Celtic get there. Lighting a candle for Dave King

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Celtic were far from their slick best on Saturday, but they still dominated Hearts and could easily have won by a more flattering margin.  For most of the game, Steven Naismith set out to defend as we predicted.  It was only when Hearts pressed Celtic that his side belied their place at the bottom of the league – and managed to disrupt the champions.

I don’t often hear the positive characteristics of directors at Ibrox, so when I do, they stick in the mind.  Apparently, Oldco’s much maligned Martin Bain and Newco’s Stewart Robertson had little time for calls to the baser instincts made by their clubs.  John Bennett, who resigned as Newco’s chairman and interim-CEO on Saturday, falls into the same category.

Sipping hemlock from that Loving Cup is a mugs game.  Hopefully Bennett will recover from his brush with toxicity.

I don’t have time to write, and you don’t have time to read, everything we could share about Dave King today.  The man who as non-exec at Oldco was paid to look after the interests of all stakeholders, while the club marched towards liquidation.

Who then campaigned relentlessly against the Newco founding fathers as the fledgling club tried to establish itself.  The same person who advocated Newco “overinvest” in an attempt to catch Celtic, leading to today’s consequences.

Yesterday, he nominated himself as the man to rejuvenate the failing club.  “I’ll come in, stabilise it, get the right people in place, get the club working properly, at least give it direction, give it a plan.”  It’s that simple!

He sprinkled his comments with fairy dust like “Steven Gerrard”, who is lauded for winning one trophy in nine, in a season Celtic collapsed on all fronts.  He also said, “Saudi, obviously”, I mean, obviously, he’d mention Saudi!

And apparently, “There’s a lot of interest in America”, and in case you are in doubt, “[Newco] really should be able to march on and actually dominate in Scotland.”  Actually. Dominate. In. Scotland!

Neither of us have time to digest this in full, so let’s get to the golden nugget:

“I think we’ve got to get away from the model where we just rely on supporters writing out checks. There is money out there, but that money is not going to come from Rangers.”

There are two views on how to run a football club:

1. Live within your means.
2. Do not live within your means.

Despite all his precious Rangerses have gone through, Dave still believes that surviving on the teat of a sugar daddy is the way forward.  This is populist nonsense, which liquidated Oldco and wrecked Newco.

Give him the job, let him set aside all those promises John Bennett made about sustainability.  If we put a plaque on the wall of Celtic Park with Dave King and David Murray’s names on it, there would be more candles lit below it than there are at Carfin Grotto.

We’ll pick up on those two world views on how to run a club next week.

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  1. The Battered Bunnet on

    We might expect to see sight of the Annual Report in the coming week. Jobo should run a charity sweepstake on the cash balance to be reported.

     

     

    My guess is that Celtic will show more cash in the bank at 30th June than the sum of the Total Equity of all other Scottish Football Clubs. That is, notionally, Celtic’s cash balance is enough to buy every football club in Scotland.

     

     

    There’s a thing to ponder.

  2. The time for any serious investor to buy The Rangers was in 2012 when they could have had the assets of the old Rangers for a mere 5.5 million and a debt free club to run. Instead Charles Green was the man to step forward.

     

     

    No one is buying them now with tens of millions in director loans and FSR to adhere to.

  3. GlassTwoThirdsFull on

    Hope it’s okay to write about Celtic on a “Celtic” site?

     

    Engels surely has to start on Wednesday?

     

    Does Bernardo come back into the reckoning? Possibly for Hatate rather than Engels?

     

    Could Engels play in one of the wide positions in the forward line? Probably the closest we have had to Jota since he left.

  4. R2ngers aren’t an “investment” they are a Black Hole named ” Suckers This Way.

     

     

    Even if King is aware of FSR limits on player spend he will just ignore them and plead ignorance.

     

     

    Why not? It worked before?

  5. Bennett seems to have been the only bluenose with the sense to understand the obvious. Unfortunately he was also the only one willing to deliver the bad news and he lasted about 5 minutes. Now they don’t seem to have anyone on the board at all, so what the plan is and how it will be delivered is a huge question

     

     

    20 years ago we took our medicine, told the fans what we were doing, took the flack and reaped the rewards.

     

     

    They can’t do it, they can’t handle it.

  6. Just heard the glib and shameless one on TS, Jim White and Blue….’ Dave,you have put millions in to this club…..’ aye right…..

  7. King on TalkSPORT:

     

     

    “When I heard the board is going to go outside and get a headhunter…”

     

     

    “I’m absolutely certain a city-type appointment is not going to move the club forwards.

     

     

    I can step up for a period of time.

     

     

    Something has to happen quickly

     

     

    It’s Park’s fault for rejecting the American “investment”

  8. Glenowen on 16th September 2024 12:11 pm

     

    Dave King is not the Messiah

     

     

    No – He’s just a naughty boy!

  9. Sevco are in serious trouble . Their Chairman has resigned, they have no CEO, no DOF, no head of academy,no head of recruitment.St Mirren director turned them down. Only Park Jnr lives in Scotland.

     

     

    Bennett wants his money back as do the other Directors and so does the Lying King. He wants back the investment in the original club. King doesn’t have any answers.

     

     

    They have a squad of mediocre players who they can’t sell as noone wants them and who canny get their inflated salaries.

     

     

    Their stadium repairs are not yet complete and they still have to carry out the work to safely allow Celtic fans. As well as pay for it.

     

     

    What is the way out for them. FFP hampers them.

     

     

    The only way out is to win on the park but this is only a mitigation. Remember they are a loss making club.

     

     

    I know we have been saying this since 2012 but this time they are properly dubbed

     

     

    Surely Administration beckons

  10. Does Bernardo come back into the reckoning? Possibly for Hatate rather than Engels?

     

     

     

     

    Barring injuries, Engels and CalMac have those midfield spots nailed down. I’d start Bernardo over Hatate on Wednesday. Bernardo will keep the ball better which is vital at this level. Hatate is an attacking option should we need one later in the game.

  11. King will result in the Huns failing FFP and the drop off in Euro money will force the Hun into administration to allow them to keep the lights on.

     

     

    Comedyshowcfc

  12. AD- I would play 4 across midfield, and keep Maeda as a sub,but 8 can’t see Brendan changing his system at home,but I would like to see a more cautious approach away from home

  13. Celtic40me

     

     

    https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/celtic-v-hearts-live-updates-23/comment-page-11/#comment-3946277

     

     

    ====

     

    The Man City case puts football as a sport at the crossroads.

     

    Either it regulated to prevent whoever wants to spend their money (regardless of it’s source including dirty money) to win titles or it isn’t, at which point FIFA/UEFA etc become redundant as regulating bodies.

     

     

    That might focus minds but as long as supporters don’t care about the necessity of sporting integrity and just want to see the lions eat the Christians integrity faces an uphill battle or The Christians who exceed the lions go there own way.

     

     

    It will take a while.

  14. Tim Malone Will Tell on

    All together now…

     

     

    And they gave us Graeme Souness and David Murray

     

    They gave us White, Green, Ashley, King and Super Ally

     

    All those reprobates

     

    Walked through those Ibrox gates

     

    To liquidate the Glasgow Rangers way….

  15. AULDHEID on 16TH SEPTEMBER 2024 1:24 PM

     

     

    I wish I shared your optimism

     

     

    Allowing the oil-rich middle eastern nations to own football clubs changed the game forever. They don’t have any interest in our game beyond their own very narrow interests and they will use whatever means necessary to achieve them

     

     

    This is the second time we’ve seen something like this, they won’t change. They’ll cheat to win then try and cheat to beat the charges when they’re caught. They’ll buy their way out of trouble because they don’t see anything wrong with it.

  16. H&W has gone into administration- there seems to have been some dodgy financials

     

     

    It said Mr Downs took the step in response to concerns raised by customers over “the alleged misapplication of remittances in excess of £25m and certain other lower value matters, such as the disbursement of funds for little or no corporate benefit”.

     

     

    Wonder if any of it found its way to ipox

  17. BIGBHOY on 16TH SEPTEMBER 2024 1:14 PM

     

     

    Their accounts will make for interesting reading if that floats your boat.

     

     

    Maybe Bennett has seen them and as a businessman with a reputation to protect won’t sign off on them, or doesn’t want to add a chairman’s report.

     

     

    Maybe a serious going concern warning?

  18. The Lying King name checked every department in his interview, the Board,Park,recruitment, investment, stadium project, and the manager, he won’t be back there anytime soon

  19. According to the johnjamessite, and in all matters Rangers* he is usually on the money so to speak, (eg he predicted Bennett’s resignation two days before it was announced publicly) John Bennett loaned Rangers*

     

    £8 million @ 6% over seven years (£480,000 pa) with five years to run, and last year made a £10 million overdraft facility available at 5% (£500,000 pa). £18 mill on the line. Dave King, the only Director listed as an unsecured creditor on BDOs Creditors Report is not getting the £20 million he gave Moonbeams back any time soon. In fact he is not getting it back at all. Love hurts. King and Bennett of course are not the only Directors who have thrown caution, and many £millions, to the wind there are others, some of whom have turned their cash into equity confetti. Blowing in the wind. That is the answer my friends.

  20. More important than what is happening or might not happen to the team in the southside, we have an important game on Wednesday. So important that the club is demanding extortionate prices for the four Euro games. As a fanatical Celt, I have paid out serious money for tickets. Those tickets have yet to arrive chez moi? Is anyone else still awaiting the arrival of tickets? Incidentally a large sum of money has left my Current Account going Celtic FC.

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