I hear there are rumours in the old media today that David Longmuir prepared a plan with Charles Green and Peter Lawwell before briefing Scottish Football League clubs this week. I suppose the rumours are half right. No one from Celtic was involved in this nonsense.
Special mention to Gavin Masterton, owner of 94% of Dunfermline shares, who last month told the BBC “The football club is debt-free. There is no bank debt. The debt is to myself and the other directors.”
This new kind of “debt-free”, talked about by Dunfermline and one other lower league club is more dangerous than it seems as just three weeks later Dunfermline admit they expect HMRC to apply for a winding up order.
Fans have raised around £250k, enough to pay HMRC in full, but they are asking Masterton to value his shares at a level they would reach if an administrator was appointed, which will happen if the fans don’t pay. Masterton’s recovery plan was to issue £500k of shares for around 25% of the club. Nice, for him.
Nine years ago Masterton and Dunfermline director John Yorkston were embroiled in the financial calamity which afflicted Livingston. This tale of woe is worth reading, as is the story about the downfall of Bank of Scotland by Iain Fraser, who writes, “The rot set at Bank of Scotland in when the likes of Gavin Masterton and Peter Cummings started handing millions of pounds to their pals, without doing much in the way of due diligence.
Fraser also speculates “Foolishly, Cummings and his predecessor Gavin Masterton handed [Sir David] Murray a total of £760m on a “no questions asked, handshake only” basis and, in the current environment … realised he hasn’t much chance of paying this back”, in an interesting article on the Bank and the liquidated football club.
Mr Masterton is clearly the only qualified candidate as the next president of the Scottish Football Association. After Mr Peat (former director of liquidated club Airdrieoneans) and incumbent Mr Ogilvie (former director of liquidated club Rangers) the bar has been set at an astonishing level.
“Utterly astonishing”, as our old friend used to say.
Be wary of people to say they are debt free when what they mean is they have no bank debt. Be very wary of bums who try to convince you that them being denied bank lending is a good thing.
If company credit rating equals zero, credibility rating equals (I’m away to find out if a whole number is required here).
[calameo code=000390171160c3bf6ac7a lang=en page=119 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
796 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- ...
- 21
- »
Re the “accounts”, if they are not posted by the due date (31 March?), does that not (re)confirm that they are not eligible for a licence at all, and should be disqualified. On, on, Spartans…
tommysbhoy
12:54 on
14 March, 2013
Kelvinbhoy
Seems like there are a few of us on here…small world. Have nieces there just now and some of my friend’s kids go. Still some of the same teachers there from our time.
excathedra44
12:57 on
14 March, 2013
I fear our Board are not fully in tune with the level of annoyance this has caused and unless strenuous opposition is evident I fear that the momentum created by Fergus will be lost.
———————————————-
They are more than aware. What to do about it is the problem. Getting a football’s house in order where joists and support beams are rotten, without bringing the house down using joiners and builders who are not committed to the rebuild but are the only guys in town makes it complicated.
DontPatmadug
12:41 on 14 March, 2013
‘Tom English @TomEnglishSport
@1888_Originals @eddiek62 Longmuir: “Both clubs have intimated their desire to be part of this (Colts) strategy.” He is talking to both
So Longmuir is a liar.’
Well someone’s not telling the truth.
The trouble is unless Celtic go on record with a denial we’ll never know who it is.
Kelvinbhoy
You mentioned Fr. Toye. Would he be same Fr. Toye of St.Catherine Laboure in Balornock? He was a lovely old man, very humble and always very pleasant. Unlike Fr. Lennon of the same parish. What a cheeky bugger he was! Wan’t shy in telling your parents to go to Mass, and always had his hand out for money for the plate when he visited you! Happy days!
HH
1 Captain Conan
2 Holywell
3 Cue Card
4 Reve de Sivola
5 Karga de Cerisy
6 Super Duty
7 Arabela Boy
Kelvinbhoy
makes us feel auld..good days tho
Jonny the Tim
13:08 on
14 March, 2013
Kelvinbhoy
You mentioned Fr. Toye. Would he be same Fr. Toye of St.Catherine Laboure in Balornock? He was a lovely old man, very humble and always very pleasant. Unlike Fr. Lennon of the same parish. What a cheeky bugger he was! Wan’t shy in telling your parents to go to Mass, and always had his hand out for money for the plate when he visited you! Happy days!
you a balornock boy or the bar m.
Post
Got a tip from a “bookie” last night! (well he runs a Ladbrokes shop) Sam Winner @ 4/1 he reckons. I’ve got it in a Placepot
DontbackmytipstheyneverwinCSC
Friesdorfer
12:57 on
14 March, 2013
Re the “accounts”, if they are not posted by the due date (31 March?), does that not (re)confirm that they are not eligible for a licence at all, and should be disqualified. On, on, Spartans…
———————
You would think so but the rules since last year have been changed to allow a club to seek exceptional dispensation from producing past accounts.
I imagine they will have to produce something and questions should be asked of what they produce but the National Club Licensing rules which apply to SFL clubs are loose enough in terms of discretion as to let a club with no accounting history to get one (as happened last season).
Here are the financial criteria from 2012
http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/resources/documents/ClubLicensing/PartTwo-NationalClubLicensing/8%20%20Legal%20Admin%20&%20Finance%20Criteria%20(2).pdf
and 2013
http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/resources/documents/ClubLicensing/Part2:National/Part2Sect8_Legal,Admin,FinanceandCodesofPractice%20Criteria.pdf
Check and compare 8.12
Spot the differences. One good change is that some of what clubs supply the SFA will be made public.
Jonny the Tim
13:08 on
14 March, 2013
One and the same – your memory of him squares with what my parents have told me.
Paul67
Banks and bums?!
The late Jimmy Sanderson said that fitba’ was about putting ‘bums on seats’.
Remember the old ‘Only an excuse’ sketch where Tony Roper (a big Tim) said – while playing the part of Jimmy Sanderson talking to a punter on a ‘phone-in programme: “Bums on seats! I want your bum caller!”
They later issued a public apology.
But it was funny at the time!
HH!!
auldheid,
Forget the joiners and builders, send for Sammy B Allison.
From BBC Scotland website on the appeal of the two bombers.
“The parcels were posted in March 2011 in the aftermath of a confrontation between Mr Lennon and Rangers’ manager Ally McCoist during an Old Firm”
So once again it is good a old Ally and big bad Mr. Lennon.
I am not anti-board – but I think its a bit disingenuous to suggest that they should not make a simple statement to distance themselves from Longmuirs plan or at least make it clear that there have been no formal discussions.
Unless of course there has been some contact and/or they actually like the idea?
kelvinbhoy
13:15 on
14 March, 2013
Apologies – should have been directed to Favourite Uncle.
Auldheid
Why not bring it down, you know as well as I and anyone else that it can’t be fixed.
If they don’t have control, they won’t play ball.
Bring it down, to do anything less is condoning the corruption.
Habemus podium!
Congratulations to jungle jam67 on his stunning victory.
Re: the Bank of Scotland.
A lot of things in Scotland are run on the basis of cozy friendships and handshakes. Of course, it helps if you’re in the right circles. The now-zombified bank was at one time keen to pull the plug on Celtic for exceeding an overdraft of £5m. If they had applied the same rigorous oversight to other areas of their business, they would not now be a hollow shell of a bank that only exists as a mere branch outfit of a more competent English owner. (thumbsup)
Favourite Uncle
Bar-M.
Ryemount Rd.
Paul,
Did you mean to say £760k ………LOL
johnny the tim.dulsie rd balornock for me.ps it’s a priests job to get people to go to church.i know father lennon very well from being an altar boy.he was a gem.
ernie lynch
Exactly , Iain King @kingyatthesun
@hlspaghetti @gordonwaddell @janelewissport @the_tbk Celtic in favour of Colts plan in principle, not willing to go on the record yesterday
ernie lynch
I trust Paul on this. Some things just cannot be attributed as the motives of the source becomes the story.
If – as is being suggested – CFC were in favour, in principle, of the Colts idea but were not willing to go on record, why did ‘brother’ Longmuir make it public?
Have CFC issued a statement yet in relation to all this?
HH!!
THE EXILED TIM
Celtic would have no other house to live in. It is that simple. Unless supporters would back a Belfast Celtic approach?
Before bringing the house down I would want to know another one was built.
If Celtic are not involved in this they should bloody well say so, rather than let a pygmy like Longmuir paint us as scuppering reconstruction talks.
Was Dulsie a better place than Acredyke?
Us Broomton bhoys gave the whole place a wide berth. A bit rough for us.
Fav. uncle
Cant argue with your “shepherd looking after his flock” comment, but I always found Fr. Lennon a lot stricter with us as kids, and he never left our house without a wee envelope! As I say, Fr. Toye was a lovely old man, even my ” non-denominational” friends used to talk to him, and had a lot of respect for him, and he always had time for them too!
To be fair to Fr. Lennon though, he didn’t take any crap from us!
HH
Auldheid
A house could be thrown up overnight, we both know it.
The infrastructre is already in place, it’s just the people who run the thing are corrupt.
Honest people in there, not a bother, corrupt huns, we have what we have.
Bring it down.
ntasoolla.dulsie was indeed.only 5 houses.broomton rd TWINNIE MARTIN RULES.
Tallybhoy
Timing. The idea has been around before.It was the timing that is wrong in the run up to a reconstruction vote.
I have no problem with the idea whatsoever in the context that Longmuir predicted – we are no longer playing in Scotland.
He brought it up in terms of getting ready for that event now, as opposed to us (and Rangers) playing elsewhere being a reality.
Naughty.
Auldheid
13:24 on 14 March, 2013
‘ernie lynch
I trust Paul on this.’
I don’t doubt he’s accurately relayed what he’s been told.
I would question why the Club can’t go on the record.
There’s only one reason I can think of.
THE EXILED TIM
13:30 on
14 March, 2013
Auldheid
A house could be thrown up overnight, we both know it.
————————–
You’ll have to convince of that over a beer, sometime next week or week after if it suits and weather permitting.
TET
I meant to ask when you say house you mean a house and not a cave :)
ernie lynch
They will not go on record because Celtic then become the story and the bad guys, whilst the real bad guys are laughing their heads off.
If Longmuir is lying Celtic could speak to him privately and suggest that it would be in his own best interests for him to issue a correction otherwise they’ll have to set the record straight themselves.
(The ‘Stop telling lies about us or we’ll start telling the truth about you ‘ strategy.)
So Celtic could clear up the whole issue without saying anything in public. That would be better than off the record briefings.
ernie lynch – Strange but true:
Mark James’ song “Suspicious Minds”, later made a hit by a guitar man of humble Mississipi origins who went by the name of Elvis, was originally inspired by you.
TCB baby. (thumbsup)
Tallybhoy wonders @13:26 “If – as is being suggested – CFC were in favour, in principle, of the Colts idea but were not willing to go on record, why did ‘brother’ Longmuir make it public?
Have CFC issued a statement yet in relation to all this?”
TB it could be he’s trying to associate Celtic with his scheme. It could be he merely ran the idea past someone at Celtic in the most informal of ways.
Failure to deny an accusation is not the same as admitting to it.
The constant calls on here for Celtic to denounce this, that and the next smack of the mob mentality.
If Celtic were to respond to all such demands, they’d need a new secretariat, which could be called The Denial Department.
“Trust me” reassurances on CQN or elsewhere are counterproductive.
In an atmosphere of mistrust everything must be above board.