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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GARYGILLESPIESHAMSTRING on 10TH APRIL 2016 11:46 PM
Well said.
GGH
Your post pretty much sums up my current situation.
macjay
Your 40.6% were also born to unwed fathers
Jerry
Marriages that have produced children can be annulled under certain circumstances. I’m not an expert on the Canon Law behind the annulment process but I have a friend who has been through the process.
It can be Jerry for various reasons.
One would be if a person did not give free consent i.e. was forced or blackmailed into getting married.
A second reason would be if some condition, it could be mental instability of some sorted existed at the time of Marriage which meant that the Marriage had no chance of being successful.
I am married for 46 years so I’m not talking about myself but many years ago I assisted a female relative in applying for an annulment and was heavily involved in it over a 2 year period. She was granted an annulment for second reason quoted above.
SETTING FREE THE BEARS FOR RES. 12 & OSCAR KNOX on 10TH APRIL 2016 11:59 PM
macjay
Your 40.6% were also born to unwed fathers
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If you`re being serious , how do you know that ?
AN TEARMANN on 10TH APRIL 2016 11:49 PM
I’m grand mo chara. Lisbon was everything I’d hoped for but the Estadio Nacional was so much more.
If I get time tomorrow I’m going to be self indulgent and attempt to convey what it meant to be there.
Hopefully catch up before the season’s end.
The Sacrifice, and the Left Wingers and their………..
fill the blanks
Here is some SEX Education so you know.
Delaneys Dunky on 10th April 2016 9:39 pm
Sipsini
Remember my late father telling me a story from 50 years ago. The crimplene tangerine and purple mob were having a walk through Clydebank to commemorate the Battle of Boyne. A King Billy lookalike was to lead them on a white horse. The horse was stabled in Republican Duntocher. The night before, a few local entered the stable with emerald green paint and brushes. The horse was wearing a lovely hooped body in the morning. :)
*hmmm that happened doon the Vale in the late 50’s, the horse was stabled in the Thomas Street garage, the grand bassa was called hassan, he had an Egyptian da and republican maw. The paint came fae Burroughs, the painters were fae Brucehill, the Renton and Bonhill. The story always regarded as a myth was related tae me at a party over here about 30 years later by one of the painters.
GARYGILLESPIESHAMSTRING on 11TH APRIL 2016 12:00 AM
Jerry
Marriages that have produced children can be annulled under certain circumstances. I’m not an expert on the Canon Law behind the annulment process but I have a friend who has been through the process.
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In the case of a ” huftae “.
I have two beautiful daughters and the Minx has two wonderful sons. Both of our marriages have been annulled.
Strangely enough we have a talk from an esteemed Canon lawyer this week in our Parish about this very subject.
Gave it a go. Nobody seems to give a monkey’s toss.
Ahead of the rubbish that will be written here and everywhere in Scotland before next week-end’s game, the prayer that retired Reverend Ian Miller spoke to those gathered in Renton today worked.
GuyFawkesaheroforever
I’d hoped to go but I had daughter duties. The Celtic Graves Society do fantastic work.
Macjay
Quite simply the 40.6% of unmarried women were giving birth to a child whose father was not married to them.
Now, I know that some of those men may have been married to someone else and there is an outside possibility that all of the births were caused by just one very energetic man but my point was that a man was involved in the creation of that child too. It is not just down to the woman concerned.
That SNP shower of Sh!t are dangerous – They are getting Power Crazy.
Mental.
Eddieinkirkmichael
Yup deffo cross paths mate b4 seasonsend :-)
Hamilton Tim
That’ll be a great read.look forward to it..
HH
S.F.T.B.
I`m usually aware of the bleedin` obvious.
HT
Glad you both came through it to find the place you are in just now. Have no idea what you must have gone through to get there but any time either of you post it is clear that you are both very happy.
Guy, Don’t think it’s that people don’t give a toss. Almost everybody were talking about the same subject and your post kinda got lost. It does happen to all of us. Even though I have been popping in and out & posting along with watching the golf, I missed your post. I had to scroll back to find it and I concur with what HT said.
Really hope you are not too miffed but these things happen to all of us here at one time or another.
Anyhow that’s me done for the night. God Bless All. H.H.
SFTB
Hardly surprising the very energetic man cannae take a penalty. :)
macjay
Sometimes we leave the obvious unsaid.
We describe these children, by default, as children of unmarried mothers.
We rarely describe them as the offspring of unwed or uncommitted fathers. That was the point of the song I cited.
GGH
Just spat out some wine- a belter.
Just popped in……
HT
Great post. Loved having you all, daughters included, 2 years back. So many changes here you would not believe. The main thing is, we are still here and thriving. Love to Minx and the bhoys I have yet to meet. HH Night.
Hamiltontim on 11th April 2016 12:11 am
You’re right about priorities.
I’m fine about that. Where were the blog’s rebel blowhards from drumchapel, knightswood, dalmuir, clydebank and dumbarton?
Nowhere.
macjay1 for Neil Lennon,
Watch out for the Lady in sexy Lingerie, under your bed.
GGH
Long story, not for here, but I was devastated when mine was annulled. My wise old man let me rant and cry for an hour, which was most unlike him, then replied.
“It might no feel like it now but you can now marry in the Catholic Church and one day you might be glad for that”.
I was wrong.
Thanks for your lovely words.
Haven’t read back .. No time
Christy Moore documentary on RTE earlier. Excellent so it was.. Part 2 on tomorrow night. Well worth a watch .
WeeFra
Delighted to hear you and D are well son.
Hopefully we’ll get up in the summer.
The issue of annullment and associated Canon Law is fractious, especially if you live in the only country in the world (other than Vatican City) where divorce per se is not recognised. The Internal Forum as guided by Canon Lawyer priests offers some respite and succour to divorced Catholics if discussed with said priests in whatever country one resides. It is worth asking of the local Canon rep priest if only for peace of mind…
TBM
Burgers
Tontine Tim, Hassan is actually an Irish name, one of my mates from Dundee is called Hassan and his relations were Irish.
Yes
TBM
I’ve got a notification on my phone that I’ve got a voicemail from you but can’t access it. This seems to happen often and then I find the call was from days or weeks ago. Did you call?
Ah SFTB, John Prine: ‘The Happy Enchilada’ . Unwed Fathers is a great song!
Thanks for posting. Think I’ll give ‘Bruised Orange ‘ a spin.
T
Just say Yes??????
SETTING FREE THE BEARS FOR RES. 12 & OSCAR KNOX on 11TH APRIL 2016 12:20 AM
The point of the statistic was to point out the current importance or relevance of marriage and procreation , or lack of same.
And compare that to the attitude of the Catholic Church to divorce and Communion.
PETEC on 11TH APRIL 2016 12:22 AM
macjay1 for Neil Lennon,
Watch out for the Lady in sexy Lingerie, under your bed.
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Red sexy lingerie ?
HT, have called you a couple of times times but no response. No worries pal, usually about something not blog related. I’m a night owl so feel a bit guilty if calling late…
God Bless…
Regards & Hail Hail
TBM