MIH poison, poetic history, value of good players

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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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  1. TBJ has no trust in the PLC on

    (Wham! Bam!)

     

    (Mon chat ‘Splash’)

     

    Gît sur mon lit

     

    A bouffé sa langue

     

     

    En buvant

     

    (Tronc)

     

    Mon whisky

     

    Quand moi

     

     

    Peu dormi, vidé, et brimé

     

    J’ai du dormir dans la gouttière

     

    Où j’ai eu un flash

     

    Hou! Hou! Hou! Hou!

     

    En quatre couleurs

     

     

    Allez hop!

     

    Un matin

     

    Une

     

    (Louloute)

     

    Est venue chez-moi

     

     

    Poupée de Cellophane

     

    Cheveux chinois

     

    Un sparadrap

     

    Une gueule de bois

     

     

     

    Roughly translated

     

     

    The huns died in 2012…. David Murray is a thieving Kent who doesn’t deserve to breathe never mind be knighted for services to Scottish business

  2. We’ll miss him tomorrow – so should make tactical changes to accommodate the perceived risk.

     

     

    =========================================

     

     

    That’ll be the 6-4-0 coming in, then…

  3. COOLMORE MAFIA on 8TH APRIL 2016 6:45 PM

     

     

    I remember San Sebastian in the 90s. An ETA stronghold then.

     

    ———————————————–

     

    Maybe it was an unapproved road I was on the! Looked like outlaw country after Lourdes…

     

     

    :-)))

  4. Talking of Igloos

     

     

    The Eskimo lottery is on tonight but…

     

     

    You have to be Inuit to win it!

     

     

    Getting my coat…..

  5. Nye Bevans' rebel soldier on

    Can’t hang about here all night(I’m the busiest

     

    guy in the busiest world) big game the morra,

     

    beat performance fae a Celtic side at Murderwell

     

    was in 1982 after drawing 2-2 wae Ajax at CP we

     

    went there and won 7-0.

     

     

     

    Ps ….I went tae Amsterdam for the 2nd leg,what

     

    a night, Charlie Nics and chicken George’s goal’s

     

    will long live in my Celtic memory.

     

     

    Pps ….God bless and take care,catch yees all the morra.

  6. You just gotta LUV them Priests………………………..

     

     

     

     

     

     

    A US Marine enters the Catholic Church confessional booth in Hendersonville, NC.

     

    He tells the priest, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.

     

    Last night, I beat the ever-living crap out of a flag burning,

     

    Cop hating, Muslim Jihadist.”

     

     

     

    The priest says, “My son, I am here to forgive your sins,

     

    Not to discuss your community service

  7. coolmore mafia on

    How did you like Lourdes? Too commercial for my liking in the town itself. Strange when the tourist shops are selling holy water. I did nurse a plastic bottle of the Virgin Mary filled with holy water for about five years mind..

  8. An Teach Solais on

    My suspicious mind found it strange that the enquirer did not demure when Canamalar proposed the ridiculous sum of £10,000 to produce invoices. Now I am not suggesting that he would have paid that amount nor do I believe that he would be a party to any threat to any of the Res12 people but aware of the Burntollet Bridge Neanderthals surely any demands for names of any contributors/ service providers etc should be the furthest thing from his mind.

     

    As I said previously as a Shareholder he can enquire of our Finance Department.

     

    I understand that the enquirer is presently offline and I do not wish to appear to be laying any accusations against him but why would anyone be anxious to pay for information which in the wrong hands could endanger good people or be used to undermine Res12. HH

  9. It has nothing to do with them, it’s to do with the authorities, was the gist of an earlier post.

     

     

    Maybe they have got wind of karma a lot sooner than folk on here, especially the ones who revel in attacking Celtic at every turn.

     

     

    Celtic isn’t the board it is us and it is our duty to hand Celtic over to future generations.

     

     

    Whether karma bites hard or not isn’t really in Celtic’s control. But the realisation of where it could lead has clearly dawned on some ( or at least leaked to them).

     

     

    I love that bitch.

  10. COOLMORE MAFIA on 8TH APRIL 2016 6:55 PM

     

     

    How did you like Lourdes? Too commercial for my liking in the town itself. Strange when the tourist shops are selling holy water. I did nurse a plastic bottle of the Virgin Mary filled with holy water for about five years mind..

     

    ——————————————————

     

    I was surprised at how commercial it was – and expensive. Was like one big holy hypermarket. Not for me TBH. My wee mammy goes every year – though as I’ve pointed out, it’s not much of a pilgrimage on an air-conditioned coach. She really should be walking there. Being 80 is no excuse… :-)))

  11. Auldheid.

     

     

    Your efforts, and those of the others, are appreciated by me but why are you entertaining that guy?

     

    He has been at it from the start and I quickly added him to my scrollby list.

     

    I suggest you do likewise.

     

     

    Once again, thanks.

  12. Kevin Gaffney RIP.

     

     

    Auldheid: Shocking what you and others have to put up with. Stay strong, a chara.

     

     

    YNWA

  13. SHOOIE – your response says what is wrong…you will wait and wait for the board.. They are in on it.. If anyone tells a lie,, steals robs you point it out then.. Not 10 years down the line.. So only people who say they died are Celtic fans.. it is us that look like the mugs. They get what they want.. WE are part of SFA all they have to do is fight .. raise a voice at a meeting. point out rules.. But no they do nothing and deliberately drag out any decision.. THE HUNS have won. Celtic helped them.

  14. Kill Ultra is an obvious plant/troll. Who in their right mind would give out priviledged info to a blogger—a latecomer at that. Auldheid is probably too much of a gentleman to really tell him where to go.

     

    KevJ is another annoying asshole. Whining over a feckin’ blood test.Jesus give me strength. If your ever in Belfast take a walk to the City Hospital and look in at the Bridgewater Suite, staffed by truly caring professionals. You won’t even know your blood had been taken,and results are back with you witin 45 minutes. If the test is right, it’s right, if its wrong they’ll let you know pronto.

     

    I hate whingers.

  15. CultsBhoy can not relate to Celtic Board ambitions on or off the park on

    Oh dear –

     

     

    AFC 1-o up after 3 mins

  16. Dons ahead… Sign a striker for nothing in january – who can score goals and we bought 2 lumps of wood

  17. Auldheid

     

    You should ignore the new poster until his credibility can be verified.

     

    And thanks to you and the other three amigos for all your efforts.

     

    you have obviously rattled a few cages

  18. CultsBhoy can not relate to Celtic Board ambitions on or off the park on

    David Murray recently entertained the elite of Scottish journalists – fed then succulent Spam..

  19. RAYMAC

     

     

    Out of order.

     

     

    All day long.

     

     

    I hope people who know you don’t believe you are a typical Tim.

     

     

    You aint.

  20. CultsBhoy can not relate to Celtic Board ambitions on or off the park on

    Aberdeen look like a team desperate to have a go…

  21. Jambo’s got their money on sheep,defender does his damnedest to beat Alexander.

  22. Hearts got gubbed at home by St Johnstone before break 3 nil, just cos they raised their game against us doesn’t mean they are on form. Every team raises their game against us.

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