One of two things are going to happen:
Possibility One:
Dave King will say: “You ain’t got no problem, journos. I’m on the pot. Go back in there, chill them Bears out and wait for the £30m, which should be coming directly”.
Possibility Two:
Dave King will make some irrelevant, vacuous, comment, or make no comment at all, but he will NOT say “Chill them Bears out and wait for the £30m”, because £30m isn’t coming.
If option one happens, Newco has a future. If anything but option one happens, they have no future.
They will need £10m to keep the lights on next season in the Championship – and that’s before any ambitions to improve the football operation. Even more important than keeping the lights on, they need to find £5m to repay Ashley’s loan (yes, getting Intellectual Property off Mike Ashley is more important than staying out of administration).
That’s £15m loan or capital investment needed, on top of ticket sales and other income, to survive the next 12 months, without repaying any of the directors loans and without finding a budget for a better keeper than Cammy Bell.
If they find this money, and they win promotion next year, they will still have a deficit (even with the current player budget) in the Premiership. £30m would be gone within two years, and that’s assuming the millions needed to be spent on the stadium is forgone for a while longer.
While King was building momentum to displace the last board, he was crystal clear about the level of ambition which was a minimum requirement for Newco: compete with Celtic. He was prepared to spend his children’s inheritance, £30m, £40m, whatever it takes!
Now he’s not so verbose.
Last year he issued a statement asking “Does the [Newco] board agree it is unfair to ask fans to buy season tickets before they consider the business review?” Now he’s ‘on the throne’ we’re hearing little about the club’s plans. It’s easy running a football club when you’re criticising the guys currently doing the job, it’s a whole lot harder when it’s you who has to make the decisions.
Mike Ashley’s EGM next week may be a welcome distraction. Mike will be the bogeyman, but only for the permanently gullible (and there are lots of them). His loan is modest compared to the size of the funding gap and it was known about before King urged shareholders to back him.
That Ashley is an uncompromising lender and holder of onerous contracts is no mitigation for King. Ashley is that and more. We knew this, King knew it when he told fans he was the man to turn things around. He cannot act surprised now.
So is the £30m coming? Even if King has the money, I can’t see it, it just doesn’t make sense. Pouring £30m into a black hole, without merchandising rights for 7 years, without a realistic prospect of being competitive on the field, when the only reward is to survive long enough to pour in yet more millions, is lunacy. The dark days of 2012 will haunt Ibrox once more.
It makes more sense to let the club go to the wall, let Ashley run off with the Rangers brands, make him the bogeyman, and use your money to bid for the stadium from the insolvency practitioner. Four or five years down the line Govan United could be a top-flight team. They may even be able to cut a deal with Ashley for rights to the ‘Rangers’ name, which despite all that’s gone on, still has some cachet.
I’m pleased to read Celtic on the front foot again this morning regarding the Offensive Behaviour’ Act. I’d hoped that when the baton passed from Salmond to Sturgeon the Scottish Government’s lunge in the direction of extraordinary police powers, and laws created after curious political considerations, would end. I gather a glimpse of doubt crept in around a year ago, as immediate political realities gave the Government reason to reconsider, but all such self-doubts have since been washed away.
Get used to the Act, police with guns on our streets as a matter of course, and ambitious aims for their authority.
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BMCUW
We had a lovely lunch, as usual. Spent a fecking fortune on animal feed, as per usual. :-)) The things we do for a quiet life. Lol. Take care buddy. :-)
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
tictaewin
19:22 on 2 June, 2015
Disappointed with McNeil when he came out for No.
Guess being in the establishment with his MBE
etc he felt obliged.
####
Yeah it was a major shock what with support for Scottish nationalism being such a large part of the history of the Club and eveything.
Warburton’s sacrilege
thomthethim for oscar ok
Interesting wee read.
Oldtim
We could take a train journey along the line to the next stop, then the next
We could do the fife equivalent of the Glasgow underground pub crawl 8))
Neustadt, HT,
Thanks for the acknowledgement.
I hope TT spots our replays, after asking the question.
I am really concerned that there could be unsuspecting hoops fan wearing colours who could easily wander into that bigot fest on Saturday and get themselves seriously hurt. The consequences of allowing these nutters to gather legitimately in the centre of our city have not been thought through.
I see there was a bit of chat about Billy McNeill. My tuppenceworth, which is worth less thanks to deflation, is that when I picture the ideal Celtic captain it’s Billy that I see in my mind’s eye.
So he voted No? So what. He captained the Celtic on that day of days. He lifted That Trophy. Every time I see that image, my heart sings anew. And every time one of thems sees it, the hurt begins again. He’s The Man.
TTT
I love listening to tales from the guys who endured the 50’s and early 60’s
We also had the bhoys who endured their cheating but you bhoys did it in black n white
OT
Just looked up my emails
It’s the 25 June…it’s not easy for me to get a Friday off ..don’t think I can make it
Shame …looks good
Martybhoy
Hope the new job is everything you hoped for
We will be in town Friday to escape the bigots on Saturday
Old Tim good to see you posting, had a great time with you all in the BV after the ICT game. Hope you remembered some of the yarns. KTF see you next season. Hail Hail Hebcelt
I was 19 in 1967. Watched the game on a wee black & white telly in a digs I was staying at in Killorglin Co.Kerry. had just started work in a small operation down there. It was my first job and the Manager there was one of the greatest bastards I ever encountered in my life. The day of the game he announced there was overtime and I had to be back at work around 7 or so. My memory is that the kick off was around 6pm BST. Anyways I naturally stayed to the finish and headed back to work with tears of joy in my eyes. I was expecting the biggest bollicking of my life but for the one and only time in the 12 months I worked there, the Boss treated me as a human being. He just said fantastic game and we went back to our work. A couple of hours later I was in the pub downing pints of Guiness at two shillings a pint, that is 10 cents or about 8 or 9 pence a pint. Mind you my wages were £9.50 per week and I was paying £4.25 for my digs.
When is the Aberdour Golf Event (pub crawl). Count me in!
weefrathetim…
I mind my da doing the back to back shifts on the buses, all I mind when I was Young was of him shattered and falling asleep in the chair.
He worked in larkfield garage, big Eddie he was known as, probably a bit before your time though.HH
Hamiltontim.
I’ll keep that in mind Re taking me over to the Fife coast. I’m very interested in having a look at the boat, I’ll have to get his mail address as I have a few spares for a K3, in fact it’s proper name is Kelvin 3 cylinder, it’s very hard to get spares for these engines now,
he can have them if he want’s.
I’m in the process of having a BBQ prepared for the 20th of June, keep the date clear if you can.
BT my daughter and her did the infamous “Underground Pub Crawl” she reckoned Bridge Street and a couple on the South Side were definitely the scariest – can’t think why!!! hail Hail Hebcelt
Correction 2 shillings,12.5 cents.
BT,
We did endure a lot, in hindsight.
However, we had Celtic.
We stood beside others who were experiencing the same stuff.
We didn’t have to debate it, argue over it or fall out about it.
We had Celtic and it really was win, lose or draw.
We all felt it for your dad on that horrible day and we all celebrated the many magnificent saves he made.
Every Celtic player was ” us”.
The game and allegiances changed post Bosman.
We don’t have the same attachment to players.
Circumstances and rewards have taken footballers into a different strata, akin to film actors and save for a few, are on a different planet to the fans.
No complaints , that’s progress….I guess.
BT
Job going well thanks, try and manage in for a couple of quick ones back of 4
Her pals doh
Hebcelt
Yeh, I’d miss a few stops myself
Corkcelt.
I was 28 in 1967, I wish I was 28 now, I think this is going to be a good time to be a Celtic Supporter.
Official website quick to update First Team squad with pic of Boyata added. All the loanees aka Guidetti. Denayer, Tonev & Wakaso are still there all listed as squad members. I assume the cut off date for their Loan period has not yet been reached.
TTTT
Aye, grew up with that. 8((
oldtim67
Good post Davey! Always good to remember the dark before the dawn……
Born 08/08/1948 – taken to the Coronation Cup Final by Grandpa……………
Went to primary school and endured a lengthy purgatory only alleviated by a 7-1 League Cup win at Hampden – left school (to start college and apprenticeship) and then the ‘Wilderness Years’ ended…………
Lisbon Lions and 9-in-a-row ~ (got to mention 10-men won the League) ~ Centenary Year ~ C-for-C ~ Seville ~ Barca 125th night ~ the list goes on!
Did a spreadsheet last year and calculated that I have attended/witnessed Celtic F.C. lift 97 Trophies in my lifetime;
EC/ League/ SC/ LC/ Coronation Cup/ Glasgow Cup and Various others……….. like you – hope I’m around to see us clock-up the Ton/100 in my lifetime!
Will try and make BV Friday.
H!H! Mhate!
Its good tp be alive oldtim. Any time is a good time to be a Celtic Supporter but in the last 20 years if anyone said to me, we would be going for 5 in a row, I would have thought they were mad. However that is exactly where we are so yes it is indeed a great time to be a Tim.
P.S. Old codgers clique rules, O.K.
Richie –
CQN Open at Aberdour is on Friday July 24. Or 51 more sleeps ;-)
Just read on one of the servo sites that they should do everything in their, ( trying not to laugh) power to sign Scott Allen and, wait for it Didier Drogba. The only issue they had in signing Drogba is that many of the zombies believe he might be a bit too old. They really are a deluded bunch.
Oldtim
20th June is definitely out for us auld yin, it’s H’s folks 50th wedding anniversary that weekend.
Sipsini
Nope, I worked for the Western SMT, the elite of the Scottish Bus Group. Inchinnan garage got all Airport diversions, which there was an amazing amount, a different wind direction, flights diverted. These were prevalent in the 1960s and 1970s. I have no doubt someone made a fortune out of these diversions, possibly the Western SMT, but defo the drivers. Lol.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
oldtim67
20:27 on 2 June, 2015
I tried calling you just after 19:00 went to your voicemail, will try again in the morning before I set off for one of my Sisters Wedding on the Bonny Banks of Loch Lomond.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Didier Drogba for Sevco?!
Ffs Sammy stoap it!
HH!!
Hamiltontim.
No problems. if it doesn’t suit others, we can change to another Saturday as long as the weather is good.
It was on the do the bouncy site in their transfer thread about Scott Allen
Hebcelt, the Laurieston on bridge st is a wonderful old pub. The head barman makes all sub crawlers welcome. Miss out the rest before stopping at Partick, or vice versa depending which direction
My girlfriend and I will be in Glasgow on Saturday ( Garrowhill) before flying out to Spain on the Sunday morning. We had intended going into town on Saturday afternoon/early evening. Would that still be a good idea with this Orangefest?
JJ