“Frustration” was apparently the order of the day for Celtic as Newcastle’s Leon Best decided against moving on loan for the remainder of the season, despite his club being happy to see him go, while a gaggle of other target-men were apparently courted. Frustration; really?
We have Hooper, Stokes and Pawel Brozek fighting for no more than two forward spots, with Moh Bangura still waiting for his first proper run in the team and Georgios Samaras regularly drifting to the striker role from the left. Different formations also call for only one striker with a creative central player, such as Forrest, Commons or maybe Rabiu Ibrahim.
Hooper and Stokes are both playing well, scoring regularly and will be difficult for Brozek to dislodge, not to mention Bangura. Best, who is neither show-biz nor a player guaranteed to score a barrel-load, would either be this year’s Freddie Ljungberg, or if successful, would be improving his own development at the expense of a contracted Celtic player.
I’m as frustrated as I was the day we lost Marc-Antoine Fortune.
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Ryan o
Aek Athens are thought of as a socialist club…
you better stay well away from them…. o))
Kayal33- Was talking to a bhoy who was in company with Roy Hodgson and PL after the last derby game.Hodgson couldn’t believe how big our squad was.He said 25 first teamers and a few young bhoys coming through was fine,we have 47/48 full time players.BTW he was up to watch Jellylegs but left raving about Thomas Rogne,mate said he was a really nice guy.
TBB,
I’m sure I just said that :-)
Well put sir.
The one thing confusing me here is that Rangers, at the time Whyte was buying the club, would also have been in teh process of selling the season thickets to thier Hoardes for this Season.
Not to sound like a doom merchant on transfer deadline day, “What happened to the Season Ticket Money?”
Did lloyds and Murray already have lots of this?
Was it put towards the working capital and they’ve burnt that already?
To assume that only the ticketus money was available is to remove any thoughts on how the huns operated during the previous years when thier Season Ticket sales should have been providing working capital.
It is for this reasopn that I agree with Awe Naw (I’m sure he’ll be delighted :-))
The fight between Sir Moonbeams and the MBB is going to get dirtier.
Moonbeams kept hold of the tax case proceedings to cover his own backside and ensure his “team” would get the best deal when they came back to Save the Orcs. The slow media release of already known info is to stir things up and is a PR move to ensure that no blame lands on this team.
The MBB however may prove to be too wily for them (although he does not look but hey ho).
If the MBB can streatch this out to the Tax case sending them down instead, he will declare that he is walking away with head held high and his £18m; leaving HMRC and Ticketus to decide on the future of Ibrox and Murray park) He just has to ensure that he can last the distance.
Reducing working capital, selling what he can in the meantime, not spending money on things like the daily record (HeHe) are all going towards him making sure the huns simply exist.
Sides are being taken and battle plans drawn up for the final push from both sides.
the real war will come afterwards when we ensure that a club known as “I can’t beleive it’s not Rankers” (thanks for that whoever it was) attepts to rise from the ashes as a Premier league professional club and not start from the bottom.
For this, Our battle plans should also be drawn up.
Mucker
backtoworkCSC
Much as I’d love to see them have to start from scratch, losing Rangers from the League will cost us. I’d take them back if 3 conditions were met. They would have to forfiet the Leagues won whilst using EBTs. They would have to be regarded as an entirely new club and the titles left to the defunct club could not follow them. Lastly no one involved with the Murray or Whyte administrations could have anything to do with the club and certainly no money secreted away by Whyte could magically appear as capital for Newco.
You don’t like it. Here’s what you do so we can afford to make them suffer. If you are a season ticket holder, tell Celtic you’ll be back next year even though you only buy it to guarantee tickets for the derby. If you only go to the big games, come to a Dunfermline or St Mirren game. You don’t go at all? Get in touch with your local CSC they’ll bring you to within 500 yards of Celtic Park for a very reasonable price. Way too far away? Buy merchandise even if it’s socks or nightwear so you don’t risk getting attacked by Huns. Subscribe to Channel 67. You can see whole games the day after they have been played. I’m sure there are plenty out there with the “Ah but”s but even those struggling can do one extra little thing.
When the question is asked “What did you do when we had the chance to bury the Huns?” and all you can say is “I made it clear to Peter Lawwell, on blogs, that I would stop supporting Celtic if he voted Rangers right back into the SPL,” I will hold your opinion cheap.
Ok Heres my teams for the rest of the season
Forster
Matthews Rogne Mulgrew Izzy
Forrest Wanyama Ledley Sammi
Stokes Hooper
team as back up
Zaluska
Lustig Wilson Mastorovic Blackman
McCourt Juarez Ki Commons
Brozek Rasmussen
Team as back up to the back up team
Cervi
Cha Loovens Fraser Twardzik
Ibrahim Brown McGeoch George
Watt Gormley
And we still have Kayal & Bangurra to comeback from injury!
‘Now Thatcher, she’s an entreprenurial genius! She took things the public already owned and got the to buy it and they were grateful!’. Arthur Daley.
I think CW went to the same business school, if CW stumped up £18M of his own dough, what has he done with the remaining £18M from Ticketus?
If he hadn’t spent it, how come he only had £3.5M when the Ticketus bill hit the mat?
Income from STs which weren’t mortgaged, where is it?
But can someone please explain why CW claimed that he gave James Beattie £1M to go away?
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo says:
1 February, 2012 at 10:54
spot on, no coinidence all this guff came out yesterday when it was clear jellylegs deal was done with everton and important cash for Whytes plan.
whyte is a genius in my opinion, he has outfoxed them all including scotlands supposed greatest businessman lol
James F, 11.28. Superb as usual. I remember at the time of the (f)akeover you were adamant that you wanted Whyte to take over as he was a shyster, and correct you have been proven.
Whyte would have been better buying the local “carwash” :-)
SffS
@BatterdBunnet
So, if- and I mean ‘if’ under the purely hypothetical terms that we are speculating upon- VAT is indeed owed for this sale. Who might be liable CW, Wavetower, Ticketus?
Seven Fishes Four Steaks:
Ha! He’d have been better buying the local laser-tag!
At least he’d have had Andy. Ally just isn’t up the job!
James Forrest you have done it again sir ,another great post telling the weak minded how it should could and will be for the huns i salute you sir ,
for those in any doubt the huns are fecked big time lol HMRC will not let them off the hook TAX DOGERS FC will be brought to an end
Mort says:
1 February, 2012 at 11:22
“The trouble for Ticketus comes if Rangers are liquidated and all they have is a piece of paper saying they own future revenues of tickets that can’t be sold.”
I think there is no chance that Ticketus will just be sitting with a piece of paper. There will be something else secured against the ticket sale/loan which they will call in when it goes belly up.
James Forrest is Lennon says:
1 February, 2012 at 11:52
James as I understand it if rangers re-emerge somehow from the mire as Newco none of the directors from the previous fives can be involved??
If so this would kybosh the idea of the Murry meister returning in a blaze of hun glory..
Thanks
Starry
Sorry should read the previous five years**
@Mort@LochgoilheadBhoy
..indeed surely Ticketus have the internet! and must have known that Rangers had an HMRC case hanging over them. They couldn’t have lent money without security on something “nailed down”.
A host of CQN’s finest journo’s all seem to, underestimate the way that this government swings ?
Celtic FC, called to a summit for what ?
Three players being booked ?
There was a GOLDEN opportunity for, anarchy to rule the day.
PL is invited to a govt-summit and, guess what ? Thats right, out of an entire attendance at the summit, PL is the ONLY RC in attendance. (Thats my guess.)
PL, imo, should not have attended the summit, citing that – we would not be implicated with the huns for, 3 bookings!
I feel, if Celtic FC would have rubber-eared the summit then, its at that point the SNP house of cards would have fallen down about their masonic/orange ears! IMO!
But, what do I know ?
Hail! Hail!
starry plough:
Yeah from my reading of the SFA Fit & Proper Person regulations, no-one will be allowed to serve on an SPL board if he was previously on the board of a club which suffered a liquidation event in the previous 5 years.
That rules out every single member of the present, and former, Rangers boards, and to me is, and has always been, the most potent indicator of how Craig Whyte saw his time at Rangers. He was never in this for the long haul, and I was thrilled – and that word is no exaggeration, I was thrilled – to read Alan Johnston say yesterday that when he spoke to Whyte’s people prior to the takeover they had no interest in cash-flow, “they had no interest in running the club.”
They saw Rangers as just another distressed company, to pick clean. They saw the Rangers fans as a bunch of saps, frankly. They saw Ticketus as just another creditor to grab a short term loan from and then shaft. They cared not a jot for what happened to Rangers FC in the aftermath of their plan to ride the club into the ground and the mild barbs of the press yesterday trouble them not one bit. Rangers fans can threaten season ticket boycotts all they want … that’s next season’s story, and someone else’s problem. Whyte knew full well he wasn’t going to be around for next season, and so it’s of no consequence to him.
The simplest reading of the SFA constitution makes it clear; he has no long term plan. He knows he can’t return from this to lead Rangers forward, so what else does he want except short term financial gain, regardless of the cost to the club?
I never said he was stupid, this guy. He’s far from stupid, which is exactly why, as Seven Fishes has said, I would not have wanted him near Celtic Park.
BT, share the love :-)
Dealing in naked reallity….
If the huns win the league this season, and they might…who would be over the cliff first ?
Whyte or, Lawwell etc ?
mmmmmmmmmmmmm tricky ?
lochgoilhead bhoy at 11:54
It’s possible that this could be classed as fixed charge rather than a floating charge if all proceeds from season tickets allocated to Ticketus goes to a blocked bank account that Rangers can’t access for their own use. If this is the case and its a fixed charge, then Ticketus will be a secured creditor and get priority in the event of liquidation.
Mort
Paul.. Well said !!!
I m sick and tired of all the media spin.. At every opportunity we need to point it out.. We all knew that such a headline would be generated .. As I said earlier … Snyde led with us ” losing out on targets”..
Jealousy is terrible for them especially turning green… !!
We had a superb window.. Lustig in early followed by the other great signings up front Pauwel. Why indeed would we want Best?
Hail hail
KevJungle – let me be honest here. I worry about you.
A very appropriate comment from James Forrest earlier. Having avidly read the excellent comments from Paul and other subscribers to CQN throughout this saga and from the thoughtful contributions to the marvellous Rangers Tax Case blog, one can come to only one conclusion – that Rangers, in any recognisable form, are doomed to wither on the vine, at best. My only degree of nervousness in all this is that Celtic maintains its prudent approach to business and goes on to capitalise fully on the new opportunities offered by Rangers demise.
RaRaRasputin at 11:12
I was thinking about what you said re: Craig Whyte’s statement, (re-quoted below):
“In the most lurid terms, the Record accuses the Club’s management and, specifically me, of using supporters’ money to help fund the buy-out of Rangers. Not true.
The Club is accused of not paying £5million in VAT. Not true.
I can categorically assure supporters that when I launched a takeover bid for the Club it was funded entirely from one of my companies and that was demonstrated clearly to the satisfaction of the previous owner, Lloyds Banking Group and professional advisers.”
As several of this site’s big hitters are currently doing the forensic analysis of the likely contractual background to the MBB’s acquisition of the Foe Malign, I thought I’d offer a best-guess analysis of his statement.
The language is classic evasion: even the apparently definitive term, ‘Not true,’ falls into this category. For instance, if the accusations in question were indeed ‘Not true’ then MBB would have had grounds sue the DR.
His other ‘categorical assurance’ is equally duplicitous: I don’t think anyone doubts that his ‘takeover bid’ was funded from ‘one of his companies’; or that he got the consent of LBG to proceed. However, he can’t/won’t explain the provenance of his supposed ‘personal wealth’.
That said, the word ‘slippery’ (which was invented to describe folk like the MBB) could be applied equally to any number of the principal characters in this fabulous game of financial chicanery …
FF
weeminger says:
1 February, 2012 at 12:07
KevJungle – let me be honest here. I worry about you.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Thank God sumdy does m8!
Hail! Hail!
James Forrest is Lennon says:
1 February, 2012 at 12:02
Thank you James and for all your great posts in the last weeks on said subjects..that was my understanding of the directors story as I said yesterday this mess is going to spread and spread and where it stops nobody knows!!
Their transfer window was one of the funniest things I have ever seen, enjoyed myself yesterday and really really looking for to Saturdays game..
Hail Hail
Starry
Malarkey says:
1 February, 2012 at 11:58
The “nailed down” asset I understood to be the Stadium,might be wrong!!
Who broke the blog ?
sorry Paul 67
if it wis me ?
Hai! Hail!
KevJungle
If they win the league this year there’s gonnae be some queue at that cliff!
Lemmings ain’t in it.
TKF Predictor Post
For those all involved please note that this weekend’s fixtures are now up on the website.
Also note Celtic’s early KO on Saturday.
Get your predictions in!
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
Rumour in work amongst the bares, FPLG has quit…
JF – surely the fit and proper person rule is a major hurdle for them. Just who will run the Phoenixed Huns if none of the current or previous board are allowed anywhere near?
David Cameron just suggested during Prime Ministers Questions he might intervene with HMRC to assist Portsmouth FC, in order to keep the friendly rivalry with Southampton alive. Hmm.
Ibrox press conference cancelled today.Hmmmm
I’m reasonably happy with this transfer window.
1) We’ve come out stronger than we went in
2) We’ve taken no notice of events across the road
3) We’ve strengthened in key areas
4) We didn’t sell any of our regulars
5) Our rivals sold their star striker.
Would have liked more deadwood out but you can’t have it all. Frustrated about missing Leon Best? More like Glad.
Todays Daily Retard.
PIN THE TAIL ON THE PATSY.
Tomorrows Daily Retard
AN IN DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THE PATSY/STOOGE
(sorry it’s nearly 2 years too late,but there was a timeframe to what we could release)
TBB at 11:24am.
Absolutely superb explanation in terms even I understand.
Sppreciated.
SwanseaBhoy
From GersNet, THEY STILL DONT GET IT!!!
Recently, I’ve been redesigning the history archive section of the Gersnet website (re-launching very soon). While data entry is never the most exciting of jobs, working through every season of the club since 1872 wasn’t the laborious task it could have been given the amount of fascinating facts surrounding Rangers.
From dozens of legendary club figures to last day title successes and triumphs in Europe, the club has it all. Of course, it has had many, many challenges along the way. From its very inception where four young lads knocked a borrowed ball about the banks of the Clyde, to tragic stadium disasters which will haunt us forever. And we’re facing such a challenge now – one that threatens the very existence of Scotland’s most successful football club.
First of all, I think it’s important to note that believing everything said in muck-raking tabloids and other less than impartial media sources is a foolhardy business. There are always two sides to every story and you don’t always get that when people are vilified in the papers. As such, the obvious ejaculation every time a negative story arises about our club (or its owner) must be dodged when viewing the bigger picture. Unfortunately for Craig Whyte, it’s now getting to the stage where said picture isn’t all that big at all.
Of course, the historic HMRC issues he is facing were not of his making so those attempting to suggest he is culpable for them just because he took the challenge on are not being wholly fair. Similarly, former directors questioning where he obtains his funds are not just ironic but distasteful given their own part in the club’s perilous state.
Paul Murray and Alistair Johnston may think they’re enlightening the support when talking to the Daily Record and BBC Scotland but where was their own ‘vigilance’ when their former board collectively contributed to the situation we’re in now? Instead of pointing the figure at the present incumbent and asking the ordinary Copland Joe to act (and do what exactly?), why not offer alternatives which the support can buy into (literally if necessary)?
Moving onto the current board and while they’re correct to defend themselves from unfair (or hypocritical) criticism; open letters and shareholder circulars may say a lot but actions speak louder than words. The Whyte era is in its infancy but, bad press or not, the lack of forward progress is worrying. I sympathise with the new owner in that he is clearly restricted with regard to the HMRC noose ever-tightening round his neck. However, he knew the situation before he bought the club so there must be plans to deal with whatever outcome the tribunal judges decide.
The main question Rangers fans have is what are those plans? With no AGM in sight, audited accounts still not published and shareholder letters that are open to interpretation; Whyte has to do a lot more to show he’s the man to put our trust in. Obviously, until the tax judgement is known, he may want to keep his powder dry but it is becoming more and more difficult for our fans to take the man on his word – when his word has been shown to be less than reputable so far.
For example, while removing the Lloyds effect was always going to mean a different cash flow source, what what are the terms of the Ticketus arrangement, why are we several years down the line in advance payments and what happens if we do default? Is this the case of going from the frying pan to the fire or utilising a more efficient borrowing facility? Whyte’s lack of transparency doesn’t inspire confidence in the latter. There are many more questions needing answered and not everything can be blamed on the previous owner.
Now, I don’t think many Rangers fans are asking for tens of millions to be pumped into the club. The lie of the land has changed and the excesses of the 1990s are long gone. We cannot and should not attempt to compete financially with other leagues. In that respect, Whyte is correct to highlight the fiscal vacuum that appears when we fail in Europe. We must cut our cloth accordingly. Thus, selling key assets such as Jelavic when we do fail isn’t a surprise but an absolute necessity to avoid increasing debt again (not that we know what debt we carry). However, just because we may be unable to spend the millions of before, doesn’t mean our ambitions should change.
No-one is saying it is easy to achieve the holy grail of being successful while making the club a profitable business. That takes investment, innovation, hard work and commitment – virtues that have been missing on and off the field at times this season. Ally McCoist may well be be unhappy that Jelavic hasn’t been replaced but his (and his players) poor performance so far contributed to the shortfall.
What is important now is the reaction to the situation we find ourselves in. What the club has missed most this century is genuine leadership. Rangers Football Club didn’t get to 2012 through accident but by great men playing their part in delivering and maintaining success. I sincerely hope Craig Whyte will be one such person. To his credit he has stepped forward to address the unforgivable risks of Sir David Murray and the previous regime. His background may not be perfect and he will make mistakes. However, if he’s honest with the fans and involves them then the future can be a positive one. Guiding Rangers away from the precipice is easier said than done but it can and should be possible with a great man
And, that’s the crux of the debate. No matter what Sir David Murray said or did; no matter what Craig Whyte says or does; the long term security of the club should be paramount. This year Rangers celebrates 140 years since it was founded by our gallant pioneers. This could also be the year it ends and it’s up to Craig Whyte to ensure the unthinkable doesn’t happen. Yet, so far his performance has been unconvincing and misleading. He needs to do more to show us he is capable of being another great Rangers man. Our fans should not apologise for expecting more.
That’s the truth, the whole truth, of the matter