Motherwell fought tenaciously for most of the game at Celtic Park this afternoon but a momentary lapse was all that Georgios Samaras and Gary Hooper needed to settle the contest. Celtic moved an astonishing 23 points clear at the top of the table and are odds on favourite to become champions before the next return to Celtic Park.
Samaras was first to show after 9 minutes when he latched onto a Matthews flick but Darren Randolph was quick off his line to block. Player of the Year elect, Charlie Mulgrew, then jinked past a defender before slipping the ball to Samaras. The Greek’s shot was block and Mulgrew blasted the rebound wide. Randolph then saved well after Samaras shot from inside the D.
While Celtic always looked dangerous, Motherwell were in no mood to concede, so the goal was surprising in its simplicity. Adam Matthews fired a throw-in to Samaras, who chested the ball into the path of unmarked Gary Hooper. Hooper put his laces through the ball from a narrow angle to give Randolph no chance.
Samaras, Hooper and Forrest all had chances to finish the game off but the second goal never arrived.
Good defences are a lot harder to quantify than poor defences. Today Celtic strolled through the game at the back. No one was stretched and Fraser Forster didn’t have a save to make until the 77th minute.
Issue six of CQN Magazine, the Fit and Proper edition, is set to become a landmark collectors item. You can browse the magazine online here but you can buy your own hard copy by clicking on the link below. Read with 20-20 vision…..
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I notice the Sunday Post lead with a Walter to return to Ibrokes exclusive- howeverhey fail to answer 2 key questions in the piece- what position he will play and whether FPLG will need to return the company brogues to him
Mullet and Co
A fine question Sir which certainly requires an answer
@ starry – calm down, you maniac!
The Blue Knights tried to buy the debt from Lloyds but the proposal was knocked back as it did not involve getting rid of any forward liability on the EBT noose that Rangers are getting readied for.
Be interesting to see how the Bain £500k issue plays out
The Blue Knights seem like a desperate attempt to try to run Whyte out of town, but challenging the legality of his takeover.
The fact that Dave King might be involved shows the sheer poverty of their thinking – given all that has happened, is it really a good idea to involve a man convicted of a 250million pound tax fraud in apartheid South Africa in a rescue bid?
The logic of the fakeover still applies. There is no logic in taking over RFC now, certainly not until the FTT has reported. Post-liquidation, things might be different.
But it is looking increasingly unlikely that RFC in its current form can be saved.
Good morning Celts, Whits the craic ?
when’s the Huns game on? Just in case I fancy a bit of light entertainment TAL.
V
amadeus says:
26 February, 2012 at 09:56
I am perfectly calm and enjoying my Sunday morning gloat and ice cream float…
How was the game yesterday did you manage to keep order??
SP
I think that it is a great idea to involve Dave. Leopards don’t change their spots and we might get a remake of this one a few years down the line.
Coorslad missed yir post last night, yes I met the Derry crew yesterday in the London Rd social, good craic as Wullie C was in and a busload Fae the Port Hibs.
I had mrs Coorslad scarf on, it’s a belter, need to get an order in for more.
V
Morning bhoys
thanks for the replies last night went to bed a bit worse for ware and missed them.
What did ADele do at the Brits?
Kittoch
she was making an acceptance speech when the host James Corden got a message in his ear to cut her short. He did, and she was none too pleased so she showed her displeasure with a 0ne fingered salute.
Kittoch
the reason for cutting her short was to allow Blur to come on and do a rather long set, which, by the way, was awful (imho)
Vmhan –
12.45 kick off.
Jobo
Order was kept and decorum achieved, (mostly).
Looking forward to the hun being spanked up North.
I think the hun ethos, the triumphalism and the presumption of superiority, reminds me of one of my aphorisms.
“It is only the tasteless who are shown to be fussy.”
(gets coat)
twists and turns
Thanks mate, never been a Blur fan.
Hmmm….a three hour wait in carlisle. Anyone know what time Weatherspoons opens?
From SOS
‘A judge said King has no respect for the truth and does not hesitate to lie or at least misrepresent the facts if he thinks it will be to his advantage… that he is a glib and shameless liar’
A week may be a long time in politics, but it is an eternity in the continuing story of Rangers’ demise. What has happened in the last seven days? Only this: Craig Whyte has admitted (kind of) that he was lying all along about the Ticketus affair; the “wee tax bill” has gone from £9 million to a possible £15m; the SFA have appointed Lord William Nimmo Smith to “flush out the truth” about Whyte’s takeover; Strathclyde police are looking for possible criminality; Andrew Ellis has apologised to fans, saying he was duped by Whyte; Gordon Smith and Ali Russell have been axed, club director Dave King has appeared; Matt McKay became the first player to disappear; £3m of future income has been spent on refurbishing the kitchens at Ibrox; Paul Murray’s consortium plan is gathering momentum; part of the club’s heritage has been cashed in with the sale of 100-year-old shares in Arsenal; Whyte says he intends to carry on while the world wonders if the wiring in his brain has short-circuited.
Have we missed anything? Of course. Collyer Bristow, the law firm that acted for Whyte in the purchase of the club, the firm that everybody wants to talk to but can’t seem to get any answers from. This column sent some questions their way, questions about what they, and in particular their representative Gary Withey knew about the background to the Ticketus affair, what they knew about how the money was spent and how much is left – and where is it? No comment, was the cry.
But, then, we were in good company. Duff & Phelps, the Rangers’ administrators, has been trying to get to the bottom of the Ticketus money and haven’t exactly found Collyer Bristow to be wholly forthcoming. It will try again tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. One day this firm is going to have to answer questions about its association with Whyte. Nothing to hide? Let’s talk, then.
This saga has a way to run yet. Rangers desperately need the remainder of that Ticketus money (£24.4m minus £18m to Lloyds leaves £6.4m that could keep the show on the road for another couple of months). That’s if there is any left, of course. There may not be. In which case, liquidation here they come. Maybe. The administrator is fighting tooth and nail to keep Rangers out of liquidation but it remains a giant fear. The chances of them getting out of administration in time to be eligible for Europe next season seem remote. Liquidation means three years out of Europe, three years of the most horrendous grind to balance the books.
It’s inconceivable that Whyte will be around much longer. Whatever hold he may, or may not have, on Ibrox and Murray Park, he is in a heightened state of delusion if he thinks he can ever return to Ibrox, let alone run what goes on there.
At some point there will be a new owner. At the moment, the favourite would look to be a consortium being pulled together by Paul Murray, a collective of businessmen and fans that has got plenty going for it. Enough for the administrators to give it a hearing at any rate. Murray met David Whitehouse and Paul Clark of Duff & Phelps on Friday. By the end of the week he reckons he’ll be clear in his own mind who is involved in his consortium and how much money they’re playing with.
King’s appearance in Glasgow during the week was blasted all over the papers and it didn’t escape the attention of the South African Revenue Services (SARS) who, for 14 years, have waged a battle with the Scot over 2.7 billion rand it claims he owes it in tax. To convert, 2.7bn rand is about £230m. King is also facing 322 different charges including fraud, racketeering, money laundering and tax evasion, the maximum penalty for which is 15 years in prison.
Laughably, Richard Gough, a mate of King’s, referred to his problems in South African as “technicalities” in a newspaper the other day. King denies all the charges against him, but not even he would dismiss them in the way Gough did. Paul Murray calls King a friend as well as former colleague and said yesterday that he would like him on board in his consortium. Murray is aware of the toxicity of his mate, but reckons King won’t do anything to embarrass the club going forward.
As soon as King hit town, SARS issued a statement to Scotland on Sunday, the gist of which was a “We’re watching you…”
“The South African Revenue Service is involved in various stages of litigation against the taxpayer [King] and associated entities to recover large sums of outstanding tax. A tax debt of R2.7 billion for Ben Nevis, an entity associated with the taxpayer, was confirmed by a South African tax court…Other processes of litigation is currently before different courts of law and are at this stage not reportable. SARS will continue with its attempts to recover outstanding tax debts and SARS will continue to follow due legal process for this purpose.”
As if this Rangers story doesn’t have enough compelling characters, King is another. Last July, Mr Justice Southwood, sitting in the South African Income Tax Court, said in judgment of King that he had “deliberately misrepresented the facts of the case to his legal representatives”, that he has “no respect for the truth and does not hesitate to lie or at least misrepresent the facts if he thinks it will be to his advantage”. King, said Justice Southwood, was “a mendacious witness whose evidence should not be accepted on any issue unless it is supported by documents or other objective evidence… It was remarkable that Mr N [the name given to King in court] showed no sign of embarrassment or any emotion when he conceded that he had lied to the Commissioner in a number of his income tax returns… In our assessment he is a glib and shameless liar.”
Evan Pickworth is deputy editor of BusinessLIVE in South Africa and has covered the King affair closely. “We’re reaching endgame over here,” he says. “It’s been an epic battle between SARS and King. He’s their number-one big fish target and things are accelerating. There is R30bn of fraud in South Africa and the authorities are getting increasingly aggressive with their targets. They have about 56, in particular, they’re going after. King is top of that list. To put it mildly, I think SARS would find it less than funny if he was to be involved in the rescue of a football club.”
He may not be, of course. But King’s presence last week added another element of the bizarre to the Rangers movie
To be fair to King, he had every right to try and discover what has happened to his 20 million. There is no chance of him being a player.
There is still just the one.
Free jelly if you can guess who that is!
Bobby M … @ 9.08
Looking more and more like a train wreck.
CVA – with the HMRC calling the shots looks like long term repayment strategy.
The only issue is the time needed to sort out any form of re-organisation.
Lack of cash and big wages suggest that unless CW left behind his stash – unlikely – then they will be struggling to make it through to the end of next week.
Consequently looking at two magic numbers –
1) Cash to get them through till the end of the season.
2) Cash to re-build for the start of next season.
All comes down to the question – What price history?
I think Wee Eck and political Scotland will push for an HMRC deal that includes tax and interest but no penalties – still looking at
£36mill +
£2.8mill +
£13mill +
Even the interest on this would choke a horse.
Any info on the rate the HMRC charges on late tax?
£8mill pa would be repayment over the medium to long term?
Starry Plough:
£49m is the answer. They don’t love their club that much. They’re quite prepared to start from, well from, start….
Money comes before history for these peepil.
I see the sunday post have given a few posters a mention for their witty donations to the saverankers fund.
.
Does anyone have Nell’s Article Re; Mark Hately..
Summa
Vmhan,no fiveways!Is the club now were GB meet..Glad you like the scarf,she will be delighted you wore it.
Hoops goal yesterday.
Question. Why was Gary’s celebration so low key? Relief?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yZxnX2BDns
Summa
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/spl/celtic/2012/02/26/celtic-boss-neil-lennon-blasts-back-at-mark-hateley-over-his-rangers-rant-86908-23764952/
twists n turns says:
26 February, 2012 at 10:38
He said he didn’t celebrate because he wasn’t happy with his performance
Mick
tyvm. I must have missed that.
Well said Neil Lennon…
Andy Walker live on SSN – “I wish Rangers well”.
So out of touch Andy it’s untrue.
001
NEIL LENNON last night slated Rangers legend Mark Hateley and branded him an EMBARRASSMENT.
The Celtic boss was seething over a bitter rant from Hateley against him and his champions-elect.
The ex-Gers striker slammed Lennon and the Hoops hierarchy for making what he called ‘inflammatory’ comments about administration-hit Rangers.
Lenny was fuming at what he reckoned was Hateley branding Celtic’s likely title win ‘tainted’ because of Gers’ worries.
Lennon and Hoops chief Peter Lawwell spoke out strongly on Gers’ downfall and the gaffer stands by their words. He said: “Mark’s brought this up two weeks after we’ve done the interviews, so why he’s bringing it up now, I don’t know. I find it embarrassing.
“It caused a lot of amusement among us. At the end of last season I said there were a lot of people outside the game who don’t put anything constructive into it. It’s just take, take, take.
“And Mark, I’d put into that bracket. I don’t know where he’s coming from with his comments about us dancing on Rangers’ grave. That is completely misconstrued.
“In his opening paragraph he basically says ‘I don’t care what you think, but your title’s tainted’. To me that’s disrespectful and inflammatory to the supporters of this club, the club itself and certainly my players.
“Basically it’s just PUB talk. Someone in his position should know better.
“So if anybody’s being inflammatory about the whole situation it’s him.
“We’d still be well clear without Rangers being in administration and the ten-point penalty.”
Lennon added: “Hateley is someone who has played the game and should know the game.
“We’ve never mentioned dancing on Rangers’ grave at all. We haven’t taken a gloating theme to it.
“He’s using the words dignity and class — well Rangers are the ones under investigation.
“They’re the ones who the police have been called in to look at.
“We’ve done nothing wrong. We’ve played the game on the pitch as honestly as we can — and off the pitch we do our business properly. It was a cheap shot from Hateley.
“Our fans won’t take a blind bit of notice of what Mark says or thinks. And neither will we.”
So now we know. Ranger’s players received contractual payments from a third party. This not only means a £50M plus tax bill is a certainty, it also means David Murray is to blame. Craig Whyte may be picking over the rotting bones of the club but it was Murray who delivered the death blow.
Now third party payments to players are also illegal under the rules of football. It means that all of the players involved were effectively ineligible to play in any games, domestic or European. And the penalty for that is a big fine. Also the result of every game changes to a 3 – 0 defeat. Just ask Sion – it happened to them. And they challenged it in every court and lost every time.
So every Rangers result for many years should now be changed to a 3 – 0 defeat. How many tainted titles will that remove from their total? How many cups?
Rangers FC PLC (in administration). Football cheats as well as tax cheats,
click here…
….naw!!!
Morning all from yet another bleak and miserable day in North Ayrshire.
I read the comments from last night about the Liquidators visiting the sou side bankrupts’ big hoose yesterday. Has this been verified this morning? Have the rags reported it, as they have no doubt spent acres blackening Whyte’s name, trying to defelct attention fron their hero, Murray and his minions, like Campbell Ogilvie?
Gordon_J
Would that change the 6-2 game to 3-0?
Hope no!
Hope you are well!
Gordon_J,
All you have just written is, of course, music to my ears. But do you have anything to back it up. Please Ghod, you do.
Just got odds of 10/1 on Cardiff winning today on Betfair (90 minutes only).
These seem very generous odds for a Cup Final – I would have thought 6/1 would be right.
Put the kissof death on it now.
Ice cream and Jelly is good for the belly. Getting better by the minute at the Hundome. C’mon ICT.
Hail! Hail!
Philbhoy- Ha ha, good one!!