Apparently, time for Rangers fans to step forward to save their club has passed. For the want of £500k any one or collection of them could have bought an exclusive period as preferred bidder and worked on a rescue but no one stepped forward.
It is perhaps worthwhile reflecting on our hour of need 18 years ago. Celtic had exceeded their agreed overdraft limit and the Bank of Scotland informed the club that unless the account was brought back into agreed limits that day, it would go to court to appoint an administrator.
Back then there were no transfer windows, so players could, and would, have been sold by the administrator the next day. Celtic would have been left with an unwanted shell of a squad.
Word of the impending doom spread around the Celtic business community and John Keane decided to act. He withdrew £1m from his account and paid it straight into Celtic’s account at the Bank of Scotland.
John did this in the hope that he could buy time for the Celtic Movement to pull a rescue together. The bank could still have withdrawn the overdraft the same day, which would have made him an unsecured creditor with no chance of a return. There was also no agreement signed to secure the transfer of the club from the old board, each member of whom would later be dealt with on an individual basis, as shares were sold, or in the case of Kevin Kelly, pledged behind Fergus McCann’s consortium.
John kept his money in Celtic and received a seat on the new board, which he retains. He declined to appear in the publicity photos on the steps of Celtic Park when the club was rescued and although he attends the AGM every year, he remains a quiet and largely unknown figure. He has since invested more in Celtic, money he will never see back, but which has ensured his family can block a Glazier-style takeover of Celtic.
I have spoken to him once or twice, although he doesn’t know who I am, but I have often thought he deserves a standing ovation at the AGM for what he did all those years ago. Maybe this year.
We can only wonder why there was not a John Keane across the city.
Very well done to the Daily Record for their excellent story about CQN’er Tony Conway today. Tony, who now lives in the United States, suffers from motor neuron disease and made the trip back to Celtic Park last year with his Dad, John, and brother, Martin. They spent time with Jinky’s son James and met a host of people at the club, including Neil Lennon and Billy McNeill.
Read it, it’s a great story.
Remember to keep an eye on the signed Celtic shirt being auctioned for Wellburn Care Home, it ends Monday.
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Listened to Clyde earlier.One caller,”em,Celtic fans complain about an unfair financial advantage,do they not have a financial advantage over the rest of the league?”Yes,your quite right mate we do,however,yours was unfair because it’s called cheating.
Clyde’s phone-in is sponsored by Parks, Douglas Park is a blue knight, aren’t they boycotting Parks because they sponsor SFA?
wonkyradar
their loathsome reprehensible revolting element far outweight a any decent element they may have
Snivelling and Dullziel saying police should be acting to arrest supporters who indulge in offensive chanting then spoil it by being defensive about the media’s inaction in condemning it.
HH
Paddy should try some Vick for that catarrh.
Just fried chicken in wok now removing to an incubator pot whilst I stir fry the veggies and boil some noodles, then all will be mixed again and everything will be rosie in the garden, except I had to pay gas, electricity and for the ingredients, stupi Huns
Neil canamalar Lennon hunskelper extrordinaire on 2 May, 2012 at 18:59 said:
Vmahn,
They’ll need to go a bit further, partick is part of the govan parish
…………..
Aye right enough I’ve probably had too much sun today, no way would they morph into par-tick
V
I See that so called hibs brian kennedy is at ibrox for there game against dundee utd. fit him better to be up at aberdeen supporting hibs .cant get my head round him a hibs fan trying to buy rangers,put some of your cash into hibs you carpetbagger.
ernie lynch on 2 May, 2012 at 18:27 said:
Did PL forget to send you a Xmas card..?
merseycelt
The media’s inaction in condemning offensive chanting.
Peter Martin in his interview with Sally praised the Rangers fans for there singing.Couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Yes,Rangers I.A….we want you gone,dead & buried,forgotten.
Oldtim I read you’re post on the last page, sorry to hear you’re not feeling to good, get well soon!
And HH oldtim.
V
VertWolf on 2 May, 2012 at 16:30 said:
Auld Neil Lennon heid on 2 May, 2012 at 16:20 said:
“it is National Club Licensing or UEFA licensing both sets contain a requirement for audited accounts for three years and in Nationa Club Licencing it states the last set have to be audited and ratified at an AGM….”
…………………………………..
But does it say that the audited accounts need to be those of a football club ?
If Miller has a 3 year old company lying around with up to date accounts could this be used as the vehicle for a slightly used Newco?
=======================
I very much doubt it. What licensors are looking for is an assurance that the football club is a self sustaining business, that is why the brought in the FFP beacuse of the over reliance on external sources.
So I think such an attempt around what the purpose of licensing is would get very short shrift. It is also the same model that brought Rangers to its knees of course.
.
Estadio Nacional..
Re; No Answering..
Oh Ye Bloody Well Thinks so.. Yea forget I’m a International Man of Mystery.. I’ll Hunt Ye Down.. ( Bring Some Well Fired Rolls )..;0)
Always Fancied Qatar.. Getting Used to these 7* Hotels with a Beach..
Summa
PS.. I won’t Give Up..;0(
oldtim
no problem…
001 bhoy
just stick to original times buddy…
pggtips2 on 2 May, 2012 at 19:11 said:
..but NOT AS SAD AS YOU …..!!
Paul67
Nice to see you make mention of John Keane an unassuming Celtic Mhan – who I have known for 20 years (from the early Rhebel days) and have great respect for. He treats everyone (from fan to player) like a long lost friend when discussing Celtic.
He has a great passion for the Club and particularly the Team on the park – when you chat with him he has little time for the politics of the game – his concern has always been how we play the Celtic way.
You rightly point out his financial risk in 1994 – but few realise that his generosity included covering a good deal of the expenditure incurred during the early Rhebel days including financial assistance to the Celts-for-Change Group that enabled some of their ‘high-profile’ demonstrations.
When many rushed to print after the ‘takeover’ – the Mhan should have had a chapter covering his input to the cause.
Proud to call him a friend!
H!H!
There’s some people on the pitch at Ibrox – They think its all over – It is now!
Wolstenhume CFC
Good evening friends. And come on The Arabs!
Walter- he who must not be questioned.
“We never got an extension”
“We never signed a player for 3 years”
“The club was in rude financial health before Craig Whyte”.
What a cowardly bunch the Scottish media are, not one has the guts to even question him on his lies.
theglasgowcelticway on 2 May, 2012 at 19:18
Even more unbelievable, our manager praised both sets of supporters after the game!
I think the suits are getting to him!
HH
Later Celts I’m away for some pie Ella (long story) more cake n jelly n ice cream oh and enough Vino to satisfy a Greenockian on a liquid diet Hic!
One Love CSC
Paul67 et al
I notice some on here condemning the new away strip without thinking how our fans will look while actually wearing it. I personally would never criticise a Celtic top until I have seen blantyretim in the new colours.. Jock Stein used to say it wont shrink to fit, but as BT has proved over the years, you can grow into it!
The mindset of a hun.Deary Deary ME
02 May 2012 18:25:38
If its a Newco are all the Ibrox bans ended for bad boys?
Genuine post Newco= no banned fans for previous bad behaviours!
Whooooppppeeeeeee!
Your Honour I rest my case STUPID STUPID HUNS.
HAIL HAIL
Seen the new away kit today,looks fantastic.
can you imagine it…
thousands of orcs camped across the pitch, no intention of moving, causing nothing but obstruction, and spoiling the game…
it’ll be like watching the wattienaccio in europe again.
tec help required bhoys . Anyone any idea what could be wrong that i cant play you tube video,s . when i click on the thai tims all i get is a circle spinning round . and when it does eventually go its only for a few seconds then stops again .
thanks in advance
jimtim.
clyde OFF
homebhoys 730pm ON
live now
http://www.spreaker.com/show/hail_hail_media
CelticMac
and growing by the hour….
Jimtim
Have you tried switching off for a few minutes, switch back on and try again. Works for me sometimes
Summa of Sammi…. 19:20
Im true CQN style….
You have WhatsApp…
Im missing Dubai already, no even left.
EN
Algarvian-Jardine got a 15 min sales pitch on Shortbread,a typical easy ride from Chick Hun,strangely the question ” ever had an EBT Sandy ?” never asked .
Just had an interesting chat with one of my mates who goes hospitality at Celtic.
The trim on the sleeves and socks was a very late addition at the request of Celtic.
If you check various sites and pictures regarding the new strip there is lots of pictures with no trim snp some of the official descriptions dont even mention it.
My mate says we should thank Neil Francis Lennon for it.
HH
wonkyradar on 2 May, 2012 at 18:40 said:
No need to apologize to me. Thanks for the detailed characterization of the guy. Apart from reading a book of his essays called ‘Mysticism and Logic’ when I was a student, (and to be honest I was only interested in the Maths related essays) the rest of my knowledge of philosophy is gleaned from Monty Python – The Philosophers’s Song and them getting tanned at football off of the Greeks :-)
God bless her majesty
67heaven
maybe, personally prefer to be sad than wrong :-)
s, revenue & customs
Imagine coming on to a Celtic site when your team are just about to kick off one of their last games ever!