitating. There was a feeling of ‘let’s pack our tents and go’.
I said: “What do you mean? This is the end of the board. They cannot reject such a capital injection. It is a matter of time before they collapse. The next call they will receive is form the bank saying: ‘How could you do that?'”
They were into the Bank of Scotland for £5m. Within three months, the bank wanted its money back. It wanted the money or personal guarantees.
Eight Minutes from the End
It was eight minutes and I can say that with certainty. I was there. It was the end of February when the bank said to the board: “Give us our money back or give us personal guarantees from all of you.”
These were not wealthy men.
Kevin Kelly and Jack McGinn came to see us in an office in Park Terrace and told us the bank wanted money. They said they had a meeting with Gerald Weisfeld who was going to pay off the overdraft but there was no plan for the future.
I told them not to go to the meeting with Weisfeld but to tell the bank that a solution could be found. The bank then basically said: “We want a million within 48 hours and another four million by the end of the week.”
I phoned up Fergus and got him off the golf course in Phoenix, Arizona. I told him: “Your time has come. They want £1m.”
He says “okay.”
He authorises the £1m and books a flight to Glasgow. He arrives on the morning of the fourth of March.
We then had a meeting and then went to the bank. The deadline was 12 noon. We stayed until the money arrived as these were as the days before immediate transfers.
We picked up a banker’s draft and briskly walked, not ran, up to the Bank of Scotland and gave them the draft.
The paperwork was signed, with me as a witness, and that is when the 11.52 comes in. I remember looking at my watch and noting the time.
Four days later, the other £4m was paid. That was all a reckless risk on the part of Fergus. It says Fergus is a blind, mad Celtic fan or he was confident in his business plan.
Maybe both.
All he had achieved by then was to become Celtic’s largest unsecure creditor. He was not on the board, he has no share. We all trail up to Celtic Park to get control of the club. We have to get Fergus on to the board.
I can only remember getting Fergus to change his mind twice. The first one was supporting my plan over shares and then other was giving the board members money.
He was against that but bowed to reality. We were in control. We then had to have a general meeting to convert his loans into equity and to register the shares and put in more money. Michael McDonald and Willie Haughey joined the board and we then had the big share issue in December ’94.
The Fans
At the end of season 1993/94, I remember sitting in an office in Parkhead thinking: ‘What have we here, it is a bag of crap . . .’
Due diligence showed it was far worse than we thought. Everybody was owed money. It was a tough gig. Then there is the move to have the share issue on the AIM market that took from March to December.
When we announced it after being beaten by Raith Rovers in the league cup final no-one knew how successful it would be. But we seemed to have unleashed some sort of pent-up enthusiasm in the Celtic support. The genie was out the bottle. We had to have a second offer to meet the demand. It was the most successful football share offer ever, maybe still is.
We had the funding to build the stadium. This is the story of the business machinations. There is one to be told about the way the fans had a major part to play in the momentum that forced change.
They were the energy behind change.
Fergus the man
I genuinely think he is a top man because he tells the truth. He usually gets the big decisions right and pursues his objectives ruthlessly and efficiently. He is not a saint but he was very refreshing. It is unusual to meet someone like him in business.
He did three unusual things: First, he invested blind. Second, he put in such a significant proportion of his wealth, some say 80%. Third, he changed his mind over paying the board money to leave.
It is difficult to come to any other conclusion than he was a big Celtic fan. He is synonymous with good business practice but there was more than that. He did not screw anybody either. The fans bought the shares at the same price as Fergus. He was honest in all his dealings and that is unusual in business.
The Legacy
All those tough decisions that he and the board had to make have been proven to have been as sound as a pound. The pressure came from the world and his wife, some fans being manipulated by the mainstream media, some from the displaced and the disgruntled.
The press was getting worked. This was making his job very difficult. But he stuck to the tough decisions. And that was 100% the right thing to do. We had to spend money on a stadium so that impacted on paying for the squad. Looking back, we were right and David Murray was wrong.
That is why we are where we are and Rangers are where Rangers are.
Future for Celtic
I actually believe Celtic face a bigger crisis now than they did in the early nineties. The team I started to go to see in the 60s was then experiencing an upswing under Jock Stein. There were the two European Cup finals and the losing semi-finals too.
I see no prospect of Celtic of competing at that level. Celtic have to get out of Scotland. They are trying to run up a down escalator and that is extremely difficult.
UEFA is adamant that the rules stay whereby if you have a football association then you have to play in that country.
Alternative View Interview with David Low
Posted on September 26, 2013https://heavidor.wordpress.com/2013/09/26/alternative-view-interview-with-david-low-september-2013/
Issue 144 David Low Interview
September 2013
Exclusive Interview with David Low!
David Low came onto the Celtic scene in 1992 but stayed very much in the background to what was going on at Celtic at that time. He was a Celtic fan and an investment manager who did some research into Celtic’s financial position that concluded they were in dire straits and heading for the financial rocks. Rather than sit back like they are all doing over at Greyskull, Low put together the plan that rescued the Club. He’s a straight talker who doesn’t wish to enter or win popularity contests. He recently opened up about some of the background going ons at Celtic in a podcast and in this exclusive Alternative View interview we’ll ask him to enlighten us more on several issues you won’t see in any newspaper and also bring us right up-to-date on how he sees Celtic being operated today. David is also the Co-Author of the best selling twice published book ‘The McCann Takeover’. Read on for a revealing insight to Celtic behind the scenes!
AV: When business type fans appear on the scene many fans are interested in their credentials as a card carrying Celtic fan. Therefore we’ll get straight to the point. What is your background as Celtic fan?
David: I’ve had it good as a Celtic fan. As a kid all I ever knew was that we were the best in Scotland and amongst the best in Europe and to this day I’ve never wanted anything less. Anyway, my father was a big fan and I started going with him and his mates around 1966. The first games I remember really clearly were ones against Liverpool in the Semi Final of the ECWC. We beat them 1-0 in Glasgow and were beaten 2-0 at Anfield but Lennox had a good goal disallowed that would have put us into the final. I remember because my father was, shall we say, rather annoyed and caused a bit of commotion in the house. The first game I actually attended was an away match and also a very memorable one. That was against Motherwell to win our first League title under Jock Stein. I clearly remember because all those naughty Celtic fans were dancing on the Fir Park roof. It was also the year I saw Pele playing for Brazil against Scotland at Hampden before the 1966 World Cup. Bobby Lennox scored for Scotland, I think. It was also the year my grandfather died and a year I will never forget although the following year was memorable as well!
AV: What prompted you to get involved behind the scenes in the first place and did you have dealings with the old Celtic board?
David: I am an investment analyst to trade and when I moved back to Glasgow in 1991 I decided to get involved in areas I enjoyed, football and music. This was when Murray was going mad with money and we had none. We had a decrepit stadium and the Taylor Report was demanding all seated stadia. I had a look at the Celtic accounts and who really owned the club. It was clear we were in financial trouble and also that no one had a controlling interest. I spoke to the Board at the time and they believed they had no problems and peddled the myth they controlled the shares. They also made it clear that hell would freeze over before they surrendered control. I was convinced that unless there was an infusion of money and talent we were done as a big club and I determined to do something about it. I had taken over a company the previous year and I had a cunning plan but I needed support, money and talent. I was introduced to a few other monied fans who shared similar concerns and together we adopted the plan. Simply, the plan involved seeking support from disgruntled shareholders and buying shares if they became available. The money for this largely came from John Keane and a few others.
AV: When Celtic were in trouble around 1992 you were aware of a lot of what was going in behind the scenes under the old board. Looking at the problem face on and considering Celtic were very tightly run by families with extremely rigid conditions attached to owning and transferring Celtic shares, did you think from the start your aims for a better Celtic could be achieved?
David: I can honestly say that I never had any doubts the plan would work. We underestimated the many twists and turns and the sheer determination of the old Board to stay in power at almost any cost and that is why it took two years when it should only have taken six months.
AV: How did you hear of Fergus McCann?
David: When I first got involved with the others they mentioned this awkward guy in Canada called McCann who, I was told, seemed really determined to do something about the escalating problem and who seemed prepared to put his money where his mouth was. I thought I better meet this guy and we set up a meeting at his apartment in Montreal.
AV: Can you recall your first meeting/Introduction with him and where it took place?
David: When I met Fergus he made me a cup of coffee which I distinctly recall was full to the brim and I had to concentrate not to spill it. He asked me to sit and said, ‘who are you, why are you here and what do you want’? Now, I loved this. In business you don’t meet too many ‘no ********, straight to the point’ guys, so I answered the questions and unveiled the plan. He told me it was a very good plan, he wished me luck but said it wasn’t for him. His reason for declining was that his money was for the club and he was not prepared to reward the Board with money for bringing the club to its knees.
AV: Is Fergus a difficult person to deal with? Many fans may get that impression due to his brusque manner, or is he more of a getting-things-done-type-of-guy and focuses more on that?
David: Let me surprise you. In my experience Fergus is a very easy to deal with. There is no double dealing, no posturing and you always know where you stand. It’s better to deal with people like that than the many imposters you come across in business. It’s better not to do a deal for the right reasons than it is to do one for the wrong reasons. Some people find him awkward because he doesn’t do what they want. Nuff said!
AV: Did yourself and Fergus formulate the rescue plan for Celtic or were there other key figures involved?
David: With John Keane’s backing and money I continued to get the shareholders onside or to buy their shares if they didn’t care. I had great help in all of this from Jim Doherty in Toronto. He secured the support of all the extended Grant family shares in Ireland and Canada and eventually we became an immoveable force the Board had to deal with in the end.
AV: Is it true that Fergus in October/November 1993 offered the old Celtic board £17.5m to sell the Club to him despite the mounting Club debts?
David: That is true. Most of the money was coming from Fergus directly into the club as well as John Keane and a few others including myself. The Board rejected it and that is exactly when I knew they were finished and it was just a matter of time. They needed money, they rejected money and they could not justify this to the bank which was asking them for money to repay their debt.
AV: Was the old board’s plan to move Celtic away from their spiritual home of Celtic Park to a field in Cambuslang ever a possibility? If so and a Club with debt and no finance, who would have funded that?
David: They thought it was but it never was a realistic prospect. At the end of the day they never had any money and the club would have ended up as a tenant of some anonymous City investors. It’s the sort of desperate thing you dream up when you’ve nowhere to go.
AV: What do you think would have been the fans reaction to moving away from Celtic and not being in control of their own destiny ground wise? With profits being made from surrounding commercial outlets not being re-invested 100% back into Celtic?
David: If it was a genuine choice between liquidation and Cambuslang you would choose the latter as the lesser of two evils but when you have a wee man with a bunnet, a wad of cash and a plan to rebuild Celtic Park there’s only one option you can choose.
AV: What was the most difficult part of ousting control from the debt ridden old board?
David: It was getting the old Board to accept they were finished. They fought to the very end. We had around 40% of the shares and they were in control but they had no money and no credibility in the business community or with the fans and they were finished. They just didn’t realise it. It was a dirty fight and they thought we were stealing their crown jewels. They thought they were Celtic. They weren’t.
AV: Could the old Celtic board have paid the debts they incurred on Celtic’s behalf themselves without selling the soul of Celtic?
David: No, they couldn’t. They had no money, no credibility, no support and no future. Celtic was around £9m in debt and we needed to develop the stadium to comply with the Taylor Report. We were doomed. We were bust.
AV: The supporters got involved and the ‘Celts for Change’ group in their thousands attended rallies, demonstrations, motivated & informed the support to what was going on, painted banners on sheets, got posters & leaflets printed, held question & answer sessions & travelled to Ireland & England as well as all over Scotland rallying the fans. What part would you say they played overall in conjunction to the business plan that was going on separately?
David: After two years of fighting we had reached a stalemate of sorts. There is no doubt the emergence of Celts for Change was a catalyst that brought the takeover to a successful and rapid conclusion. The movement exploded onto the scene and when ordinary fans in numbers started making their feelings known, picketing the bank and exerting pressure, the Board had no chance. They were instrumental in bringing about the necessary change.
AV: Fergus was in Arizona when he got the call on March 2nd 1994 that the Bank of Scotland were foreclosing on Celtic’s £6m plus debt. What was your involvement then, and can you describe what actually took in those dramatic 48 hours from that moment until the bank’s deadline of 12noon on March 4th 1994?
David: The bank told the club it was over. They were not prepared to financially support the club any further and that unless they received £1m within 48 hours and another £4m within 5 days they were pulling the plug. I actually called Fergus from the meeting and told him the news and that the time had come. He was in Scottsdale, Arizona at the time. He instructed the transfer of £1m of US dollars from his US bank account to his bank in the UK and booked a flight to Glasgow. It took the best part of 48 hours as he had to travel Phoenix/JFK/Heathrow/Glasgow and over the next 48 hours I was wondering whether he and the money would get there on time. He did arrive on time. I picked him up from the airport, he called his UK bank and I remember that at 10am the money still hadn’t arrived. Anyway, it did arrive but with little time to spare. We picked up a bankers draft from his bank in St Vincent Street and had to walk very briskly to the club’s bank 500 metres away. We got there, were called up to the sixth floor, he handed over the banker’s draft and signed the receipt. I signed as the witness, let out a big sigh and looked at my watch. It was 11.52am. They got their money with eight minutes to spare.
AV: Was the £1m demanded by the bank on March 4th paid by Fergus McCann alone?
David: Yes, Fergus paid the £1m the bank asked for and he also paid all of the £4m they asked for four days later. It should be understood this was a massive risk. He had no shares, he was not on the Board, he had no real idea the extent of the financial mess and we had still to negotiate the departure of the Board that had caused all the problems. He had just become an unsecured creditor of the club.
AV: What would have happened to Celtic had that money not been paid on March 4th
David: ? It would have gone into Administration or suffered some other insolvency event. That was made absolutely clear by the bank.
AV: What other monies in the following seven days to stave the bank off further were paid and by whom?
David: As I said, Fergus paid another £4m four days later. After we had negotiated the departure of the old Board there was a capital reconstruction three months later and Fergus converted his debt to equity and John Keane, Al Freidburg. Michael McDonald, Willie Haughey and others including myself invested in new shares in the club. It’s worth pointing out Fergus didn’t apply any revaluation to the business like our Green friend across the city!
AV: You were in the boardroom on Friday March 4th 1994 when the old board and the McCann led team faced up to each other when the takeover deal was done. An incredible historic moment in Celtic’s 125 years, can you describe what went on?
David: There was no feeling of elation because there was still a lot of work to be done. The old Board was still in charge and the departing directors wanted their pay day for leaving. Fergus was still adamant they were getting nada for what they had done to the club as he had said when I first met him but I told him it was now or never. He had to compromise on this issue and he did. He authorised a sum of money to divvy up amongst those who were leaving, they were paid and they were gone. Then we celebrated.
AV: When you reflect on the trauma and turmoil of the early 90s what would you say were your most depressing & funniest moments?
David: The depressing times for me were the performances on the park. We were seriously crap and Rangers ruled the roost and were heading inexorably for 10 in a row. I was also disappointed with some of the people involved in the fight. Funniest; one of my friends confronted one of the directors after a particularly bad defeat at St Johnstone and the director accused him of hitting him. A fanzine described it as the first known instance of ‘ the fan hitting the ****’!!!
AV: When the McCann revolution finally got underway what are your impressions of the Scottish press & media’s treatment of him? There were many vile instances but the Saddam Husain slur was surely the lowest in a 4 year personality battle with them?
David: Fergus was not media friendly. He wouldn’t grease their palms. He did not offer succulent lamb when it was in abundance across the river. He refused to be profligate with the fans money when we had to build a stadium. He took the tough decisions when the world and his wife wanted to make the wrong decisions. So, for being, tough, brave and correct he was pilloried in the press. This was shallow and shameful.
AV: Why do you think a section of the support booed Fergus when the league championship flag was raised in 1999?
David: Despite what they say most fans believe what they read in the papers. This was one of the very few occasions when I was ashamed of being a Celtic supporter. I shall say no more.
AV: Would you know of Fergus’s feelings when that took place?
David: I think he was hurt. Who wouldn’t be but he never showed it and he never said.
AV: John Keane has been a great supporter of the Club in many ways and was rightly honoured at our opening home game on August 3rd when he unfurled the Championship flag. The Celtic board have never approached Fergus with such an honour and many supporters wish he should be, do you think they should approach Fergus?
David: First of all, John Keane absolutely deserved that recognition. He is one of the nicest men I know. He is one of the biggest Celtic fans I have met and he was involved in the takeover at the very beginning, the very end and he’s still there now. I suggested to Peter Lawwell a couple of months ago that Fergus should receive such an honour but he never replied. I also think Betty Devlin, the wife of the late Celtic chairman, Tom Devlin who died in 1986 should receive some sort of recognition. Betty is 99 years old now and had a pivotal shareholding which was instrumental in bringing about change.
AV: Elements of the support were critical that Fergus earned so much from his own shares when he left in 1999. What’s your thoughts on that?
David: Fergus took a risk no one else was prepared to. That is a matter of fact. He had no control over the share price and thousands of Celtic fans made a lot of money by selling their shares. At the outset he said he would offer his shares to the fans after five years and retire. This is what he did. You cannot be criticised for doing exactly what you said you would do.
AV: Fergus is without a doubt revered more today by vast sections of the Celtic support 20 years after the takeover, why do you think that is?
David: It is because he saved Celtic from financial meltdown and they know it. Perhaps the downfall of Rangers, a consequence of their financial profligacy, has brought his efforts and achievements into sharper focus.
AV: What is he up to now at 73 years of age and do you still keep in touch with him?
David: He is semi-retired and living in the US. It would be inappropriate to say any more than this.
AV: What are your thoughts on the way Celtic are being run today?
David: Celtic is financially managed sensibly and prudently. However, if you want your team to remain amongst the biggest and the best and to compete at the highest level, as I do, you cannot fail to be very worried about the predicament we face being stuck in a downsizing Scottish backwater with diminishing competition. We’re trying to run up a down escalator and I don’t think the Board are doing enough to address this problem.
AV: Why do you think Rangers have lurched disastrously from one chaos to another with apparently fans and well healed Rangers fans standing back and watching? Was there an in-built establishment mentality there thinking ‘hey this could never happen to us’?
David: David Murray started the debt orgy in 1988 and ended it in 2008. He bought Rangers for £1 in 1988 and sold it for £1 in 2012. They have never lived within their means and created a false market which many fools participated in. It’s called Pied Piper syndrome. There was an in-build arrogance at Rangers. They were ‘the people’ after all. The many blue fat cats that hung around Rangers have been shamed. The time came to save their club and there were no Fergus McCanns or John Keanes to be found. They all had the chance to save their club and none did. It took a loud mouthed Yorkshire man backed by anonymous foreign investors to bank roll the new genetically modified hybrid. The fans have done their bit but they never had a leader they could trust or have confidence in. There will never be an Old Firm game again and I will miss them. We shall have no serious competition for the foreseeable future and that is bad for Celtic.
AV: Who is your all-time favourite player & manager at Celtic and why?
David: My manager is Jock Stein. It couldn’t be anyone else. We hadn’t won the League for 12 years till he came along. He changed everything and just as I was beginning to understand that Celtic was ‘mes que un club’. I don’t have a favourite player. I have several. Younger fans will never fully understand what an iconic and truly magnificent player Jimmy Johnstone really was. Bobby Murdoch and Tommy Gemmell were genuinely world class. Danny McGrain was simply the best full back in the world. Charlie Nicholas was a sensation in his brief time a Celtic and more recently Henrik and Lubo are amongst the best I have seen in the hoops.
AV: Finally, can Celtic ever make it out of Scottish football and into a more lucrative league like the EPL for example?
David: Yes and we have to. We are finished as a big international competitor if we don’t get out of Scottish football. A club like Celtic should not be playing three qualifying rounds to get into the Champions League. This is our fate in Scotland. I consider staying in Scotland as big a threat as we faced in 1992 when we were going bust. FIFA is dead set against cross border competition and have strict rules to enforce this. However the Russian and the Ukrainian leagues backed by Gazprom are throwing money at the problem, so you never know.
Thanks to David for his time and offering such an interesting insight into the background at Celtic!
