The most interesting thing about news (cough) that David Murray is considering investing in Newco Rangers, is that the club, chaired by Dave King, is in such a dark place that it will countenance doing business with a man King has so publicly vilified.
You can imagine a whole list of people they would rather approach for money before getting to Zsa Zsa himself. You now know all you need to know about the response they got from those more palatable than Murray.
My principle concern at this story is that Dave King’s enormously important work at Ibrox will soon come to an end. It is difficult to overstate how important King has been to the corporate health of this football club. From the club’s inception in June 2012 he campaigned relentlessly to usurp several iterations of owners, invoking internecine strife at the heart of the club.
Now, three years after taking control, the harsh realities of what he has done and what lies ahead – having to compete with Celtic and what will be close to a £100m turnover, with a club that will turnover in the region of £30m this season, will be evident. Even to King!
Due to his past form, David Murray will not get near an official position at Newco, but things can happen in the shadows. It is not beyond the possibility that he will find a few million of conscience money, but for all I think of Murray’s ego, it is surely not dysfunctional enough to see him move into this firing line. Surely?
“Long live the King!” Oh how we laughed.
272 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- »
MAHE THE MADMAN , sincerely hope you dont chuck it, know how you feel after 55 years of watching us get cheated, please. ktf.
Won’t be in Scotland that read oops
Am sure there’s one thing we all agree on…..well have collected all 3 points by Sunday evening…..by having smote/smited/smitten those hun upstarts and put them back in their box….well, until at least the run up to the semi final….when we can start the angst all again ;-)))
FTSFA
wedon’tcarebrigadeexceptedCSC ;-))
H.H.
Bp ,
Been well chucked mate,, it’s whether it’s chucked forever is at stake here.
Aulheid is right when he says we should not have been put in this position,,loyalty to your team or sacrifice your integrity to follow the game. Rock and hard place.
But I’ve way too much self respect to knowingly pay to take part in what going on. It’s a straight NO.
And like I say by not letting my wee one see me taking part then hopefully she wont so will never feel like this, a nomad. Rebel without a cause.
All this could change of course. But I doubt it.
When asked whose your team it’s I don’t really follow the sport anymore.
Hail Hail
TONTINE TIM on 8TH MARCH 2018 10:10 PM
BIG PACKY on 8TH MARCH 2018 6:42 PM
my first game was a 9-0 win against airdrie, now tontine will know exactly how many years ago that was, but frank haffey missed a penalty.
*Not only do I remember when it was, October 26, 1963 it was the day after my birthday, but I know the goalie that saved the penalty, didnae at the time though, he was the nephew of the legendary Firhill Flyer.
=================
Well Tontinetim,
I’m privileged to share the same birthday as you…
ScorpioCSC
CT,
well in mate…..am sure BMCUWP….will remind us all at the time ;-))
Reminds me of the story of The Scorpion & The Frog….
FTSFA
LibransyabassCSC
H.H.
THELURKINTIM on 8TH MARCH 2018 11:18 PM
:-))))
Now, for the Moonhowlers:-))
P67,
Well, well. So 6 years ago Murray hatches a plan to rid the club of debt and any dodgy player contracts. Fast forward to 2018 and he reemerges as a potential investor now the debt has been ‘removed’ .
I called this out in March 2012 in your blog following the death of Rangers FC, stated that Murray would come back in and redeem control once the club had been financially ‘ cleansed’ but was castigated that this could not happen.
Think I’ll sit back and watch the future :)
NeaustraudamusCSC
I don’t believe in horoscopes.
But that’s me just being a typical pisces.
CT,
nobody puts Baby in a corner…..pigeonholing and labelling…..the first defence of those who wish to “divide and conquer” ;-))
FTSFA
moonhowlersrusCSC
H.H.
Non horoscope Stivs claims copyrite on KEET IT LIT…..passively aggressively…..definitely fishy ;-))
FTSFA
H.H.
Lurkintim
Keep it lit.
Ftsfa
Heard this tune on the closing credits of Netflix’s very good Underground show
from “Underground”
ESTORILBHOY on 8TH MARCH 2018 11:37 PM
I also remember you making your debut at CQN Thursday night 5s :-)
I have the team picture somewhere
Hope you are well?
HH
CRC
Just read back. Some excellent posts with a sprinkling of not so excellent.
Bake in the oven at 200° fahn for 12 hours and you have a blog.
Definition of a hun for me is;
I know you cheated.
You know you cheated.
You think you are the victim.
You know you are the perpetrator.
You think you are the same club
You know you are not.
Simple really.
mahe you are forever out.
atillas not as bad as we think they are and we are not as good as we think we are.
ffs Keet = but u new what ;-))
FTSFA
mindreadersCSC
H.H.
Moonhowling?
I like sedition. There isn’t enough of it in the modern world. My favourite definition of the word is one of the oldest, “rebellious disorder”.
The chisellers who run Scottish football couldn’t care less about Celtic fans’ petitions, demonstrations, marches or boycotts. Not any one of those will disturb their night’s sleep.
One thing haunts their dreams. One thing keeps them awake through the early hours of a Scottish winter’s morning.
Celtic winning! Celtic taking any one of their trophies! Time after time!
The single greatest act of sedition any Celt can perform in Scotland is to turn out as one of many thousands at Hampden and roar our team to victory.
EDDIEINKIRKMICHAEL @ 6.25
Thanks for the reply
Resolution 12 is small potatoes, a mere tip of the ice berg and Scotland won’t even deal with that, never mind the unconvicted tax crimes of Rainjurz.
Stories. articles or any investigations pre 2000 disappeared because they effectively admitted to the ‘reduced’ charges of just 51 players from 2000 till they were liquidated.
Lord Nimmo’s findings were a sham and Celtic acknowledge them as such, we are a football club and not the regulatory body, and the analogy would be, what did AC or Inter do about Juventus and their fraud?
The crimes are condoned with every single silent passing day of Sevco’s existence and now
we stand at the precipice with every other Scottish club trampled upon, and Sevco looking down at them in the league.
Except their nemesis, Celtic FC
Aow,
Art of War on 9th March 2018 12:04 am
Just read back. Some excellent posts with a sprinkling of not so excellent.
Bake in the oven at 200° fahn for 12 hours and you have a blog.
Definition of a hun for me is;
I know you cheated.
You know you cheated.
You think you are the victim.
You know you are the perpetrator.
You think you are the same club
You know you are not.
Simplistic really.
——————————————————————————————–why did Rankers fitbawlers become free agents…..all of a sudden…..;-))
This, to me, is my argument against continuity. ;-))
FTSFA
H.H.
And as if by magic, the Thursday night CQN 5s team picture from 28/1/13 ( not anywhere quite as long as the Saturday 5s bhoys!!!)
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10212962688955168&set=a.1153413988747.2024921.1029576418&type=3&theater
HH
CRC
BSR- I cannot fathom why other clubs are not raging about Sevco TWI Trading Whilst Insolvent.
It’s clear as the nose on yir bonce.
How Murray has got away with it vexes me. He’s goat under my skin.
Thelurkintim- TUPE or not TUPE?
M, CRC…..were you taking the pic….;-))cracking white top with black collar in there….anyone? ;-))
Tontine Tim
mayhavworn1newCSC ;-))
FTSFA
H.H.
Aow,
I add….both clubs registration documents at companies house (screen grab)…..;-))
FTSFA
fakenewsCSC ;-))
H.H.
THELURKINTIM on 9TH MARCH 2018 12:31 AM
Yes indeed a cracking top. Still have it and it gets dusted down occasionally
HH
CRC
Just to annoy you yet….Methuselahs…..;-)))
FTSFA
H.H.
BMCWP defending me? Cause Methuselahs…don’t understand. ;-))
FTSFA
waebakwenCSC
H.H.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G3ax-A8QjMw0fRcGVooHpoKkV7_ZgVpoT-jUVSWPncg/edit?usp=drivesdk
For the doggie lovers meet hamish. 1 year old and 80lbs. His daddy is an Irish wolf hound and mummy is a German shephard. The breeder told me this is the last wolf hound he buys as the last one before lasted 2 years only and cost 4k upfront with 2 k in costs during those two.
You gotta admit you can see where he’s coming from.
Mrs madman, despite being in a dangerous career, refuses to allow guns in the house, a smart yank!, or use my crossbow, so we agreed on this thug and I can disappear at weekends knowing there’s still an Irish man home.
The thug hasn’t walked around a sofa in the last 6 months , straight over them.
Any single fellas lurking, get yourselves an Irish accent and failing that a good lookin dog. Seriously.
Having trouble signing into celtic tv
anyone else in the same boat
HH
Wow, only £6k for a broke dog…..too much….dead dog|||||||Birdseye…..spokesman…..no horse….try dog ;-)
FTSFA
beef/horsewhonoticed;-)))
H.H.
Good morning, friends and a Big Happy Friday to you all from a dry, clear, chilly East KIlbride (Ianbhoy929 – where re you??)
Just less than 12 hours to the big kick off that is Last Man Standing 10. Over 100 entries in so far but still time for you to join the best clique on the Blog ;-).
£10 to play, half to good causes and the other half to the prizepot given to the competitor who stays longest in the weekly competition, by correctly picking just 1 team to win each week (different team each week). Full, detailed rules provided to anyone who signs up. Interested? Just drop an email to cqnpredictor@gmail.com and we will get back to you today. Do it now and I’ll reply during my lunchbreak from work!
Thank you.
This link, from Auldheid at 5:42 pm, does not support the view that Celtic are doing nothing about the corruption at the SFA:
http://cdn.celticfc.net/assets/downloads/SFA_Correspondence.pdf
JJ
CELTICROLLERCOASTER SUPPORTING @WALKWITHSHAY on 9TH MARCH 2018 12:19 AM
And as if by magic, the Thursday night CQN 5s team picture from 28/1/13 ( not anywhere quite as long as the Saturday 5s bhoys!!!)
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10212962688955168&set=a.1153413988747.2024921.1029576418&type=3&theater
HH
CRC
—-_————————
Goodness me what a dirty dozen (-2). I’m still recovering from that night, hamstring injury nearly fixed so should be fit for selection soon :) ( can’t believe its been 5 years ).
Hot smoked you really are desperately clinging on to the belief our board haven’t shafted us.
They have and Pauls sneering at murrays return rather than attacking it shows you that once again the board are conspiring against us.
Paul should be ashamed,ed of himself. But he clearly took his silver.
Good Morning,
Interesting debate on here over the last two days but due to pressure of business of business I haven’t been able to post on a number of points so in no particular order.
1. I think it was Bigbhoy who said that today the vast majority of the shares in Celtic are owned by the fans in general – apologies Big Bhoy if it was not you who said this. What I want to point out is that this is not correct and that in truth something like 80% of all shares are held by no more than 5 or 6 people as I understand it. For all that Fergus supposedly devised a scheme whereby the fans in general would always own 66% of the club, this was never definitely going to be the case and Fergus and his lawyers must have known that. It is the only thing that Fergus McCann ever seriously got wrong and so today “ownership” is as concentrated as it was back in the day of the White’s, the Kelly’s, the Grants and the rest of the old board.
Strangely, though there is actually greater transparancy and accountability today via the PLC route – but not much!
2. I saw some yesterday criticise the board for apparently concentrating on the creation of an Hotel and a museum etc. Well, I for one have been critical of the Celtic board for not doing all that they can to develop not only the area around Celtic Park but also the secondary revenue streams that are open to them. In my opinion, Celtic have been slow in this although I accept that they have faced substantial opposition because the business community in Scotland, and many semi government organisations are slow to see (or are perhaps too afraid to see) the monetary value that lies in Celtic as a business.
For example, both Manchester United and Barcelona (amongst others) operate their grounds as a destinational tourist venue with visitors to Barcelona and Manchester being encouraged to visit the Barca or Man U experience as a tourist whether they are football fans or not. Visitors are walked through the museum areas and arrive at the end in the superstore where as often as not they buy souvenirs etc. This is a large source of revenue for both. In percentage terms, exploited correctly, the difference that could be made by a proper Celtic development around Celtic park could be huge for us and could potentially add at least £10M per annum on to our revenue and so increase the spending power of the club and its ability to attract bigger and better commercial partners. (Turkish Airlines pay Man Utd £7m/year just to get their name on a billboard and a mug!!) — To compere against the big ghuys in Europe as a club we MUST develop these income streams and no one should doubt the pull of Celtic as a European wide club – more of which later.
BTW think on this: Have you ever seen a Scottish Tourist Board sign, or a Glasgow City Council sign, or any other kind of road sign in or around Glasgow which points you in the direction of “Celtic park”? You will find such signs directing you to football grounds in other major cities so why not Celtic Park? If you know the reason for this oversight let the board know — they have only been asking for such signage for around 5 years or so (I think) but no one seems to listen or think That Celtic Park is a destinational venue for tourists or visitors despite all the evidence to the contrary. That is the kind of thing you are up against.
3. Res 12 — Some people want Celtic to come out and say something about the cheating as that is what it is and was. Well, I actually agree that they could be more vocal but I also agree that if they have something to say it has to be of substance and not just waffle. From the start of Res 12 I predicted that this would be a war of attrition because the SFA is like an old husk. It is a vacuous empty shell of an organisation and Stewart Regan has presided over it becoming an almost bankrupt association in every sense of the word. Bankrupt financially, morally and organisationally.
Auldheid, and at times Celtic PLC, rightly point out (often) that the rules of UEFA and the SFA have evolved and changed over the last 5 years with a view to tightening up the FFP provisions and that in many respects the rules and the changes look to retrospectively correct past failures and loopholes. There is little doubt that much of what happened in 2011/2012 could not happen today because of rule changes that have taken place since.
However, rules and regulations are only worthwhile as long as there is an appetite to employ and adhere to those same rules and therein lies the problem. In Scotland, the vast majority of Clubs (and Regan has ensured that SFA membership has increased by almost 15% in the last few years to battle AGAINST all SPFL clubs) only want to look after their own balance sheet and accounts. They are concerned with their very existence. Only two SPFL clubs, Celtic and Aberdeen, tick all the boxes that says they meet all financial, safety and playing rules. All the others are given some form of dispensation in various ways.
And so when it comes to enforcing the rules Celtic are but one vote in and amongst around 120 votes some of which belong to clubs with little interest in what happens in the SPFL at all and who gain nothing by supporting Celtic when they stand up to the wrong doings and cosy club like management of the SFA.
Where, I, at times, depart radically from the views of others on this is that where the rules don’t work, work outside the rules. Personally, I think the club, and by club I mean the PLC and the fanbase, should do more to strengthen and emphasize the value of Celtic to the other clubs. Personally, I have not paid a single penny to any other club in Scotland over the last 5 years. I would be all for Celtic Fans Boycotting selected away matches at other clubs to demonstrate the value of The Green and White pound and the difference it makes elsewhere. I am also acutely aware that in the press this will be held up as an example of Celtic and their fans bullying the rest of Scottish Football which is why the PLC do not take a stronger stand at times.
However, if clubs will not come out and openly do what is right for football, then politely disagree with them on a point of principle and simply say that we can no longer support matches against your club in the way that we would like to. Celtic do a lot of lobbying behind the scenes but sometimes that is just not enough although I accept that this is a difficult call.
As a fan, of course I can choose not to support the club in terms of a season ticket, but I prefer to withold my money from others before witholding it from Celtic.
4. Res 12 (2) At the current time we are awaiting the Compliance Officer’s review on the events of 2011/2012 re the application for and the granting of a European Licence. Within the rules we must wait for this report before taking the next step as that is the only course of action which makes sense and it is likely to be the most powerful weapon in this prolonged fight. More powerful than the BTC decision and more powerful than the testimony at Craig Whyte’s trial because it is an investigation which is being conducted within football but which is largely based on evidence which has been independently spoken to outwith football and so cannot be covered up or hidden.
As Auldheid says, the report is likely to be couched in terms which are flattering to the SFA but at the same time cannot avoid the substance of the complaint and address the fact that huge errors were made either deliberately or by accident or by ommision.
As one poster said yesterday, Celtic also await the report before taking the next step. Quite what the PLC ‘s next step will be we can only guess at this juncture, and much may depend on what the SFA reaction is to its own review. As for the Res 12 folk, well we have always acted independently of the PLC where necessary whilst working with them when the aforesaid rules allow Celtic to take action as a club, but have our own avenues to follow as shareholders in a member club and as paying customers in an industry which is regulated by a body which just might not be fully fit to meet its legal functions and obligations.
Where such a body is hung by its own daft rules and regulations, or where those rules and regulations have clearly not been applied, or where the body is hung by its won words and explanations of how things went wrong, then it finds itself in difficulty. There are no guarantees in terms of specific outcomes but there is plenty of scope to be a royal, and a formal, pain in the arse with a view to forcing change and bringing about a recognition that what happened in the past can neither be ignored nor swept under the carpet. The Compliance Officer’s review would never have been called for if it weren’t for Res 12.
5. Getting out of Dodge — I read that many people have a view on Celtic playing outwith the SFA and Scotland. OK so let’s get this straight. (A) Celtic will never be invited into the EPL because they don’t need Celtic. The EPL TV contract even dwarfs the Champion’s League contract and the EPL has told UEFA to go hang itself in terms of match schedules etc if it means interfering with their TV deal. So that is out.
Celtic PLC have had serious chats about American Franchises or even buying other clubs in other leagues so I am told, but while that is all very inetersting the heart and soul of the club is based in Glasgow and not Philadelphia or New York or Milton Keynes etc and I for one wouldn’t be happy with upping sticks from Glasgow to follow some mad notion of a global franchise based somewhere in the US of A or elsewhere.
We are Glasgow Celtic and our soul is not for sale or franchise.
Other league set ups have been looked at (North Atlantic League is an example) but without UEFA approval this is going to be very difficult commercially and otherwise.
So, at the moment, the big push is on how to enhance the Europa League whereby “Big clubs” which are different to “Rich Clubs” can get a fair shake of the European spoils rather than have all the money concentrated on clubs owned by Multi Billionaires.
The idea over the next few years is that money is taken from the Champion’s League and invested into the Europa league so that there is far wider European Football for the likes of Aberdeen and similar clubs around Europe. For us, that automatically means wider European exposure beyond the champions league.
And it is here that Celtic holds a unique and very vital place in the eyes of some. Whilst the really huge clubs in the big leagues, and perhaps the hugely wealthy clubs in terms of “money owners” such as PSG and Man City, can buy players who then attract big TV or sponsorship money those clubs don’t actually contribute anything very much on a cross european business basis.
Celtic are different. Karl Heins Rummenegge fairly recently said to the powers that be at Celtic Park that UEFA MUST support the big clubs as opposed to the rich clubs — and the two are different. He stressed that Celtic are big club – one of the biggest – but not a rich club in comparative terms. UEFA cannot afford to ignore clubs such as Celtic and specifically Celtic.
If you search your social media you will find clubs like Bayern. PSG, Zenit, Anderlecht and so on now all make a point of putting out complimentary comments about visiting Celtic fans. It is not just Celtic fans admittedly but Celtic are highlighted. This is because unlike some other “rich” clubs, Celtic will bring fans in big numbers to other European Cities and that is worth a huge amount of money to the local economies of Munich, Brussels etc where these other European Clubs operate in business terms.
Airlines, Hotels, shops, restaurants, taxi companies, hire car companies, newspapers, local TV stations and advertisiers and so on all benefit from Celtic coming to visit. They gain not a single penny from the armchair viewer sitting in any part of Europe with his or her bucket of popcorn whilst seated in front of 50 inches of Sony.
So, what does that tell you?
It tells you that Celtic’s greatest asset economically in Europe and in Scotland is you, me, your neighbour, the guys on your bus, and the fans in general. I hear all this talk of “Happy Clappers” on one side and “Nay sayers and malcontents” on the other and in truth it is all bollocks.
Celtic has always been about the value of the fans and what the fans CAN do. The fanbase is the club’s greatest asset and its greatest weapon which is why I say that at some point if Scottish Football does not want to be seen to do the right thing then Celtic, whilst still participating in Scottish Football, should seriously look at whether or not its fans want to financially support others in Scottish Football who will not actively and willfully support proper sporying competition.
In Europe, those fans and the money theu bring are extremely valuable and on another occasion I will expand on how that value could increase in my opinion.
I can’t renember who asked why we were more than just a club or a club like no other – but given the work that the foundation do (this year Celtic fans will feed over 80, 000 kids in third world countries and a lot of other things besides) it is pretty obvious to me that we are closer to the ideal of the founding fathers today than we have been at any time within the past 100 years — and yes that is down to Fergus!
Amongst a fan base as wide as ours, operating within a system which has been traditionally weighted to favour one team (and recently one Celtic Director repeated the view that this was how the PLC board saw the SFA in the current day) there will always be disagreements about what to do next or whether you should shout louder or whatever.
That disagreement and debate is both helathy and to be encouraged. No one person or group will always be right. Bigbhoy mentioned the current Celtic board are doing a very good job and are to be praised. Certainly the financials are very good right now but in truth that board has not changed in composotion for God knows how long and that is not good for a company at all. There should always be new blood on the board. Poeple with new areas of expertise, with differing backgrounds, and different areas of influence who are prepared to challenge the existing board and question their outlook.
The PLC board have not been as open to that as they should have been though in the past few years I think it has gotten a lot better — but it could be better yet.
Celtic as a club and a business have huge potential which has yet to be realised but it is undoubtedly hindered because the Scottish game is viewed as poor. I am more optimistic about some of the people involved in the Scottish game today than I was 5 years ago. There are good people there and I think they can bring about the right kind of change at both the SPFL and the SFA but it will not happen overnight and there will have to be many a fight in the process.
At times, especially with the press involved, it will be a dirty war and it will be a war of attrition demanding huge resolve on the part of fans.
I have no doubt that many within the gane would be up in arms if a charlatan like David Murray was ever allowed back in. Murray has been exposed for what he is and was and will never be welcomed back. Forget the press they are clowns.
The PLC are not perfect and personally I would never have supported this business model because it promised something that it was never going to deliver but it may be the best of a bad lot.
Debate and discussion are good and holding a counter opinion to someoene else, be they board member, fellow fan or whoever does not mean you are their enemy or they yours. At board level there must be doubting Thomases and people with a different perspective — sometimes they will be right, sometimes they will be wrong, as long as they are honest in their outlook and are not afraid to question or suggest an alternative route or strategy.
Sorry for the length of this post.
I am away back to the day job which right now involves relieving one of the biggest banks in the world of seven or eight figure sums in compensation which is due to people who had their lives ruined ten years ago by crooked bankers. It has taken over a decade but the bank has given in and by next week I hope to be hoisting the jolly rodger and celebrating a win that has taken many twists and turns and an awful lot of planning and patience as well as huge fights with accountants and lawyers — some of whom were on our side!!
You have to have the patience of a saint and the backbone of steel sometimes.
Res 12? – Jeez it is a walk in the park by comparision.
Not only has the fat lady not sung — she has barely started warming up!
Keep the Faith — All good things come to those who wait!
BRTH
Last league game of season v Sevco Sunday 22nd April at CP, a week after semi final
Neganon
“Pauls sneering at murrays return rather than attacking it ”
Is sneering not a form of attack? It certainly does not sound like a neutral or a supportive position?
Also, the purported return of Davie Murray, is a story in one newspaper. It is not, at least, yet, a proven fact.