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.
“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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BABASONICOS71 on 15 June, 2012 at 00:43
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Coincidences, my friend:
Just the other day in the school playground picking up my boy I heard with dismay of another fella who I’d see intermittently collecting his own lad. Same situation as yours, son the same age, made the same attempt to end it all.
Sadly he ‘succeeded’. Now there’s a wee lad whose life is forever blighted.
You got lucky, back from the brink. Think about it next time you’re with the wee man; it’s about him, not you. And keep on keepin’ on.
Off the hill o’ beans : started watchin’ ‘Game of Thrones’ tonight…….hooked!
Was delighted to see part of it was filmed in Malta….magic wee island. Lovely people. Great CSC.
Anyway,my head’s all over the show. (Seems like the msm is too cos their anointed club has toppled.)
This has been a great day…truly.
Getting lanterns & fireworks for tomorrow evening. If the weather’s too mental,I’ll just let a couple of green balloons go where they will & save the rest for the next occasion.
To save the muppet orcs time,here’s their new name: ‘Bunco F.C’
Noun 1. bunco – a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property
bunco game, bunko, bunko game, con game, confidence game, confidence trick, flimflam, gyp, hustle, con, sting
sting operation – a complicated confidence game planned and executed with great care (especially an operation implemented by undercover agents to apprehend criminals)
swindle, cheat, rig – the act of swindling by some fraudulent scheme; “that book is a fraud”
Verb 1. bunco – deprive of by deceit; “He swindled me out of my inheritance”; “She defrauded the customers who trusted her”; “the cashier gypped me when he gave me too little change”
con, defraud, diddle, gip, goldbrick, gyp, hornswoggle, mulct, nobble, rook, scam, swindle, short-change, victimize
short, short-change – cheat someone by not returning him enough money
cheat, rip off, chisel – deprive somebody of something by deceit; “The con-man beat me out of £50; “This salesman ripped us off!”; “we were cheated by their clever-sounding scheme”; “They chiseled me out of my money”
bjmac..,
still waiting to see the boards honour
Great comments Bhoys ref Baba
Baba take care.
Hail Hail
Baba,
Well done mate. Chin up and walk tall. Gabriel will thank you for it.
Canamalar, superb comment ” your example defines your children’s options”.
Nothing but respect.
Babasonic,
As sure as sunshine follows rain, the cowardly black dog of depression disappears when faced with a stronger adversary.
Never easy, mate. It’s never easy but by the sound of things you’re getting there. Manfully.
I hope the lift and sunshine the fitba news has created in your worl spreads like a warming glow thru all your daily events.
The Faith is for Keeping. Always!
MinceCFC@CelticMindedcom
BBC Newsnight Hun Liquidation Special 1: http://youtu.be/14ui_0NGQh4 2: http://youtu.be/sUv4vpp4k80 3: http://youtu.be/9eygJiMW9ZA (Amac on http://CelticMinded.com
EVENING ALL,
GO GO GREEN
It’s ok,I’ve not turned into a hun-it’s the name of a horse in the 515 at York on Saturday. The Charles Henry Memorial Handicap.
What’s Green’s middle name,I wonder……..
MadraRua on 15 June, 2012 at 01:03 said:
Baba is one of the good guys.
If the Cardihun was paid via EBT’s while manager of Everton and Scotland its
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzqiPvGrkTo
hopefully. Maybe thats why Celtic are doing nothing.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on 15 June, 2012 at 02:49 said:
Dunno but his horse is “Last Sovereign” by the looks of things.
Ireland played today as if each player expected the player next to them to make a mistake sooner or later. No faith in each other really. A bit like Celtic in Europe if you ask me.
Neil canamalar Lennon hunskelper extrordinaire on 15 June, 2012 at 02:27 said:
MinceCFC@CelticMindedcom
>>>>
Thanks a million for posting that. The only way I could get to see it.
What struck me is that there is a HUGE scandal bubbling under all of this,and that there is another one on its way with the apparent rise of Vulture F.C. and it’ll all be ‘business as usual’. Ah don’t think so.
HH!
:-)
zzzzzzzzzz time….finally!
Mags – yer a million % so ye are.
What about those supporters all the same?
Celtic,Ireland,Ireland Celtic?
Nobody wants to get beat on the field of play,but that is out of the hands of the supporters…
“While I generally find crowds in major competitions to be a sore point at best (remember the vuvuzelas anyone?), I was honestly astonished (in a good way) by the Irish fans.
Their team was losing 4-0, and they didn’t take to whistles, boos and flares. Instead, they started singing – a kind of slow, mournful song, that I thought was beautiful. If Spain was losing, I think their fans might have burnt the stadium down.
It was nice to see people enjoying it for what it is – a game. The best sport in the world (IMO), but just a game.”
That was from an English fan.
It makes no difference to me,but i am going to say something now,and it’s the truth…Celtic are a far better team than Ireland,Scotland,Wales and England just now.
Put this wee Celtic side in Euro2012 and you would be looking at quarter-finalists,at least.
Think about it.
Psych patient?
Frequently, at lunch time, I wander along the corridor to the far end of the hospital (where I work) to sit quietly on one of the benches just outstide the Psychiatric unit and read the latest offerings from the RFC(deid) saga.
Today, I was reading The Scotsmans reports on the events from yesterday’s creditors meetings and Walter Mitty riding to the rescue etc…
People walking past must have thought I was a patient due to the fact I couldn’t help but keep bursting out laughing.
I honestly thought that this comedy couldn’t get any funnier but RFC(deid) truly is the gift that just keeps on giving….
You know (RFCdeid) guys, you really don’t have to give us all this entertainment. We would have been just as happy if you had died quietly without much fuss.
We really appreciate all the efforts you are going to to brighten our otherwise very dull days.
Greatly appreciated.
Sixteen roads to Golgotha on 15 June, 2012 at 03:59 said:
I agree with you..both..about the fans ..and Celtic
I sincerely hope Spain do not win..Latin entitlement mentality etc.
Mags – I think that a lot of what Kojo has to say is correct.
I always treat people with respect,yet the more places that i travel to…i find that people are trying to look down their noses at me,not because of my religion,nor my social status,but merely because of the colour of my skin.
There is a lot of racism going on in this world today,and believe you me – it’s not coming from white people.
If anybody so wishes to be racist,sectarian,or whatever…fair enough,that is their own choice…but noboby is going to bully me.
Neil canamalar Lennon hunskelper extrordinaire on 15 June, 2012 at 02:27 said:
Thanks for those links
Sixteen roads to Golgotha on 15 June, 2012 at 04:55 said:
I agree with you too..my kids are not 100% white but Tims are above that. Its to do with lack of education and bigotry. On a DNA level the differences are less than say that between the genetic variation of rabbits. Its a neolithic extinction thing its a cultural thing. oh and BTW the Irish are not racially distinct from the rest of us whiteys really. So who is bullying you? send me their names.
Mags – Im alright – It’s easy enough for me to revert into scumbag mode,white or not white,scumbags stay clear of other scumbags,generally.
What i am telling you is this – i have recently witnessed blatently racist behaviour,and it was white people that were on the recieving end of his racism.
It’s not a one way street.
Sixteen roads to Golgotha on 15 June, 2012 at 05:17 said:
Yeah. I know. I have been there. My advice..dont back down
Fair enough Mags.
Slan.
Morning Celts, happy remembrance Friday or if ye like St Stivs,,,,,,
GREEN LANTERN FRIDAY
We will light up the sky as the rangers die,
We will light up the sky as the rangers die,
We’re having a party when rangers die,
HH
A wee rebel song for ye lol a know it’s got nothing to do with the CFC blah,blah,blah…not usually my form either,but sure,there ya go:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44o4VKpJBw0
This will be my first visit to see Celtic for 8 years. My father used to take me when I was a boy, before we emigrated to America. I can still remember my father’s excitement on the day Rangers died. June 2012 it was. I was only 10. We left Scotland that summer, just as it was all falling apart for the old Rangers. At the time I didn’t really understand the reasons behind their demise. All I knew was that it was to do with them having no money and going out of business due to some guy called Hector.
Neil Lennon was the Celtic manager at the time. It is amazing to think that he is now a director of the club. I’ll never forget the day the Bhoys won the Champions League at Wembley. It was Neil’s last day in charge before moving upstairs and making way for the new manager – Paul Lambert. To see him holding that big cup aloft during the lap of honour was a joy to behold. And what was Super Ally McCoist doing as his nemesis was showing off the European Cup around Wembley? – stuck in the Big Brother house and sharing a toilet with losers such as Rebekah Brooks and Gary Glitter.
After Rangers died, most people expected the new club to go straight back into the SPL, but a season out of the game, and restarting in Division 3 in 2013 meant that it would take them a long time to be any sort of force again.
It was no surprise when Celtic were invited to join the new English Super League in 2015. They had really outgrown the Scottish setup after winning the 2013, 2014 and 2015 titles by an embarrassing landslide. When Sky TV went under, causing the total collapse of the English game, no fewer than 11 clubs went to the wall and 9 others merged, leaving them with no other option but to completely re-organise the whole system of World Football from top to bottom.
Everyone thought Neil Lennon’s Celtic would struggle in the new setup. They did indeed struggle, but only for the first half of the inaugural season until they settled into their new routine. Even the most fanatical Celtic supporter in the world could not have expected Celtic to win the English title in only their second season, but win it they did, and in some style.
Celtic celebrated that triumph by refurbishing the old Celtic Park, bringing the South Stand in line with the rest of the stadium, making it the biggest club ground in the UK with an 80,000 capacity. The immediate sale of 64,000 season tickets was testament to the decision to increase the capacity. It was fitting indeed that the stadium was also given a new name. The Fergus McCann Arena has a nice ring to it and ensures that the legacy of the man who had the vision to make it all possible will live on in Celtic for many decades to come.
Rangers eventually clawed their way back to the top division in Scotland, after 5 years of pain. They still languish in mid-table mediocrity, playing to crowds of 5 to 10 thousand, but at least those who do watch them have no interest in politics and religion, and new manager Charlie Nicholas seems like a decent enough chap who has found his level.
So today I fly back to Scotland for the first game of season 2020/21. I will have time to take in a couple of Celtic games before moving on to London for my cousin’s wedding, which just happens to be the day before Celtic face Arsenal at the Emirates. I can’t wait to see Henrik Larsson in his first game as Celtic manager now that Paul Lambert has moved to Barcelona.
My father still talks about the great victories over Rangers back in the day, as well as a few agonising defeats.
Me? I am happy to watch live broadcasts of games v Manchester United, West London (merged from Fulham, Chelsea and QPR) and Mersey City (formerly Liverpool and Everton).
The old Rangers are a distant, childhood memory of a club who got greedy, stole and cheated, and died as a result.
The new Rangers are a toothless, aimless entity playing out of a rundown Firhill Park as their city rivals eat from the top table in world football.
As my late granny was wont to say . . . Hell bliddy mend thum.
Bring on the Gunners.
BABASONICOS71 on 15 June, 2012 at 00:43,
………….
Amazing post from the heart.
YNWA Baba
V
Old Firm – I dont think so!
The New Firm – the Irish support and Celtic support. Now that is like two sides of the same coin. Lots of drinking, partying, making friends with the other side, supporting your team to the end (even though they’re shoite) and doing this so impressively loudly that your adversaries join in. No doubt followed by lots more drowning of sorrows (whilst still making friends).
Meanwhile, nearby, 100 English fans confront 200 Swedish fans!
England fans and (ex) huns: another example of an Old Firm (or old film)
Congratulations to the Irish support. Like the Celtic support in Seville, through adversary, you did your team and your country proud last night!
HH
Tom McLaughlin on 15 June, 2012 at 05:51 said:
………
Ha magic!
Live the dream.
did=made
Oh, another thing, I’m definitely backing Agent Green to hang in there:
Ffom the Herald
Both men had already lost out to Charles Green, when his Sevco consortium made an £8.5m bid last month. Park had been one of the Blue Knights, the consortium led by former Ibrox director Paul Murray, and McColl had been supporting his own consortium. Their frustration was sharply felt, since both knew that Green was struggling to pull the money together to fund his bid.
There was desperation in Green’s frantic attempts to court Scottish businessmen for money, and even as late as Monday he was seeking £1.8m. Sevco had briefly managed to raise £8m, until a major blue-chip investor did due diligence on Green’s other backers and decided to pull out last weekend, taking his £4m pledge with him. By that stage, Park and McColl were considering their own plans.
Phone calls grew more earnest 10 days ago. Park was still in discussions with various members of the Blue Knights and Brian Kennedy, while McColl was monitoring events closely. All had received legal advice that Green’s agreement with Duff & Phelps was binding, so that, even if the Company Voluntary Arrangement proposal failed, there was no way to prevent him buying the business and the assets for £5.5m. But they also knew he was struggling to get the funds.
Park, McColl and others were prepared to present an alternative offer, and McColl brought with him the trump card. Despite having been courted by all of the various bidders for the club since last February, Walter Smith had already agreed to support McColl’s group.
Fans were growing increasingly wary of Green, whose rhetoric is colourful but lacks substance – he has variously talked of raising £30m, and signing Rino Gattuso, while in private his investors were discussing sale and leaseback deals for Ibrox and Murray Park – and the presence of Smith will galvanise them. His two trophy-laden spells at Ibrox raised him up alongside Bill Struth as perhaps Rangers’ most revered manager, and the role he seeks now is to help rebuild the club from scratch. None within the consortium wanted Rangers to exit administration through the newco route, but all are determined that this opportunity to properly restore both the team and the institution should not be missed.
The £6m bid, which was lodged with Duff & Phelps, liquidators BDO and Green’s people yesterday, is fully-funded and is not a loan but instead a capital injection. Funds are already to hand to meet initial running costs, while other Rangers-supporting businessmen will step up. When the club’s new strip was launched earlier in the summer, sales were significantly larger than normal and supporters are still prepared to spend their own money to save the club. With Smith at the head of this new consortium, the expectation is that season tickets will sell rapidly. Yet during the past week, the ticket office has been fielding calls from fans to cancel their season tickets because of unhappiness with Green, and no fans will sign up now until he sells to Smith’s group.
Even although McColl is one of Scotland’s richest men, and Park is an extremely successful businessman in his own right, this will not be the beginning of another period of extravagant spending. The club will live within its means, focusing on good corporate governance, full transparency, youth development and worldwide scouting. The intention is to restore Rangers, but without previous owners’ lack of restraint.
Smith, as chairman, will oversee this rebuilding process, while McColl will be a non-executive director. Along with Park, he will assist Smith in appointing the key corporate management figures, with the first priority being a new chief executive. With that figure, Smith will begin to negotiate with the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football Association to determine the fate of newco Rangers in Scottish football. The presence of Smith should help to ease the tense relationships between the club and those governing bodies.
“Our overriding objective is to ensure that the stadium, the history and everything else magical about Rangers is protected and nurtured back to good health and provide a platform for Rangers for generations to come,” Smith said. “Let’s be clear, this is an acquisition designed to stabilise the club and ensure history does not repeat itself. We are not in this to take money out of the club but to do whatever it takes in a turnaround plan to ensure within a few years the club can be passed on intact and to the right people.
“The supporters should be under no illusion that it will be extremely hard but with their support we can overcome financial hardship that lies ahead by lending their support to what we feel is the correct way forward – for Rangers people who know the club inside and out to control its destiny.”
Once the club is stabilised and beginning the long, slow process of recovery, a share issue will be launched to allow fans and other investors to make their own contribution. McColl, in particular, had been a reluctant bidder. His stance was that he did not want to see the club go out of existence, but he has no intention of running it. He decided to step back in at this late stage because he feared that Green’s reign would end in further financial calamity. Green’s bid is a classic danger in liquidation scenarios: an underfunded buyer who sees an opportunity to exploit a struggling business, but who does not have the funds to meet running costs or restore revenue streams. These cases almost inevitably lead to a second insolvency event.
“The question we will be asked now, [which] I was certainly asked by the administrator, is why didn’t we come forward before,” McColl said. “The answer is no-one wanted to own the club. When we see the way it is going, everyone has been forced to say, ‘Look, we have to do something’.”
Green was aware of the willingness of Smith’s consortium to take over before yesterday morning’s failed CVA vote. With the players unlikely to allow their registrations to be transferred to the newco under Green and relations with McCoist strained past breaking point, there seems nowhere for Green to go. He has the stadium, the training ground and the Albion car park, but no fans or players.
Negotiations continue, but even if a new bidder entered the scene, they do not have the leverage of Smith, Park and McColl, who have the team, and the fans, at heart.
HH
Sean, the CQNer
May your father Rest In Peace.
Tom McLaughlin on 15 June, 2012 at 05:51 ……
I’m about to make up a word here – nice bit of ‘preminiscing’ there.
One query though: when NewCo sat out the season 2012/13 who got the spare spot in Div 3, and who was let go at the end of that season to let NewCo back into the game?
Good morning CQN from a wet and windy Clydebank
Hope the weather clears up for the firework display tonight
No to Newco
Keep the Faith
Hail Hail
Tom McLaughlin
Brilliant!
I have the same dream myself!
HH
Good morning world. A new, hun-free world :)
Good Morning, Sparkleghirl!
Dull, wet and windy here in Fife and little chance of making much electricity in our brand new PV cells installed yesterday, yet it’s still a wonderful day!