Who wants to go back to the 1990s. A period that saw the Celtic board appoint seven managers in a space of 10 years, one more than in the whole period from since the club was founded in 1888.
Who wants to go back to the 1990s. When Glasgow Rangers equalled the Celtic record of nine championships in a row, and some would say the Rangers could have beaten that record.
Who wants to go back to the 1990s. When Celtic almost on a daily base's were embarrassed and pilloried in the media as a dead institution.
Who wants to go back to the 1990's. When some of the worst players that had ever donned the shirt were signed and discarded (Martin Hayes, Tony Cascarino, Gary Gillespie, Stuart Slater Wayne Biggins, ect)
Who wants to go back to to 1990's. When the football stadium was the laughing stock of Europe,
Who wants to go back to the 1990's. When the worst Board of Directors in the history of Celtic, took the club to within hours of oblivion.
Who wants to go back to the 1990's. when the Grant's, the Kelly's, the White's, and McGinn's treated the Celtic support as no more than a cash cows, just to keep themselves in a way they had been accustom to.
Who wants to go back to the 1990's. when thousands of Celtic supporters stood outside Parkhead in the pouring rain with their "The Board Must Go" banners and in tears, wondering which football club to support when the Club was liquidated.
HANDS UP..... ANYONE? NO ONE... I thought so
Well how about this one then. HANDS UP......
Who will applaud Friday March the 3th 1994, when the wee man with the bunnett stood on the steps outside Parkhead and announced to the thousands of fans standing in the pouring rain, "We have new people, a new plan, a new vision and the strength to go forward. And I will tell you that we have every intention of reaching the objective that you want, which is Celtic at the very top" These words should be engraved on the brain of every Celtic supporter, young and old, because these words washed away the decades of greed, misuses of power, negligence and downright incompetence.
Wee Fergus was not everyone's cup of tea, but he kept his word, he got the priorities right. A new, but novice manager in Tommy Burns, a new stadium, the biggest in the UK at that time, some quality players van Hooijdonk, Di Canio, Caddett, (all left after short stays because McCann was not into the keep players happy at all costs mindset) Regular football success eluded Celtic during that era, but the foundations had been laid, the wee bunnett kept his word and floated the club on the stock market, thousands of supporters grabbed the shares making it the most successful share issue for any British club. Goodbye to the old dynasties, welcome the new vibrant and emotional owners of the club, the supporters.
Were in the year 2006, Desmond Dermott, Brian Quinn, Peter Lawell are the power brokers, Celtic have the biggest fan based share holders for any club in the UK. One of the best stadiums in Europe, a world wide profile that is envied throughout the world, even by football clubs that are millions of pound ahead of us in terms of cash in the bank. Since Martin O'Neil came and went and Gordon Strachen took over as manager last season Celtic have obtained more success in six years than in the past 20 years, not since the heady days of Jock Stein has the club been acclaimed as one of the best run clubs in the world. Football clubs are falling over themselves to play Celtic and have their supporters at their grounds, world wide TV coverage of the coming pre seasons friendly's against the North American sides, the Polish sides, and the top EPL clubs Chelsea, Man U and Everton will ensure a cash windfall for Celtic but more importantly the world wide marketing of Celtic.
HANDS UP FOR THIS!!.... Ah I see nearly all of you.
Yet, we have supporters that constantly complain and moan about the way the club is being run.
Shall we have another HANDS UP vote? OK lets try this one.
Hands Up, for those who wants to copy the Ibrox model, 60+million in debt. The Parent company M.I.H. half a billion..... yes HALF A BILLION in debt. the supporters get told fairy tales about "moonbeams" and pigs will fly share issues, they even got conned into buying one of those Pink Floyds "Bricks In The Wall" The latest one being feasted upon us by the media is the French Revolution is about to descend on Scotland and Europe led by Corporal (Napoleon) Le Guen. Well we all know what happened to the last little corporal that tried to take Europe by storm.
Or you can have the Translavainia model, led by "Vald The Mad" at Tynecastle whereas, if you dont agree with him a six foot bat will come to visit you in the night, but Vald's not too bothered when the Hearts do go tit's up the plans for a Tesco and two hundred Luxury flats are at the advance stage.
So there you go my friends, a choice between what we have now, and what is available out there in the big bad world of football, You can also look at the money leaden clubs like Real Madrid (won nothing for the past three years) Manchester United, Arsenal, Bryan Munich ect, all clubs with the BEST players in the world, still they crave for success.
Who's happy to be a Celtic supporter, that knows the future of the club is succour for the foreseeable future, happy to be where we are now as opposed to March 1994.
Oh, and if any Celtic supporter is looking for a sugar daddy who will spend 300 million on players, run a business that has made a 220 million pound loss in two years, may I recommend you to
CHELSEA!!