“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.
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VP- you have mail
dd
Railway vaults next to station is usually Celtic shop but with Accies at home it maybe a different option
I’ll ask some ML3 bhoys
Kdc
You seem fixated on Chris hughton
As I have said twice already he would not be a first choice, just someone I would have considered last year as he was unemployed and therefore available. David moyes ?
Any ran c nesbitt would do a better job than our ronny
That should end
Anyway Rab C Nesbitt would do a better job than our ronny
BT
It’s usually a mix when we play in Hamilton.
Gordybhoy
David moyes was handed a poisoned chalice at man utd (anyone who took over after sir Alex had a huge task)
Before that he did well. He would have been good for us
Rated Berra when he was here, is he not quoted on the Scotland set up anymore, ; can’t remember him in a Scotland team for a good while
Seen big Mick at Faro airport a few months back,looked fit enough to play
Winning captains, seb rozenthal was the chilean chap. He was lucky to play twenty games for them.
I think souness pushed for the judas transfer rather than minty but minty would have been well aware of the pschological blow it would be for us. His ego would have ben boosted by him being praised for signing le petit merde.
WITS,
I know mucker,winding you up,
I think it was Fergusons greatest achievement winning the
league with the squad he had that year
So its agreed
Mick Mccarthy, with David moyes as his assistant
Bring it on
Gordybhoy
I Deserve a bit of winding up
HT
Cheers
DD
There you go vaults across the road to the right when you come out of station
Dallas
Junior will prob roll in fae The Garage in time to make the 10 o’clock train fae Dalmuir. Roll and skwerr and Stella curer will be more his thing. :)
Was right beside Mick McCarthy and Baptie in Main Stand. Still gives me a nervy giggle. :)
What is the Stars
Agreed as long as its Ronny’s tactic’s they work tae.
Awerabest PJ
Liquidation
WITS
everyone’s entitled to their opinion but if yer opinion is Chris hughton for celtic I’m reviewing my position on that!
:o
Justafan,
You are correct.
They called themselves THE Rangers, I.e, the original and the best. Not to be confused with the London based club or even the law enforcement agency from Texas.
The fact that some/ most of us would say things like, ” are you going to see the Celtic on Saturday?”, is neither here nor there.
We don’t say “the” in capital letters! : > )
Big storm just hitting G81,
bloody wild out there
Kdc
Are you being deliberately obtuse old chum or have you missed my 3 as in THREE replies relating to Chris hughton
BSR –
how do you do that???? ;-)
HT & BT
Thanks Bhoys. Visiting Marspapa on Friday. We will arrange something.
What is the Stars
21:25 on
14 January, 2015
Kdc,
Just a suggestion, wouldn’t have been my first choice but would do a better job than our current boss
=====================
Seriously????
Are you watching this crap?
Dear oh dear
http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/touchable/
A troll reappears, it’s been about a year since his last post.
The one earlier, who has polluted the blog during the daytime must’ve had a different name during the referendum.
!!Bada Bing!!
21:36 on
14 January, 2015
VP- you have mail
——————-
So ah hiv……no too happy with Eugene Kelly wae his poppy :O)
Mike in toronto & vogue. I have a hell of a lot time for for mick. He comes over as honest plus he got us in his two year spell here.
Mick did a great job with ireland at the 2002 world cup.
He did what a lot us would have had in mind to baptie.
Mick also sortedout that fandan wayne wayne super wayne foster when we drew 2. 2 in the centenary season and that weehibs nyaff, gareth evans , in a game v hibs that same season.
In the respective games above both had been nipping away at him and once he expressed his disagreement in what they were doing, they kept their distance.
Frank mcavennie says he elbowed mick at the start of a man city west ham game. Mick told him, there’s another 89 minutes to play son. Frank tried to avoid him as much as possible for the remainder of the ame.
Justafan
That is how I remember it. Thought when newco were branded as The Rangers it was a way of stating to the peepul that all was as it ever was.
The book was the Scottish football book. I got it for Christmas 1969 and it had big photos of goals from the 4-0 cup final. Also features on Jerry Kerr the Dundee Utd manager and another on the bear and orjan persson of sevco in praise of wingers.
David Murray did not break the ‘no Catholics’ signing policy for altruistic reasons. He obviously had a plan to bring in all manner of England internationalists and foreign stars. He had to break with tradition to pave the way for these new EBT players coming to Ibrox, without limiting himself to non-Catholics.
Bawsman
Have you read my posts
Raymac mentioned mick Mccarthy as a possible celtic manager. I agreed and went on to say that I would have considered moyes, mackay, hughton as they were unemployed and therefore possibly available.
What’s the problem. You obviously happy with ronny
Dear oh dear indeed
Gordy
It’s wild in G81 by the Clyde. Windaes about to come in it feels.
Same up the hill then??
Davie Moyes – sent to the stand, and eats fans crisps
BSR ………noo we ken whit is in them “loving cups” ……….
braw …..
Jobo
It’s my job :-)
Justafan
Their gates, see below, not for article, and the sign above the Copland road stand, say Rangers Football Club.
Definite article avoidance, for sure.
Maybe they once liked it, but they don’t now.
But even they can’t lie to AIM.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18703183
Neustadt
There’s more * Jimmy Cricket voice * – looks like the roof is coming in.
Health and Safety CSC
Ipswich vs Southampton….. Well that was sheeite !
I’m so sick fed up with the huns Jeckyl & Hyde routine.
Everytime there is a negative story, or money due to be paid, “Oh no, that was Mr Hyde”. But if there’s a good story or money coming in, “Dr Jeckyl will see you now”.
The main reason most Celtic fans (and many others) want to see them gone for good is their complete denial of having done ANYTHING wrong.
They still maintain they are victims of a conspiracy and vindictiveness of various authorities. The most amazing thing about this is the fact that most of the accused authorities have bent/broken just about every rule/law possible to keep the Rangers myth alive!