Paul Simon wrote about ‘a loose affiliation of millionaires and billionaires’ but if you want to raise money to rescue a company you need more than a loose affiliation. ‘The rebels’ at Celtic managed this in 1994 (somehow), but Paul Murray’s Blue Knights affiliation unravelled over a few days.
While Duff and Phelps were casting aspersions on the SPL for spiking their plans to announce a preferred bidder last week, the Blue Knights were already struggling to pull £0.5m together as a covenant to secure a period of exclusive rights to buy the club.
18 years ago a Celtic supporter walked into a branch of Bank of Scotland and paid £1m into Celtic’s bank account to bring it back under agreed limits and prevent the club going into administration – without any security or negotiating rights. A discrete but hugely important act by a man still on our board. No one from the Rangers consortium was prepared to gamble half as much last week, they even asked Ticketus, finance provider for Craig Whyte’s doomed venture, to stump up the non-refundable cash! The ticket agency declined.
The Celtic consortium soon fell apart with a modest degree of acrimony but personal issues were put to the side until the job of securing the club was complete. Paul Murray’s group was less fortunate. As a chartered accountant Murray would have been fully aware of the Employee Benefit Trusts which brought the club to its knees. What he knew and whether he benefited are likely to be some of the questions other consortium members were asking. He was not best placed to lead the recovery.
Murray also tried to keep a broad church together, from wealthy but detached Rangers fans to various elements of the support. This sounded ambitious from the off.
The most important comment from the Blue Knights yesterday was “The consortium believes that the whole deal process has become incredibly complex and it is critical that a preferred bidder is appointed this week.”
If it’s possible for the words “incredibly complex” and “critical” to be an understatement this is the occasion. The Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League announce their fixtures in the middle of June. If Rangers are to phoenix before then they better hurry up and die. The liquidation process will take weeks (if it goes smoothly) and can be open to legal challenge. Stadium ownership has also to be secured and the claims of Ticketus and Andrew Ellis have to be satisfied.
Add to the mix creditors, the big tax case, punishments from the SFA for their on-going inquiry into the last takeover, potential punishments from the SPL inquiry into improperly registered players, increasingly widespread opposition from within the SPL and the rest of Scottish football to a place being created for a phoenix and you get the picture.
The last few years reads like a lesson in how to destroy a huge football club. Chances of SPL football at Ibrox next season? No more than 50%.
Bids for the original canvass painting of Neil Lennon by US based artist, Joseph Gormley, have hit an incredible £500. Keep an eye on the auction, which ends on Thursday, here.
Buy a hard copy of CQN Magazine, issue 7, by clicking on the button below. You can read online here.
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DBBINA
“Ngfamy! Ngfamy!
They’ve all got it ngfamy!”
that is F’ Ng brilliant ;-)
back to your best after the sabbatical
rogueleader
“Long way to go I expect they will pull up short.”
and thats where they will die…in the ditch at the front of
beachers.
id cover it over while their corpse is still warm…just in case.
paul67
“…they better hurry up and die”
my thoughts exactly
Tamlaghtduff Bhoy
Not sure of the exact amount but that fine Mayo man, John Keane, put a whack in.
ASonOfDan – They have also swopped the Dolphin mascot for the Cheetah.
And Rangers are going to replace Broxy the Bear with Terry the Tax Cheetah. (thumbsup)
rangers to be their feeder club!
HGFC’S CHAIRMAN NEW YEARS’ ADDRESS- YEAR OF 2012
It has been proven a challenging 2011 with much uncertainty worldwide,
especially in the financial sector Europe in the second half of 2011. There are
also many adverse, world changing events over the whole year.
Likewise in 2011, Hougang United Football Club (HGFC) faced great challenges.
HGFC’s mascot, Cheetah, has also faced great challenges to survive the year.
Similar to a Cheetah in the great wilderness, we strived for excellence and our
thirst for agility has brought us a closure to 2011. With our Cheetah’s superior,
competitive and subtly aggressive characteristic, our belief that the Cheetah
presents an accurate symbol of the Club’s ambitions has been proven in year
2011 and we hang on to the belief into the year 2012.
It was also a year of changes for HGFC whereby the Club’s name was changed
to “Hougang United Football Club” in the early 2011 to reach out to our
community around our home ground.
There was dark episode for Hougang United Football Club during the Season
when HGFC and Etoile FC were involved in a fracas in May 2011. Both teams
were brought to the Disciplinary Committee and inquiry was made with
punishments melted out to both Clubs. This has been a hard lesson learnt for the
Club and myself. We are determined not to repeat such mistakes in the history of
the Hougang United Football Club.
To all HGFC’s fans, support from you has given us tremendous courage and
strive to perform and excel on the pitch. We like to express our sincere
appreciation to our supporters. It is supporters like You that has brought so much
vibrancy into our games. It is your cheers and your songs that have lifted the
spirits of our players and it is your support that has made all the hard work
worthwhile.
And, most importantly, it is your presence that has forged a strong friendship in
the football scene! Thank you.
We are looking forward to a brighter 2012 with your great support and we will
continue to strive to create a vibrant match-day experience for our supporters /
fans and a greater community involvement from the Club, as well as increasing
the level of football exposure to our youths and beyond..
The Club had seen positive changes in 2011. The S-League team climbed to the
7th position in 2011, we had claimed the 1st Runners up position in the League
Cup and had played our way into the Semi-Finals of the RHB cup.
My continual belief to “Change for a better” is as steadfast into my 3rd year as a
Chairman though Change has been known to be troublesome, or even painful. It
is the positive changes that we had made to thrive in and had leveraged upon to
what we have achieved so far. Change, is what I believe is the key in
constructing a modern and sustainable football landscape for Singapore, and for
HGFC.
In the year 2012, we will be looking into a stronger team with the changes made
to the technical team. We have a new coach, Mr Nenad Bacina, who will be
contributing a lot to our progress in our new season.
This is not the first time Mr Nenad touches our shores, he was a footballer
himself in Singapore for 4 years and had been a coach with Woodlands
Willington FC in 2009.
Apart from his experiences in local culture and football scene, he had also led
Malaysian Team and Croatian Teams in many competitions.
We have strong belief in his vast experiences that he can bring HGFC to a higher
level of football both on and off the pitch.
We also have very capable assistants, Mr Hyrizan and Mr Nahar, with Mr Nenad
in the Season 2012. Both of them are outstanding local coaches.
We strongly believe that the new coaching team is a strong formidable
combination.
In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere, heartfelt
thanks to all players, coaches, management and staffs for their hard work and
efforts being poured into the Club. I welcome all new members to our family this
season and hope all of you will continue to cooperate fruitfully and put in your
best efforts to work hard to the future success of the Club. Let us look forward to
what we want to achieve collectively and ultimately; that is how we are going to
unite as one and work for the future development and expansion of the Club.
Yours Sincerely
Bill Ng
HGFC Chairman
Paul67
There is a delicious irony at play here. Rangers got into this mess through their hubris and it is the same factor that keeps them in the mess.
If they could just accept that a team playing in blue in a rented Stadium free of the debt and Ticketus pledges, starting in a lower league would be a nice wee earner for someone, assured of gates of what 10,000 (to make the sums easy) at £10 entry over 40 games would bring in £4M. That would enable a squad of 25 players on £1k a week to be signed at around £1.3M that would quickly get promoted and leave more than enough for tax/NI and other admin costs.(Yes they would have to pay tax and NI)
It would be like Celtic joining the Championship, if we could, to get into the EPL.
It is a no brainer, rent Firhill, plant a Rangers Flag in the centre circle and ask supporters who will sign up to turn up and pledge that support.
But naw,they want to hang on to a carcass. They are either unbelievably proud or unbelievably stupid, perhaps both.
If I were a shrewed Scottish businessman of relatively impeccable pedigree, (we all have our peccadillos, and that is not a South Amercan armoured hedgehog btw) , I would be looking for a flag planter.
Dontbrattbakkinanger on 17 April, 2012 at 15:11 said:
Where is Hoopslegend Landry N’guemo?
——————————————–
Wonder about that myself and was suprised to learn through Wikipedia that he is currently at Bordeaux and has featured 27 times for them this season.
Mind you, wikipedia also states that hoops legend Stephane Bonnes currently “runs the Mulhouse Shamrock Celtic Supporters Club in France. He recently described controversial Rangers owner Craig Whyte as a ‘Legned’.”
Paul67, theSPL/SFL might announce next years fixtures in mid june but do they not have to agreed or formulated some time before that?..say by end of May at the latest ?
tick tock tick tock…
….PFayr on 17 April, 2012 at 15:27 said:
”where does Whyte feature as a secured creditor in all this preferred bidder nonsense
or are we just pretending he doesn`t have such position”
Quite.
I asked the same question a couple of weeks ago when there was a wee wummin insolvency practitioner on Newsnicht explaining the various possible outcomes. She just ignored the security as if it didn’t exist.
PFayr – Shhhhhh
You are not supposed to mention the secured creditor status.
You only talk about his share holding as this the same thing as a floating charge don’t ya know and he will give it all away for a £1 as it is the right, moral and dignified thing to do in the best interests of Rangers.
No sniggering at the back please.
Liquidation via the old Singapore SLiNg
An explosive cocktail whose heady mix of Gin,Benedictine,Cherry & Pineapple
Becomes..”A delicious, slow-acting insidious thing”
That’s the Singapore SLiNg.
A Raffles recipe for Disaster.
HH
Did Broxi Bear have an EBT?
Awe Naw. I salute you Sir, you ae one of the few bloggerson CQN who understands rules are made to be broken and will be broken to help out the Gers.I believe even if it takes until the first day the new season starts the powers that be will ensure Newco are in the SPL.The powers that be in Scottish football all shake hands with the funny handshake brigade and they will use every trick in the book and some not in the book to ensure the evil empire survive in one form or another.H.H.
I guess the bears will be hoping that Ng(s) can only get better……
Paul67
The last few years reads like a lesson in how to destroy a huge football club. Chances of SPL football at Ibrox next season? No more than 50%.
———————————————————————————–
Those odds too high for my liking.
sixtwo -I’m pleased to hear that ole Magdalen Landry N’guemo is prospering.
Unfortunately he was at Celtic at exactly the wrong time for him to prosper
From Twitter
Rangers Tax-Case @rangerstaxcase
How do we go from “Ng offers Ticketus double their money” to “Ng denies any deal with Ticketus” in a few hours? RFC PR firm still lying?
I thought that the Pantomine season was over.
RogueLeader
Do we know if Mr. Whyte’s floating charge is now a fixed charge over any particular building shaped assets following commencement of recent insolvency proceedings at Rangers?
If not, I’m sure Jim Traynor and Keith Jackson are busy ferreting out this vital information and so the situation should be clear any day now.
Paul67
Reading between the lines, does this mean that I, we, everyone have/has been duped about the duping going on?
This really hard to keep up with.
If I didn’t no better I’d probably consider the notion that some folk have been telling other folk lies.
Surely not?
U
From Previous blog
Celtic supporters meet with Celtic re SPL
Published on Monday 16th April, 2012 by Celtic Trust
The Celtic Trust and the Celtic Supporters Association today met with Peter Lawwell to discuss the leaked proposals to the SPL meeting due to take place on 30 April. PL indicated that at this stage the proposals were in draft form and may not be identical to the ones to be tabled at the meeting. He indicated that the PLC Board had discussed the various possible outcomes of the situation with the SPL and repeated his earlier reassurance to us that whatever happened the Board would act in Celtic’s best interest. However, he felt unable to say anything beyond that at this time.
We, in turn, took the opportunity to make a number of points: we pointed out that there is a great deal of anger out there among all fans of the SPL but, more importantly for our purposes, among Celtic fans. We told him that we were taking soundings from the support by a variety of mechanisms and that we would continue to do so. We indicated the strength of feeling among supporters so far that a Rangers Newco should not be allowed straight back into the SPL and emphasised the dangers to Celtic and to the SPL of ending up with a corrupt competition and a tainted product. We indicated a number of possible options that we would consider if the ‘Gang of 10’ should press ahead with the proposals which exist in draft form and we made a number of suggestions as to what Celtic PLC’s response should be if the worst case scenario came to pass. Most importantly, we emphasised our view that the Board should look beyond short term commercial considerations and should stand up for the integrity of the game and the long term best interests of Celtic FC and of the wider Celtic family.
Future meetings will be requested as and when necessary as this situation develops.
JFH
yes every trick in the book will be used but if no Hun exists in whatever form then there is nothing the SFA/SPL can do about it.
our hope is that it comes down to money and despite all their advantages the huns and their ilk don’t really do money.
May Ah remind..well. Everbuddy..
Bill Ng is just One Member of an Adventurous Band of Happy Go Lucky
Risk Takers.
He is the Spokesman. Not the Sole Bidder.
Own his ain Can…He canny Afford tae Pit up awe the Money which it wull tak.. tae
Satisfy. the Demands of Whytey ,plus hiving enuff over.. tae
Gie.. Coisty his .. required.. Twenty Million Pound Transfer Kitty.
Awe that Money wull be.. Hopefully?
Supplied, by awe awe rest o’ The Singaporean Syndicators.(Read.. “Mugs”)
Kojo
Still Laughin’
RaRaRasputin – Nobody knows for sure yet. It is one of the final pieces of the puzzle. Whyte has said twice he is owed £30m. Then we had the transfer to Liberty Capital shenanigans.
Whyte will not do walking away, without having his pockets stuffed
JamsieBhoy on 17 April, 2012 at 15:37 said:
Did Broxi Bear have an EBT?
Of course he did because everyone else had one!
Summa of Sammi…. on 17 April, 2012 at 13:52 said:
.
If Neil Lennon gets anything More than a Slap on the Wrists for his Hampden Misdameaner.. Celtic should take The SFA to the European Court of Human Rights..
***
On the subject, did the SFA compliance officer ever write to Kenny Sheils for saying this on the 6th April?
“And I hope we have a strong referee because that’s vitally important. They didn’t have one last Sunday and it favoured Celtic considerably. So hopefully we have a strong referee. It’s according to the mental strength of the referee.”
Tamlaghtduff Bhoy on 17 April, 2012 at 15:25 said:
“Excuse me for sounding like a dingbat, but who is the current member of our board who put the mill in the account?”
Eric Riley is the only one who seems to fit.
In my place of work “ng” is shorthand for NON GENUINE
Joe Filippis Haircut
Why thank you kind sir
The number of people involved in Scottish football that you simply cannot trust and who wont give you a straight and honest answer increases every day. They need watched AND ARE NOT TO BE TRUSTED
When the SPL kicks off next season and I do not see the name of Rangers FC or a NEWco is when I will believe it.
Hail Hail
Loose Affiliation of the Blue Knights…wasn’t that a Jazz band in thirties Harlem?
They were an instrumental ensemble- well known songs:
‘Octopus Code’.
‘Orange Crush.’
‘Running from the Gorilla.’
‘Hectors Sporran.’
‘Singapore Sling.’
& my personal favourite: ‘Busted Flush.’
IKI-Was it not one of the Keanes’?James or John I think.
neillybhoy
I look forward to seeing them, I must do the same. HH
neillybhoy – were are you going to be based in Canada????
slainte
tony
iki on 17 April, 2012 at 15:47 said:
”Eric Riley is the only one who seems to fit.”
Ian Bankier?
Seems like the Twitter Bampots have won again, turning up an interview with Ng from 2010 where he says “I am not a football man”
So Moneybags Ng doesn’t have as much as Kraig White as at least White could afford to get Google to delete his history
RogueLeader
Maybe the MSM should be asking who the other 4 members of his consortium are?
I am sure it is just a rumour the “Great Successor” Kim Jong-un is one of them… :)
Billy Ng can’t really be a Rangers supporter, can he? I mean, yes, maybe, in the same way as Craig Whyte is, in a sort of ‘I quite like that blue team with the players that foul and dive a lot, but I much prefer tennis’ kind of way.
But if he was really a Rangers supporter, the Rangers supporters in Singapore would know him and be speaking up for his credentials, wouldn’t they?
Unless they are and Craig Whyte has paid to have it all removed from Google.
Torontony
Was just going to warn neillybhoy about you haha. Nah hope you help him settle in at the club. HH
Trust spokesman Mark Dingwall said: “We are surprised and disappointed if this is indeed the course of action Ticketus have decided to take.
“It would appear they are more interested in money going into their own coffers, than staying in Rangers.”
============================================================
Sums up the intellectual stature of this slug.
He is berating a finance company, that is an arm of an investment company, for looking after their own interests before that of The Rangers.
Utterly incredible quote
Rogue Leader @15.45
What’s this Craigiebhoy walking away!
As far as I am concerned our ‘CraigieBhoy’ is a hero so let’s not hear a bad word said against him. Look at his actions in the last few weeks not for him this walking away or even a step back. Just a dignified silence. Well OK the odd nonsense sound bites but I am sure he has been misquoted.
You have to admit his ‘lets not pay anyone policy’ is refreshing. What does he care about the bad press concerning the odd Govan florists. He sticks to his principles and I tell you that he and his backing group D&D are playing a blinder. Ng will disappear as will that serial headline grabber Kennedy and it will be left to Miller the yank to liquidate the mess.
Once the dust has settled Miller’s mystery financial backer will turn out to be our very own Craigiebhoy!!! The man is to paraphrase our investigative press is a financial and legal genius, a mastermind with an corporate brain that is off the radar.