Celtic Park was packed with an expectant crowd 11 years ago when Celtic took a two goal lead into the second leg of a Champions League play-off round. Many of us felt it was to be a sort of Coming of Age. After our long hard slog throughout the 90s we were champions and ruthlessly swept aside Ajax in the first leg.
After the full time whistle arms were aloft in celebration but only after an incredibly tense 90 minutes which saw the visitors win the game and fail to convert some decent chances.
Four years after our last entry into the Champions League this new Celtic side have a Coming of Age opportunity tonight. Last season they showed their mettle to overcome a daunting deficit early in the season to win as comfortable champions, with or without penalties applied to opponents for employing more footballers than they could afford.
While the players may reach a new stage in their development tonight is as much about the supporters who have been part of the struggle in recent seasons. This is your reward for all those hard times when your club paid their bills but had victory snatched away from them by others who were playing to different rules.
Bring your singing voice tonight.
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Jungle Jim
A school teacher, you would still have enough spare time to be a driving instructor aswell!!
There was a guy sat behind me last year, Jock Stein 142, comes from Arbroath, driving instructor. 2 + 2 = bigger number. The east coast seems well represented.
PC67
Helsingborg starting with nothing we dont know from the first game.
We on the other hand have the colossus that is Victor Wanyama starting in midfield.
May God have mercy on their souls…
Celtic’s team that beat Helsingborg 2-0 away had average age of 24.8 years old.
JJ
It was a clumsy reference to your own fondness for cycling.
Neil Lennon
Nicely done – thanks
In Seoul this week and can’t find anywhere to see the game, anyone any thoughts would be appreciated. Every game was televised for the last couple of seasons when we had Cha and Ki, keep getting asked who are Swansea – who indeed?
Climbing the wall here ’til kick-off!
So to while away the time here’s a wee question for you all (if you can be botherd)!
On 3 occassions the final of the Champions League has been contested by clubs from the same country.
Name the year, the 2 teams and the score.
HH!!
There is actual thunder in the East of Glasgow.
Ironic CSC
Right, that’s the stretch limo! I’ve to leave for Paradise now; see you all there in spirit at least.
There’s been thunder, lightening and heavy rain all afternoon in itsabouttimland but I’m sure the sun will be out and shining brightly at full time.
Hail, hail.
Neil Lennon is (and always will be) a Celtforlife (*O*)
15:55 on 29 August, 2012
BSR obviously the blue car as all red did was stuff his face……………..
Depends on whether it was a Blue Honda Accord v a Red Honda Ulster……………..
Ah know, ah know……….
TBM
Right, all sorted. Called in sick at work. The “hope you feel better” at the other end of the phone was met with a wicked grin, as I imagined myself falling off my bar stool later.
Apologies to Philvis and Kojo for my decision to stick it to the man. Sincerely hope I won’t be hunted down by one of your captains of industry…
Good Afternoon,
This is an excellent synopsis of the recent saga by Stephensanph. Equally there is a fantastic piece of analysis of the recent figures produced by Duff and Phelps in their latest- and presumably final- report by the ever vigilant Paul McConville over on his own blog where the thoughts are seldom random despite the title.
I am no financial analyst- preferring to recall words and indeed actions rather than drill down into the deepest financial crevices of a business- but certain figures sometimes stick out and jar against of my own recollection of what folk say and do.
To that end I am afraid I am a tad confused by the recent D and P report, and at the same time I cannot help but recall the words of others at key and significant points in the timeline outlined by this article.
Meanwhile, some music plays in the background and the lyrics of Sammy Cahn float around in my head…. It is a long long time from May to December— only to be replaced by the strange fantastical finale to the second Roxy Music Album—For your Pleasure— which finishes with the subliminal message- barely audible—which says— “ Don’t ask why?”
————————————————————————————————–
A statement from Duff and Phelps issued on the morning of Tuesday 14th February read as follows:
“Duff and Phelps has been engaged by the directors of the Rangers Football Club plc [RFC] to assist its negotiations with HMRC, and possible restructuring options.
“As a result the inability of RFC to conclude negotiations with HMRC the board of directors have filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators.
“The purpose of this notice is to provide a moratorium against potential creditor actions. Meetings are due to take place with HMRC in relation to the tax position of the company. Management remain hopeful that with the assistance of HMRC a consensual and solvent solution can be found. In the meantime RFC is continuing to trade as usual.”
Did you notice the “The” in front of the word “Rangers” by the way?
I digress:
By close of business that day, D and P were formally appointed ( with a few technical errors ) as Administrators of Rangers PLC leaving Paul Clark able to make the following comment to a hungry media:
“HMRC have been working closely with the Club in recent months to achieve a solution to the Club’s difficulties. However this has not been possible due to ongoing losses and increased tax liabilities that cannot be sustained,”
“We are working together with management and its major creditors including HMRC to achieve a solution to the financial problems which will ensure the ongoing survival of the business, which is of paramount importance to all concerned.”
He then promised a further statement in a few days.
This came on 2nd March 2012 when Mr Clark was able to demonstrate that, having got his feet under the desk so to speak, he had his finger on the financial pulse at Ibrox. He spoke with authority and knowledge:
“In short, the Rangers business is trading at a substantial loss and we have no alternative but to fill an approximate £4.5 million shortfall by the end of the season.
“It is therefore imperative that we find savings of approximately £1 million per month to ensure the ongoing viability of the business.”
You will recall that following this series of statements, there was seemingly endless negotiation between D&P and the players about wage cuts, deferring payments, wage caps, and even voluntary termination of contracts- with at least two players simply leaving of their own volition and without payment.
Jobs were spared, none were lost and Rangers ( in the guise of the PLC ) made it to the end of the season:
Let’s pause there for the moment and go no further in the time line. In fact lets go back to that day in February when HMRC and others were faced with an advance notice of potential Administration being served at the Court of Session, signalling a move by Craig Whyte that the club was headed for the scrapheap with none of the creditors getting paid.
The BBC was able to report comments from both Craig Whyte and David Murray.
Whyte stated that because of HMRC actions the club had to accelerate its plans and added:
“The administrators are in today and looking at everything and I will work with them to help them all that I can and we’ll have a plan to get out of administration by CVA [Creditors Voluntary Agreement] process as quickly as we possibly can.
“Rangers will always be here as I’ve said before. We will come out stronger and come out a better business and most importantly in a position to put as good a team as we can on the pitch and to win trophies which is what we all want as Rangers fans.”
Whyte’s comments were carried by some Newspapers as Mantra with no room for question.
Former Rangers owner Sir David Murray said he was “hugely disappointed” at the club’s decision to appoint administrators and expressed surprise at the timing of the decision. You will also recall that Murray has repeatedly said that there was no wrongdoing during his tenure as Ibrox Chairman – especially in relation to the use of EBT’s and I believe that he previously stated that there was “No Danger” of Rangers going into Liquidation or Administration.
And here comes those two sets of Lyrics again—It’s a long long time from May to December…. And don’t ask why!
Duff and Phelps were not in charge of Ibrox from May to December. No- their reign lasted from February to June, but within two weeks of arriving they were able to say that there would be a £4.5M loss by the end of the season if they didn’t cut costs dramatically.
And what a good job they did, because they themselves reported that during their tenure they managed to reduce the trading deficit for their period in charge to only £4M.
I will say that again just so we are clear:
During the period of Duff and Phelps Administration Rangers lost £4M—despite the salary caps, despite the wage freeze, despite a couple of guys walking away, and despite everything—the business they ran for 4 months lost £4MILLION.
Now remember this does not include their fees (£3.5M or so) nor any salaries for a chairman, a director or 7, a finance director and so on. Nor does it include the huge legal fees they have ramped up all over the place.
So how do the creditors feel about that?
How do ordinary Rangers fans who stuck their money into the club feel about that?
Given that D and P are professionals, can presumably keep a set of books properly and did not enter into any dodgy tax schemes and presumably paid PAYE and so on—- how on earth did Craig Whyte- Motherwell Born Multi Billionaire and general financial whizz kid- seriously expect the business to be rescued by a CVA and to come out stronger in a short period of time?
Why was Sir David Murray surprised at the announcement of Administration given that this was a business that was operating on much the same financial basis as the one he handed over to Craig Whyte? In fact with the resignation of all the Bain’s, Murray’s, Johnson’s, Greigs and so on the club was actually saving money on those salaries in comparison to the Murray lead Rangers—and remember Whyte said he was not paying himself a salary at all, and there is nothing in any D and P report which contradicts that as far as I know.
Further, unless it was agreed that Ally McCoist would move up to Walter Smith’s salary—would that not be another saving?
For this humble correspondent, the figures produced do not sit right with the actions taken and the statements previously made.. and I am hearing that same subliminal message… “Don’t ask why?”….. and can see no one in the press thus far posing the question.
David Murray was absolutely correct that the EBT case or the FTT decision would not pose a threat to Rangers PLC…… because on the basis of what Duff and Phelps have reported with all their professional expertise…… Rangers PLC was as good as dead already, trading on figures and on a basis that no business could support even paying the reduced taxes brought about by a properly managed EBT bringing about legitimate tax savings. Rangers PLC was already terminally ill long before the FTT hearing was concluded— FC Malmo saw to that — and so Murray was correct, the findings were and will be no danger to an already deceased club.
It appears to me that D andP have saved the creditors nothing by continuing to trade after being appointed and it is very much open to question as to whether they have achieved a result of any kind in opting for the sale to Charles Green.
This report tells you everything you need to know about operation Ibrox—it was a colossal loss maker under Murray, a loss maker under Whyte and a loss maker even under the statutorily controlled expertise of D and P— who knew within a fortnight that it was running at a substantial loss and yet they failed to cure it—or cease to trade!
Hey—but Don’t ask why?
Now , Charles Green is in charge of a new company trading from the same location, in the same industry, using a virtually identical name, appealing to the same customer base and relying in the main on the same creditors.
Yet it is not the same business. He is forced to operate without any European income- or hope of European Income — his gate receipts are limited by football rules and will be far smaller than those received in years past, and he is backed by as yet still mysterious investors who the fans/steakholders/customers are not allowed to know about or learn what their reward for investing will be.
Will he succeed financially where Murray et al failed? Does he have that Midas touch—the same one that apparently belonged to Craig Whyte? Will the fans continue to swallow his seemingly endless propaganda that all in the garden is rosy and that three, five or even ten billionaires are ready to invest……. In a business which one of the biggest turnaround specialist firms in the world ran at a £4M loss over a 4 month period?
Over the summer he has pandered good news and Rangers news at every step— but September ushers in the Winter…… and a Winter in Scotland can be tough, especially in a poor economic climate with financial discontent aplenty.
And what of Stewart Regan?
Remember the days when he had a twitter account and repeatedly stated on that account that all the allegations of wrong doing and financial imprudence at Ibrox were only allegations and that nothing had been proven yet?
The same Regan who said that for example “ Do Celtic not need Rangers?” and that despite everything and all the rules, the SFA had to do what is best for everyone and for Scottish Football in general?
Where does Stewart Regan stand today in the face of the Duff and Phelps statement? What does he and his committees—especially the mysterious SFA Auditor — think of a club run by experts which ramps up a loss of £4M in a 4 month period—- always ignoring the trail of footballing debts and other issues that have to be looked at such as registrations, contracts, proper disclosure and so on?
How can he be sure, and what safeguards does he have, that the Ibrox machine has changed and that the financial projections provided by Charles Green are sustainable in light of the figures produced by D and P?
Tonight, Celtic go courting that sultry nymph called the Champions’ League Group stages—a sexy, well-endowed temptress who comes with a sizeable dowry which would help see them through the winter and more. The Rangers Football Club, on the other hand, must content themselves with The Ramsden Cup and Division three opposition— by comparison a far less glamorous date—but for all the lack of glamour a down to earth partner with bags of fundamental goodness, honesty, integrity and genuineness which are perhaps more important qualities to notice and learn from at this time than the riches and ambitions of the sexy European nymph.
Yet I fear that those fundamentals will not be enough for some who are used to the promised lands so easily spouted and promised by the Murray’s , the Whyte’s and maybe even the Green’s of this world. As we head into winter how will Green’s team and followers cope with some dark unglamorous nights in a wintry Scotland?
How does the Yorkshireman make a profit and from whom does he make it?
What happened to all the money from previous years if there were such huge on-going financial losses?
£4M lost in 4 months?
Don’t ask Why?
Others prefer not to ask and instead insist that the whole of Scottish Football will die and wither without a Rangers team of some sort in the top tier. They prefer to peddle calamity and wretchedness for all rather than ask the simple question “why” of their own former custodians and current management?
It is a Long Long time, from May to December….. and December in Scotland is cold and bleak at times.
Perhaps William Shakespeare foresaw the whole scenario— Green, Rangers, The SFA , The SFL and SPL– with the opening of Richard III…. And remember with this speech Willy boy set the scene and warned his audience of what was to come…… though of course you cannot make an audience listen…..
Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York;
And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.
Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths;
Our bruised arms hung up for monuments;
Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings,
Our dreadful marches to delightful measures.
Grim-visaged war hath smooth’d his wrinkled front;
And now, instead of mounting barded steeds
To fright the souls of fearful adversaries,
He capers nimbly in a lady’s chamber
To the lascivious pleasing of a lute.
But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks,
Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass;
I, that am rudely stamp’d, and want love’s majesty
To strut before a wanton ambling nymph;
I, that am curtail’d of this fair proportion,
Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,
Deformed, unfinish’d, sent before my time
Into this breathing world, scarce half made up,
And that so lamely and unfashionable
That dogs bark at me as I halt by them;
Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace,
Have no delight to pass away the time,
Unless to spy my shadow in the sun
And descant on mine own deformity:
And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover,
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
I am determined to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasures of these days.
Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous,
By drunken prophecies, libels and dreams,
To set my brother Clarence and the king
In deadly hate the one against the other:
And if King Edward be as true and just
As I am subtle, false and treacherous,
This day should Clarence closely be mew’d up,
About a prophecy, which says that ‘G’
Of Edward’s heirs the murderer shall be.
Dive, thoughts, down to my soul: here
Clarence comes
Henrik Larsson has beaten Rod Stewart to the Gazebo.
Patrick62,
A huge Hail Hail to tourself and the rest of the gang in the best wee pub in wonderful Budapest.
If I had known your pints were only £1.40 I might even have bought one!
Hope you are right with score and scorers.
All the best from sunny Cyprus and thanks again for your hospitality last week.
B and L
bhoys
going back to the Gordon Smith piece last night….i am certain he was the agent of Steven Smith , who has been named as having an EBT when he played for defunct fc.
HH
GOOD LUCK TO THE HOOPS TONIGHT!
Nothing shows up the lying fascist hypocrites or capitalists as they like to call themselves, better than free speech.
They told us for years only totalitatian regimes claiming socialist principles were the enemy of free speech.
Assange
“Every professional footballer should seek to play at least one game at Celtic Park. I have never felt anything like it”
Paolo Maldini
*not Chico*
brogan rogan trevino and hogan supports kano 1000
16:07 on
29 August, 2012
Good Afternoon,
That’s some post mate, if CQN was the olympics, that’s a gold for sure
And a new world record……….
BigjoeImpressed
BSR
We should get that printed on our next jersey.
Time to go home before heading to the game. Wouldn’t it be great to be 3-0 up at half-time…
HH
Philbhoy 14.05
Get a hold of him,put him in a toilet and don’t let him out,until he says the Confiteor in Latin.
Only joking I am sure he is one of the good guys.HH.
Special guest Subo gargles in readiness, at the gazebo.
Ipswich close to signing George Boyd from Peterborough
Could be the end of their interest in Daryl Murphy
Big Joe
for once the plaudits don’t go to BRTH but Paul Mac! As Monsier Brogan lets us know in the post!!!
Bigjoecannaereadcsc
Allegedly, Charles Green and John Brown finally fell out, when Bomber said to him, ” One of my nipples is bigger than the other two – Do you think that’s normal “
are we there yet??
are we there yet??
are we there yet??
are we there yet??
are we there yet??
come on time, MOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bournespice
hope its only water
:)
Has anyone seen the footage of Fat Sally at their pre match press conference on SSN?
It very much sounds to me as though him + Green are at loggerheads over incoming players
BSR – PSG 1995, scared to even utter the result.
starry plough
Found that out too re Celtic tv! Living abroad but managed to get sky sports for the next couple of months, assuming the CL group games won’t be shown by Celtic TV either due to rights issue
HH
Ten Men Won The League
George Boyd isn’t a striker but then again some may say neither is Big Murphy!
Ten Men Won The League
16:27 on
29 August, 2012
Has anyone seen the footage of Fat Sally at their pre match press conference on SSN?
It very much sounds to me as though him + Green are at loggerheads over incoming players
_________________________________________________
Yes just seen that, huge emphasis on “we will have to sign players in the next three days”, looks like a man under pressure.
3.0 to the Tic tonight,attack attack,their defence is very suspect.Keep the faith HH.
BigBones
Subo gargles with prune juice
celtic_cross
Drat
bournesouprecipe
So is Subo singing at the end of the game?
To do so at the start of the match would be presumptious in operatic terms.
As Neil says “Still work to do!”
Neil canamalar Lennon hunskelper extrordinaire
16:09 on
29 August, 2012
Nothing shows up the lying fascist hypocrites or capitalists as they like to call themselves, better than free speech.
They told us for years only totalitatian regimes claiming socialist principles were the enemy of free speech.
Assange
“Isn’t it interesting how fascists always steal the word freedom.”
Fascism is Capitalism in decay
Lenin.
Thunder in Stirling.
Must be on its way to CP.
Was the last time the King of Kings at CP not the game against the Dons we won 9-0?