Fortunately very few of us will have to go through what Paul McBride endured as a consequence of being a Celtic fan. Bullets and bombs in the post, with the inevitable stresses, are not part of a civilised society, but he coped without shirking. Instead of playing to the gallery, he carried an uncompromising message to some in the Celtic support, making a few more enemies but many more admirers.
His loss will be felt most by his loved ones, who are in our thoughts at this time, but without his insight, the years ahead will be poorer for us all.
204 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- »
I didn’t know Paul McBride at all but his untimely death still comes as a shock to many like me and as a tragedy for his family. He was clearly highly intelligent and came across as a driven individual. Politically, he was capricious and I’m sure he infuriated many who thought they had him well sussed.
A couple of years ago when the entire country, its press and broadcast media was gripped by anti-Celtic hysteria it was McBride who stepped up to the plate. Night after night he’d appear on TV and he was devastating – he made a laughing stock of the Celtic-baiters. It was like watching those old pictures of Benny Lynch dancing round opponents before sending them reeling to the canvas.
A Celtic champion, indeed.
Well it might have taken twenty instalments but I have finally paid off my overpayment from HMRC
Art of War on 5 March, 2012 at 10:49 said:
Temporary Certification of Insanity. :-)
So turkeys don’t vote for Christmas, there’s a surprise. the only way rangers will play in the spl next season is if they are not liquidated, it would cause uproar if rival clubs voted them in and fans of those clubs who voted them in would see even more fans walk away, never to return.
hopefully once the tax case is decided we can look to the future and how we can move on as a footballing country with a competitive league.
football over t.v would be a good first step
hail hail
tic tock on 5 March, 2012 at 10:42 said:
Who is the leading MEGAFUD?
Jabba or Burley?? I really cannot decide….
————————————-
I’ve recently emailed Chelsea FC asking if they have archive footage of Craig Burley kneeing his own teeth out in training in the early 90s.
I’d love to have a wee watch at that.
Paul McBride
May He Rest In Peace
WG
Thats great news we may even get a pint aff ye now.
Love
When SPL is deciding what to do about RFCIA, I suspect that some thought will be given as to how the media and public will react.
Let them not worry, if previous practice is followed then the media will be happy to print/report whatever that are told.
I can hear Keevins,
” Well we asked them why Ragers are not allowed into SPL and were told that it was just obeying the rules. So that’s that, caller, or do you think we should be calling them liars. You are letting your hatred for Scottish football take precedent over your life.”
I can read Jackson,
“Rangers are off the SPL radar because that is what the SPL told me to write.”
Jim Delahunt declaring,
“When the BBC says that the SPL is not suing the BBC then Clyde will discuss it.”
Mark Hateley says,
“Going to the 3rd Division will be like signing a new team.”
iki 11.04
Mark Hateley says,
“Going to the 3rd Division will be like signing a new team.”
Pure class.
@STVSport: Dunfermline ‘have problems’ with prospect of new Rangers’ SPL entry http://t.co/ufc7i6b1
MWD
Paul McBride played a blinder last season and at one stage was being nominated as player of the year on this blog.
A terrible loss for all who knew him. RIP
Surely any newco would have to APPLY to join the 3rd division, just like another club who was interested in joining: Inverurie Locos, Clachnacuddin, Forres Mechanics, Cove Rangers, and so on.
Surely established clubs would have precedence over a newly formed outfit?
Ciao tutti ——
Beginning to feel like spring -way down south.
Constant drip drip re the business practices of the Football part of The Succulent Empire but where is the reportage re the non Football parts of the Empire.?[ are we expected to believe that only the football part was dirty ?]
Astonishing money was ” lost ” A man up to his neck in debt was constantly lent money by a big Scottish Bank . As the man’s property empire crumbled into the black , the Football part of the Empire mysteriously found itself carrying a huge overdraft. Throw in the astonishing valuation of an asbestos ridden building in Ibrox and you have one hell of a story — Millions and Millions and Millions ” lost ” by a much touted star of the Scottish establishment and nary a word .
Why the silence ? Are some people reluctant to have their astonishing largesse/gullibility exposed ? Are some supposed professionals guilty of collusion /and /or professional negligence and incompetence-? Was it a Goat People thing ?
I think we should be told —– not least because the Scottish tax payer ended up paying for a significant part of the succulent misdemeanors. One part of the empire avoided tax , another part of the empire managed to get the tax payer to pay for some of the money it had managed to ” lose ”
Still looks like the Liquidation plan is still on target – No to Newco !
Who said this yesterday?
“Any mistakes that our players made today were completely honest mistakes.”
Jabba and Jackson in full save Der Hun Mode
Rangers in crisis: Administrators told not to frighten off potential buyers by tearing first team squad apart
RANGERS’ administrators were being urged last night not to wield the axe on Ally McCoist’s top-team squad and risk scuppering any potential takeover deal for the stricken SPL club.
The money men are expected to march into Murray Park this morning to demand the removal of as many as 11 players from McCoist’s increasingly beleaguered group as they attempt to slash £1million a month off the Ibrox wage bill.
But fears are now growing that such drastic measures may frighten off potential buyers who would be left having to face an enormous bill just to repair the damage in the summer transfer market.
Former manager Walter Smith warned this time last year, in a meeting with Craig Whyte, that initial investment of around £20m would be needed in order to keep Rangers competitive this season.
But Whyte failed to listen to Smith and then plunged the club into the hands of the administrators after a disastrous nine months at the helm.
This morning the same administrators from London firm Duff and Phelps, the men Whyte appointed after tipping the club under, could fillet the workforce having already turned down an offer of 75 per cent wage deferrals across the board from the men inside McCoist’s dressing room.
But, as late as last night, they were being pleaded with to reconsider.
Paul Murray, the man who is putting together a potential Blue Knights rescue package, made it clear to them in talks over the weekend that he wouldprefer to pick up a £4.3m tab in unpaid wages than be left to foot the bill for a wholescale rebuild in the summer transfer market.
We understand that players’ union chief Fraser Wishart has also pointed out to Duff and Phelps he believes potential buyers such as Murray could be forced to drop their interest if the bill for saving the club is forced through the roof by a raft of player sackings.
And manager McCoist has expressed during talks as late as last night his own fears for the future should his dressing room be cleaned out in the morning.
It now remains to be seen if these desperate pleas have fallen on deaf ears or if the administrators have been talked around at the 11th hour.
One man hoping for sense to prevail is former director Murray, who knows his plan to save the club from the clutches of Whyte could be severely hindered if the wrong moves aremade today.
Last night Murray said: “From my point of view, as a bidder, I want the squad to stay intact. That’s my starting point. Fundamentally, I want the squad to stay in place and then to have the chance to build upon that squad going forward. I don’t want any of those players to go.
“The administrators are saying there is a £4.3m shortfall. Let’s take that at face value even though I’m not sure where that figure comes from.
“But if I’m given a choice of plugging that gap by the deferrals the players are offering or by cuts then I would chose deferrals.
“Walter Smith has told me on a number of occasions, as he told Craig Whyte, that in his view £20m was required to be spent on the squad last summer whether it was in transfer fees or wages.
“Since then we have lost Nikica Jelavic, who was arguably our best player. Anyone with a football brain can see the squad has been weakened since Walter made that statement.
“Now, if we are looking at replacing another eight, nine, 10 or 11 players we could be looking at a need to come up with an extra £20m or £30m.
SACKINGS
But the deferral number needed to plug the gap is £4.3m. It seems obvious what is in the best interests of the club.”
Former boss Smith agrees with Murray’s assessment. Last night he said: “I pointed out at theend of last season the squad needed a level of investment as we had only brought in one player in Jelavic and even then we had to sell two to bring him in.
“The figure of £20m was well recorded. But there hasn’t been any investment made. The fact is, the club are in the black with regards transfer dealings since I left. Therefore, having said back then that investment was needed, it stands to reason that the same level of investment is required today, if not substantially more. If redundancies are made then you can only imagine the situation it would leave the club in.”
There is a need for greater clarity over the full extent of the financial mess left behind by Whyte which the administrators are attempting to sift through.
If, for example, they need to find £4.3m to keep the club in business between now and the end of the season, does that take into account the £3.6m which is in the process of being reclaimed from lawyers Collyer and Bristow?
When that money is back with the club do Rangers require to make just £700,000 worth of further cuts to cover the £4.3m black hole?
If so, then this would add further confusion as to why the administrators seem determined to start counting bodies at Murray Park this morning.
On Saturday, David Whitehouse, of Duff and Phelps, announced that a deadline of March 16 had now been set for interested bidders to show their hand. But it is unclear if they want legally binding bids to be tabled before that cut-off point or simply notices of intent to weigh in with offers.
Crucially, however, there is as yet no clear indication of what any potential bidders would actually be attempting to buy should they manage to get their hands on the club – or to the amount of liability they might then be exposed to.
With just 11 days to go until March 16, Duff and Phelps have yet to prove Whyte has no legal hold over the club’s assets or that he would be willing to give up his majority shareholding for nothing.
Indeed, they have still not confirmed that Whyte has no say in who might eventually win control of theIbrox club.
It is still unclear also whether Ticketus – who gave Whyte £24.4m to fund his takeover – are still in line to paid back in full by future season-ticket sales.
And, as yet, there is nothing to suggest that a pence-in-the-pound deal hasbeen agreed with HMRC over the £15m tax bill run up during Whyte’s nine months in charge or, for that matter, the outcome of the long-running£49m legal battle over Employee Benefit Trusts.
In other words, any likely bidder will need answers to all of the above before being in a position to meet the March 16 deadline set by Duff and Phelps.
And that’s before the full scale of today’s cuts at Murray Park is even taken into account.
So today is the day we get agreement for Kings Park Rangers to fastrack straight into the SPL and Scottish Cup Final. Run along Timmy nothing to see here.
Poordeadking on 5 March, 2012 at 11:02 said:
tic tock on 5 March, 2012 at 10:42 said:
Who is the leading MEGAFUD?
Jabba or Burley?? I really cannot decide….
————————————-
I’ve recently emailed Chelsea FC asking if they have archive footage of Craig Burley kneeing his own teeth out in training in the early 90s.
I’d love to have a wee watch at that.
So would I.
Don’t think Jabba could physically do that come to think of it?!
Burley = clumsy clueless toothless MEGAFUD
Yorkstone statement on STV
Dunfermline ‘have problems’ with prospect of new Rangers’ SPL entry
Dunfermline Athletic chairman John Yorkston says he is uncomfortable over the prospect of any ‘new Rangers’ being given a free pass into the Scottish Premier League.
Rangers are currently in administration and have been docked 10 points by the SPL. Player redundancies are expected on Monday, with £1m a month needing to be cut from the club’s overheads.
Administrators Duff and Phelps raised the possibility over the weekend of the current club being liquidated, meaning a new club could be formed to inherit Rangers’ assets.
SPL rules allow for the member share of a liquidated club to be transferred to another company, providing 90% of clubs agree on possible sanctions and the league’s board then approve the sale.
Yorkston would be one of the persons voting on any side inheriting Rangers’ member share and he says he is unsure if his club would give their approval.
“We have problems with that,” said Yorkston when asked for his thoughts on the prospect of a new Rangers being allowed into the SPL.
“We have a different view if they go into administration and come out of that. But if they go into liquidation, would we vote for them?
“We would have to see what’s behind it all. It’s an awkward one.
“There are always scenarios each way. But we have to look at all the facts first before we make a hard and fast rule.
“As we speak today, if they come out of administration I personally feel it’s a clean slate job. If it’s liquidation, it’s a completely different kettle of fish.”
Yorkston, speaking prior to his attendance at an SPL general meeting over a change on rules to financial fair play, says a Rangers which survives should not be hit with any further sanctions.
If the current company were to cease to exist, the Pars chairman says it could be the case that the new club’s route into the top flight would be blocked, leaving them to apply to join the Scottish Football League.
“I no way am I condoning what’s happened at Rangers with Craig Whyte,” he said. “On the other hand, any normal company coming out of administration comes out with a clean slate.
“If they come out of administration, that’s what happens. Liquidation is a completely different situation and they may well have to go down to the Third Division.
“We would have to look at it and see what all the facts are.
“The SPL has got to accept a new application. That would depend if the members were inclined to accept it or not.
“If they went to the SFL, I am sure they would want them to start in the lowest division.”
I keep saying it.
Hurt tubes like Traynor in the pocket.
Stop buying the rags they write for and they will soon follow their beloved institution into administration.
We
We have to also ensure “if” they are found guilty that all titles won during the period they used them are taken off them and given to whatever team finished 2nd that season. Motherwell might be due a wee league flag.
My boss is Peter Principle – its somehting that puzzled me, one club would have to vote to allow the newco in and get relegated. Would any club really sacrifice themselves?
Please can anyone confirm, was that Phil that SSB faded out on Saturday´s program?
Carrying on from James Forrest last night
So at the the SPL meeting today … it will be discussed that by the end of the day the only players worth any transfer money at Rangers are actually signed to a third party. Even if this is an informal discussion the SPL has to go public and demand answers from the SFA. It effectively means that the hun and the SKY contract is already history for next season. Even if some real billionaire was to come in on a white charger ?
It seems that even the SPL will not speak the unspeakable
….. meaning that the hun should soon be on -10 points at the bottom of the SPL ?
Surely this time of serial misleading carries sanctions that justify immediate expulsion.
I think if the huns could vote for expulsion themselves they would.
Who will be defending Rangers position today. I asked this twice yesterday and I cant see it mentioned in the press so sorry for repeating myself
Hail Hail
Well said Paul,my thoughts are with his family.
: I
cel’ic
What seems to be conveniently forgotten is that the administrators role in running RFC (IA) is to get the best deal for the creditors, NOT to keep the club running at massive losses for the best interests of prospective buyers such as Paul Murray. Any wage deferment is added debt that needs to picked up later on top of the already significant debts with the almost certain, massive but unquantified, debt of the big tax case.
Farewell to the Court
Like truthless dreams, so are my joys expir’d,
And past return are all my dandled days;
My love misled, and fancy quite retir’d
Of all which pass’d the sorrow only stays.
My lost delights, now clean from sight of land,
Have left me all alone in unknown ways;
My mind to woe, my life in fortune’s hand
Of all which pass’d the sorrow only stays.
As in a country strange, without companion,
I only wail the wrong of death’s delays,
Whose sweet spring spent, whose summer well-nigh done
Of all which pass’d only the sorrow stays.
Whom care forewarns, ere age and winter cold,
To haste me hence to find my fortune’s fold.
Sir Walter Raleigh
As time goes on it is tempting to think that the time has arrived for Celtic to do a Belfast Celtic. Simply walk away and leave them to the cess pit that is Scottish Football.
Regards to the tragic loss of Paul Mc Bride QC.. For all who knew him and for us at Celtic I get the feeling the following may be apt..
” if I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”..
Paul enabled all to see further..
A tragedy ..
Can anyone tell me if the Jim Traynor article has been Awe Nawed ?
Hail Hail
KJamBhoy on 5 March, 2012 at 11:27 said:
I think it is now dawning on Yorkston that with Hibs 4 point clear of Dunfermline with a game in hand that this is a lifeline that he cannot throw away, I am sure the Dunfermline fans would not be too happy..money talks and they need the money. I think this is just the start of the swing against Newco and re-entry to the SPL
Am probably going to be on Glasgow for St Patrick’s Day for the first time in ages this year.
Any suggestions for a good day out?
I’m expecting Rangers to do a Belfast Celtic !
KJamBhoy on 5 March, 2012 at 11:29 said:
Please can anyone confirm, was that Phil that SSB faded out on Saturday´s program?
—————–
It wasn’t Phil it was a guy called Tommy. They do have similar voices. Tommy goes onto a lot of shows and makes some great points but tends to get over excited and ultimately gets cut off. He uses countless alias’ to get back on.
Hereford sack manager Jamie Pitman, breaking news ssn.
I wonder if the 2000 huns on their way to Dunfermline will now riot
Hail Hail
BarryBhoy @ 11:36,
”What seems to be conveniently forgotten is that the administrators role in running RFC (IA) is to get the best deal for the creditors, NOT to keep the club running at massive losses for the best interests of prospective buyers………………………”
Heard Jim Traynor being interviewed on Radio Scotland in the run up to the Hearts game on Saturday, he was obviously hurting but the gabbering was unreal
He stated that he thought liquidation was inevitable, yet the Administartors should not let any players go – it would be more expensive to buy new players in than to keep the current squad, he knew that’s what the current bidders preferred
Apparently under those circumstances a couple of consortium would be seriously interested but they wouldn’t work with, negotiate with, or have anything to do with Craig Whyte, so he should handover is his shares in RFC.
So Mr Traynor’s plan seems to be:
The administrators keep everything going @ RFC (IA) going concern, ramping up costs and NOT paying creditors, they secure all assets i.e. Ibrox Park, Murray Park and a few high priced players from Craig Whyte for nought, zero, niente.
Then they liquidate the Club, a consortium of choice gets the players, Ibrox, Murray Park from the liquidators – then parachutes a NewCo into the premier league, no European fitba’ for three years pretty much business as usual.
Mean while D&P, HMRC, TicketUs, Craig Whyte and all the other creditors exit stage left arguing about where it all went wrong.
KJamBhoy on 5 March, 2012 at 11:29 said:
Please can anyone confirm, was that Phil that SSB faded out on Saturday´s program?
/////
I don’t think it was Phil.
I’m sure it was a guy who phones in quite regularly with an assortment of, kidd-on names.
He got caught again :)
Hail! Hail!