|
Celtic Football Club has always competed in the highest level of football in Scotland, currently the Scottish Premiership. The club was constituted in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic play their home games at Celtic Park having moved there in 1892 from their original ground nearby. By 1994 Celtic had endured several years of decline and were encountering difficulties on and off the park. Expatriate businessman Fergus McCann wrested control of the club from the family dynasties that had run Celtic since its founding. The club was reconstituted as a PLC and floated on the stock market, raising £14 million. The finance provided funding for the rebuilding of Celtic Park into a 60,000 all-seater stadium. The team improved over the years that followed and in 1998 won the league title, their first championship success in 10 years. The arrival of Martin O'Neill as manager in 2000 saw the club become the dominant force in Scotland, winning three league titles in five years and reaching the UEFA Cup Final in 2003. The redeveloped Celtic Park is the largest football stadium in Scotland. In 2005–06, Celtic's home games attracted an average attendance of 58,149, placing Celtic at the time behind only Manchester United and Newcastle in terms of highest average attendance for any football club in the UK.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Premiership Attendances 2005-2006 )〕 Celtic are currently managed by Ronny Deila and won their fourth successive league title in May 2015. ==The Fergus McCann era (1994–1999)== The Bank of Scotland informed Celtic on Thursday 3 March 1994 that it was calling in the receivers as a result of the club exceeding a £5 million overdraft. However, expatriate businessman Fergus McCann wrested control of the club from the family dynasties which had controlled Celtic since its founding,〔 and bought the club for a reported £9 million.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Celtic FC Team Profile )〕 According to media reports, McCann took over the club minutes before it was to be declared bankrupt.〔 At this time the club were an estimated £7 million in debt and attendances at Parkhead frequently dipped below 20,000. The old board had insisted on a limit of only 7,000 season tickets, on the basis that "season tickets are more trouble than they’re worth". Shortly prior to the takeover the club was only valued at around £20,000 due the ordinary shares being artificially valued at £1 each and the regulations of the private limited company which decreed that shares could only be traded with the blessing of the directors and that board members should have first refusal on any that became available.〔 Most significantly of all, the shares were not allowed to 'float' to their true value, as a result of which directors were able to purchase them for around £3 each. Of course, the shares allowed to rise to their proper price when McCann took over. Bulk holders such as Michael Kelly, Chris White and David Smith commanded around £300 per share, leaving McCann resentful over the disappearance of funds that could have been used in the resuscitation of the business.〔〔 In order to alleviate the club's considerable financial debt, McCann reconstituted the then privately owned Celtic Football & Athletic Company Limited into a public limited company – Celtic PLC. To finance this restructuring, McCann set up a share issue which generated £14 million, one of the most successful stock market flotations in British financial history.〔〔 On the playing side of matters, manager Lou Macari was sacked by McCann and replaced in the summer of 1994 by former Celtic player Tommy Burns with Billy Stark as his assistant. Former player and manager, Davie Hay, also returned to the club, this time as chief scout. Celtic played their home games at Hampden Park in the first season under the new regime due to the redevelopment of Celtic Park. Celtic were poor in the league that season, but managed to win their first trophy in six years when they defeated Airdrie 1–0 in the Scottish Cup Final on 27 May 1995. The winning goal was scored by Dutch striker Pierre van Hooijdonk who had been signed several months earlier from NAC Breda for £1.2 million.〔 The following season saw Celtic return to their home ground at Celtic Park. Former East German international striker Andreas Thom was signed over the summer for a then club record fee of £2.2 million. During pre-season, defender Tony Mowbray persuaded his team-mates to engage in a pre-match huddle prior to a friendly against German side Kickers Emden in an effort to boost the players' camaraderie and togetherness. Although Mowbray would leave the club several weeks later, the pre-match huddle remains a constant ritual that is performed by Celtic players to this day prior to every game.〔 Tommy Burns' second season saw him successfully restore a more attacking style of play to the side. The new strike pairing of Van Hooijdonk and Thom forged an accomplished partnership up front. The midfield duo of Paul McStay and John Collins were integral to Celtic's attractive football and Jackie McNamara and Simon Donnelly won praise for their link-up play on the right. Celtic only lost one league match during season 1995-96, but for all the plaudits they received remained unable to prevent Rangers from racking up an eighth successive league title.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.scotzine.com/oor-football-years/celtics-nearly-men/ )〕 During this time the club was under pressure to invest heavily in playing talent, particularly from the fans, to thwart Rangers' attempts to equal and surpass the 9-in-a-row Celtic held.〔 McCann was often criticised by the fans and media for his perceived frugality,〔 but further signings were made in 1996, with Portuguese striker Jorge Cadete and Italian winger Paolo Di Canio arriving at Celtic Park. Season 1996-97 saw Tommy Burns under intense media scrutiny and pressure from the supporters as Rangers closed in on their ninth successive league title. Despite Van Hooijdonk, Cadete and Di Canio having outstanding seasons as individual players, Celtic struggled to match the form of the previous season. John Collins had left for AS Monaco in the summer and Paul McStay was toiling with injury. As a result, individual performances were unable to make up for the lack of overall team coherence and Celtic finished the season trophy-less, with Rangers winning their ninth successive league title and equalling Celtic's record set under Jock Stein. McCann found himself embroiled in contractual disputes with the trio of Van Hooijdonk, Cadete and Di Canio, labelling them the 'Three Amigos'. McCann refused to cave in to what he considered the excessive demands of these foreign mercurial talents and, to the frustration of fans, the three each left the club under a cloud, albeit for large transfer fees. With just three weeks left of the 1996-97 season Burns was sacked, with the club's remaining coaching staff also leaving at the end of the season. Various names were touted in the media as being likely to take over, however McCann made a surprising choice in Dutch coach Wim Jansen. Furthermore, it was announced that the traditional manager's position at Celtic had been abolished, with the responsibilities to be split between the new roles of Head Coach (Jansen) and General Manager. The office of General Manager was somewhat controversially taken up by solicitor and former TV football commentator, Jock Brown. Davie Hay was promoted from his scouting role to Assistant General Manager, whilst former Celtic player Murdo MacLeod was appointed as assistant coach to Jansen. The summer of 1997 saw substantial changes to Celtic's playing personnel. Scottish internationalists Darren Jackson and Craig Burley were Jansen's first signings, closely followed by Dutch winger Regi Blinker, Danish centre-half Marc Rieper and, more significantly, Swedish attacker Henrik Larsson from Feyenoord in a £650,000 deal. Bradford City reserve goalkeeper Jonathan Gould also arrived at Celtic Park in a low-key transfer deal. However, club captain Paul McStay retired from playing that summer due to injury, after a playing career of 15 years and 678 appearances for the club. Rangers started season 1997-98 as strong favourites for the league title and had themselves invested heavily over the summer in new players. Celtic made a poor start to the season, losing their first two league matches, but soon began to find their feet. Marc Rieper and Alan Stubbs quickly formed an impressive understanding in central defence,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.toffeeweb.com/players/profiles/Stubbs.asp )〕 whilst Craig Burley proved to be a revelation in midfield with his energetic play and important goals. Jonathan Gould became the team's first choice goalkeeper and had an excellent season. Henrik Larsson had made an uninspiring start at Celtic, gifting Hibernian's Chic Charnley the winning goal through a careless pass on his debut and then scoring an own-goal in a UEFA Cup tie (Celtic still triumphed 6-3 on the night and won on aggregate). However, the Swede soon established himself as a pivotal player in the side, at this time playing just off the main strikers. An injury time equaliser from Alan Stubbs in November 1997 against Rangers saw Celtic remain behind the Ibrox club in the league, but stay within reaching distance. The next Old Firm encounter at New Year saw Celtic win 2–0 with goals from Craig Burley and recent signing from Borussia Dortmund, Paul Lambert. Over the following months Celtic and Rangers each had spells at the top of the table, and as the season reached its climax both sides dropped unexpected points as nerves took hold.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.killiefc.com/Classic%20Matches/020598-Rangers%20(SPL).htm )〕 Celtic eventually clinched the league title win a 2–0 win over St Johnstone on the last day of the season, their first championship win in 10 years. Despite the triumph, the title-winning celebrations soon soured when Wim Jansen made good his long held threat to resign, after difficulties working with Jock Brown and Fergus McCann. Jansen resigned just two days after the club sealed the title, with Brown widely portrayed as the villain of the piece. Davie Hay had been controversially sacked by Brown earlier in the season and Jansen's assistant, Murdo MacLeod, was sacked a week after Jansen's resignation.〔 A number of high-profile names were proferred as the replacement for Jansen, but the man eventually appointed by Celtic was Slovakian Jozef Vengloš. Many fans, swayed doubtless by the local media, were disappointed and angry at the decision, citing Vengloš' poor record whilst in charge of English club Aston Villa some years before. Following early exits in the European Cup, UEFA Cup and League Cup, and a poor start to their league campaign, Celtic and Vengloš were subject to intense media scrutiny. The lack of players signed during the close season was one area in which the club were strongly criticised for.〔 Amidst the almost constant negative publicity surrounding the club, Jock Brown resigned in November 1998.〔 Players did, however, begin to arrive in the late autumn though; Norwegian defender Vidar Riseth, Swedish defensive midfielder Johan Mjällby, Slovakian play-maker Ľubomír Moravčík and Australian striker Mark Viduka. Following this, Celtic's fortunes began to turn when they won 5–1 against Rangers, Larsson and Moravčík both scoring twice. Vengloš now had Celtic playing good football and his deployment of Henrik Larsson as an out-and-out striker was proving to be a huge success, with the Swede eventually going on to score 38 goals that season. The signing of Lubomir Moravčík had initially been ridiculed by the Scottish media, but the Slovakian's skills soon won the doubters over. Celtic rallied in the league but were still unable to prevent Rangers from winning the championship. Defeat in the Scottish Cup Final, also against Rangers, only confirmed the club's lack of progress on the field. Shortly after the end of the season, Vengloš resigned on health grounds but remained as an advisor and European scout for the club for a brief period. Although his tenure as Head Coach was strained, Vengloš is generally fondly regarded by fans, in particular for the signing of Moravčík.〔 In March 1999, SFA Chief Executive Jim Farry was fired as a result of him deliberately delaying the registration of Jorge Cadete in 1996. The delay resulted in Cadete missing several matches for Celtic he could have played in, in particular a Scottish Cup semi-final tie against Rangers which Celtic lost 2–1. Fergus McCann had complained about the matter initially to the SFA and then to an independent commission, who subsequently found Farry guilty of gross misconduct. Farry was sacked days after the commission's findings. On taking over Celtic in 1994, Fergus McCann stated that he would be only be at the club for five years. In September 1999 he officially announced that his majority stake in Celtic was for sale. By this time the redevelopment of Celtic Park into a 60,000 all-seated capacity stadium was complete, at a cost of £40 million.,〔〔 and the club had 53,000 season ticket holders.〔 The club was now a successful business and the team vastly improved from when he took over in 1994. McCann sold his shares for £40 million, making a profit of £31 million on his initial investment.〔 After McCann's exit, Irish billionaire Dermot Desmond was left as the majority shareholder, with a 20% stake in the club. Allan MacDonald was appointed Chief Executive/ Managing Director. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of Celtic F.C. (1994–present)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|