“Crash and burn”. That was the outcome I expected to await Murray International Holding’s (MIH) debt-fuelled expansion in the early part of the last decade. This wasn’t entrepreneurship. Borrowing money to invest in a market which was on a long-term growth spurt, without consideration that your asset values could fall, was corporate vandalism. It was a safe enough bet as long as the commercial property market continued its incessant upwards trend, but the bubble had to burst eventually.
There were other voices out there saying the same thing. In the pre-blog era I remember printed copies of the Dogs Bollox passed around like the potentially-subversive underground insights they were. It was financial madness, writ large, all you needed to do was step back a little to see what was happening.
Celtic Quick News started because the underlying story of the biggest issue in Scottish football – the ability of the two largest clubs to pay their bills – was not being told. Without Murray’s debt splurge, this blog would never have happened.
I gave running commentaries of what to expect of Rangers and MIH accounts when they were released in 2005, the evidence will be there, I told you. I didn’t expect a convenient, and remarkable, property revaluation. It was smoke and mirrors, though Murray inspired such confidence, even among Celtic fans, I remember “Why can’t we just revalue Celtic Park and borrow more?”
Millions were taken in executive pay and bonuses each year, despite borrowings galloping away, while the Bank of Scotland continued to open the vault. MIH wasn’t the only bad bet Bank of Scotland made, but it was the worst.
Rangers were the ultimate vanity project. Tens of thousands of people literally fawned before Murray, he wallowed in decades of deference, controlling oceans of the media. The best parts of history are never written, and what happened at Rangers, and with the Bank of Scotland is no different. While Murray is alive you’re only going to read the parts of this story with documented evidence.
The illegal EBT scandal was typical of how the business operated. Through this, and the also-illegal Discounted Options Scheme, Murray drove a horse and cart through the SFA rulebook. Lord Nimmo Smith found as much. In Craig Whyte, Rangers appointed a person who was not fit and proper to run a football club. Whyte was sine died from the game and Rangers were disciplined, but it was Murray who sold the business to Whyte, despite his personal history. For all the rule breaking, and subsequent havoc he inflicted on his club, Murray has not been brought to account by the SFA, his allies still hold the balance of power, but not for ever.
The knighthood for services to Scottish business will sound hollow to those who invested in MIH pensions, and who were recently told their funds are in trouble. Yesterday’s news that Murray is putting a squad of his businesses into liquidation, or from BBC’s Douglas Fraser that Murray’s family are buying “fire-sale assets” from MIH, which, he explains, “received what’s called “an unsolicited approach from the Murray family”, tells you what you need to know about the man.
If only there was the political will to ask for an inquiry into hundreds of millions of pounds of public money lost to the exchequer, as publicly-owned Lloyds, now owners of the Bank of Scotland, slowly come to terms with how deep the Charlotte Square money pit is. Murray’s acolytes, those who partied hard with him during the good times, remain scattered through Scotland, from Holyrood, to Hampden. It will take years before they slowly lose grip on their own fiefdoms.
Strip him of his title, discipline him for the rule-breaking in Scottish football, and have an inquiry into how his coalescence with the financial, political and media sectors rendered him immune from responsibility.
More later on Gary Mackay-Steven.
[calameo code=0003901718eccc6101c78 lang=en page=1 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
1,115 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- ...
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- ...
- 30
- »
HT
`Your second sentence ‘indicates’ otherwise.`
“As regards tactics I am clueless whether at the game or watching TV; formation is more obvious on TV and players performance is more obvious live.”
One neutral,one Yes and one No.
The End
JJ
At this rate we will need to hire a zombie slayer :-)
HH
CRC
Burnley78
Keep the stories coming ,they fair cheer me up on a chilly night
Malorbhoy
67Heaven .19:15 on 14 January, 2015
Eejit on ssb masquerading as a Celtic supporter
…………………….
It’s a virus I’m told.
Jobo
Email received. (LMS Week 2).
Goodnight, all.
JJ
A Ceiler Gonof Rust
20:57 on
14 January, 2015
Good grief, reading alfie’s posts is like extracts from hitler’s diary.
=============================
Behave.
ACGR
It’s Ernie, Jim Murphy or Stephen Purcell sniff.
A drone anyhow.
The stool is a sticky.
Fell asleep just before half-time (well, I am no well) only to now discover Wanyama is off…….pulled hamstring ….bummer ….:)
A bit late to the Dance tonight,
Great Article Paul,
You sir have deployed the Hammer today.
Keep them Coming.
KLV
Re the ‘definite article’
Funnily enough when I was a wee lad in the early sixties I recall that RFC was often designated as THE Rangers.
Indeed I’m sure I read somewhere (Hugh Taylors Scottish Football Book or the Topical Times Football Annual were the points of reference for wee boys then!) that it was the club who insisted on the ‘The’ not only for the team but for the proper designation of Ibrox as ‘The Stadium’.
So the suggestion of our Club using the definite article leaves a sick feeling at the back of my throat. A throwback to the supremecist ethos.
HH
As always, from Burnley 78, great stuff!
Also- Don’t know if you have seen the pics on Twitter tonight of one of the Ibrox suites (Waddell I think- between Govan and Copeland Rd stands), swimming in water leaking through the ceiling. Would make you smile, I’m sure!
Minty signed judas to basically say get it up ye to us with , in my opinion, the breaking the no catholic rule the last thing in his reasoning for signing le petit merde. We never recovered from this until martin arrived.
Uefa were sniffing about re the no catholics rule and i believe souness thought it would hold them back if the rule was not boken in some way.
Minty fleeced them as much as the spivs are doing now.
Any contracts for catering and other services etc were put out to tender but funnily enough companies he was involved in got the contracts. He said at one of his last agm’s before being duped that his companies had fewer contracts at ibrox.
He took the biggest cut of the ebt payments.
I was told a story that at certain papers he woulld only speak to particular ‘journalists’ at each paper and was less than diplomatic in his view of us. Someone i know who previously worked
in the press told me the above.
Ayr united knocked him back officially due to the terms of the deal, he wanted any investment back, with interest. However, i was told the main reason was because his dad had peed off business people in and around ayr with his way of doing bisiness.
Minty also demanded that alf young, a business journalist.. at the herald be sacked after young had done an article questioning lord dave’s actual business abilty and the mih borrowings.
Raymac
Yes mick Mccarthy would have been a good choice. Unfortunately in the present economic climate at celtic I don’t think the board would tempt anyone already employed to leave their position, pity as mick could do a job for us . David moyes, malkay mackay and Chris hughton were a few others I would have considered last June, simply because they were unemployed and therefore attainable, hopefully we will appoint a decent manager in June
Goldstar
Bigger the storm the more doomdome will suffer!
JJ 2104
Yes, I remember that from the time. However, in view of the recent Celtic Forum discussion, my understanding is that it was (whether tacitly or otherwise, I’m not sure) accepted that they would not be referred to by that name.
HH
Chris hughton !
WITS out, thank the stars you weren’t deciding who came in
WITS
Are you Chris Hughton?
WITS OOT :)
Kdc,
Just a suggestion, wouldn’t have been my first choice but would do a better job than our current boss
dd
Train from Dalmuir will take you to Accies game easily on Saturday.Get of at Hamilton West and 5 minute walk to stadium
Delaneys
See my reply to kdc, David moyes would probably have been my first choice
dallas dallas where the heck is dallas
Actually maybe that particular signing had less to do with us that we think.
Maybe it was on their minds that their sectarian signing policy was something that FIFA could no longer tolerate. Two clubs were apparently warned – one in South America (ironically the Catholic University club from whom they signed that fat bloke with the dodgy hair and knackered knees) – and the other one you can guess. Story for another day though…
Beatbhoy 20.37
Very interesting that Rangers International PLC describe themselves as the “holding company” for The Rangers Football Club in the opening sentence on their site, yet in the section required by the AIM, Rangers International PLC are the football club.
No separating out the two as their great myth would contend re the liquidation of Rangers 1872 – 2012
BT
That is what Ryan and I are doing. Thanks buddy. :)
We plan on getting there for 11. Any good local pubs?
JJ
I’m happy enough with my original interpretation of your post.
Raymac, mick mccarthy is one of the more honest mangersin football and very likeable.
If he ever got the big job with us he wouldn’t be given the time he got at both wolves and ipswich to build a team.
The msm would think twice about getting on the wrong side of him if he was our boss.
His walking straight off the pitch before the red card was shown after he hooked crawford baptie still causes me to laugh.
goldstar10
21:16 on
14 January, 2015
As always, from Burnley 78, great stuff!
Also- Don’t know if you have seen the pics on Twitter tonight of one of the Ibrox suites (Waddell I think- between Govan and Copeland Rd stands), swimming in water leaking through the ceiling. Would make you smile, I’m sure!
————————————————————–
Fenian polis wrecked the bogs above.
No way in this world hughton is up to the celtic job
Rangers when they’re owed money, Sevco when they owe it.
goldstar10-i got the photos from Poundland too, the Gene Kelly one is a belter, also the Loving Cup being used to catch the water from the leaking roof
Adi_dasler
It would not have been Jack Gillespies wife. It was his mistress who was a good Tim who lived with at the time.
Paul67,
good article. It touches on the iceberg of debt murray was allowed to build up thru amateur bankers. Not only did it sink the Ibrox club , it nearly took down the top level of scottish football. Thankfully most clubs in the top league are debt free with hopefully HeartS and Hibs to join. Of course his metals and property business collapsed and prior to that his electronics venture and newspaper launch disappeared.
Black Horse could have done a 100% debt for equity swap , however they were charitable and allowed him to exit with some assets. Strange , it suggests someone was still helping the biggest charlatan scotland has ever seen.
WITS
Malky was my choice.
We have Ronny and I am glad we do.
joe_joe_john_bobby_teddy
20:53 on
14 January, 2015
How on earth is our game on Saturday in doubt already……
============================================
Pitch totally covered with snow all training for youth cancelled,rain may clear but would then be down to drainage.
Plastic slippy park,kick at all costs ( with impunity Accies) plus our attempts to get a settled format,given a choice I would prefer it was off and we can consolidate vs M’Well at home.
Sad I know but bigger picture beckons.
dallas
I grew up as a huge Roy Keane fan, and so, was not a huge MMcM fan after the whole world cup fiasco.
However, over the years, RK has not shown himself to have a lot of class, and has gone down in my estimation, while big Mick has always carried himself with class, and has gone up considerably in my estimation.
If and when the time is right for both, I think he could be an excellent manager for Celtic.
Delaney’s, you could go to equi’s for great ice cream but then again you may not be up for that if the weather will be as cauld as forecasted.
JJ
No problem
It’s a difference of opinion
Getting on fine back at work thanks.
Dallas Dallas
Remember big Mick getting sent off for that…worth it.
If you ever see replay…young ghirl in main stand is giving it “doaaaaaannt dayyyyyy itttt Miiick”(Finnish) in slow mo ..brill.
WITS,are you suggesting Davie Moyes,
the man who ruined an EPL winning team :-)))
leftclicktic
19:30 on 14 January, 2015
https://twitter.com/moo_ted/status/555444076376760320
———
Thanks for posting that.
Confirms , I think, what I had always understood , ie that it was a condition of Sevco/ The Rangers admission into the league set up as a new entity that they accept in the five way agreement / contract whatever punishments were to be imposed on (the old ) Rangers by the footballing authorities.
In other words the question of the Rangers’ liability for the 250k is not a matter of deciding or debating whether they are the same entity or club as the old one as their liability is based on their entering into a contractual obligation to pay it.
That , of itself , does also help conclusively to answer the same / different club / company question for two reasons :-
1. If the old and new are the same entity , why would you need a separate contract binding the new version to pay what the old one was due?
And
2. if they are the same entity the contract is at least voidable , if not actually void as its a well established legal principle in Scots law that a legal person or entity can’t contract with himself or itself.