“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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Antipodean red,
You picked a howler to attend neebs. ;)
Poor show that night. But you are correct. He needs backed and until it’s his choices and not previous targets it’s unfair to judge too harshly imo.
RT @STVSport: Mike Ashley posts intent to take out security over Rangers’ Ibrox Stadium http://t.co/OtJe3dfvfk http://t.co/OWLdt5N9BC
I’m hearing that the Onion of Fannies have urged Sevconians not to BUY the Metro!
HH
guernica
I agree and disagree with your points. We are trying to build a team of silky fast attacking footballer when we don;t seem to have anyone defence to midfield who has the brains to hold their position when we are attacking. Our players don;t all have to be super silky on the ball. Sometimes a no nonsense CB or defensive midfielder is fine.
All the great teams have had a player that most people think how is he in the team he doesn;t do much. That player is usually the most important player on the pitch because he holds the team together and is there for defensive reasons.
When you are attacking and winning games these guys go unnoticed but they make timely interceptions and important tackles that people forget and they are usually integral to most teams success. I feel we are lacking such a player.
Our CB’s at the minute are not either working together or are missing Mulgrew to protect them. Mulgrew is an able successor to Wanyama in the role but nowhere near the imposing figure big Victor was. We either go 3 at the back which I believe would suit our style of play better and allow VVD to play further up the pitch when we have the ball as he is known to do or we find another Victor. I doubt we will find another Wanyama so it is Charlie in front of the defence or in it. I would prefer to see Charlie is a back 3 I think he has the leadership qualities to keep the defence in some sort of order because at Dundee United it looked like they had met in the tunnel.
LB
The glorious balance sheet
A lot of people on here seem to rate young O’Connell but I haven’t seen anything in him to impress me.
Turkeybhoy – what if the boy from Alkmaar would rather sign for Lazio?
We can’t just say ‘he’s good, I’ll take him’. Not meaning to be a nippy sweetie but I think some folk think it’s Football Manager we are playing!
oh dear the comments that follow on the follow follow thread that those tweats are from appear to most question peoples parentage….aaahhh the gift that never seems to stop giving
Mike moves
https://twitter.com/STVSport/status/555667855187136512
HH
War raging over at sevco…..statements will be flying aplenty……
Whilst in Morrisons, I looked at the back page headline of the DR. It quoted £250,000 for GMS . I come on here and see a bunch of posts saying GMS would cost us £250,000.
Hmmm….
JJ
PS I am a big fan of the talent that is GMS but haven`t got a clue if he has that bit extra required to succeed at Celtic. Our fans can be a tad demanding at times 0:-)
“I really cant for the life of me see why we are not doing this.”
Turkeybhoy,
1, cos he’s our best centre half.
2, cos we have a PILE of important games coming up in Feb after the window closes.
3 cos I like him.
4, value will be much less.
In that order :)
Livibhoy – give me an example of this type of player in the Real, Barca, Man City, Chelsea or Bayern teams?
I don’t see a ‘non footballer’ in any of those sides.
We spent far too long with lumps of wood at the back.
Neil and Johan realised in the modern game you need pacy defenders who like to play football. Ok, ours sometimes make mistakes but lets not go back.
Paul67,
I’m a day late but this is a fantastic article that hits the target beautifully – well done my bhoy.
I was on an early flight to Heathrow yesterday with a few colleagues, reading the Scotsman – I hadn’t heard the MIH news. The Sevconian colleague sitting next to me saw I was reading an article about the Craig Whyte/Ticketus court case, pointed to Our Hero’s photo and mentioned that he’d like to shoot him.
Forward on a few pages to the Business Section and there was a photo of Sir Moonbeam and the MIH liquidation story – I asked him did he still have his gun because this was the source of all their problems.
“Aye, mibbe” was the grudging response……many of them they still cannot fully accept the carnage that Murray wrought on them.
Hell mend them.
Here is the application Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct have made to take out security over Ibrox pic.twitter.com/Y6MWpdYlBn
Id rather see GMS than derk, tonev, wakuso, who are just a waste of money.
As for Berra….really scraping the bottom of the barrel there, absolutely dire.
But….nothing would surprise me.
In fact just go the whole way…..draft in a squad of amateur players, they wont cost anything.
HH
JJ,
It appears many on here have pms at the thought of gms.
HH
We have £14 mil cash in the bank (confirmed at AGM), we don’t have to sell anyone,to bring another player in.
*anyone important*
LiviBhoy
10:12 on 15 January, 2015
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Maybe we’ve just no got a manager who can put all the wee bits n pieces together and, make it work?
HH
How much would Scott Arfield cost?
Christophe Berra is a cracking player and would be a stunning acquisition who would become another sepia tinted hero of Celtic folklore.
Hail Hall
Estadio
lionroars67
09:33 on
15 January, 2015
Good morning CQN
Alfie Noakes thanks for showing the blog why the Labour Party is losing its core support in its ole heartlands, those dreadful people in working class areas with nothing to lose eh
=================================================================
Not the ‘salt of the earth” working class people, and I am one of them – no not them – but the benefit junkies who won’t work and ‘run about’ with theatrical walking- stick props.
I have through twenty-eight years working at grass-roots in the Labour Party, have fought and won many battles for the working class.
What have the SNP EVER done for the working class – NOTHING, always too busy with their one-issue dogma – why the hell would any working class EVER vote SNP?
Beats me!!!!
kevjungle
10:22 on 15 January, 2015
How much would Scott Arfield cost?
A lot more than the £400k Falkirk sold him to Hiddersfield for.
DuffyD@DuffyD365·28s28 seconds ago
@STVSport @STVGrant King needs to call an EGM now.
Ohhhhhhhhhh ma sides :)))))))))))))))
How the other half think…
http://www.ibroxnoise.co.uk/2015/01/regan-knows-sweet-fa-ask-neil.html?m=1
If I had the fortitude to create an account on the site I would rip the article and author to shreds. However, I am both mentally and emotionally drained.
Besides, it would be like trying to explain to an auld dug the health risks involved in licking its b@lls.
hehehe – stupid, homeless huns.
guernica
Chelsea – John Terry
Real Madrid – Pepe, Ramos
Man City – Kompany
Bayern – Boateng
They don;t mess about. Just defend and protect their goal.
LB
A security over Ibrox, I would have thought a new roof was higher on the agenda.
http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/rangers/306606-mike-ashley-posts-intent-to-take-out-security-over-rangers-ibrox-stadium/
Bada,
Exactly.
There’s no need to sell. It’s better for us if Vvd stays this window.
Geordie
PMT and PMSL I am aware of but PMS ? You`ll have to help me out here, I`m afraid but if it is anything to do with a negative response to the possibility of GMS coming to Celtic then we could start CQN`s longest ever list of players not good enough for us ( and not for a second am I suggesting we do that!!!).
Bit of wind in the real world today as well as from the usual sources 0:-)
JJ
It is going to get very busy on here shortly :-)
tomtheleedstim
10:24 on 15 January, 2015
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Are you – Pierre?
HH
Ashley pulls the pin on the hand grenade……
#standwellback
KevJungle
In the EPL market Arfield would probably be valued at anything between £5m-£10m.
A good Livi Bhoy too.
LB
GMS is a skillful player, on his game a highly effective attacker.
I have no issue with taking a modest punt on him, and wish him well should he join us, but my sense is he hasn’t developed any over the past 2 years, and that’s a concern.
Is there more to get out of him? Will he flourish as he moves in his mid 20s? Or like so many others, will we find that he’s as good now at 24 years old as he’s ever going to get?
I’d prefer to bring Armstrong in. Different type of player, granted, but 2 years younger, and perhaps more to bring out.
What do I know tho.
Gary67
10:24 on 15 January, 2015
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Aye well, we’re renouned for missed operchancities, eh.
HH
Alfie Noakes
What a dinosaur you are……are you a hun, because you sure sound like one.
LiviBhoy
10:28 on 15 January, 2015
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Well within our price range then.
HH