Apparently, time for Rangers fans to step forward to save their club has passed. For the want of £500k any one or collection of them could have bought an exclusive period as preferred bidder and worked on a rescue but no one stepped forward.
It is perhaps worthwhile reflecting on our hour of need 18 years ago. Celtic had exceeded their agreed overdraft limit and the Bank of Scotland informed the club that unless the account was brought back into agreed limits that day, it would go to court to appoint an administrator.
Back then there were no transfer windows, so players could, and would, have been sold by the administrator the next day. Celtic would have been left with an unwanted shell of a squad.
Word of the impending doom spread around the Celtic business community and John Keane decided to act. He withdrew £1m from his account and paid it straight into Celtic’s account at the Bank of Scotland.
John did this in the hope that he could buy time for the Celtic Movement to pull a rescue together. The bank could still have withdrawn the overdraft the same day, which would have made him an unsecured creditor with no chance of a return. There was also no agreement signed to secure the transfer of the club from the old board, each member of whom would later be dealt with on an individual basis, as shares were sold, or in the case of Kevin Kelly, pledged behind Fergus McCann’s consortium.
John kept his money in Celtic and received a seat on the new board, which he retains. He declined to appear in the publicity photos on the steps of Celtic Park when the club was rescued and although he attends the AGM every year, he remains a quiet and largely unknown figure. He has since invested more in Celtic, money he will never see back, but which has ensured his family can block a Glazier-style takeover of Celtic.
I have spoken to him once or twice, although he doesn’t know who I am, but I have often thought he deserves a standing ovation at the AGM for what he did all those years ago. Maybe this year.
We can only wonder why there was not a John Keane across the city.
Very well done to the Daily Record for their excellent story about CQN’er Tony Conway today. Tony, who now lives in the United States, suffers from motor neuron disease and made the trip back to Celtic Park last year with his Dad, John, and brother, Martin. They spent time with Jinky’s son James and met a host of people at the club, including Neil Lennon and Billy McNeill.
Read it, it’s a great story.
Remember to keep an eye on the signed Celtic shirt being auctioned for Wellburn Care Home, it ends Monday.
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Me
Yes me again
Hat trick
4in a row
Never 5
Read the article first yeh cheats
Catch up
Top ten – poptastic!
Hail Hail
Hail Hail!
TimJim
Ok
Regarding the new strip – it’s got our badge on it,that’ll do me.
Would still prefer Adidas though.
So Satans simians are planning to ‘sit on the pitch’ in protest.That’s only an ‘h’ away from how their players are on said pitch.
“If i had the wings of a sparrow…….”
I shold have said cheat
Tee Hee Hee…..
The Bridge
Gold Star Poster Join Date: 31-07-2006
Posts: 4,402
Re: Nobody wanted us
——————————————————————————–
And this is probably what hurts the most. I get it that no one wants to just chuck money away given the BTC and all that, but surely to god there was someone who recognised that even at £20m we were a cracking buy and at £20m there was at least a chance that a CVA would have been palatable. But it has ended up like a phucking ebay bid, with incremental increases.
Even the real bears with money, who could have done this at no loss, not necessarilly much if any profit, but certainly with no loss want us. Its been left to some phucking bin man in America to drive the final nail in.
Paul 67
Thanks for the top ten tip off!
I can’t count
TimJim,
Naw.
Seen more pictures on STV of the new strip. Love the wee Tri-colour ribbon round the sleeve.
Diet starts now!!
John Keane is what we are all about
midfield maestro on 2 May, 2012 at 13:44 said:
Me
===
Thats an awful hunnish trait you’ve adopted. Podium not good enough – you have to try and take all the top spots? :-)
TimJim
No cheating here, I pay all my taxes & only have one contract.
Well Done , John Keane.
Your good self and Fergus Mccann should be asked to raise the Championship flag in August.
Nike football strips are like cheap training tops only double the price. Last seasons two away kits were cheap and unimaginative(see new black kit) and the barcode top was one most people looked at and thought ‘what the *%^# is that!’
I know there is not much they can do with the hoops but a couple of the mock ups were much better, such as this which someone posted on the Green Brigade site :
http://media.photobucket.com/image/new%20celtic%20home%20shirt%202012%20green%20brigade/cjt32/homeshirtpng.png
Why would people prefer adidas? Just curious.
I vote we impose sanctions on midfield maestro
Paul67
Maybe no-one does like them.
I bet they care now…
HH
Celtic_First on 2 May, 2012 at 13:49 said:
Why would people prefer adidas? Just curious.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nike don’t have the ‘treefoil’.And their trainers are better.
Paul 67-Spot on,an unsung Celtic Hero,Mr John Keane.Hail Hail.
SmashingMilkBottles
Your name came up in conversation with CRC yesterday, had the pleasure of your, & others, company 8 years ago, Teplice courtesy of corporate.
The marchin’ band came down along Main Street
The soldier-blues fell in behind
I looked across and there I saw Billy
Waiting to go and join the line
And with her head upon his shoulder
The young and lovely Mc Coistee
From where I stood, I saw she was cryin’
And through her tears I heard her say
“Billy, don’t be a hero, don’t be a fool with our lives”
“Billy, don’t be a hero, put away your surgical knives”
And as he started to go she said “Billy, we´re now on skid row”
“Billy, don’t be a hero, come back to me”
The soldier-blues were trapped by an SPL side
The battle raging all around
The adminstrator cried “We’ve got to hang on, bears”
“We got to hold this piece a’ground”
“I need a volunteer to ride up”
“And bring us back some extra yen”
And Billy’s hand was up in a moment
Forgettin’ all the words she said
She said
“Billy, don’t be a hero, don’t be a fool with our lives”
“Billy, don’t be a hero, put away your surgical knives”
And as he started to go she said “Billy, we´re on skid row”
“Billy, don’t be a hero, work diligently”
I heard how Coistee got a letter
That told how Billy died that day
The letter said that he was a hero
She should be proud that he ran away
I heard she threw that letter away
PaperChaseCSC
Paul67,
They don’t have a John Keane because ultimately they don’t love their club enough,they only hate others.
Fat Sally says… ” Who dropped the curtain on mah toebone ?”
Hello hello
I don’t know why you say “Goodbye”, I say “Hello”.
(thumbsup)
BABASONICOS71 on 2 May, 2012 at 13:53 said:
Paul67,
They don’t have a John Keane because ultimately they don’t love their club enough,they only hate others.
share on F’book or Twitter
Never a truer word been said mate.
Even as their team edges towards the abyss, the inmates on FF can still find time to turn their perma-rage onto our new away strip!!!
Celtic_First – Puma > Adidas.
But Gola for the win. (thumbsup)
Posted from previous article since I was so slow to post!
Me is confused.
So Bill “Billy Boy” Miller gets the evil hordes for £11.2 million (or whatever).
Who does that money go to? Craig “Whytey Boy” Whyte? The creditors at a shilling in the pound? A mixed bag of the above? Keeps most for himself for spending money later?
Does he then sell Ipox, Minty Park, the fraudulently obtained replica trophies, and Sally to a Newco for 10p, and start over buying new players with another fistful of dollars?
Also, since Ipox has been carried in the accounts since before the Christ left Dumbarton with a valuation of what? £80 – 100 million or something like that (?), how can they (whoever they are – Duff and Duffer on behalf of Bill “Billy Boy” Miller perhaps?) sell a valuable asset for a fraction of its “real” value? Surely it has to be sold to the highest bidder in an open and accountable process? Say Cala or Barratts or Stuart “Stuarty Boy” Milne or Asda with their lovely green livery, or even better, some casino owner with a new business plan woth say £700 million? 8-)))
Does anyone have any idea on this?
Cheers and Hail! Hail! to the Champions!
Cyrul
Mr John Keane
We will forever be in your debt
I salute you sir
HH