Arrests, Celtic nations, absurd fantasies, selling the silver

The BBC report that police in England detained four men in early morning raids in relation to an inquiry into the purchase of Rangers by Craig Whyte (not one of the four) from Sir David Murray. This one has been a slow burner so far and although this is a significant step, there are still many layers to be unpicked. It’s been three years since I heard of what was going on in the dying days of Rangers, this step seemed inevitable, but as the years passed I wondered if anything would happen.

Please remember this is a serious legal proceeding, so act appropriately here and elsewhere online. Failure to do so could prejudice future prosecutions – and we don’t want to do that. No speculation on who is involved and what they may have done.

Why are we reading that the European Commission confirmed Celtic did not benefit from state aid? Good grief, if six of you get together and badgered someone into checking if Ronny Deila is in the Norwegian Red Brigade, would anyone subsequently report this nonsense?

Absurd fantasies being denied is not news, unless you’re analysing the absurd fantasists.

I see there are complaints aimed at Ibrox that they are “giving away the family silver to keep the lights on”.

What kind of fool has silver in the drawer but can’t put money in the meter? Football clubs, like all companies, have to keep the lights on and pay all creditors. If they cannot pay, they are legally obliged to sell assets. Failure to do so will result in the court appointing someone to dispose of those assets for them.

This is where Newco Rangers are now. The utter contempt for financial responsibility which has endured at Ibrox for over two decades, means that no one can afford to cherish whatever silver remains. It is perhaps even more futile to blame major shareholders for not accepting an offer to dilute their control and destroy shareholder value – which is an accurate description of Dave King’s recent approach.

Those shareholders were heralded a short time ago for putting their money where their mouths were when the legions of ‘Rangers men’ kept their hands in their pockets. Offering shareholders a deal which would jeopardise their chances of the financial return they expect was a waste of everyone’s time.

Newco is owned by people who have put tens of millions into it and who are looking for a financial return. Any forward plan has to recognise this reality. With trading conditions are severe as they are, the club will sell-off anything they have to compensate these shareholders and meet obligations to tax and trade creditors. Costs will be cut, and if income subsequently falls, cut again.

Having checked out Burton’s online this morning I think I’ve got Christmas sorted. I really hope we see the Sports Direct ‘flash mob’ protests deployed at another of Britain’s major retailers. They are up there along with State Aid campaigns as a productive use of time and energy by people with unparallelled levels of vision and clarity, who really need more focus more/tone down the hissy fits.

I’ve never been one for patriotism but if you’re off to Celtic Park tonight, remember to sing both anthems in the battle of the Celtic nations. This advice may change on Tuesday. It will be great to see Aiden, Shaun, David, Robbie, Martin and Gordon grace Celtic Park one more time. So many great memories…

You can get copies of Caesar & the Assassin, Billy McNeill and Davie Hay’s accounts of managing Celtic from Jock Stein’s departure until the appointment of Liam Brady, here. We’ve stopped taking orders for signed copies, which will only be available at author events going forward.

A CQN’er (and absolute star) has kindly donated two North Stand tickets to Tuesday’s Scotland-England game on Tuesday. He doesn’t want any money, but asked if I could get something for Mary’s Meals for them. Face value is £60 each. Email me before midnight tonight if you’d like them, celticquicknews@gmail.com