Rangers are dead. Vindication for you, for Celtic

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My friends in Celtic, the day has come.  Rangers are dead.  The Old Firm existed for many years but we all now know that particular duopoly was terminated years ago – on the day Murray International Holdings bankers tried to put Celtic out of business, to be precise.

Today, we stand proud and alone.

On 3 October 2008 I wrote:

“Celtic are in an exceptionally strong financial position.  They can survive the vagaries of football fortune, or economic downturn, without the threat of cutback should income dip.

Conversely, Rangers are in dire trouble.  This year will not be financially the worst Sir David Murray has bestowed on his club, but it will make for horrendous reading to any prospective buyer of the club and provide further evidence that they are hopelessly adrift of financial security.

Winning the league this season and qualifying for next season’s Champions League will not provide succour from their structural problems, it would only result in a temporary slowdown in decline.

Rangers debt has risen inextricably, and is set to continue to rise, at a time when bank facilities have become more difficult and expensive to acquire.

Should new HBOS owners, Lloyds TBS, take fright at the property-to-football conglomerate, Murray International Holdings, which includes Rangers, frankly, the consequences are so dramatic, I don’t think we should discuss them, as I have trouble sleeping when I get too excited.

We live in a time when things which simply cannot happen, happen.  When some of last year’s most credit-worthy companies in the world have gone into receivership; when one of the centuries-old pillars of the Scottish business community crumbled in days.

No company dependent on a significant increase in its debt is safe.

Rangers Football Club, 1873 – 20??”

The years since 2008 have been hard for Celtic fans.  We watched our team lose three consecutive league titles to a former club, who despite their self-evident mortal danger, continued to fund a league and Champions League challenges.

We stuck to budget and lost trophies.  This was a hard decision but it was absolutely correct.  Football regularly throws up clubs who will recklessly burn cash.  You can indulge in their lunatic ways, or sit it out, tell your fans you cannot afford to spend more, and hope that in time your judgement is proven to be right.  Today is vindication for all those hard years.

I’m not a financial analyst and never actually spend too much time reading Rangers accounts but the above synopsis was inescapably obvious – and this was years before I knew about the EBTs.  Rangers directors would have known this at the same time, if not before.  If they were blind to it, they were equally useless.  Only God above will know why they didn’t rein the horses in, lose a few leagues, but kept their football clubs in business.

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1,200 Comments

  1. Gotta Go..

     

     

    Good Night Scotland

     

    Good Night Ireland

     

    Good Night Wales

     

    Good Night England

     

    Good Night Canada

     

    Good Night New Zealand

     

    Good Night Australia

     

     

    And

     

     

    Good Night.. Charlie Blackwood.. wherever You Are.

     

     

    Kojo

     

     

    Still, Laughin’

  2. Kojo on 15 June, 2012 at 00:04 said:

     

    If you think being dead is getting of easy, then that is a seriously positive outlook on life. Dying is the new , Living!

     

    Wow

  3. Doc – slight problem, No pub for the bus to leave from & I don,t drink,

     

     

    If you go on the bus I usually sit at front,

  4. Tuned into STV tonight to watch Downfall.

     

    It has been obvious for some time that the MSM would try and present the newly formed club- whatever it was to be called- as a continuation of Rangers ( now liquidated ).

     

    Dear oh dear I just had not prepared myself for the amateur night in front of me. I live in London so don’t watch STV. The whole piece was an exercise in obfuscation. Rangers by their account is in some kind of technical limbo- their phrase- and the name The Rangers is just a trading style.

     

    We are clearly at the start of a battle for hearts and minds. This new club needs to be stopped from entering the SPL, HMRC and BDO need to go after wayward former directors, wrongful registration of players needs to be dealt with and we await LC ‘s penalty post the Court of Session fiasco.

     

    Wonder what happens to the investigation into sectarian singing at Ibrox- against Kilmarnock? February, I think.

     

    Finally. Still no contrition. Not even a hint of that . Archie McPherson made the suggestion but it was not even picked up.

     

    The underlying assumption is that this club has stumbled but it will rise again. They are in for a few more shocks in the weeks ahead.

     

    I turned it off half way through. Shockingly bad.

  5. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    Ernie

     

     

    As the floating charge is a charge over securities and Craig Whyte provided none that his floating charge is superfluous.

     

     

    HH

  6. Doc – meant to add, seen your mum at mass last weekend, was one of the family making communion ?

  7. The bould Hector's bhoys..... Tá ár lá anois on

    For those who didn’t know,…

     

     

    for the past four months STV — huns have beeen ‘officially’ Business Partners

  8. Just as an aside before bed. Read on another forum that Harry Rednap has agreed a severance deal of £3m with Tottenham. Once tax is deducted, Harry will take home£3m. Well, I thought it was a goodun. Night, night all I’m off to noddyland for the best sleep in nearly 70 years, exhausted but very, very content and without Horlics tonight. Ovaltine instead just for the memory.

     

     

    Hail, Hail, Hail, and sunny intervals!

  9. In the heat of Lisbon on

    i bought 5 lantern today. if anyone wishes to help get them airborne in Geo Sq. tomorrow night @10 pm be my guest.

  10. Cowiebhoy on 15 June, 2012 at 00:12 said:

     

    The front of the bus they cannae sing.

     

    Look for me early in the season, in fact, keep in touch on here and we’ll get the bus up. How much does that cost now?

     

    Me and the wee Lass I mean.

     

    The SPL trophy was at St Modans today, she had a photo taken! Red and white ribbons though, Sponsors!

  11. don’t go letting lanterns off in George square.

     

     

    auctioneers might be setting a trap

  12. In the heat of Lisbon on

    St. Stivs

     

    do we think the Newco fans will be out in force in the city centre tomorrow evening

  13. We must continue to let the world and anyone and their dug know they are dead, finished, gone.

     

    No surprise that the MSM spout that they have to “start again” as newco. Bye bye.

     

     

    Wee mention for Aiden who worked like a Trojan tonight and never hid. Probably still earns less respect in Engurlish media than Dunn & O’Shea and the like.

  14. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on 15 June, 2012 at 00:14 said:

     

    ”Ernie

     

     

    As the floating charge is a charge over securities and Craig Whyte provided none that his floating charge is superfluous.”

     

     

    I’ve seen that suggested but I’m not buying it.

     

     

    Whyte and his lawyers will have made sure the funds were channeled in such a way as to make the charge effective.

  15. garcia lorca on 15 June, 2012 at 00:13 said:

     

     

    I know I said I was off to bed but just saw your post. How do you get STV in London. I tried on internet and the programme, though advertised, was not available to watch live. Love to know how you got it.

     

     

    Hail Hail

  16. Will be free for your Daughter & £9 for you.

     

     

    Hail Hail – work in the morrning

  17. Church was overflowing – had to join choir for a seat.

     

    Got another one in Cowie this weekend

  18. themightyquinn on

    Ah, Green…

     

     

    To use the trigger analogy… He had the same broom for 20 years but he lost it in a fire. Bought a new handle but hasn’t got a head, bristles, anywhere to sweep and the guy he bought the handle off of may not even have been allowed to sell it. And he’s also got a good chance of being told that even if he can get all the bits of a broom together again he’ll be forbidden from using it. 

  19. Ireland 0 4 Spain ( 90 minutes )

     

    Rankers 140 (years ) 0 HMRC ( 8 minutes )

     

     

    When does the fixture list come out?

  20. Ah well. No sign of sunny weather tomorrow says the Beeb. The Newco already know that ….. Lanterns Ahoy!