If you’ve been here for 12 years you’ll know that Celtic Quick News started because there was a great untold financial story going on in Scottish football. Celtic were castigated by many, including a large portion of their own support, as “prudent”, while Rangers, then under the majority ownership of Sir David Murray, were lauded for their willingness to ambitiously push the boat out.
But there was a problem. Celtic were losing millions every year. Rangers were losing a lot more, £35m in one season alone. David Murray’s company, Murray International Holdings (MIH), were ½ a billion in debt to Bank of Scotland, and rising.
By this stage MIH’s steel business was dwarfed in significance by its property portfolio. They borrowed from the bank and, perhaps with an eye on the fantasy Ibrox Super Casino, gambled that the market would rise inextricably.
For a few years the debt kept rising. “What’s the problem?” many said, if the Bank are prepared to lend MIH and Rangers, their strategy must be sound. These were difficult times to be preaching financial responsibility in Scottish football, but the reality was written in mile-high font for many of us. “They’re going to crash and burn”, seemed inevitable.
Today we read the news that MIH are, like Rangers before them, finally liquidated. Ignore the reported £200m that Lloyds Banking Group (now owners of Bank of Scotland) lost, that’s just the loose change. The Bank had swapped debt for shares in MIH as clouds gathered. The true financial cost to Lloyds (significantly owned by UK taxpayers) is vastly higher.
Much of the story of David Murray will never be told, not while he’s alive, anyway, as it took place well away from verifiable sources. This might change after he’s dead. The one redeeming positive he brought to football was to end the sectarian signing policy at Rangers in 1989. For that he should be lauded, many before him had the chance to do the same but chose not to.
That aside, the influence of Murray and MIH was poisonous to his club. He sold out for £1 to a liquidation expert in May 2011, against the wishes of his own board’s advisory committee, as his club claimed its last ever league title. The rest, is poetic history.
As luck would have it, tonight I’ll be with some Celtic supporter friends. We’ll raise a glass to Sir David and his legacy. Thanks for all you achieved, David, it could never have happened without you.
Erik Sviatchenko is a lesson in the difference good players make to a team. He’s started 11 games since joining in January, we’ve lost four goals over that period. In our previous 11 games we lost 12 goals. His impact on team performance has been phenomenal.
We’ll miss him tomorrow – so should make tactical changes to accommodate the perceived risk.
Motherwell are on fire. Less than two months ago they were in the play-off spot. Now they need just one point to guarantee a top six finish. They will battle every second for that point. If we are going to win tomorrow’s game, we will need to put in our of our best shifts of the season.
Time to get it together, Celtic.
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Celtic’s Floating Pitch
Hebcelt
Noe problemo
never used this lot but they look to have some interesting tours etc.
http://www.sansebastianfood.com/
-Noe- is my most favoured Pedro ximinez. smiley face thing
Who thinks that going into the Semi-final late would make a point?
Say we enter in the 4th minute.
THEMAESTRO72 on 8TH APRIL 2016 5:42 PM
Who thinks that going into the Semi-final late would make a point?
Say we enter in the 4th minute.
______________________________________________________________
A no from me, I want to see our first goal.
Themaestro72
Can’t see it happening.
The bottom line is many fans see them as the same club and are as eager to see the “old firm” return as the SMSM and sevco fans.
HebCelt
The world’s your oyster. What kind of stuff do you and the missus enjoy?
For instance, you could fly into Bordeaux from Edinburgh, great wee city Bordeaux, enjoy the food and wines, then mosey down the coast to Biarritz, classic town, then onto San Sebatian as WDH suggests, another great wee city.
If you’re heading in the first fortnight of July, Pamplona and San Fermin is an hour down the road, perhaps the most bonkers town in the world, wonderful.
From there, the Pyrenees are 2 hours north, Zaragoza an hour or so south, with options to Madrid, Toledo etc, or east to Barca and Catalonia.
Heading back up to San Sebastian and along the Green coast, Bilbao is another unique city, totally different to any other, and you have the whole of Cantabria ahead of you, the Picos de Europa, La Coruna and Compostela.
Head down into Portugal from there, or double back and fly home from Santander. (Or in and out of Santander will keep the car hire cheaper).
Half a dozen cultures, some unique sights and sites. Cities, coast, mountains, and as much mayhem as you fancy.
As I say, what is it you and the missus fancy? Spanish roads btw are the best in Europe. As they should be, Europe having paid for them.
I just think that it would be better than a bhoycott, because that will never happen.
WDH nows good grub, and San Sebastian is the centre of the good grub universe.
nows?
Knows
Oh!!! Good Evening Timland.
RAY WINSTONE’S BIG DISEMBODIED HEID on 8TH APRIL 2016
You could be the big disembodied voice over instead!
Bashi
( name is tintin reference and was inspired by my brother in law taking Rascar Capac as a nom de plume )
Is anyone else concerned that this Celtic team won’t have the stomach to take on the currant buns next week?
RAY WINSTONE’S BIG DISEMBODIED HEID
Don’t change the name. Your blog name was one of the things that first attracted me to CQN.
I found it both troubling and whimsical in equal measure ;)
Kill Ultra
Here I am and if you e mail me via Paul I’ll be delighted to meet you and see if I can introduce you to one funder who himself was the subject a few years back of abuse on social media. Let see how he feels about your demands for fiscal transparency.
No evasiveness and no contradiction. Canalamar knows detail of how early funding done, I don’t, so no contradiction/ On evasiveness I’ve a duty to protect the funders that far outstrips your sense of entitlement.
To those others who e mailed or posted encouragement my thanks. Some info provided made it easier for me to take the necessary steps to alert the police.
On a lighter note I was talking to some of my 5 lads, a mix of sons/step sons/Tims/Bluenoses and jokingly mentioned the need for minders.
Wish I hadn’t bothered. Got a crick in my neck from looking up. :)
Hunderbirds. Troubling and whimsical – that’s me to a tee.
Where’s yer tool?
AULDHEID
Sorry tae hear aboot yer troubles,stay strong
that’s all it takes mate.
Bashi. Must look out some old Tin Tin books. I’m sure I’ve got some somewhere.
Herge is one of the three famous Belgians.
Can’t remember the other two.
Call of Juarez
No
SHOOIE@4:53 – Agree with you – common sense to wait for legal issues to unravel before passing any judgement on the actions/inactions of the Celtic board.
Those that are ‘climbing the walls’ and ranting about the Peter Lawwell and others should spell out in great detail exactly what they would do if they had the power to ‘sack the board’ tomorrow.
Let us have a step by step guide of what they propose – who they would appoint – and where the money will come from – how long would it take – what would the ‘promised land’ look like and what state would the club be in when the ‘miracle’ finally takes place.
Of course these ’empty wheelie bins’ will offer nothing, because by definition they are very noisy without contents.
AULDHEID on 8TH APRIL 2016 6:10 PM
Kill Ultra
Here I am and if you e mail me via Paul I’ll be delighted to meet you and see if I can introduce you to one funder who himself was the subject a few years back of abuse on social media. Let see how he feels about your demands for fiscal transparency.
Hi Auldheid
In principle that sound like a good idea; I’m all for meeting one of the donors face to face. You can get my email details from Canamalar. I’m out till morning. Look forward to hearing from you.
AULDHEID
Great to see that you have not allowed some Neanderthal to weaken your resolve. Hopefully Police Scotland do their job.
On another tack, if Kill Ultra feels that somehow CFC funded early developments of Res12 and is obviously a Shareholder then he found ask the Financial Director. Frankly, IMHO, it is a distraction and I fail to see why if Resolutioners or sympathisers meet any costs from their own pocket what business it is of anyone else.
Res 12 anxious to hear that papers lodged in Switzerland. HH
Auldheid
Keep the chin up mate . You must have them worried.
Eddie Mercks
Auldheid. You probably don’t know how much you are appreciated on here. I for one would have given up this place a long time ago but for the likes of you and BRTH.
Forza Signore!
Ray Winstone’s
I think tintin and snowy are the other two your forgetting
Hunderbirds. Aye. Eddie Mercx one of the great cyclists of all time. As good as Anquetil or Indurain at their best.
Sur ton velo!
Ray Winstone
Plastique Bertrand is one of the 3.
Ca plein piur moi, moi, moi
Same tune as the Damned – Jet Boy Jet Girl.
Lawsuit?
Light relief time.
Watch reporting Scotland in next few minutes.
Willie Rennie on a farm giving a ‘serious interview’.
Check out the pigs behind him.
CALLOFJUAREZ@6:01 – You identify exactly the problem – with twenty internationalists from eleven countries in our first-team squad – we should have too much class and quality for any team in Scotland – however our attitude seems to lacking and mediocrity is our only consistency – we wait for signs that we have ‘turned the corner’ – hope we don’t run out of time.
Plastic Bertrand
Hebcelt if you make it down to Barca along that lovely coast then it would only be polite to let someone else take the wheel there
http://heartdrivenbcn.com/en/
Auldheid I’m restricted to the the wheelchair the noo but if should there be any nonsense i’ll whir oot the taxi and just give me a good shove towards it.
with you my friend.
Plastic Bertrand?
Comme un Indien dans son Igloo!
Hercule Poirot.
Murray -Mr untouchable in Scotland? Why hasnt he been stripped of his knighthood and been caste into a dungeon for many years ?
I would say its because he led the huns to their (tainted) 9in-a-row. This pinnacle of the old clubs history must be protected at all costs. The politicians will steer clear of calling him out due to alienateing hunners of huns -votes!!
THE BATTERED BUNNET on 8TH APRIL 2016 5:52 PM
Spanish roads btw are the best in Europe. As they should be, Europe having paid for them.
————————————————–
I drove over the Pyrenees a few years ago – from Bordeaux to San Sebastien – and didn’t need to see the Bienvenidos a Espana sign to know I’d entered the country. The shake, rattle and roll of the ole VW as we hit the switchover from French to Spanish roads near caused a prolapse.
The toll motorways are guid tho…
I have every sympathy for what Auldheid is experiencing. Got a little bit of that myself re the ad in the paper last year. Quite recently the personal details re this was leaked from the newspaper too the same lot that are targeting Auldheid.
On a brighter note Paul Dykes, author of the Quality Street Gang and Celtic’s Smiler The Neily Mochan Story has written a feature for CQN on one of the QSG guys John Gorman. It’s a great read:
Whatever Happened To The Quality Street Gang? John Gorman…
http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/?p=23271
I had a coffee with someone who knows today and asked about the Aberdeen striker we talked about last year – he’s on loan at St Mirren and is doing well. Expected to be an Aberdeen regular. No current plans for anything happening although has the potential.
I also asked about Scott Allan and his lack of game time. Here’s what I was told…
Ryan Christie has impressed big time in the Development Squad matches and is closer than SA to becoming a regular. While SA can’t really be blamed for losing possession in Ajax match (i.e. not really his fault), he has nevertheless been regularly guilty of losing possession at Development level. This will have to be coached out of him and the errors will need to reduce. Griffiths had to change to get in, so does SA.
Summary, at present not good enough. Don’t lose the ball. Sort it out.
Might try to get a Lion or two to post on here tonight.
Eddie Mercx (or “Skid” as his pals know him) was class.
Auldheid,
As I said, I couldn’t find it, probably deleted it when he started his shite, I had a look for his signed res and couldn’t find it so don’t believe he is genuine, stop wasting your time on him and don’t be exposing people.