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 Park half full is around 30,500 punters.
How many does the best league in the world average week in week out?
Hibs installed as favourites for next years Petrofanny Cup
FLORIDA
Sevco clear winners ahead of Celtic and Rangers
JJ tomorrow or Wed. H H Hebcelt
Hebclet
No bother. Bear in mind the car rental companies don’t like a point-to-point rentals across borders, so I’d look at flying in and out of the same country. You can get Edin-Santander for a burton atm, or into BArca and out of Santander would work pretty well, with a fabulous drive across the country below the Pyrenees.
Also think about Andalucia. Into Malaga, then wind your way across taking in Cordoba, Granada, Sevilla, and follow the river down to the Atlantic coast at Jerez/Cadiz, and along the Algarve coast. Lisbon’s in reach if that takes your fancy. Homewards via Seville into Edinburgh.
Spoilt for choice.
FFS you would think they had won the CL against Barca, rather than a lowly minor cup.
The forces of darkness in a triumphant mood is a horrible sight. However it has reminded me why i detest them. And I do not use that word lightly.
I hope they are served a dose of reality next week. For one day we must put aside any talk of morality and boycotts. Fill our ends and encourage our team as much as possible.
No matter how we feel and I acknowledge that there is genuine doubt about our manager; get out and support our team. A hun win next week will be unbearable and dosen’t even warrant thinking about.
Hail Hail.
PS : Really wish we had moved environments when the huns died.
17 Labour PFI schools closed in Edinburgh due to safety concerns. I’m sure Corbyn would clear the sort of scumbags that agree to PFI out the party if he could, which he can’t.
Sips
The machines in my last employment were manufactured by a company called tetrapak… I took great pleasure in calling the challenge cup by that name. The odd zombie ( very odd ) pulled me up that I didn’t even know the right name of the cup….. titter ye not ;)
A few years ago we had a hun with a speech impediment who used to bad mouth robbie Keane… I off course replied I had never heard of never mind watched wobbie playing for celtic… I know I’m bad eh
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 10TH APRIL 2016 5:45 PM
Hibs installed as favourites for next years Petrofanny Cup
—————————–
bsr
Shocking! and on a Sunday too :O(
Spurs score.
Build it and they will come….( sic)
To flog the metaphor .. If you want Celticto become a field of dreams again you need to get more Patrick Roberts and less Nadir Cifctis on the books…..
I don’t know or care what the average attendance is at EPL what I do know is that when the product is right at Celtic season ticket holders attend, guys like me make more effort resulting in bigger crowds, which increases income, which increases available revenue which improves the team and creates a spiral of opportunity…
Not crazy irresponsible risk but managed risk. Has P Roberts bust the bank? No.
Post split fixtures just announced.
5 away games at Aberdeen.
no pockle there then.
Hebcelt
Thanks,
JJ
VP
Needs livening does the Blog ;-)
2-0 Spurs
What an assist by Erikkson. Perfect ball into Alli. Has to be a great goal to beat De Gea. Not all over yet dahn sarf!
TBJ
Bet your colleague never complained about some of us referring to Sevco as ‘Rankers’!
3-0
2-0 Tottingham.
Spurs can’t stop scoring.
Great header Adi, Ader, Alderw, The big centre-half!
Almost 4.
Beat bhoy
Funnily enough he only mentioned Freddie Ljungberg once when we signed him
Greenpinata
“For one day we must put aside any talk of morality and boycotts. Fill our ends and encourage our team as much as possible. ”
Why, just for one day?
Will our morality feel any better the day before or the day after the match if we attended?
Why is it not an imperative to attend other matches, just the SFA competition match against the Cheat club?
Do you not think we would just be buying in big time to their narrative that we need them, miss them, and will put up with anything, even cheating, to have that enmity back again?
All of these are genuine questions – The big match for me is the Motherwell match yesterday and the first few post-split fixtures. A SC semi-final against lower league opposition is not a big match unless we choose to treat it as such. Did we make an exhortation to our support to attend the Ross Co. Semi earlier this year? I don’t think we did, so why is it important just cos it’s a team pretending to be “them”?
after four years and £72M sevco win the big cup, well done, come on lhads dont be bitter :)
Alderweireld!
what’s just happened to man U?
TOSB
I can’t keep up!
LGesque that from Lemella’s left foot!
In the pub, watched Leicster now Spurs.
Saw bits of the Peterhead game. Shite’n mysel…….Nawt !
Quite literally , next wk.end, we merely need to be A) disciplined, and B) professional
Do both these things, and Sevco are getting found out for the dung that they are
TBJ
The Huns actually discuss football in your place ?
Manure hit by the old 1-2-3.
Spurs scored 3 goals inside about 5 minutes. Totally killed United.
United arriving very late for game hasn’t helped them.
Greenpinata
Just drove through Partick earlier, the triumphalism of the hordes around the Partick west pubs was very funny indeed.
Watched snatches of Sevco v Peterhead. The standard was pretty basic.
Overheard a currant bun in the pub…. Celtic will be lucky if Forrester and Wallace are injured.
Personally, I hope all their best players are available. When we ridicule them I’d rather know we done it versus their best. Don’t want any excuses
In my opinion, Sevco wouldn’t survive if we repeat our first half performance of yesterday. Their tongues will be sunburnt.
The Snatches of Sevco. I can use that.
Manure caught out by heavy traffic in London shock!