“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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Lymmbhoy
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Think i would hold out til end of season.
We do need 1 quality player to get us over the line.. i dont think GMS is it.
Good signing on a bosmon but rather see us bring in a quality centre midfielder.
proudbhoy
I would bring him in now. Get him settled into Ronnys system and ready for CL qualifiers .
HH
lymmbhoy
05:24 on 15 January, 2015
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That would be right thing to do.
Im just worried he will be only signing if we bring him in now.
We really need least 1 player who is going to walk straight into the team.
If only there was clubs silly enough to give us money now for derk pukki balde and kayal.
We should even offer a buy 1 get 3 free deal on them 4.
When will the Celtic fans reach the day that they dont have to be sitting – fingers-crossed – in the hope that more, projects-trialists-foriegn agent sourced- pishy players that wouldnt get a game for Dukla Pumerston are, foisted upon them, meaning that the drain on resources continues and, the bad management that condones this ‘racket’ continues – unchallenged?
This, out of step with the austerity measures, style of player recruitment surely is up there with any of the wastage that is so loudly laughed at from across the city?
Maybe not?
If I thought that Celtic had a, savvy-shrewd cookie in the dug-out pulling the strings then, it would be more up-lifting, hopeful, exciting a watch to see who is brought in – let go…etc.
I hope that RD proves me wrong but….I doubt it. Ye see, RD is just doing what any other bloke who thought he could make a quick buck, or two would be doing, and get his profile up, right?
No harm to RD, I hope he does the treble and, gets this hun game to effff oot the road, and it could be a good wee journey for the Celtic fans from that point on, hopefully.
GMS would light the place up but, again….RD is PL’s puppet so, the nagging doubts will continue to gnaw at the back of my nut.
GMS, John McGinn and a player that I’ve mentioned for years on here – John Sutton.
Murdo was right to ‘chin’ JG for talking about scoring a hat-trick v’s the huns.
Maybe, JG and others…would have a different outlook awe the gither if a savvy heid like, Murdo was in the Celtic Park periphery?
Would anybody be surprised if – standing areas became the way of it in Scottish Football if, the huns canny get the money to repair the Orc dome?
Going away now, Off oot, bye.
good prominent post in the letters page in the metro today under the headline ‘no such thing as old firm derby now’
much rage will follow from followers of oldco and newco
sweet.
bmcuw,
Have you been keeping the Swindon superstars under wraps?
http://www.watoday.com.au/sport/soccer/swindon-town–unlikely-supplier-of-asian-cup-stars-20150114-12nvws.html
AR
Windy windy.
Bloody wind.
Got to love the Metro
The letter from the Metro.
https://twitter.com/spotthedog67/status/555622676778463232
oops forgot link
@frewby35: Got to love the Metro
http://t.co/mMLGZnv0fC
HT
Snap
lymmbhoy
Two’s a pair :-)
Good morning friends from a slightly drizzly but very very windy East Kilbride. A few power cuts here through the night and burglar alarms going off all over the place. Grrrrr.
Good morning CQNers,
Extract from Paul67’s leader…
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.
From the DR’s on-line report this morning on newco Rangers challange to the £250k fine – a classic piece of lazy journalism….
Nimmo Smith famously judged Rangers did not gain an unfair sporting advantage from the use of the controversial tax-avoidance scheme.
However, they were fined the quarter-of-a-million pound sum for a breach of rules regarding paperwork.
the glorious balance sheet
That is a very good point, however we did pay an awful lot on Mr Rafael Scheidt!
If i remember rightly was shite! we’ve had our fair share.
Just wondering if any of the Sevco huns, whilst celebrating their ‘victory’ as reported in the attached article,
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2686389/HMRC-lose-appeal-oldco-Rangers-use-Employee-Benefit-Trusts-pay-players.html
whether they also celebrated the next paragraph :
The first-tier tribunal (FTT) had issued a 2-1 majority verdict which favoured, in principle, the Murray Group in November 2013 and ordered that HMRC’s £46.2million demands, about three-quarters of which referred to THE LIQUIDATED CLUB, be ‘reduced substantially’.
Not holding company, CLUB !!!
Lovely sunny day- way down south.
Rube v Verona – Tim Cup – tonight.
Manager of Verona has stated that it will be difficult – playing against 14 men is never easy.He then took to reminiscing about the great goal he scored against Rube only for the Ref to rule it for a foul that only the Ref had seen.
Oopla
rule it out for a foul.
Morning Timdom
Blowing a hoolie up here today.
Stay warm. Stay Celtic.
HH jamesgang
Dun/Utd saying minimum 250K for Mackay-Steven.
Morning all,
Re.GMS sign him now,for £250,000,cancel one of the loanees,eg, Wakaso. Money re-couped by the summer, no?
Lilys
burgas hoops
08:40 on 15 January, 2015
Dun/Utd saying minimum 250K for Mackay-Steven.
Bargain. Sign him now and don’t mess about until 2nd Feb. in fact offer DU £2.5m and sign Armstrong as well.
Get of Boerrigter, Tonev, Wakaso and Kayal
Je Suis Metro
lilys grandpa
Not certain but I don’t think it’s as simple as just cancelling the contract.
I heard last night that Berra’s agent has been talking to Celtic about a move to us. Any opinions?
HT,
I honestly don’t know the ins,and outs myself, but just a thought.
Lilys
KevJungle
06:23 on 15 January, 2015
When will the Celtic fans reach the day that they dont have to be sitting – fingers-crossed – in the hope that more, projects-trialists-foriegn agent sourced- pishy players that wouldnt get a game for Dukla Pumerston are, foisted upon them, meaning that the drain on resources continues and, the bad management that condones this ‘racket’ continues – unchallenged?
………………………………………………………………………..
That day will be when you Kev are appointed in PL’s place. Oh lead us Kev into battle NOW!
lilys grandpa
I’m in agreement with your thinking but I’m pretty sure it’s not that simple.
theoriginalsadiesbhoy
08:58 on 15 January, 2015
I heard last night that Berra’s agent has been talking to Celtic about a move to us. Any opinions?
No thanks. I’d rather stick with Efe.
At 30 Berra has no sell on value and would require a transfer fee so don’t see us even considering him.
Our own version of ‘onerous contracts’!
HH jamesgang
The thing about signing mackay Stevens or indeed any player is that they wouldn’t be able to go straight into the team. They would have to spend a few months learning the secrets of ronnys vision of fast attacking football, for this they would need to study under one of the famed norwegian wizards who raised ronny after he was found on the steps of Oslo cathedral as a baby. These secrets are known only to a small cadre of venerable norwegian experts. The player would also have to undergo a new dietary regime as apparently the deep fried Mars bars favoured by most Scottish players can lead to torn hamstring and an inability to make a pass.
HT
Cheers,at the end of the day,I don’t think we should baulk at £250,000
Lilys
……..that darned “paperwork” will catch up with the Edmiston Tax Dodgers some day.
Aye.
HT
Your initials aren’t SRY perchance, are they?
HH
Sadiesbhoy
Berra didn’t impress last night v Southampton.
Well didn’t impress me…
Berra ?
What on earth for ? Is one of the training cones broken ?
What is the stars – what exactly has Ronny done wrong?
Is it not the case that we are in a better place now, than we were in NL first year?
For God’s sake deal in facts and desist from posts just to atttact attention.
Oh the irony!
Aff oot.
Laters Timdom.
HH jamesgang